Each month, Coach John Brooks will answer your questions regarding the college recruiting process. To submit a question, please e-mail mailbag@ajga.org. The College Mailbag column will be posted monthly on ajga.org.

For more information on Coach Brooks please see his Web site, www.rednumbersgolf.com. Coach Brooks also authors a "Going to College" column on the Junior Golf Scoreboard and is a contributing writer for the Titleist Performance Institute Web site.

Read on below for the June installment of College Mailbag!

Click here to view the College Mailbag Archive.

My son is just completing his freshman year of high school. He has placed second (by one stroke) in a big AJGA tournament. I am wondering what the procedure is as far as starting a resume, etc. Should we send this information to college coaches already? What is the process exactly at this early stage?

I suggest you complete a recruiting profile on both the AJGA Web site and on the Junior Golf Scoreboard. Make sure all the information remains current throughout the recruiting process. Additionally, this is a good summer for you and your son to visit as many college campuses as possible. At this time, you are allowed to call caoches (they cannot return calls) and to meet with them while on their campus during an unofficial visit. This would be a nice way to introduce your son to a few coaches. Make sure you call them first to arrange a date and time to meet. Resumes should be mailed out towards the end of next summer (as a rising junior) and should include contact information, academic records, top regional and national finishes, references (instructors, coaches, etc.), and an upcoming tournament schedule. Coaches are allowed to write and e-mail prospects beginning September 1 of the prospect's junior year in high school.

I will be attending and playing golf at a community college in the fall. My plan is to keep improving my game and then play at a Division I college once I graduate. I am wondering if I should start contacting schools now, and if there are any restrictions or guidelines for community college players when it comes to contacting other college coaches.

There are no restrictions about you, as a junior college student-athlete, contacting NCAA coaches. I suggest you involve your junior college coach in this process. He may have working relationships with coaches that typically show interest in junior college transfers. It is a good idea to be thinking ahead and researching which schools will need players in two years. Make sure to also research the academic requirements for junior college transfers.

I am a 2008 high school graduate. What do I have to do to get noticed by a school?

Coaches are very interested in tournament results. You should play in as many regional and national events as possible to get noticed. Coaches pay very close attention to tournament results that are posted on the internet. The AJGA offers excellent competition in the summer. During the fall, winter and spring months, I recommend FCWT as an excellent venue to compete and build your resume. I also suggest you post a recruiting profile online at both the AJGA and Junior Golf Scoreboard Web sites. Make sure you complete the profile and keep all the information up-to-date.

My daughter is a junior. Her average score is about 42 on nine holes this year so far, but in Minnesota, conditions really don't get good until the middle of May. To play Division I, II or III, what kind of scoring is necessary?

The PING American College Golf Guide is now available online. Visit www.collegegolf.com and look into the interactive score conversion function. This may be a very helpful took for you and your daughter to know which schools to target. Additionally, www.golfstat.com has a comprehensive listing of all college tournament results. Pay very close attention to the yardages and course ratings of the courses used in these events. In most cases, the golf courses are more difficult than those used in high school and junior golf competitions.

My daughter is 17 and just finishing up her junior year. We are considering delaying her entering into college for one year or sitting out the fall semester of her senior year (and thus miss that golf season) and then attend again in the second semester. She could then graduate in December of 2007 (instead of May 2007) and be able to golf that fall semester with her school again. Do you think this non-traditional approach of taking her out of school for a year would hurt her in the eyes of college recruiters, and does graduating in the winter have any impact on her recruitment potential?

Most college coaches recruit under the assumption that prospects will matriculate in the fall semester with other traditional college students. You may consider deferring your daughter's college enrollment until the following fall semester to put her back on a traditional academic calendar. In most cases, this would prove to be beneficial throughout the recruiting process. The "post grad" year would allow her additional time to develop as a player and if necessary, to mature further academically and socially. On the other hand, you may find one or two coaches who have a player leave their team mid-year (injury, eligibility, etc.) causing them to need a new player in January. This is a case-by-case sitauation that would require research on your part.