DS informed us that his dream is to play pro soccer. He is a hs junior. We never envisioned our child wanting to go this route. Our goal was to get him to go to a good fit college, graduate, and have a career in his chosen field. I am aware that pro sports require prospects to go to college, but I admit that I have never done research into what is involved in playing pro soccer, let alone any sport. I know that there are no guarantees with pro sports. I will begin to do the research, but I wanted to know what are the experiences of those whose children have pursued professional soccer? He has never played club soccer due to travel commitment. What should he be doing now, or have we missed the mark on this? Is there another route for pro soccer? Thanks to all who respond.
He should be playing club.
While of course nothing is set in stone, it is definitely very late in the game. Unfortunately the fact that he has not played club soccer is going to make it very difficult to move on past high school in soccer. If he has been limited to high school and rec soccer (AYSO or the equivalent) so far, I think he will find the level of competition if he were to switch to a club to be a drastic jump in talent. Club teams are “rated” at different levels depending on their successes. If they win their season then they move up to the next level for their next season. The normal progression for most players is to start on a low level club team and move up as they become more accomplished. Colleges and semi-pro/pro teams only recruit from the highest levels normally. The level of play in the top tier teams vs. a low level club team is a huge difference. Since your son is getting into this so late he would most likely have a difficult time finding a top level team willing to look at him. While low level club teams are a dime a dozen, high level teams are few and far between and incredibly competitive. Our son’s last team pulled in kids from a 70 mile radius, practiced 3-4 days a week and traveled cross country for tournaments. They were very successful and players were willing to travel a long way for the chance to play with them. Most college programs recruit from these teams. They do not recruit from rec or high school teams.
Pro teams do not recruit only from colleges. They have no problem picking up players straight out of high school if they are talented enough and also recruit internationally. I just saw some stats that estimated that of male, high school aged soccer players in the U.S., only .04% will go on to play pro. Only 1% of college players will go pro.
For the best chances, your son does need to play with a club, the higher level the better. Even so you can see that chances to go pro are extremely low.
Club is very important to go professional. Joining now may be too late as colleges want players to be playing club and high school/academy. He can see if he can get recruited, but frankly the chances are low. If he is really set on doing this, make sure he has a backup plan and does well in school.
Thanks to @twoinanddone, @takeitallin, and @virsha24 for your replies. I suspected that it was late to begin looking into this, and your posts only confirmed my thought. Of course, he told us of his interest after tryouts for clubs had passed in our area. He has made a backup plan for college, and will continue to play for his high school. He can always continue his love for soccer by playing intramural and college club teams if nothing else. I appreciate the advice.
Many colleges will also allow “walk ons” - (tryouts at the school for students who have matriculated at that school), which is not quite as casual as it sounds. There is NCAA and medical paperwork that needs to be done prior to the tryout. If he plays club this coming year and is accomplished enough but is not recruited he might make a team somewhere as a walk on. He could always contact a few coaches to find out their walk on policy as he’s coming into the application process.
Thank you, @Cantiger. He has decided to contact some club teams to see whether they will accept tryouts for add-ons. We have plans to visit a few colleges this fall, and will schedule visits with the coaches at that time.
Good luck momsthebest. I hope he finds a way to continue playing. My son has had a goal of playing pro soccer for as long as I can remember. We have always encouraged him to go for it despite knowing that the chances for even the best players are almost non-existent. While he was always one of the top players in our area while in high school, he is middle of the pack in college soccer. I think he has finally come to the conclusion on his own that he is probably not good enough for pro soccer and is now looking at other ways he could continue to be involved in soccer after college. I think it was a rude awakening for him, but I feel good that we encouraged him and that he came to this realization on his own after seeing results of other college players when they graduated.
MTB,
It is tough to tell someone they are too late without seeing them play or knowing where they hale from. So, I will give you these thoughts.
Yes, around these parts, boys are told that they won’t make the high school team if they haven’t played club. The skill of some of these kids really is extraordinary. The exception is the keepers, as boys with talent can pick up those skills a little easier than the field players. If he has extreme speed, that could compensate for a lack of other field skills.
The newest wave in our area is academy, and if your son is talented enough to play academy, he is not permitted to play for his high school. The reason given is that the coaching at the high school level tends to be lesser quality and could detract from the boys’ development.
You might be surprised about the clubs that are willing to give a private tryout. Many are looking for quality players even after the rosters are “set.”