OK, I know the best answer is just to ask the coach, but we don’t want to do that right away.
My son is a 2021 soccer player. He has D3 schools very interested in him. His club coaches tell me he projects as a D2/lower D1 player right now.
An ivy program emailed him with the typical camp invite (and he’s gotten tons of those, I know what they look like). This one is a little different. It is still clearly a form email; however it also says:
We have started a recruiting profile for you - whenever you need to update any of your information, such as test scores, contact details, or teams you play for, please do so through our recruiting questionnaire. When you submit the questionnaire, it will automatically merge with your existing profile.
As you know, due to NCAA rules, we are not permitted to communicate with you until September 1st of your junior year of high school. However, please keep us up to date with your upcoming game schedules. If you have any questions, please feel free to call the office at XXXXXXXXXX - we are permitted to talk with you before your junior year as long as you are calling us.
What does the board say? Is this something a little more than the usual camp invite mailed out to thousands? Or not? I know that after June 15 this year D1 coaches can reach out, but I’m impatient
Has your son previously contacted this school by filling out their recruiting questionnaire or attended a camp/showcase/tournament where this school was present? Is he part of some recruiting database/service? Has he taken an SAT or ACT yet?. Separately, you might want to run an AI calculation for him (lots of sites have calculators with ranges of what scores he needs to hit vs his level of athletic talent).
If your son has not otherwise contacted the school yet, he somehow got on their radar screen. No telling how wide of a net they had cast. I would approach it positively and provide the information they ask for and email the coach directly. Also include video. However, I would not make any assumptions and get your hopes up too high at this point that he is a “top” recruit. You only can know that when there is direct communication with the coach(es).
Thanks! Yes, my son previously emailed this program and yes, he has played at some big tournaments where this program was on the coach’s attending list. I don’t think my son is a top recruit (see his coaches assessment). But I would like to know if he is in the pool of 2021 recruits being considered-- which is, I’m guessing 500 - 1,000 players?
Yes, his profile is in a recruiting database. No he has not yet taken the SAT/SSAT but he is at a private school that is extremely rigorous; I am fairly confident he will hit the AI at most Ivys. His club team is coached by another Ivy coach as well.
I guess I’m trying to figure out if there is any chance he’s at this level . . . unlike most parents I’ve consistently underestimated the level my son is at/could be at.
Your son’s club coach will be your best resource and advocate. If you do want to speak with the Ivy coach, your club coach can set up a time for your son to call. Meanwhile, I would send the info they requested, as well as a video. And stay in touch with them.
It’s all a balance—understanding many factors such as the fit with the school, fit with the program/coach/teammates, projected playing time, and future goals is critical to making a good decision. Keeping in touch with the coaches (your son should do this, not you) and understanding where he falls on their list is also important…it allows you to build relationships, and keep tabs on when programs are filling up, which in turn may create pressure to commit.
Per the NCAA website, all of the Ivy men’s soccer teams were ranked in the top half of D1 (except Harvard which had several suspended players and was ranked #141). So if your son’s club coach is correct that your son is a lower D1 player then it seems unlikely that he will be a serious recruit for an Ivy program. Of course, your club coach may not be correct in his evaluation of your son’s potential.
So what I would do is look at the bios of the Ivy program that contacted you. Does your son’s club team play at the same level (usually a DA team) as the current players on the team? Is your son on track to receive similar accolades (top scorer, Best XI, etc.) as those current players? If yes, great. If not, I would be careful not to make any assumptions at this point that you are on the coaches active recruiting list.
I think it is always important to note the differences, as you are doing here. I thought of recruiting interest as a kind of continuum, and felt that the level of energy expended by the staff was directly related to how high my kid was on the list when he went through his own process. Given that this communication appears to be slightly different than the basic wide net stuff he is getting, I think it means he has this school at least preliminarily interested in him. As @bksquared suggested, I would e mail the coach and see where it leads.
@Ohiodad51 thank you! This is what I was looking for.
My son does play DA level soccer, and is on teams that have some high profile players that are committed to top programs. They play mixed age, and he is one of the younger players, so not as far along as some of his teammates. I don’t want to bother his club coach at this very preliminary stage.
Also, I thought official visits for places like Ivys took place after the player was determined to be academically OK (why waste an OV on a kid who could never make the AI?). Or, do I have that wrong? @Mwfan1921 do/did you have a boy’s soccer player?
I think this may be a way for this Ivy school to let people know about the new system. Here’s how you update us with new info. Here’s why we can’t call you back if you leave a message (and here’s how your really get to talk to us).
