"Early" Commitments, Decommitments

I will say that we had to seek out the club to get the information we needed. The club is an academy club on the boys' side (where college recruiting seems to be more built into the process), but not an ECNL club on the girls' side. So it's not quite so "built-in" on the girls' side.

From the time she was in 8th grade up until now, though, her three coaches - in addition to the Director of Coaching - have been very helpful. All three of her coaches during that time period have played in college themselves. The DOC and all three coaches have helped numerous players in the recruiting process in the past.

The club was quite accommodating with regard to outside programs (ODP, PDP, Market Training Center) and guest-playing for other clubs' teams.

But we still had to seek them out for advice. There are a lot of players in the club and, although they have college nights where they bring in a speaker to talk about the recruiting process, they depend on families seeking them out for more specific advice.

Great advice! I see lots of families who are expecting the club and the coaches to do everything for them. But the club and coaches can only do so much - if a player (and their family) doesn't market themselves aggressively, they probably won't be satisfied with the outcome.

I sent an email to some of the other families on our daughter's team a few days ago about a showcase tournament in which the team will be participating this coming weekend. Part of what I said:

"At any showcase tournament, there is no guarantee that college coaches will come to watch the team play. There are a lot of games happening at the same times - coaches will choose the games where they know they can see the players who have previously expressed interest in playing at their school. Even if coaches come to the team's games, there is no guarantee they will watch you in more than a cursory manner - unless they know that you are interested in playing at their school .... Do players get 'discovered' at showcases (in other words, players who have never expressed interest and a coach just happens to see them and is impressed enough to recruit them)? Of course, and those are the stories we hear. But I believe this is a lot rarer than we would like to think. Again, for the most part, coaches come to showcases to watch players they already know about."

That's why the player (and their family) need to be aggressive to make sure they do whatever they can to put themselves in front of the coaches from the schools at which they want to play.

Some of the best and most memorable advice I ever read about the college recruiting process was when another keeper's parent said this: "We decided not to be the hunted, but to hunt."

 

I had this question a little further back in the stream, but I'll word it a little differently.
Most parents are led to believe that it is up to the player to do the leg work. but my impression of the majority of players (confirmed by many conversations with parents) is that they have a pretty narrow view of what is involved. They know that they would like school a, b, and c, and will send an email. "I like your school and I am playing at such a such tournament, I have such and such accolades, my game times are such and such, please come watch me play."

They go to the tourney, and then the following week follow up with, " Coach, I hope you saw me play, do you have any feedback."

Then they wait. More often than not hearing nothing form the coach. They may do the same a month later when the next tournament comes up, with much the same results. As a parent one will talk to the player and encourage them to do more, but the player is either not willing to, because they don't want to bug the coach, or they think they have done enough. The parent will think, if this was my livelihood I'd do more but figuring out ways to get in front of the coach.

Where and how does the parent get involved? or do they let the player do their own thing. There are a number of players that are going to do what they have to to get noticed, or their reputation or club association is going to be of trememdous help, but what about those from smaller clubs?

 

This is so true (at least from what I've observed in our club).

The problem I think is that the email may get lost in the numerous emails the coaches receive - and if you're expressing interest to a D1 coach, they can't respond to your emails until September 1 of your junior year (and you should be expressing interest prior to that time so you won't know if they've read your email). Our daughter sent a lot of emails, but I think the personal contact from the club and putting herself in front of them (at their ID camp, at Market Training Center events, and at an ODP regional camp) is what ultimately put her on their radar.

In the email I sent to our families, I told the players and their families that if they haven't expressed their interest to a coach aggressively yet (at that time, 2 weeks before the upcoming showcase), their only real hope was to call the coach and talk to them over the phone about their interest. Not sure how many players from the team have done that.

In our experience, it was difficult for our daughter to make phone calls to coaches. But we told her that coaches speak with potential recruits all the time and that they would know she was nervous. We also provided her with a list of questions we culled from online research that she could refer to during the call.

The other good part of making phone calls is that if you're persistent and keep calling and leaving messages (at the D1 level, they can't call you back until after July 1 before your senior year - and then only once a week if I understand correctly), they will know you're interested in playing for them. They will also know you chose to overcome your fear and nervousness to make the call - and that therefore playing for them is important to you.

