I agree with the expense of soccer, especially how ridiculous the ECNL is as well as certain camps. But in this country soccer is an affluent sport, Parents from mid to upper class neighborhoods will readily spend that kind of money. To them, it's not just about college, but spending time with their kids traveling to tournaments is their version of an luxury vacation or buying a family boat. Remember cheer leading is even more expensive, as it includes paying for it at school(as it's not officially considered a sport) plus gym dues & all-star/travel teams as well. Individual sports like Gymnastics, ice skating, equestrian are way more costlier than even ECNL soccer. ECNL main competition (for D1 full ride, scholarships) seems to be more the growing number of foreign players. These kids get training at top pro clubs overseas, yet retain their amateur status(as long as they don't get paid). D1 only make a quarter of the college players. Most girls prefer the experience or culture of living with a soccer team, rather than how prestigious their school is, but then again, known kids that played select their whole lives that gave up soccer when they got an better academic offer, than an athletic one/or prefer a small, private college that do have a soccer team but no athletic scholarship, over a big state college. For just part scholarships offers, then kids can use their ACT scores along with other scholarships to pay for the rest of the tuition/room +& board here's again the list for all colleges that have soccer programs(remember to keep scrolling down as it's quite a heft page) Soccer Scholarships & Chances of Playing College Soccer and to how it compares to the softball, as mentioned, in college participation, it destroys it, 38K to 31K Softball Scholarships & Chances of Playing College Softball
You make valid points. Showcases were hardly ever a family vacation, it'd be a one (lucky) parent breather/getaway. At night, they'd all gather at the hotel fire pit or common area for the party while the kids amused themselves running through the floors, playing hide/seek or whatever, I forget the name of the popular games. but whatever they played, it gave the parents a lot of miles (party time). For whatever reason, there was always an innuendo or insinuation for ill-repute among girl's soccer parents sans spouses. Not on the boys side, for whatever reason. I don't know why, or why that was always out there, but it was. Nevertheless, combine the getaway with the human instinct for competition, the ego boost from "college coaches" in folding chairs (think Beau Bridges in Jerry MacGuire..."surf or turf Kush, hehe"), you are correct...there were other rewards for the investment. It is sad for parents when the kids hit that grade 10 "uphill" though, when D1 dreams fade, realization that it's not what it appears, the only sniffers are from fly by night D3 coaches, the kids are older, other interests (their own partying), less running in the hotel halls, takes the uumph out of the showcases and travel. Gone forever. Then instead of angling to be the parent to go, the fight is over who has to go. Parent/player enthusiasm wanes, then gone completely. The club coaches' interest diminishes as they turn their focus to the next round of 6th grade victims. The most enthusiastic of parents, the ones who'd be all over handing out the flyers to coaches in sweatsuits, who'd tally the colleges in attendance, would be gone just like that.
College recruiting now has a dead period of December 15-January 5. Reasons for this was to give a break to college coaches after the season and more importantly give the kids a break during the holiday season from year round soccer. Which meant that the ECNL Sanford and Disney tournaments would change. Disney is now November 23-25 and ECNL Sanford is January 6-8. So instead of losing their New Year's break they now lose Thanksgiving as November 23 is that holiday. And have to travel on the biggest and most expensive travel weekend. I respect what the college coaches tried to do but now the kids just lose a different holiday weekend with their families. And college coaches now make two trips to Florida instead of one big trip during late Dec-early Jan.
the one thing that I missed the most of those early days, was shootin the breeze with the other parents during practice. We had a snobby Euro coach that simply hated us for making so much noise on the sidelines. He tried to ban us from practice! but us regulars called all the other parents and we showed up in force the next day and were more raucous than ever! It was fun watching his smirky look for the rest of the season. but there was nothing he could do about us since we payed his salary! As kids come close to college age, it really needs to be about finding 'the Right Fit'. Not just soccer wise, but academics as well as lifestyle. Being stuck on an over populated DI state school, based in the middle of nowhere is not for everyone, and if it's out of state, parents would most likely pay a small fortune anyways to go and watch their kids play. in finale; it's no use in competing with other kids or their parents resources. Usually the large school division, high school champs, come from that state's most affluent town/county. Catholic & private academies ended winning most of the other smaller divisions(and you can bet the state's top select clubs are right down the road from those schools). Arguably the best player to ever come out of my state(she went on to North Carolina, when they won several titles), well her dad was a doctor who used to fly her to practice in his own Cessna, to out of state for more personalized training. A local dentist, who's kids got D1 scholarship) not only build his own soccer fields but also did it by starting & financing his own select clubs(that's got now more than a dozen teams in it) He even payed the fees to get players to join from the rival clubs in the area.