I disagree with how your coach is lining up D1, D2, D3 teams. Top D1 is top, of course, but a top D2 team will be competitive with the middle of the D1 ranking, and with maybe all but the top 10 D3 teams. The top D3 teams will have players who could have played at really good D1 teams and probably have been a superstar at a D2. An individual player can also play on any level but may choose to play on a less competitive team because of the fit at the school.
You/he also has to decide how much he wants to play. Is he going to be a top player at a D1, or would D2 or D3 get him more playing time? Is the D3 a better academic fit? How much will he want to travel? If he gets into a tight conference, the travel time can be really cut down. Does he like playing in the snow and cold or would he prefer Florida or California?
^^^. I agree with the above by @twoinanddone . You might want to figure things out on your end first, come up with a preliminary list, and then work your list. Your son needs to send letters of introduction and interest to each school on his list, and then work things that way. You need to be honest with yourselves regarding his both his athletic ability and academic ability. How does his transcript look so far? Has he taken any SAT/ACT tests yet? Is he going to be taking AP classes? All of that stuff matters at top ranked academic schools. So figure out a list based on his abilities, and what type of school he is looking for. He should like the school first, and not just because he gets to play soccer there, in case he gets hurt or decides to retire ( this happens a lot!)
Good luck.
This will be only the second year of OVs being allowed in junior year (used to be allowed only senior year)…so schools are handling things in a variety of ways and the process will continue to be dynamic. I would expect some Ivy coaches ask for GPA and standardized test scores prior to the OV, but not necessarily do a formal pre-read…it depends on the sport, the coach and the school.
But make no mistake, there are current high school freshman and sophomores (in any number of sports) verbally committed to Ivies, and obviously their academic profile is not fully formed yet. Some kids will ultimately not make the cut, and have to de-commit.
Schools in all conferences, at all levels of selectivity, and all levels of men’s soccer ability, will start hosting juniors (and seniors too) on OVs this fall. Some programs might wait until after the season to host OVs.
I do not have a boy soccer player, but have shepherded one kid (D19) thru the recruiting process, currently working on S21’s process, and have advised others.
So . . . . I wasn’t asking for general recruiting advice, though it is certainly appreciated. One can always learn more! My son has reached out to coaches, has a preliminary list, has been in conversation with some D3 schools. Absolutely we compare his soccer resume with college rosters. I don’t want to give a lot of details about my son because I want to preserve his anonymity.
@Mwfan1921 I asked about boys soccer because there are no 2021 ivy commits in boys soccer and very very few commits in general. I know the girls’ timeline is much earlier. Top Drawer soccer lists 3 freshman commits for boys (no ivies) and only 8 commits for current sophomores (no ivies). I know the timeline varies considerably by sport and by gender, but commiting this early for boys soccer is almost unheard of.
Based on your post #2, since your son has already put himself out there and to this school specifically, the more likely scenario is he is part of a very wide net. That being said, I would still be mildly encouraged (better than complete radio silence), and definitely continue down the process. My S was recruited for another sport, baseball, and the dance did not begin in earnest with the Ivies and D3’s until summer of junior year although he began the personal contacting/correspondence summer of sophomore year. Size and physicality (how hard you throw and hit) are a big part of baseball, so baseball may have a slightly later timeline than soccer. There are a bunch of parents on the site who have gone through the soccer drill, I am sure they can provide more direct/relevant advice based on their experience. Lot’s of high and lows in the process, so staying even keeled and realistic is important. Good luck.
I think this is very positive actually. There are very few athletes that have the academic chops to be ivy recruits. And I sometimes hear from parents gunning for D1 that ivy sports are not high D1 athletic equivalent. So if the club coach is telling you he is not D1 athletically maybe he is not experienced enough to appreciate ivy placement might just be right for him. There are some private schools that are feeders to ivy athletics. It is possible that the ivy coach recognizes that added academic rigor at the private school. His school coach and or AD may have more insight into past recruits from your private school. Congrats and good luck!
@waverlywizzard In this case, however, the club coach is also an Ivy League soccer coach (!) so presumably his club coach knows well that Ivy’s are not lower D1. He should also be a very good judge as to whether the kid is a viable Ivy recruit for soccer.
Also the kid plays DA which means he does not play high school soccer and does not have a high school soccer coach.
@cupugu its a little more complicated than that. The assessment didn’t come from the Ivy coach, for example; my son has a few different coaches as he is on 2 teams. He is not in the DA but does play DA level soccer. If I explained more you would be able to figure out who he is because the situation is fairly unique.
I think whoever’s said he is in a big pool for the ivy is right, but it isn’t quite as encouraging as @waverlywizzard thinks (unfortunately!).
Just to put you at ease, no one will be able to figure out who your son is from the sparse information you’ve provided. I don’t believe you’ve even indicated what part of the country you are in. I’m all for keeping our children anonymous.