My daughter plays for a smaller club (perhaps top 10-15 in the state for her age group, but not ECNL and certainly not a super club). We had to be very aggressive in the recruiting process - emails, phone calls, filling out the recruiting questionnaire, ID camps, guest-playing for teams at showcases, ODP, Market Training Center, video, a personal website.

I am an internet marketer by trade, and when counseling my daughter on things to do, I thought like a marketer and asked myself the question, "What do we have to do so that the coaches of her target schoools will come watch her?" When she decided she wanted to play in college (she expressed that to us in the 8th grade), I started reading everything I could - online and in books. I started talking to the club's DOC and her coaches. Over time, we came up with the overall strategy that I referenced in the link I posted in response to SCUFANTASTIC's question earlier in this thread.

I sent some of the initial emails for her - after we had agreed on what she wanted to say - I was sort of her secretary for that part of the process. She would respond to emails that coaches sent her (again, after September 1 of her junior year).

She made most of the phone calls (I talked to the recruiting coach at her dream school a few times about financial issues and once to a coach at another school about logistics for an unofficial visit).

So it was a cooperative effort. We had to remind her fairly often of things she had to do - and had to seek a balance of not nagging her too much but of making sure she understood there was work to do if she wanted to play at her dream school.

It turned out to be a tremendous amount of work for the whole family. But the joy I saw on my daughter's face when she called the recruiting coach at the school she later told us she had dreamed of playing for since she was 9 years old and made her verbal commitment - plus the joy I heard in the "whoop" from the recruiting coach - was worth all the hard work.

 

Often, due to restrictions on communication, the coaches cannot respond to a player.

So here's what you do; YOU CALL THEM!

You can call them all you want. If you call them, they can talk to you. Two-way conversation, get all your questions answered. Usually, somewhere on a college website, you can find contact info for coaches. They don't always answer the office phones, and they can't call you back if you leave a message. So keep calling until someone answers, and then get the coach's cell number. Cell phone numbers are GOLD! Then you can call them all you want. Sometimes club coaches/directors have college coach's cell numbers also.

Telephone calls, outmoded in many circles, are useful in circumventing recruiting restrictions.

Despite what others (mainly coaches) say, I am also an advocate of parents talking to coaches, as opposed to players. The parents can use their adult know-how to decipher what a coach is really saying much better than a kid. But CALL them.

 

Great post! Absolutely true! A coach can like #10 all he/she wants, but if #10 is already committed somewhere or wouldn't attend the coach's school on a bet, the coach is wasting his/her time. So coaches don't attend games to watch random players. Coaches watch players who have expressed interest and who have communicated to the coach their CV so the coach know this is a player of interest to them.

 

I'll keep this is mind when I plan my next pregnancy. My DD is at the bottom of the age group. I think it made her a better player because she played with older girls who were better. Remember, when they are young, the pool is much larger and more diluted. It's not until around 12 that the ages are so important. If I could have, I would have kept her playing with boys in middle school. IMHO it is better to be in the middle of the pack than the star player. Especially in soccer where teamwork is so important. If you are the only one who knows how to pass, it's a lonely game....

 

Generally speaking, this is right on. Coaches can't call or return calls before July 1 after Junior year, including emails (see below) once contact starts, there are restrictions on the number and times for calls initiated BY THE COACH.

But there is no restriction on the number of calls you can make to the coach.(in fact, there is a provision in the Manual that specifically exempts you from restrictions on calling a coach. there are certain times a coach can't answer (such as during an schedules event) so keep trying. and once contact starts, there is a limit on the times and number of contacts a coach can make

the same is true for in-person visits. there are no restrictions on you going on campus to see a coach (unoficial visit, where YOU pay for the visit), but they can't initiate off-campus contacts without restriction, and what they can discuss off campus is limited. some coaches wont make those contacts except in a pretty formal manner because they fear violating rules.


and once contact is allowed, there is also a restiction on the number of contacts a coach can make (7). this includes ATTEMPTS to contact you. It is 7 contacts they innitiate overall, and three off campus contacts. so if a coach fawned all over a player and then stopped, this may be why. if you didn't show interest, your shot at that school from the coach is over. you will have to contact them or nothing happens.


