It is your responsibility to see that you complete the academic requirements so that when you graduate you are eligible as a freshman to compete in NCAA athletics.  As a high school sophomore you want to get on your computer and go to ncaaclearinghouse.net.  At this site you can find which courses at your high school have been NCAA approved.  Then plan your schedule to include the necessary courses by graduation.

Did you know that a course that will satisfy a graduation requirement at your high school, and that would be accepted by colleges for admission, might NOT be accepted by the NCAA for eligibility?  Only by checking their website will you be sure.

There are many “funkie” aspects to the NCAA eligibility requirements.  For example, if you take an advanced placement course in eight grade that will count as a credit towards English in high school, that’s great for your graduation requirements.  However, the NCAA does not accept ANY courses taken prior to ninth grade.  An athlete at the high school where I taught missed his chance to play Division I football at a prestigeous university because this error was not discovered until after he graduated.

Since the NCAA uses a sliding scale to determine eligibility - the higher the student’s GPA, the lower the SAT score can be - it is good advice to work hard in school and get good grades.  Better grades also translate into more choices.  The higher your GPA and SATS, the more colleges will want to recruit you.  The NCAA monitors the academic progress of all its programs.  Coaches need to find good athletes who are also good students so that they can raise their team GPA and meet the NCAA requirements.  With good grades you may also be offered academic scholarship money in additon to athletic scholarship money.  Your goal is to find a way to pay for your college education.  It doesn’t matter where the money comes from!