<p>I am an soccer player on one of the best teams in the province and have been apart of provincial teams in my earlier years. I have improved tremendously and am planning on going to a major showcase tournament in the US later this month.Last year I got seriously injured and had to recover which put me very behind in the recruiting process.I have some of my top colleges in mind and I was wondering what would be the best approach to be noticed by these coaches and not just waste my time and money.</p>
<p>Have you filled out a recruitment application with these schools? They are often on the webpage. Email the coaches of the showcase and tell them when your games are, your uniform number and colors, position. If you have game footage, send that.</p>
<p>It’s time to be a pushy show off. Let them know you exist and how much you can bring to the team. Also brag about your acaemics.</p>
<p>You need to hurry up (as in TODAY) if you will be a senior. Put together a general recruiting email with a soccer resume, and send it to at least ten coaches ASAP. You also want to find out about the showcase (major showcase in July? which one?) and how they help players to get recruited.</p>
<p>Do your homework now and write down your soccer accomplishments. Don’t mention your injury unless you get much later in the process, and only if they ask. Going to one showcase is doubtful to be enough though, especially top programs that do not send their coaches to that many showcases. Most top programs are done with recruiting 2015 graduates, but some like Ivies wait for grades so are still recruiting.</p>
<p>Also ask your club coach if he or she can help you. If you are a guy, you are not too late. Girls are recruited more heavily earlier though.</p>
<p>I’m a girl and the thing is I’m guest playing with a local team that’s going to the Surf Cup in San Diego. Do you know if/how they help with recruiting? And since I’m guest playing should I include both my actual and guest coach as a contact? Thanks so much though. </p>
<p>Yes, include all the coaches who can talk about your skill level. My daughter’s coach left at the end of her junior year, but she was still helpful in answering the college coaches for the next year, and even came to her signing ceremony.</p>
<p>You need to contact the coaches of all the schools you are interested in. If they aren’t attending the Showcase, they will still (probably) be able to view the games online. Help them identify you ('I’m a blond and wear green ribbons on my pony: - and then WEAR the green ribbons! Or bright blue cleats, or something). They aren’t going to come looking for you. YOU need to let them know you exist and how good you are. Because you are international, you are going to have more limited financial aid money at a US school, so if you don’t need financial aid be sure to mention that.</p>
<p>There won’t be many D-1 spots left, so be realistic. Your best bet may be D-2 or D-3 with merit, not athletic, money. My daughter ended up going D-2 with both athletic and merit money, but was heavily recruited in the fall of senior year by D-3 schools with only merit money.</p>
<p>As twoinanddone (love that name by the way) said, it is very late for D1 recruitment. You would probably have better luck with D2 and D3. Your best bet is to go to the Surf Cup website and view the list of women’s coaches who will be attending. Go thru and mark the ones you are interested in and then start going to those school’s websites to get coach info. Send each coach and assistant coach an e-mail. Remember that often the assistant coaches do the recruiting so be sure to contact them too! It is always best to include a highlight video (you can post one on YouTube and then reference the link). You should also always include 1. a recognizable picture of you, 2. Your GPA and test scores, 3.Soccer position and highlights of your soccer career, 4. your team name, coach contact info, your uniform colors and number, and 5. a complete team schedule for the Surf Cup including fields, times, etc. </p>
<p>You can use a basic “form” type letter, but be sure to put the correct coach info on each, and it’s always nice to personalize each e-mail a bit- something about their record, how many seniors they will be losing, etc. Keep a list of who you send to as it gets confusing after a while. We put together a notebook with a tab for each school to track correspondence. Follow-up e-mails with phone calls. If they don’t call back, keep calling. Be persistent. After you play, e-mail or call coaches again to ask if they had a chance to watch you. </p>
<p>I have a son playing D2, but I know the recruitment for women in D1 takes place pretty early and you may be too late. Be sure to include some D2 and D3 schools in your list. I know my son was getting calls from D-3’s really late into his senior year. Good luck and have fun at the Surf Cup!</p>