I saw this on the ESPN website June 15. note that only Basketball is mentioned in the article. i don't know if either of the provisions mentioned (calling, texting) will extend to other sports, so it will have to wait until the new edition of the manual

and you have a final resort if attempts to contact the coach are not met with success. there are certain people at the school who CAN return your calls without restriction and talk about anything . the Chancellor or President, the FAR (Faculty Administrative Representative, which is an NCAA position all schools have. this may be the President), AD, or Senior Women's Administrator, which will be the senior woman in the athletic department (could be the AD). What they may do is arrange a time when your attempt to contact with the coach by phone or arrange a time for an unofficial visit will meet with success.

Obviously, I would start at the bottom of that list and work my way up

it is really important that you understand the ground rules so your expectations aren't in conflict with what can actually happen.

start with the D1 Manual. this year's edition is a free download here.
http://ncaapublications.com/p-4224-2011-2012-ncaa-division-i-manual.aspx
You really only need to read article 13 on recruiting (pp. 79-140, and most you can skim). the realy important part is Article 13.1, Contacts and Evaluations (p.82-99).
Your eyes may cross a little, but it is not any more complicated than say, calculus . Some of it is actually pretty straightforward.

Also, there is the guide for the college bound student athlete, which has a lot of the same stuff in a different format, and information on the academic side of eligibility.
http://www.ncaapublications.com/productdownloads/CB11.pdf
recruiting rules start on Page 20 with a nice chart summary on Page 21. Soccer falls under "other sports"

then google "NCAA Recruting rules" with and without the quotes. you will be entertained for weeks.

you are going after thousands of dollars of someone else's money. do your due diligence.

 

Make it late April to be safe. The problem with younger payers playing with older players is that they may not get the same attention from a coach as the faster, stronger, older players. Then more kids give up. Coaches focus on success. It's their livelihood for future clients.

And if you are the only one who knows how to pass, its a lonely game at any level. I see it in D1.

 

Clive,

Great point dont forget about the style of play the coach likes to play and that your daughter would fit in.

The best I advice I got going through this process was would you still go to this school if soccer ended tomorrow. Pick the school for the school soccer is the bonus.

 

The last thing goes without saying. It's nice to see a kid on campus who just had too many injuries still doing well and still having friends on the team. Soccer just doesn't work out all the time.

Style of play is important. It's good you brought it up. last night I was watching a summer league game with everybody from Kendall Johnson and Courtney Verloo to a u14 kid about 3'8" tall enjoying the niceties of good passing combinations ( there isn't much contact in summer league). They all came up under the same system and it sure looked like they were having fun.

Back off... The u14 kid says she has committed already.

 

Just a correction on a link I gave for some NCAA info. A new edition is out.

The 2012-2013 Guide for the College Bound Student-Athlete is here:

http://www.ncaapublications.com/productdownloads/CBSA.pdf

At first glance there isn't much difference. No mention of unlimited phone calls by coaches (still says one a week) maybe there will be yet another edition.

The guide does mention, however, that DI schools can offer four year scholarships. I haven't heard of one being offered yet. If one of you parents bags one of those, let us know

 

I have heard of two full rides for four years offered, but don't have any concrete confirmation of either. One to a top school (2015) and one to a mid major (2014). I have not spoken to the parents and have heard this second hand from others.

It just seems like such a crap shoot to me. Offering a four year scholarship to a kid that won't be playing in college for another 3 years.

Because there is no contract I would assume if push comes to shove a school can get out of it if something happens, before signing day. What happens once they've signed or are at the school and something happens. I would assume grades would be one, but what about injury?

 

But I believe that is done now. My 2012 is younger than the 2013 coming in in college. That is/was a factor for my kid. Politely - so what? If school is more important (it was to her) she didn't mind taking the hit and maybe not playing in games so much. If soccer is more important she could have been held back a year or gone to a differnt school.