I think the most fun was in the middle school years. As soon as the coaches started showing up to the games, the vibe changed. When some kids started going on unofficial visits in ninth grade there was almost as much palpable hostility as on the dates following the release of the PDP rosters. 2 more years (plus ecnl championships) to go- now in the DA. Another interesting phenomenon: with only 3 uncommitted (planning on making decisions this summer) kids left in my kid's graduating class, (that covers two teams since the birth year cutoff) the vibe is becoming more friendly again as the families are largely happy with how the whole college thing turned out for their kid. As I said before, my kid used the ID camps in combination with unofficial visits to check out the coaches, the field and the vibe. Not all ID clinics were held on the competition fields. I thought that was a miss. One of the criterion my kid used to choose the school was how comfortable she felt with the surface because she is a very technical player. I remember One ID multi day camp with at least 200 kids present. Coaches moved about 2 dozen kids ( yes mine, but also at least half of whom were already committed to the school) to the only field they actually watched. The field was in a intramural venue. It was at least green but the grass was very long and thick. My thoughts were, well I understand very well this team's style of play if they are evaluating kids on this surface. My kid hated the surface and said no way can I play here even though it wasn't the game day venue. We walked over and hopped the fence to check the grass in the stadium and it wasn't much different than the camp grass. It was probably northern rye grass which I think may always be thicker and longer than southern Bermuda). I also thought it was false advertising that the coaches didn't really evaluate most of the kids. My kid's take away: I don't like the grass in the north and I feel bad for all the kids who they never really saw. Maybe in lower level ID camps the coaches really evaluate all the kids but I suspect few kids who don't go in known to the coaches, or with significant accolades, get much of a serious look.
I hear what you're saying about the sequestered recruit fields at id camps but I think everybody has some sort of shot. The current/ex-players/lesser college coaches/pals who run general "teams" advise staff on the peles in the crowd. I've seen nuggets pulled from general population to sequestered. I've also seen the HC show up at camp games when tipped off. Regarding the manufactured non-rev skills of the affluent, and how that translates to their schools/clubs dominating, I always think about what Sharpton said in the 80s or early 90s. I remember he was whining how the 'hood's "stars are stolen". wtf? MJ is making 50 million? But in context of college athletics, he is absolutely right. Although leveraged to finance the affluent's non-rev programs, the vast majority of basketball and football families have no shot in non-rev (unless it's an offspring of a former professional athlete). I always said men's lax, in particular, fears the football player because with a little stick training, he will dominate the field. And he will arguably dominate without it. The wealthy try to insulate that x-game behind costs (tournaments, club teams, etc.).
I enjoy this because these club coaches walk around like the Pope of Greenwich Village. They congratulate you for taking your money. Then they dangle cuts over everybody's heads. I've seen a few good people but a lot of louses who are angling to avoid real jobs with this industry. I remember one guy, he absolutely destroyed a girl, cutting her because he didn't like the dad. he said that was the reason. She was inconsolable, all the girls were crying around her, and this slob walks right by them talking up his fantasy football team with his coaching buddies.
an SOB like that should definitely be reported. Another way select is becoming a cash cow is where as when my kid first started, 7 years ago when my kid first started, u11, was the youngest age group at our local club. Now they've got teams as young as u6 and even a u8 state championship(for select) After winning the World Cup, Carly Lloyd put her name on a soccer summer camp, charging something like $799 for two days. Doubt if she's ever even made an appearance, lol
I think it's primarily in the northeast as that's where the cash is concentrated, I'm on LI, but there's these "soccer companies" springing up. A couple of travel coaches leave their bland and demanding day jobs and syndicate their travel teams under a "soccer company"...supplemented by the running of not inexpensive camps (guaranteed banque....attendance mandatory by syndicate players...hehe...or else...)...then move in to eat up other teams in the youth organization....or create new teams within organization....usually via team manager(s) whose kid(s) the syndicate will promote heavily thereafter in return for the "in" or "lead" or "influence"...if too much for the two or three now ex-9 to 5ers....excess teams subbed out cheaply to part-time still-9 to 5ers... org A may wise up and toss them, but they go back to team manager in org B and simply move the team(s). what a useless parasitic brilliant concept...running a profit "company" which produces ....nothing....but...Ray Kinsella...build it and they will come. Yesterday...cubicle and deadlines...today...king lear of the pitch, sleep till noon. The youth organization even sweats the pain, fields, uniforms, et al.
Nope haven't mentioned it. She is going to a power 5. I don't think I want to share too much of the specifics but she was very late to commit. Family friends tied into the soccer community helped to provide her additional inside information and insights after she had visited her final selections a second time and had been to at least one camp for each. Finally it was like it all came together for her and she felt confident with her decision. We are relieved. I have many thoughts about the recruitment process and have suggested to her club that some of the parents sit at a round table discussion for younger kids. I wish we knew some of the things before hand that we know now. Not that I think it could have ended better for my kid, but we saw some things that might help others.
Kazoo, ole is bursting and leaked info already. No offense ole, you're proud. We know it's SEC. From here, with her round table idea, this indicates big club in one of the youth soccer industry hotbeds, NoVa (inclusive of Richmond Strikers) or RTP (CASL, Triangle, etc.). This narrows it down to the two Bama schools or Georgia based on the 600 miles radius. Let's go deeper. The alumni network thing is totally Bama and lots of early commits probably eliminated Georgia. So we're down to the two Bamas. So what's her pleasure. It is the Crimson Tide she craves? No, no, no...when one mentions "honors college", more than once, it's speak for less stringent general admission requirements. Not that anything is wrong with that, but it's something which bounced around in her mind. It's Auburn.
