@GKUnion he plays for a club that invites the best prep school players to play. He is on 2 teams, at 2 age groups, both of which are ranked (not that it is accurate, I know, and not by Gotsoccer) in the top 100. They have played DA teams. They don’t play in a league, but do go to major tournaments like the Players Cup and the Jeff Cup.
@cinnamon1212 If your area and Preps are similar to ours, the school, and your son’s grades/scores, could be more of a determining factor for strong academic D3/Ivy schools than his soccer resume. Don’t get me wrong, he’ll need to perform on the field, but these type of institutions look for true student athletes.
If your son is leaning more toward D3 your timeline is fine. If D1 is on the docket I would ramp things up considerably on your end. Several players from my son’s club committed to D1 schools during their junior year. My son has already attended multiple camps as a freshman and most coaches made it clear they were already formulating their class of 2022 recruiting list.
Good luck.
@GKUnion thanks. Is the Ivy timeline the same as other D1s? If my son should be lucky enough to have the choice to play D1, my opinion is that I would rather have him play D3, unless the D1 is an Ivy. Unless things change a lot for him, other high academic D1s (Northwestern, Stanford etc) are not options.
I am not @gkunion, but I think it is hard to “ramp things up” much from where you are. If your son is recruitable, and has a desire to play in college, then it is not to early to do what you are apparently doing, start thinking about the types of schools he would like to attend/may fit academically and athletically, and then reach out to the coaches at those schools. But once your son reaches out and puts himself “on the radar” as it where, you need to realize that the schools are going to dictate the pace of recruiting.
Schools at all levels are going to try and secure the very best talent they can. This means that they are going to start at the top of their boards, and only work downwards as it becomes clear that the most desirable recruits are ungettable for their particular program. In the Ivy and other high academic schools, this dance is further affected by the need to make sure the recruits are admittable. I think that the complications faced by the schools in managing this process are frequently underestimated on this board.
I really do not think it is possible for a recruit or their parents to accelerate a school’s timeline as the school works through this process. To be frank, I believe a lot of the horror stories we have all heard about recruiting come from parents failing to understand the process the schools are going through, and trying to push things ahead of where they are. i think this often leads to misunderstanding and at times the making of unwarranted assumptions.
Personally, I am a proponent of letting the school drive the bus. Indicate interest, certainly. Reciprocate contact. As the process evolves, and the contact at certain schools gets more regular and personal, ask specific, targeted questions. Once real committable offers start arriving, then the recruit has the whip hand and can (respectfully) get schools to accelerate their timeline. But in my opinion, until that very late stage, each evolution of the process after the initial reaching out stage needs to be initiated by the school.
@Ohiodad51 thank you! That was what I was thinking too, but since I haven’t been through this of course I don’t know for sure.
If my son was one of the top 10 recruits in his class I’m sure he could accelerate things, but sadly, he is not. I know for those kids the D1 coaches are reaching out to club coaches etc, but I don’t believe any have in my son’s case.
That being said, some NESCAC coaches are in substantive conversations with my son, and the D1 I started the thread about replied to my son when he updated them after the email above. Reading the tea leaves – I believe that indicates mild interest on their part, but not strong interest. Strong interest would have them reaching out to my son’s club coach.
If I’m thinking of the right club you referred to earlier, your son can play soccer just fine. Where he ends up will likely be a function of a coach having a need for whatever he happens to bring to the pitch. There’s an inherent randomness to that situation that I can share as a fellow impatient person who’s probably more type A than is necessary. I have tried to remember that recruiting and player evaluation is terribly inefficient and challenging for all involved (not sure that helped my aura but I didn’t stroke out so…).
Ivy schools will be scouting/recruiting 10th and 11th graders now (spring season) and they’re on the same overall timeline as other D1 schools as they’re all competing for the same players.
