college recruiting question

Discussion in 'College & Amateur Soccer' started by Dr Jay, Sep 29, 2003.

  1. Dr Jay

    Dr Jay BigSoccer Supporter

    Aug 7, 1999
    Newton, MA USA
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Do some schools allow their soccer coaches (or any sport's coaches for that matter) to "balance" the academic records of their recruiting class ? In other words accept one player whose grades and boards are not up to the school's standards by pairing their recruitment with a player who has really high boards and grades ?
     
  2. LuvDaBears

    LuvDaBears New Member

    Sep 4, 2002
    USA
    Wow...this question has several answers. Here's the short answer. Most schools will give coaches some leeway for recruits when it comes to academics, but the coach may have to go in front of an academic board to get a kid admitted. And then, the coach may only have a couple academic exceptions. For this to happen, the player has to be considered an IMMEDIATE impact player, otherwise, the coach is not going to go to bat for that kid.
     
  3. KR

    KR New Member

    Jan 5, 2000
    NCAA Clearinghouse

    I don't know how poorly the player in question is academically. But the NCAA does have standards - the clearinghouse - and a player must make the grade there to play NCAA soccer.

    Depending on the college, coaches do get some leverage with athletes' grades. Yet, I'd hate to see a player so far in over his head academically that he flunks out. I have seen this happen to several athletes.

    Good luck with the recruiting business.
     
  4. 2leftshoes

    2leftshoes New Member

    Sep 17, 2003
    bay area
    Club:
    FC Bayern München
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    college recruiting and grades

    I have 2 children who have been recruited for soccer by division I schools. The 2 toughest schools that I know of to get into for an athlete with so so grades are Stanford and Notre Dame. Most coaches told us a 3.5 gpa and 1000 on the SATs were baseline. Schools can and do make exceptions for certain athletes. NCAA clearing house bottom line is something like 890 SATs and 2.5 gpa. (I'm not sure of the exact numbers but they are pretty low) I agree with the above post though, even if you get into a school with poor grades, you have to be able to make the grades and play soccer once you are there.
     
  5. k1v1n

    k1v1n New Member

    May 4, 2002
    Pick up a copy of US News and World Reports guide to colleges. In there they will have the academic profile of their student body. In a nutshell, you need to fit their profile--within their 25-75 SAT range, close to their GPA, and within the class rank that fits 90% of their students. If you don't fit the profile you should probably look elsewhere. Coaches are allowed a small number of exceptions, but they don't like to use *any*. NOTE: this only applies to non-revenue sports.

    Schools don't average academic performance across teams. Each student is looked at individually. The decision is made by Admissions--not athletics. 'applications will be coded--meaning they will cut you some slack, but for the most part you still need to fit their profile.
     
  6. DownSouth

    DownSouth New Member

    Aug 9, 2002
    Good point on fitting the academic profile, k1v1n. When it comes down to it, the student athlete still needs to be able to perform academicaly so the school should fit the student. With students receiving any % of scholarship, many schools only require them to meet the conference minimum standards - so you can get in a very good school with average grades (but could have performance problems). As far as clearinghouse, there is a sliding scale of GPA and SAT scores. The minimum GPA is 2.0, but that requires a minimum of 1000 SAT - I think the minimum SAT requires a 2.5 (it's been a few years since my kid went through this so I don't remember exact #s).
     
  7. LuvDaBears

    LuvDaBears New Member

    Sep 4, 2002
    USA
    k1v1n is exactly right, but there's obviously a lot more to it. It all depends on how much influence the coach has with admissions, and how highly the coach has rated the player. If the coach sees that kid as starting right away, he's going to get him in if he can. If he's a role player in the coaches eyes, better look elsewhere.
     
  8. KinleyDog

    KinleyDog New Member

    Aug 20, 2003
    another point of view...

    many players that are seeking, and have the ability, to pursue soccer as their first career will leverage a university for 1-3 years before moving on to better soccer pastures. Therefore, this player can survive in a curriculum that might normally be over their head by taking basic classes during the time they spend at university - getting by with b's and c's while developing and maturing. So a player like this would look first to get into the best school to further their soccer career and worry about grade maintenance later. School is not for everyone, and many people have had successful careers after soccer with or without college degrees.
     

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