College Recruitment

For what it’s worth…

#1 - Playing on high level club team/academy

Nobody is going on to play college without considerable club experience…whether that experience is full-time with a DA program or splitting time between HS and club. Anyone looking to play college soccer should be playing club soccer to the highest level of their ability and circumstance.

#2 – Grades

No coach is going to waste his/her time on a player can’t cut it academically. Don’t have to be a Rhode Scholar, but a poor academic record will be held against you.

#3 - Attending ID camps (generic and school specific) and/or playing in college showcase tournaments

Obviously, you have to be seen to be recruited; you got put yourself in front of them…in most cases, they ain’t coming to you, you have to go to them.

I would add a #4 – You have to Sell yourself

There are lots of opportunities to play college soccer, but it’s also a buyers’ market. You have to research schools/programs, seek out coaches, make (genuine; not form letter) contact, provide (well produced) videos, etc. Most kids are going to have to do most of the leg work themselves if they what to play somewhere.

As for the rest, I would chalk them up under the category of it can’t hurt….

ability to play multiple positions well/versatility
having a club coach with reputation/contacts
Resume (ODP, National Training Center participant etc)
others?

 

This is very important. Coaches recruit their own problems. They only have so many chances to give. When trying to decide between two athletes of equal talent, the student who is able to get into the university on their own academic merit gets the spot.

I live in a state that has a lot of D-3 schools, no scholarships, everyone is essentially trying out every year. They do recruit and some have access to grants for athletes of need. Most also have open try outs and all it takes to get involved is to contact the team to find out when those occur. Athletes use this path as a stepping stone to bigger programs. I have a friend who played at a D-3 school, scored a bunch of goals and earned a scholarship to one of the D-1 programs in the state. Junior Colleges in some areas are the same.

 

Everything above is spot on.

Emails to/from coaches (all of them) are important. Don’t assume the head coach does all the recruiting, because he doesn’t.

Make sure you communicate consistently and inform them of tournaments, camps you are attending etc.

Return every email. A highlight video can be helpful but not a solution alone.

Make a list of schools and be honest about likelihood to get accepted, your ability to pay and the caliber of play. Rank them and have a few stretches, a few middle and a few safes.

Know that not every team needs every position every year...look at rosters. If 60% are from Europe then that might not be the school. Ask coaches if they will be recruiting your position for the entry class.

Be realistic, while something great may develop make sure you have a realistic view of what makes sense.

Remember college is for education and getting a job, don’t go to a school just because you can play soccer. Better to play club at the right school than chase soccer at the wrong school.

 

Everything above is on target. I'll just add my son's experience, since we're going through this right now. He's a 2019 with 1 YNT call up. Plays for USSDA.
I help him by researching schools--we look for ones in certain conferences that he likes and then look at # of boys playing his position and then I use Top Drawer to try to keep up with commitments of his position in 2018 and 2019.

Right now he's talking to 4 schools. Each has evolved differently:

Son emailed his schedule and resume/highlights to about 30 schools (all coaches at each) prior to the USSDA showcase in FL. Several showed up, one emailed him a few days later saying they saw him and were interested.
One of the "active" coaches is from a school my son didn't invite--just saw him in FL and contacted him later.
One school's interest is definitely from going to that school's ID camp-- coach loved him. (so far the feedback interest has been far better from single-school camps)
And the fourth school is odd--son emailed the coaches a few times--sent highlight reels. They didn't go see him in FL. Head coach called last week to say they'll need his position and to stay in touch and they'll go see him in the summer showcase. Not really sure how (or really if, in reality?) son rose to the surface there.

So in his situation its hard to rank--but single college ID camps and the USSDA showcase have been the main 2 forms of successful contact. Big showcase tournaments have netted little genuine contact.
Grades are big--every coach has asked about grades and ACT/SAT.

 

I know someone playing D1 soccer. Had two offers- one from a very good NAIA school with a very good program and one from a D1 school.

Kid was not an academy player all four years. He played HS freshman year. Was an academy DP his sophomore year (limited minutes in a few games in the spring) and was full-time academy his junior and senior years.

Two things were successful-
1. Emailed a coach prior to a showcase tournament. In the email talked about the basic resume / team history (no stats) and a PERSONAL connection to the school. Coach watched him play at the tournament and this kicked off interest. Sent periodic highlights, connected via phone and email monthly.
Visited the school, got to attend a pre-season game and got an offer.

2. Attended an on-campus summer soccer camp for another program 3 years in a row. Made sure to shake the head coach's hand, look him in the eye and introduce himself to the coach daily until the coach remembered his name, then let his play during the camp do the rest. Coach attended his junior year winter USSDA showcase. Coach also watched him play in the winter USSDA showcase (senior year). Attended a invite-only prospect camp (small group of about a dozen potential recruits) where he was evaluated by coaching staff and received an offer. Coach also attended post-graduation summer showcase where team made a run in the playoffs, but he was already committed and accepted by then.

Kid had to work hard on academics as the D1 school had super high acceptance criteria. Chose the D1 school as it guaranteed a great career after graduation.

 

Thanks for all of these pieces of information -- they gave me the chance to lay a little ground work with my u13, who talks about wanting to go down this path and is a fairly serious player (not DA caliber, but he has some ability). He was a little surprised by the idea that the coaches aren't going to come find him (we live in a DI college town where the norms of football and men's hoops tend to shape the expectations for a lot of athletes, but I know a couple of college soccer coaches, so this part I was aware of), and I could see the wheels starting to turn on just what might be required beyond playing ability. If he stays interested, the next few years will be interesting.

 

ID camps are an enigma, the ones that do the most advertising are usually not productive.

Then there are the ones that the coach invites you to but only as a revenue producer.

Sophomores and Juniors should be going to a few one-school based ID camps. If you go to any aggregate camps that advertise schools of interest, reach out to those coaches to confirm they are really going.

I’d say 75% of the time they weren’t really going to be there.

I would suggest ‘practicing’ what your son will say when talking to a coach. Some kids go to these things and don’t say a word to coaches or say something unproductive.

Have them armed with a few questions mentioned above regarding what positions the school will be recruiting etc.

 

anyone use FieldLevel to connect with college coaches? one of my spring players' high school coaches recommended it to me, but i have no idea whether it's worth the effort or not.

 

Nope. The camp allows the team to have incoming players on campus and they get work in during camp.

Also, the coach wants prospects to see what kind of guys end up on the team, including some who may have attended the same camp 1-2 years ago.