My son is about to become a sophmore in high school and holds a very strong love for the game of soccer. I am not sure on how good of a player he is and of his chances of playing college soccer and if so what division. ARE THERE ANY CAMPS THAT COULD HELP IDENTIFY WHAT LEVEL OF COLLEGE PLAYER HE WOULD BE SUCH AS DIVISION 1 DIVISION 2 DIVISION 3. He will most likely/hopefully be a bench player on the Sockers Academy team next year.
mm....deep in thought....mmm How about asking his coaches? I'm assuming he's now with the Sockers U15 Cup team. Shouldn't OV and DR be able to give some feedback since they've seen tons of players that move on to college ball? If I'm correct, most of Sockers 1st teamers end up in D1. My son has a friend who's on the B squad and even he got signed by a D1 school. So I think your kid is in great shape.
Attending a camp at a college that interests your son is a way to see how he stacks up. If the coaches don't give him feedback after the camp then your son should ask. Keep in mind that the top D3 teams are night and day different from the run of the mill D3 teams. Your son should understand that for some coaches his behavior off of the field matters as much as his play on the field. A D1 coach told me that he loves to see kids at his summer camp because it gives him a chance to watch them for a few days in a row and see "which ones are reading a book at night and which ones are running down the halls with a fire extinguisher in their hands".
Your son should pick a school he is interested in for the school, not soccer. If he is willing to go to a small school then he can probably play soccer there. Division 1 soccer - even for the really good players - is pretty tough. No kid really wants to "sit" anyway....no matter what you tell him - or yourself. Once he knows what schools he wants to go to......then maybe a camp would be fun and a nice introduction to the staff. There is not a lot of soccer money so I say...hit the books and if he can play soccer too....that's just a bonus.
Since no one directly answered, here is something to think about. If your son is interested in camps in the northeast and southest, the best bet is probably the Elite 300 camp. Quite a number of schools, and they'll give feedback on what level your son fits into. Just do a search and you can find their site. My guess is that as a fresh/soph your son really has only a slight idea (at best) where he wants to go to school. So any other camps like the Elite 300 that have a number of schools would be best. There may also be schools that have "college combines", where they are looking at kids and give feedback. My son is a junior, and went to three camps last summer (after his soph year). These are all schools he is considering, and are spaced across the US - U. Denver, Creighton, and Elon. He went with a friend to all 3; they both enjoyed all three. I'd recommend all three - but only if your son has any interest in those schools. And any camp you do will be expensive - typically $500 to $700, plus travel costs. The key year for camps is after your son's junior year. This will be where decisions are made about offers. Of course there are other ways (showcases) and opportunities (HS games - maybe; some say this doesn't happen, but my son's HS team has had > 10 college coaches watch in their first 6 games this year). And our club team also does showcases. One other suggestion - look at the soccer websites at schools he's interested in. Do they have many players from your state/area/club? Most west coast schools don't have many players from the midwest/south/west - is this realistic for you. Etc. etc. Lastly, I highly recommend a book by Avi Stopper - go to www.selfrecruiting.com. He also runs a recruiting service - www.captainu.com. I don't personally think recruiting sites help that much - but I have been impressed with him and so if this is something you feel is right for you, it is something else to consider. Good luck! And you're starting early, so you're ahead of the game.
From a recruiting and academic standpoint, you can register your player on www.NCAACLEARINGHOUSE.com website. It requires a one-time $60 payment that you will eventually have to pay if your son/daughter intends to play any sport in college. According to a D1 college coach I met by chance, they use the information on this site as a primary source. My son has a CaptainU account. It is VERY well done and actually "speaks" to a high school student on the recruiting process.
The clearinghouse site you give has great information; however, you can only register at the start of your junior year (magicmom's son is going to be a sophomore next year). So, it is good to study the site, but they can't register for another 18 months. Good to hear on the CaptainU. Does your son actually do the work, do you really have to push him, or do you do a lot of the work? Just curious - our son needs the push, but is now doing almost everything he needs to do on his own . . . with subtle reminders!
Actually, my son is a freshman. I did register him on the NCAA website, but that's about all I can do at this point. Great information about NCAA requirements for the different divisions & accepted classes at a particular high school. Regarding CaptainU, my son completed the profile... that's about it... My guess/expectation is that he will need prodding to make it happen. But, since I had a conversation with the college coach, my recruiting "cred" has gone way up... just saying...
