There are a lot of college recruiting services out there. It seems like everywhere you turn, there's someone saying they can get you onto a college team.

Here are the four questions you should ask of the college recruiting services you are considering. You can find the answers to all these questions on college recruiting services' websites:

1. Is the service's focus on "fit?" Is the college recruiting service interested in finding you any old place to play? Or is focused on helping you make the team a college that is the right fit for you academically, athletically, and socially?

2. Do they claim to do the work for you? To make a college team you have to take an active role in the recruiting process. You can't just hire someone to do it for you. You have to actively market yourself to college coaches.

3. What is their track record? What are their success stories like? Have they gotten positive reviews from credible outlets like newspapers, etc?

4. Do they make good use of technology? More and more college coaches are using the web to recruit. Do the college recruiting services you're considering take advantage of cutting-edge web technology?

Red Flags

As you evaluate different college recruiting services, you should keep an eye out for the following:

- Claims that "we do it for you." Some services justify high prices by saying they do the work for you. Here's the thing: college coaches want to hear from athletes, not recruiting services. The best college recruiting services give you good guidance on what steps you should take yourself.

- The "trusted source" for college coaches. Some services claim to be the "trusted recruiting source for thousands of colleges." Most college coaches don't use recruiting services to find athletes. Instead, coaches focus on athletes who contact the coaches directly, which is why college recruiting services that focus on teaching you how to promote yourself have more success.