Coach Talk - In Person

My Daughter just went to an ID camp (Soccer) for a college. She is a GK and had a great camp. She worked most of the time with the GK coach at the camp , who had nothing but praise for her. When camp was over the GK said below

" make sure you send us your tournament schedules and stay in touch. Then he winked at my daughter and said if you know what I mean."

No we do not know what he meant by that? She is in 10th grade so they can not contact her directly. Does the coach mean they want to recruit her or she is one of 50 girls they will be looking at for her class?

@GKparent2019 It most likely means both. They want to recruit her and she is one of 50 girls they will be looking at in her class. They are not mutually exclusive things. My D is a gymnast. We were told they have 3-5 girls for each spot per year they were looking at. We were happy to at least be in the mix. That did not mean, however, the spot was hers. Just meant she was on the radar and they wanted to track her season. Congrats to your daughter for being a position to be on the recruiting board!

@crimsonmom2019 Thanks As you can tell this what we thought but just wanted to make sure.

GKparent,

I would say that this coach is encouraging your daughter. Is this a program that she is interested in? If so, she should keep in touch with this coach at regular intervals – anytime she has something good to report. Make sure to have your daughter send a “thank you” email now to start things off. Then if she gets any awards, shoot off an email. Good ACT score, shoot off an email. Get her unofficial transcript in June, send it off in an email. Summer schedule, shoot off an email. You get the point.

Interest from one side creates interest on the other, as you can see happened to your daughter by the interest from this GK coach.

Good luck.

Thanks gointhruaphase Thank you note was sent and asked about summer camps. It is right on the distance and size line for her. Although a very good academic college for what she wants a degree in so she is keeping in touch. Not a lot happening right now to write the coach about but SAT’s should be coming out soon and March starts up soccer tourneys. She will get emails out to him then.
Thanks again

Have other options in you back pocket. Son was encouraged and visited a school three times. The third visit resulted in less enthusiasm. I guess coach found someone else. Sure enough, two weeks later, a list of commits was published. The coach’s expedience allowed us to hustle on to other options. Coach did the right thing but it would be still be cool to greet him at NCAAs some day! Err … my son that is!

Recruiting is exhausting for parents. Been through it three times. Take the ACT or SAT several times to maximize your academic prospects.

I wholeheartedly agree with @Burgermeister. You can’t just window shop at Macy’s and expect to find the right fit. More importantly, the musical chairs do get shuffled. A D1 prospect may decide that she prefers the D3 school you thought your D was committed to. You can’t rely on an email in June of junior year as proof that you have a place at a college come November of senior year.

This is a process that requires a concerted effort for a long time, and you should definitely cast the widest net possible with more than one backup plan in place. Get a GK video made, draft up a college resume, complete the on-line questionnaires for a number of schools, stay in contact with as many coaches as possible, go to showcases, meet with coaches, go on official overnights. It is a lot of work, but it can be rewarding.

Thanks for the input. I actually think my D is the D1 prospect that will go D3 . She has interest from various D1 schools but prefers a small college closer to home, right now. We have videos, a youtube channel, resume and filled in many questionnaires. She has to start to narrow down the choices in my eyes. Problem is when new colleges show interest it is very flattering for her. They then come into the mix. There is just so many things to look it becomes overwhelming at points.