Back to your original post: it sounds like a perhaps customized email used to get ID campers. And that’s all good. If the budget and time allows, he should go and see if he likes the coach, the school, the food, and being with other players who want to play college soccer. An Ivy coach emailed my son after a game last year inviting him to attend a camp. Apparently, every one of his teammates got one also, including the boys who hadn’t made the trip. With coaches now having figured out mail-merge, everyone’s email had their name in the salutation. The other team probably all got emails also! But every year at every school with a camp, some player ends up matriculating so it’s just what happens.
Different sport and different recruiting rules when S19 went through this, so ymmv.
It sounds like we did something similar, emailing Ivies and similar schools. S got varied responses ranging from radio silence to something similar to your email. A couple of the schools that appeared to have extra interest in the emails (like what you described) but didn’t contact his high school or club coaches were all over him on the first legal contact day, and he is headed to one of those schools in the fall. One that I thought was an athletic overreach when he first emailed them. Another that seemed really interested never did call him after the first legal contact day. But they recruited a couple stars for his position in the class ahead of him, which is why I think S went from being a highly sought recruit to being completely off of their radar.
I would definitely give them the info they are asking for. I would also periodically email updates to them, and to the other schools he is interested in.
It is difficult to predict who will ultimately be interested. As @Ohiodad51 pointed out, there is a pecking order. The top schools get their guys first, then the next tier, then the next, etc. So your S may move up on someone’s board, or can move down, depending on what happens above him. I had a friend’s son this year be told by a lower end D1 football program that he was the #5 linebacker on their list, and the 4 ahead of him were all guys they expected to go to P5 programs. But until those guys committed elsewhere he wouldn’t be offered a scholarship.
Early interest is also dependent a bit on recruiting budget and coach organization. S had a coach who had ignored all of his emails call and tell S out of the blue that S was one of their top priority prospects. This was 7 months into the legal contact period.
Wow @AmBuddha and @dadof4kids I can’t thank you enough for your kind and encouraging words. I definitely appreciate any and all hand holding as a somewhat type A person who hates uncertainty as my son and I navigate this very uncertain process!
I sensed that much of what the two of you wrote is true and it is good to get confirmation from someone who’s been there and done that. It does take the pressure off a bit to realize that not everything is dependent on the athlete.
Also, I expect things will become slightly less murky as with the new recruiting rules my son can be contacted in about 6 weeks’ time. Either way will be great – he/we will know where he stands a bit more. (Understanding that things can change due to the college coaches’ needs changing etc).
@cinnamon1212 I honestly can’t speak to the timeline of an Ivy vs. a typical D1 school.
To your point, with the change in the recruiting rules I feel like the benefit to contact, early and often, with D1 coaches far outweighs the effort it takes. The way I look at it, we only have one shot to get this right and I’d hate to reflect back on the process in three years and be left with the impression we started too late. I liken it to retirement savings. If you start saving in your 40’s it’s difficult, if not impossible to catch up to someone that started in their 20’s.
Cutting through the clutter and noise is difficult if you aren’t a top recruit. My son, in particular, will need to expend considerable effort off the field to get on the radars of schools that fit his financial/academic/athletic/social criteria. Once they show up to evaluate he’ll need to deliver between the lines. It’s a daunting process and we’re early in the journey. Hopefully the time he puts into the current outgoing communication will pay off when the incoming communication from coaches is allowed.
I’m reminded of a situation where a prestigious college thought they had a pipeline into a country with a stronger soccer tradition and expected at least a couple recruits. However, the pioneering player/student didn’t like his time at college for whatever reason (the level of soccer was rubbish - kidding!) and that caused his brethren to reconsider. That left the coach scrambling a little late in cycle and he had to pick up some HS senior players he (and other coaches) had passed over. Worked out for that player but sometimes the late bird gets the worm? (This is all hearsay, though I have reason to believe the gist of the anecdote.)
The cold hard “truth” is that if a player has desirable traits, schools will move heaven and earth to get him/her. Then everyone else has to wait for the dust to settle and it’s a scramble all around. Sports in general is littered with examples of players being overlooked and discarded only to prove later on to be stellar. It’s tough for a teenager to take, but as parents we have to rinse and repeat that message (as much as it pains us to watch.).
