College Soccer

Athletic Recruits
1

<p>I was just wondering how the recruitment process for college soccer works. I have the stats and EC's to get into top schools, IMO, but I don't think I could go to college without soccer. Soccer runs through my veins, and will be for the rest of my life.</p>

<p>Should I start emailing coaches, filling out recruitment forms, and talking to my own coaches? I just want to be a little better informed before going to my college counselor. It makes both of our lives easier if I know a little but more about the process.</p>

<p>Thanks in advance!</p>

2

<p>Lots of people who post on this web site should be able to help you. Please check out the other pages of threads on this “athletic recruits” section of CC. It seems like there have been at least a few on soccer. It would also be good to know what year you are in school and what kind of school you’re looking for. If you are a rising senior the process is well under way. ESPN Rise is also a good source of information. Good luck.</p>

3

<p>I’m a rising senior but I’ve never initiated any conversations with college coaches. I want to go to a top school, with the hopes that soccer will help get me there.</p>

4

<p>The trouble with the top academic schools is that they are also the top soccer schools, at both the D1 and the D3 level. </p>

<p>At the D1 level, the Ivy League had 4 out of the 8 schools make the NCAA tournament (Brown, Princeton, Penn and Dartmouth). Outside the Ivy League, Notre Dame, UNC Chapel Hill, Stanford, Georgetown, Duke, Wake Forest, Berkeley, Northwestern, UCLA, UVA all have high-powered soccer programs that attract some of the best players in the country. UVA were the College Cup champs in 2009 and Wake in 2007. All of the above schools except for Stanford, Wake and Northwestern made it to the NCAA tournament in 2010.</p>

<p>At the D3 level, Williams, Amherst, Bowdoin, Swarthmore, Wash U, Emory all finished in the top 25 last year. Carnegie Mellon was also ranked in the top 25 during the season. Middlebury was the D3 champs in 2007.</p>

<p>So these coaches will look at high quality players. It would help if you are on a high quality team at a well-known club.</p>

<p>If you are looking at a D1 school, it is very, very late, especially if you are thinking of using support from a coach to help in admissions. Most of the top academic and athletic D1 soccer schools have made offers to the class of 2012 or are in the process of scheduling official visits, etc. I know of 2013 kids who are now getting looks, etc.</p>

<p>To get an idea of where D1 college coaches are with the class of 2012, look at the ESPN/RISE soccer recruiting website. You can see that many players have verbally committed already.</p>

<p>[Recruiting</a> - ESPN RISE | HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS RANKINGS, RESULTS, TRAINING, PERFORMANCE, COLLEGE RECRUITING | HOW TO WIN](<a href=“ESPN - Serving Sports Fans. Anytime. Anywhere.”>ESPN - Serving Sports Fans. Anytime. Anywhere.)</p>

<p>Where do you live? The biggest problem for you right now is getting seen. Regionals, Nationals and the DA showcases are done/finishing up, and those are the kinds of tournaments that coaches like to recruit at. In addition, most schools have finished up their summer camps. The next big tournaments that I can think of on the East Coast would be CASL and Disney, but both are in December.</p>

<p>A coach may be able to see you play during the fall season, but it’s also the college season so there’s less time to recruit. If you are close to the schools you are interested in, a coach may be able to come watch some games. It might also make a difference if it’s your high school or club season in the fall, because high school ball tends to be of a lower quality so it’s hard to assess the performance of players at a high level. </p>

<p>For a D3 school, though they tend to recruit later than D1, it is still getting late. Again, you will need to get seen by a coach, something that is hard to do during the fall. There might be more flexibility here. If you are interested in getting a slot of tip from a coaches, they will want you to apply ED/EA, so that means you will need to get seen sometime between now and the end of October.</p>

<p>So my advice to you would be to start getting in contact with coaches at schools you are interested in right now and see what you can arrange so they can see you. Also, see if any schools run 1 day /weekend camps during the fall that you might be able to attend.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

5

<p>moonman – you should do all the things you mention and skrlvr has given you excellent information and suggestions. If you are just now starting this process, it sounds as if D3 should be your focus. </p>

<p>It’s pretty late for most summer camps now that it’s almost August, but if a school you’re considering has one or if the coach will be at one you could get to, it could be worth going to be seen by the coach. Definitely confirm that the coach will be there; not all actually attend even if advertised by camp. Plans change. If you can attend a camp with multiple coaches there, you can get the coach of the camp team you’re assigned to to serve as a soccer reference for you if the coach is willing to say good things.</p>

<p>Put together and distribute a soccer resume, highlighting your academics, test scores, and extracurriculars as well as club/HS soccer accomplishments. Register on recruiting websites like GotSoccer.com or BeRecruited.com. You can list the schools you’re interested in there. If you can, have a decent video made of game footage as well as highlights.</p>

<p>If you’re still visiting colleges, arrange to meet briefly with the coach or an assistant coach while you’re there. We found every one S dealt with to be open and straightforward about where he saw S fitting in and how many positions he likely had. Yes, coaches want you to apply ED if they’re going to guarantee you a roster spot, but for students whose ultimate decision may turn on financial aid, coaches understand if you have to roll the dice on there still being a spot on the team if you apply RD. </p>

<p>S applied EDII (Jan. 1 deadline) to a NESCAC school whose coach had never seen him play until July before senior year, when he traveled to the camp the college ran. He was invited for an overnight, fit in with the other players, and the coach supported his application. It turned out great, as this was his top choice college academically and athletically and the team had a terrific season. So, though he had spent a couple of years in the recruiting process, it was just at the start of senior year that he was on the radar of the coach that meant the most to him. It’s not too late for you, but you definitely need to hustle!</p>

<p>Remember, too, if you end up at a school with a team at your playing level and you weren’t recruited, you could walk on or start out on the JV team and possibly move up to V. One player on S’s team did this very successfully. Also, the year he attended the camp, an admitted first-year who wanted to try out for the team came to the camp and the coach put him on the team after seeing him play.</p>