Ummm, who could this "magicmom17" really be???? Magicmom with kid playing on sockers, hoping to be on the academy next year and ok with being a bench player, and so many simple questions about camps, rosters, etc. What a load of @#$&!*(. Thanks for your message TexasScr, very useful information.
PSC Ltd are going to be holding several soccer combines in the USA during 2009 for U16 to U18 and 18+ players who are interested in becoming professional players or top college players. Already this month they have took 10 college players from their February training camp over to Europe. Have a look on their website http://www.pscltd.co.uk/combines_football.htm I don't think all the information is upto date though!
15 is a good age if they can hold their own. Its a good test. 16 is perfect. 17 is good also for most all schools except top programs which might have already gotten verbal agreements for most of their players. Too many camps..... are too much. Time, money, travel, wear and tear on the player. The best identification comes at the top tournaments and through ODP. my 2 cents...........
I agree, although age is somewhat less important as far as soccer recruiting than year of school (age is obviously important as far as maturity/ability/etc.): Freshman - can go to camps, not critical; should be v. good Soph - Good to get on a colleges radar, understand what a camp is like so that next year isn't the kids first experience with a camp Junior - THE YEAR; this is where the recruiting/final evaluation occurs Senior - almost always too late, unless it is a NAIA/D-II/Jr. Col
Not to sound like an idiot, but....when you are specifiying the above years, are you calling the summer before the sophomore year, the sophomore year? Or do you mean the summer after? Because last year was my son's summer before sophomore year and I thought we would wait until this year to send him to some camps(summer before junior year). Is it worth going to DI camps the summer before senior year?
So much of that depends on the player. A good ODP player maybe, a regional or national pool player will have camp and school information coming to them via regular mail, email or through the coach once they hit the radar. If they are set on some select schools and those schools are making contact, have your player make the call to re-affirm interest. Camps are a touchy subject with me since I know #1 they are a huge source of income for the program so they send out a ton of applications, #2 there is no guarantee your player will get any individual evaluation from the head coach or assistants if there are a ton of players there, #3 you'll go broke and your player will break if you go to all the schools he's interested in. Granted, there some very good positive too. I just feel that recruiting at major tournaments and games give the coach a much better evaluation of your players ability. I respectfully disagree with the other post that the senior year is too late. There is tons of money out there athletically, academically and need based for players from D1 to junior college. On the girls side, this website is very accurate in showing verbal comittments and there are a lot of big schools still comitting 2009s'. http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=poknaL_RaORDOMcyz_riBDA&gid=0 I do agree that its probably too late to go to a camp that would offer any benefit to either party unless the coach specifically asks them to come before they can make a decision. Knowing what area of the country your from and the level of your player might help the forum to better answer your questions.
Sorry, I obviously wasn't an English major. I meant the summer after. It is certainly worth going to DI camps the summer before their senior year.
Does anyone know what the deal is with programs sending out generic emails that contain brochures/applications for their camps? I suspect that it's because my email address is available via my gotsoccer.com profile, but I can never be sure...
^^Yes, Copa, I know what you mean. In the past week my son has received mail (hard copy) from something called "365 Sports" and another from SXE's (Soccer Xplains Everthing) "SoccerStar Showcase". I don't know what these programs are, but I don't think they sound very credible (not that they aren't camps, just that I don't think they would take the place of attending a showcase with your team or going to a camp at a college you are interested in). I think they get your name and information from major showcases you might have attended. Or they could scour team websites. Today, my son received an email from Northeastern University and their "Elite 150" camp hosted by Boston College, Northeastern, and Providence College. Has anyone heard of this camp and might it be worth attending? Is in an actual "recruiting camp" and do they limit the number of players attending. Does everyone work with and have the opportunity to be evaluated by the coaches of these schools?
keylyme, i have received tons of emails from various colleges, all claiming to be staffed by a billion different college coaches. unless your son is genuinely interested in BC, northeastern, or providence, i wouldn't recommend going--there are a ton of camps out there, and it would be wise in terms of time and money to stick with the schools he likes most.
Do the names "Elite 300" and "Elite 150" mean anything? Are these camps related in any way? Is it the cutoff for the number of players they will take?
Camps in Seattle area? Hi, Has anyone heard of SPU Soccer Academy? I'm trying to find a good residential camp in the Seattle area, and can't find much information about them, but I've heard that SPU has good camps. Thanks, Shelly
Elite 300 at swarthmore i was at last year good camp, decent level, and was lots of fun. I reccomend PPA Peak Peformance Academy, lots of top level schools at amherst. Also many players go to Brown, Colgate, and other ACC school camps.