We had an athlete on my kid’s team that was recruited and accepted during regular decision to an ivy this year. It’s not often, but it does happen.
“The way I look at it, we only have one shot to get this right and I’d hate to reflect back on the process in three years and be left with the impression we started too late.”
Exactly! This is the source of a lot of my stress! That said, this thread has calmed me down quite a bit. I do think that once the overtures (possibly more than once) are made the ball is really in the coaches’ court.
As for the stories of last minute scrambles, I know they happen. One of my older sons didn’t do club soccer but was a very serious goalkeeper. A coach saw him and reached out in Nov/Dec of my son’s senior year. Clearly his first (and second and third . . .) goalkeeper fell through. That school was one of my son’s reach schools, and at the top of his list. And yes, my son is playing for them today.
However I can take virtually nothing away from that experience as he didn’t go through the normal recruiting process.
I am looking forward to the day when I can help parents after me, there is such a learning curve!
In terms of “getting it right,” my advice is to keep your own 'funnel" of possibilities wide and recognize that coaches are doing the same. Make the contact, do the recruiting questionnaire’s, send the emails with athletic resume, let coaches know which major tournaments you are playing, what field, what jersey number etc. Build a list of of athletic and academic safety, match and reaches. Track your communications/interaction with each school so that you can go back and see, who said what when. Educate yourself about the programs and their needs – look at rosters and player bios to see how you compare. Listen carefully to what coaches say and ask specific questions. “How many recruits in my position are you looking to bring in? What number am I on your list?” Go to a range of camps which keeps your funnel of opportunities wide so that, when decisions start happening and the seats in this game of musical chairs start getting claimed, you maximize the chances that there is a seat, that you want, for you.
Well said @Midwestmomofboys. Could not agree more
“I am looking forward to the day when I can help parents after me, there is such a learning curve!”
@cinnamon1212 - as a parent of e freshman boy soccer player, you’ve already helped me just by starting this thread, so thanks!
There seems to be a small but regular group of fellow soccer parents who frequent the “Athletic Recruits” subtopic - grateful for their advice so far and looking forward to learning from them all going forward.
@lucky18 Thanks! I can pass this on – the one book that I’ve found most helpful is THE ATHLETIC SCHOLARSHIP PLAYBOOK by Jon Fugler. You can skim it in about 15 minutes, and it just takes all the advice that’s scattered throughout message boards etc and puts it in one place with an action plan and concrete steps. The advice in the book applies to any college recruiting, not just D1 scholarship seekers (I don’t love the title!)
Anyway, that’s about all I can offer right now! 
@cinnamon1212 Thank you - I will definitely check out that book. Having a solid action plan, in writing, to give my son will be helpful. I just finished the college app process with DD19 and I am determined to make sure DS22 takes more ownership of the process than she did, for both of our sakes.
I’ve actually heard of the book’s author - he has a podcast that I’ve listened to as well, called “The Athletic Scholarship Podcast.” It’s really heavy on promotion for his programs, with some helpful nuggets interspersed. Seems like biting the bullet and just buying his book would be time better spent!
Ok so here’s another related question: my son got an email from another D1, not inviting him to a camp. Here’s the full text: "Dear Future Soccer Player, We want to know more about you! If you are a current sophomore or younger, please fill out our camp questionnaire (link). It has to be a camp questionnaire and not recruiting questionnaire due to NCAA regulations!
If you are a current Junior or Senior, please fill out our recruiting questionnaire, here is the link"
So – of course it’s a mass email, but is it sent to tens of thousands of kids (every kid ever registered at a tournament eg) or does it indicate some very minimal level of interest? Surely this school isn’t wanting 20,000 useless questionnaires, or am I kidding myself? I am just wondering if it means my son is in the very big pool of kids they are initially considering for his year.
I know all, theoretically, will be revealed June 15, but as I said up thread, I am impatient!
I think you are kidding yourself. The initial mass e mails are just that. A hook in the water to see what kind of bites they get. My guess would be that they are trying to get kids to fill out questionnaires so that they can have a database they can go back to when they start thinking about specific kids.
Darn! ?