<p>Most of the teachers who I've talked to have said that colleges won't differentiate between club and school soccer(For example). Is this true?</p>
<p>Any views or opinions would be helpful.</p>
<p>Well it depends on the circumstance, in my opinion. If you've done high school soccer for 4 years, that doesn't show as much commitment as if you've played club soccer for 6 or 7 years. So there are differences.</p>
<p>If you do both, it'd be even better.</p>
<p>Ok. Thanks. The school coach told me that less than 5% of students actually recieve scholarships(From my School) for soccer, so he figured that if you didn't want to try for such a scholarship then Club would be the same as School.</p>
<p>i would participate in both unless you have a really good reason not to...?</p>
<p>Well yah, time. I'd love to do both but there is really no way.</p>
<p>Unless you are going to be trying to get a scholarship and one gives you a distinct advantage over the other, play wherever your prefer. Some schools MIGHT like to see a student play for the school because it shows how you are involved with your school community. With school, if you are good enough to get MVP, all league or all county, I think that helps on the applications as well. Either way, every application I have seen asks for the hours per week/weeks per year that any particular activity takes so they will have an accurate view of your participation.</p>
<p>Well, in the Northwest at least, club is much more competitive than school soccer. If you are looking for a scholarship then club is definitely the way to go, although you'd have to start pretty early . In my personal experience school soccer is more fun, and it is nice to meet people from different grades and classes than you have. At the same time, club allows you to meet people outside of school, which could be nice if you weren't too keen on your school environment. </p>
<p>Oh my, now that I re-read your post, I realize you aren't trying for a scholarship. But you're still looking for which is better from an admissions perspective. If you think you might play in college, go club. Talking to the coach, even if you're not a scholarship prospect, will help because the coach will talk to the admissions counselors. If you probably won't play in college, then go school soccer, because you might be able to have that coach write a recommendation for you, or your teachers/counselors who are writing recommendations will know more about it. </p>
<p>Either way, keep playing the beautiful game!</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice, and don't worry I won't stop playing. </p>
<p>One more quick question, are letters of recommendation from my "Club" coach any less valuable then, let's say, my science teacher's?</p>
<p>I'm not sure I really understand the question. </p>
<p>In Ohio, at least, students are not allowed to play or even practice with a club team during the official sport season for the high school sport if they want to play on the high school team.
My youngest son , for example, plays soccer for a club that travels to a good number of fairly high level tournaments. However, there is a forbidden period from about August 1 until the high school team is out of the high school state tournament (usually around the middle of November for my son's high school, because he is very lucky to play for a powerhouse high school team perennially ranked in the state top-10; this was serendipity, not planned) during which the club team cannot play or train together. In fact, the rules stipulate that even outside the high school season, only 5 players from any one high school can play on a single club team.</p>
<p>As players' high school seasons wind down, they report back to the club for training, which the coaches resume in mid October . Players whose teams are still in the state tournament are NOT allowed to attend club practices.</p>
<p>Once a team is out of the state tournament, the rule reverses--the high school coach cannot meet with or practice with the team until the following summer, I believe the contact date is sometime in JUne. From June until August, the coach is allowed to have 10 days of contact with the players with the ball--otherwise the kids run their own captain's practices. Tryout dates are state-mandated during the first week of August. And the players can no longer practice with the club team. </p>
<p>There are very, very few club teams whose players eschew the experience of playing on a high school team even though the competition level of club sports is much higher. Club teams and high school teams are really two different animals that provide different types of important experiences. My kid loves both.</p>
<p>It's not necessarily recommended to replace a teacher rec with a coach rec. Rather, it's better to supplement your 2 teacher recs by adding a coach rec as well.</p>
<p>In addition to what sockpuppet said, most schools require recommendations from an academic class. so the coach-rec would only be in addition to the required teacher recs. </p>
<p>boysx3, your post was very interesting. Soccer in the Northwest is very different, so I would say that the op should investigate the rules in their area, perhaps by talking to a club and high school coach, or an older teammate.</p>
<p>I play on both. The level of play in club soccer is probably better(skill wise), but the intensity and physical play is where high school soccer shines. I also think my school's team is a lot closer of a bond. In club soccer, everyone thinks they're hot **** and they do not all have the common goal for the team, but instead for themselves.</p>