Best Academic/Walk on Colleges

JuanPeron · Jul 17, 2005

I have been reading some of your responses on the forum and it seemed as if you are knowledgeable. So this is my question: Which college still have walk on try outs as well as good/great academic programs? I have noticed that some schools have stopped Walk On try outs. Can you tell me about Benny Feilhaber walk on situation if possible. What are the chances of Walk ons getting spots on the team?

Bumptious Rex · Jul 17, 2005

Most walk-on players at the D-1 schools are not unknown entities. They are very good youth players who are desired by at least one coach who has committed all of his scholarship monies to others. They go through the admissions process and, if they get in, make the soccer team. In the majority of the cases, the coach has a lot of influence with admissions officials, and the walk-on's application is treated like the recruited scholarship players. Feilhaber came from the Irvine Strikers '85 team, which won several state championships and a national one in 2002, when he was a junior in HS, defeating Brad Guzan and Jed Zayner's Chicago Magic, 5-0. The star of that tournament was Jonathan Bornstein, who was a senior and already had committed to play at CalPoly Pomona (d-2?). It put him on the map and he transfered to UCLA after his first season in college. Many others from this team went D-1 the following year. Feilhaber possessed tremendous skills, but couldn't get a scholarship from the one school he wanted to attend. I'm guessing he probably turned down some offers from places he didn't want to consider. He is also very bright and was recruited by at least one Ivy League school (no athletic scholarships) and almost went there. Late in the process, Tom Fitzgerald gave him the opportunity to play at UCLA without money at a school close to home, and Benny took it.
In the rest of walk-on cases, a player either attends a try-out session or approaches the coaches during school and asks for an opportunity to play with the squad and make the roster. These are more common at smaller programs.

MTNK1 · Jul 17, 2005

Is there a designation for players that are recruited but not offered money? They are on the team if accepted to the school but do not sign a letter of intent. Are they considered walk-ons also? I guess I always thought that a walk on was someone that just showed up at a designated pre season session. Are these players held to the same restrictions regarding transfering etc as players that signed letters of intent?

JuanPeron · Jul 18, 2005

So there is no chance of me getting spot on a conference team unless I play for a division II or III team? Is it going to hurt me chances severely if I don't know the coach or coaching staff?

Thanks

JuanPeron · Jul 18, 2005

So there is no chance of me getting a spot on a conference team unless I play for a division II or III team? Is it going to hurt my chances severely if I don't know the coach or coaching staff?

What are some of those smaller programs?

Thanks

Bumptious Rex · Jul 18, 2005

JuanPeron said:

So there is no chance of me getting a spot on a conference team unless I play for a division II or III team? Is it going to hurt my chances severely if I don't know the coach or coaching staff?

What are some of those smaller programs?

Never say never. There have been walk-ons at many of the best programs. Division I coaches can't possibly see every player in the country, so they rely heavily on ODP, adidas ESP, etc. Sometimes they find players who attend their summer camps. But if you are not being recruited by coaches, you will have to make yourself known by contacting them and asking about walk-on opportunities. This will at least raise their curiosity about you, and the responses you receive should help you in your search for a program. Talk to your counselor at your school as well. Good luck.
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Sandon Mibut · Jul 18, 2005

First, use the Hit By the Bus rule.

Pick you school with this in mind: If, on the first day of school, I'm hit by a bus and can't play soccer, is this a place where I'm gonna be happy the next four years?

With the rare exceptions aside, odds are if you're talking about walking on, you aren't a pro prospect. So, education and the college lifestyle should be your first priorities. So, pick a list of colleges at which you'd be happy and fit in and, just as importantly, can get accepted to.

Then contact the coaches at those schools and talk to them about trying out for the team during preseason. Some coaches don't have tryouts in the preseason, others do. The ones that don't usually have you try out in the spirng when the games don't count. You can't try out for the team unless you go to school there, so you have to enroll in the school and then tryout, regardless of whether it's a spring or preseason tryout.

As to what programs take walk-ons, the answer is most of them. With only 9.9 scholarships, at most, to go around, the teams need non-scholarship players, invited or tried out, to create depth and make for a better training environment. From Indiana, to UCLA to the ACC and Big East schools to the Ivys and the also-rans of the Mid Amercia and Big South programs, they need walk ons.

But, start with the school you'll want to be at for four years and go from there.

PaulGascoigne · Jul 18, 2005

Sandon Mibut said:

First, use the Hit By the Bus rule.

Pick you school with this in mind: If, on the first day of school, I'm hit by a bus and can't play soccer, is this a place where I'm gonna be happy the next four years?

With the rare exceptions aside, odds are if you're talking about walking on, you aren't a pro prospect. So, education and the college lifestyle should be your first priorities. So, pick a list of colleges at which you'd be happy and fit in and, just as importantly, can get accepted to.

Then contact the coaches at those schools and talk to them about trying out for the team during preseason. Some coaches don't have tryouts in the preseason, others do. The ones that don't usually have you try out in the spirng when the games don't count. You can't try out for the team unless you go to school there, so you have to enroll in the school and then tryout, regardless of whether it's a spring or preseason tryout.

As to what programs take walk-ons, the answer is most of them. With only 9.9 scholarships, at most, to go around, the teams need non-scholarship players, invited or tried out, to create depth and make for a better training environment. From Indiana, to UCLA to the ACC and Big East schools to the Ivys and the also-rans of the Mid Amercia and Big South programs, they need walk ons.

But, start with the school you'll want to be at for four years and go from there.
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Thanks for saying what needed to be said. People from other countries tend to think playing at a university is a quasi-professional activity, or is designed to lead to that. "Bend It Like Beckham" didn't do anything to correct that concept.

You don't "sign a contract" and even though you may receive certain assistance for school-related things, you are not "paid".

You must attend the school FIRST, then "walk on" afterward.

If people are interested in soccer opportunities in the US, maybe they should look into the reserve programs our MLS teams have going now. Unless you are going to be an actual student, college isn't the way to go, although some students do go on to become pros.