Well I could start with I am not a "her", but I concede, I am proud of my child. We had some good, bad and ugly stuff, we could share with other families. Went into this "process" pretty green and didn't get a lot of guidance from the club. It's a completely different world than it was 30 years ago. I think with clubs looking on, who know the individual kid's story, since they largely broker the deals, some truisms, pitfalls, and expectations could be discussed to help others. We certainly would have benefitted from other's experience. What we garnered from the sidelines we found out to be suspect and frequently filled with inflation and untruths. But I will shut up now because this is making me a bit uncomfortable.
The fact that this passed is an absolute disgrace. Kids will miss more time at their school as the dead period is right during holiday break. College staffs have 3 countable recruiters, this is part of the profession, absolute laziness to give up 3 weeks of recruiting that you will never get back. Any small school that voted for this is absolutely insane as this was pushed through by big dogs who want to rake in cash by not working.
here's a couple of questions; my kid is moving to campus August 6th, but her first game is 6 days later, why on earth is there so little preparation time during the college soccer pre season? Her coach does have a limited training schedule during the summer, but promised it's not mandatory(since we live hundreds of miles a away). with select/high school season over, how does a freshman prepare for college ball? From the outside, select seems to be about technique, high school ball more about athleticism, but from watching college videos, it seems too be all about spending time in the gym & building leg muscle during the off season. So fair enough, an incoming freshman should be doing the same. But then what would be the perfect workout regime?
Depending upon position and school, your college coach should have sent her a preparation packet to work on over the summer to get prepared for college. Our kid will be reporting on Aug 1, so she has been working on her packet daily. IMO, there are 3 parts to preparing for the college experience (note - a lot depends on what position your daughter plays) - first - Conditioning - this is the MOST critical part of prep - on day one at college, they will run the beep test (or some other form of conditioning drill), this will determine whether they will get a jersey or not - college is not like high school, if you aren't prepared to be able to run for 100 minutes constant, don't expect to play.. second - Strength - you should find a strength coach to work with your daughter now - have her go 2-3 times a week, college players are for the most part much stronger than what she would have seen so far, don't want to be pushed off the ball because she wasn't prepare - remember, on a college roster there is 25- 40 players on the team, all fighting to a- make the travel squad, b- playing time. Lastly - Technical training, you will want to ensure that she is touching a ball daily, working her skills and if possible playing some games. Last note - the College Season (D1) doesn't have real games until 8/18, anything before that will be exhibitions. But your goal should be to pass the beep test (or whatever they do) on the first day on campus..
I know it's free choice/will and all but such regimens are ridiculous for non-rev/partial scholly sports at so-called academic whatevers. It doesn't have to be that intense. I remember the honest coaches warning prospects that they'll be asking themselves what they got into and that there is no way to prepare for it. Although I like the sport, I often wonder what drives non-rev participants to bag college life for this. It's not that much money. As I said in another thread, it began to occur to some parents and kids who attended id camps how the current players never looked "happy". I think for non-rev/partials, NCAA should invoke Ivy model.
holmes that is a completely different discussion from the question that was asked. Its not on any of us to persuade/dissuade any parent or player from enjoying playing soccer at the college level. its a privilege to play in college, its akin to joining a Frat, or a super intensive club. There is a great deal of Pride that college athletes (Regardless of sport) have in representing their college on the pitch. Who are any of us to tell someone else it doesn't matter. That decision lies solely on the player and family.
yeah, I qualified the decision thing in my first sentence. In that respect,, i think a problem does lies with the family part of the decision in your last sentence. Player is age of consent and all. I'm wondering what the attrition rate would be if the girls felt free to decide on a regular college existence. It's already pretty high. Yes, there are those who love it, and gain from it, could not handle college without the regimen (there is good, too). Just as there are Marines who loved Parris Island. But that serves a greater taxpayer good (so they say, needless wars notwithstanding). Secondly, in contrast to the observations I've heard regarding current student-athletes at ID camps, visit the greex, they are happy. My point is, since the NCAA says it's all about academics and the student-athlete, what is the point of strapping non-rev athletes with so much physical burdens? It's not like winning makes banque...there are no foolish pro dreams. The Ivy League has pride. This also eliminates the incentive to early recruit. One of the reasons they have to do that is that 11-12 graders aren't so naive with less "family" buying into logos. Lessen the physical and time burdens, keep the support structure/study halls in place and allow non-revs half a normal college life. To me, a lot of headaches go away and it helps recruiting, lends precision and certainty. So the question remains, why not?
A lot of college players play on WPSL teams to remain sharp during the summer. It's something you and your player might want to look into.
thanks for the advice. I asked my girl and she did receive a "training packet" from the coach.. The one thing that might concern me the most is that in our own state, slide tackling is banned at the high school & select/rec level. It something that she will get used to & pray to God she don't get an severe injury from