Topic II:
Grades. For achievers (over 4.0 weighted GPA) I think they are better focusing on soccer over grades. A friend of my daughter focused on grades and quit soccer. Her very nice GPA did not get her the opportunities of my daughter who didn't even have to show her GPA to get interest. A nice ODP pool on the resume will get a kid farther in both opportunity and money IMO than the best grades.

 

Topic I and topic II say two opposite things, don't they?

In Topic I you talk about the advantage of keeping a kid back, but that doesn't work with the ODP résumé in topic II. It's age based, just as are the YNT's.

I think it is a mistake to depend on athletics to trump grades. It severely limits what school your child can go to and future career prospects and diminishes the total financial package she will get. With 14 scholarships per team, very few get full athletic scolarships and grades will enter into the rest of the package...unless...mr. Horan? Is that you?

 

How much it affects recruiting might depend on how the NCAA counts the four year scolarship commitment if the kid stops playing for any reason. It would seem to me, that with a four year Letter of intent, it would have to count towards the scholarship program regardless.

But I agree that the four year commitment to financial aid is already fact at many schools.

 

Maybe, I was just talking to myself and forgot I was on a forum.

True EXCEPT I was talking about those that are already way high. So the 4.0 and above that make up a small percent on every team. Given a choice on the weekend to study harder and get a higher grade, or go where you might get a better ODP/or equivalent rank - I'd say do the soccer theng. If the kid is using soccer for college that 3.8+ will get them anywhere. Its the soccer coach that needs to fall in love with them. Several of those top acedemic DIs don't give money for grades(I know the Ivy's don't for soccer). So if the kid has their 3.8 and can play, they are better off doing things to get more athletic (if there is any) money, or open up their team chances IMO.
Of course, get injured or quit soccer, that 3.8 limits the player.

 

Yes - we are. So the "power you have" would be increased by a more balanced (GPA near 4.0) approach.

Both kids have a 1800 SAT.
Kid A - ECNL player. DI average material. Great academic achiever - All As Junior/Senior year.
Kid B - ECNL player. Topdrawer soccer top 100. 3.8 GPA

Both kids want to goto a big name soccer and academic top 50 shool such as an Ivy, Duke, Stanford, Notre Dame, UNC - those kind.

I argue Kid B will get more money and have a better shot at getting in.

Because:
Harvard says 3.5 GPA needed. Pretty average GPA (per you) if you can play. Academic money - there is none. None at any Ivy and other top schools. http://www.soccernation.com/want-harvard--cms-1683

Some of those other schools with in that list give Athletic money, but not academic money.

So since Suzy can go anywhere with a 3.8 if she's a player, why focus on all As? I argue she would do better with a better soccer ranking.

And I would tell a girl that can play soccer with over a 4.0 GPA to chill on the grades and focus on the soccer resume. She can study in college.

 

I suggest you need to do a lot more research on the financial situation at Harvard before you use them as an example. First off, there is no ATHLETIC money at Harvard, so you have that part backwards.

Second, there is relatively little academic money either. It would be very difficult to apportion that at a school where there are more applicants with perfect college boards than there are people accepted to the college.

What there is, is the most generous needs based financial package in the country... In the WORLD, really



Here is a snip from the Harvard financial aid website:

Beyond this, there is NO athletic component to finacial aid at Harvard, or at any Ivy. It is league policy, and they do monitor each other.


Harvard lists their 2012 expenses for incoming freshmen as between 59-63K depending on travel expenses. That means in the WORST case a family could be expect to contribute around $6,300 if they made $150,000 per year.


A good athletic component to your resume would be helpful for you being accepted to Harvard to differentiate you from another student, all things being equal..

But I submit the last four words are key. Harvard will pick the better student every time.

 

Where is my example wrong?
They give no merit based money (grades or sports) at any Ivy.

 

There is NO acedemic money. Ivy's do not give merit based money.

 

Focus.

You said they gave athletic money.

They don't.

What Ivy's do give is needs based.


And what gets you in is academics.

 

Show me where? I can't find that.
I said "Some of those other schools with in that list give Athletic money, but not academic money."

We do not agree.

 

How do you get that? You snip said 10% of the family INCOME.