<p>sorry if this is a newb question, first time here. anyways i know this is a really broad question but i was just wondering how competitive it is. for example, if i want to play DI soccer, must I be a nationally-ranked soccer player in high school? i haven't played soccer for very long but i've been improving at an exponential rate, surpassing many people who played longer than me. i also made my varsity team this year who competes in 5A level and we were State Runner-Ups last year. i don't have too much of a resume though; i haven't been captain, i haven't been the top scorer of the league, or any of those honors.</p>
<p>oh, and if grades play into factor, i'd say im pretty secure. </p>
<p>You absolutely do not need to be nationally ranked to play D-1 soccer. Many colleges recruit through club soccer but I know kids who have been recruited from high school teams. You need to give coaches an opportunity to see you play. This can be accomplished by either attending their summer camps or by sending them some information about you. Send an introductory letter along with a transcript, test scores, dvd of you playing (not a highlight reel), upcoming schedule of games, and numbers of your coach. Target your schools- if you are not a top player, do not apply to the top team in the nation. Go on their websites and see if the school and team seem like a good match. In your letter, explain to the coach why you would be a good fit. Coaches are not allowed to call you depending on your age and the time of year. Check the recruiting calendar for division one soccer at ncaa.org. Others here who have experience with soccer can probably offer more specifics. Good luck.</p>
<p>If you are a newer player and don’t have solid club soccer experience, assume you could be eligible for a smaller D1 or D2, or a less prominent D3 (use your grades to get you merit aid there). When you check rosters of schools of interest, note if the player profiles list their high school or their club accomplishments.
In the meantime, get into a local club team asap and get to some showcases. Contact coaches ahead of time so they will come see you. Good luck!</p>
<p>I don’t think it is that likely to get recruited by many DI’s without club experience. Most of the top 100 or so DI teams don’t even refer to the athlete’s high school experience in the player profile, only club. Most of these athletes played pretty much year round and participated in ODP (Olympic Development Program), SuperY (a premier summer league), as well as their club’s Premier level team. Lots of national team and national team pool guys as well. Now there is a new twist, the United States Soccer Development Academy. DI schools recruit heavily from here and it has pretty much overshadowed most ODP and SuperY programs.
I would look at rosters of schools you are interested in and see what level player they generally recruit. I do think there are many DIII programs where a solid hs player could go. You should try to get some club experience, though.</p>
<p>Men’s soccer team. Interested in playing for Ivy league team.
And I do have club experience, I’m just not on the best team. But I’ve been the only one on my team swinging with the A team going on a couple tournaments with them. Coach says he really wants to pick me up but my coach won’t allow it yet. </p>
<p>I’m just saying I do have club experience, I just don’t have any honorable mentions under my belt such as “top scorer of league A” or “regional winner participant” things like that.</p>
<p>I’m a Junior. The problem is, my team isn’t well… too serious with soccer. They don’t even care about winning/losing. I think we went out of state once so far and we got killed in all three games. I’m confident though I will move to the highest club team (A) team by no later than fall of my senior year, if lucky possibly summer. That team goes on college showcases every month or two. Only problem is that everyone on that team is really good and I’m not sure if I can make myself “stick out” during showcases. But I’m willing to train rigorously from now until recruiting starts and see how much I can improve.</p>
<p>Keep working, send out letters of interest to coaches, try being a guest player ths season on teams playing in showcases if your team is not attending any, think about school/coach camps this summer. Men’s DI is very competitive.</p>
<p>Attending a summer camp at a college you are considering is great advice. Also, the A team in your club - are the players on that team being recruited by D 1’s? If you are not a forward, then how many goals you score is not as important as how well you play. Do you also run track? Many soccer players don’t have comparable statistics when you look across soccer teams, but your best time in the 100M, 200M, 400M or 800M tells the soccer coach about your innate ability to run. But only provide those stats if they are impressive. This approach worked for my daughter, who was recruited for a highly competitive D3. Based on her size and 400M time, the coach made sure he saw her play when she guested for a team from another state at the only tournament she could find where the coach would be (she was out for the previous 4 months with an ankle injury, which made the whole recruiting process a bit tricky!). Be ready to go to summer camps and to guest on another team outside of your club in order to be seen this summer.</p>
<p>OP: I have reread your post and not sure if you are male or female or what grade you are in. .I do not think it is likely you will be recruited at the D I level. For better or worse, soccer recruiting is getting younger and younger especially for the better D I teams. here is a link that shows female soccer player commitments. you can see that there are already many 2010s. </p>
<p>My d’s recruiting class at an IVY was pretty much done by winter of junior year. now changes happen especially at academically elite schools because admissions has the last say. For the true power schools, coaches pretty much know who they can get in and it is reaching into sophomore year.</p>
<p>What is critical in your situation is finding a known coach who can speak to your abilities. College coaches all have a network of other coaches they trust. And it is not likely a high school coach will have much influence. Having someone willing to advocate for you will at least get you looked at. camps are also a very good idea</p>
<p>I really think you should focus on D III schools. recruiting is later in high school and coaches are more willing to look for raw athletic ability rather than extensive ODP, club, Super Y experience</p>
<p>OP: I have reread your post and not sure if you are male or female or what grade you are in. .I do not think it is likely you will be recruited at the D I level. For better or worse, soccer recruiting is getting younger and younger especially for the better D I teams. here is a link that shows female soccer player commitments. you can see that there are already many 2010s. </p>
<p>My d’s recruiting class at an IVY was pretty much done by winter of junior year. now changes happen especially at academically elite schools because admissions has the last say. For the true power schools, coaches pretty much know who they can get in and it is reaching into sophomore year.</p>
<p>What is critical in your situation is finding a known coach who can speak to your abilities. College coaches all have a network of other coaches they trust. And it is not likely a high school coach will have much influence. Having someone willing to advocate for you will at least get you looked at. camps are also a very good idea</p>
<p>I really think you should focus on D III schools. recruiting is later in high school and coaches are more willing to look for raw athletic ability rather than extensive ODP, club, Super Y experience</p>
<p>I fully agree with nightsky. Even as a junior, if you are not in front of Ivy coaches now, it will be difficult to get recruited. But if your grades and scores are good, you can get a great education and good soccer at a Liberal Arts school.<br>
Having a respected club coach speak on your behalf is critical. If there’s a club coach who has placed players at good colleges, they are your best recruiting tool right now.</p>
<p>And yet, I know kids who were NOT on a great club team or not on a club team at all who (recently) managed to get into college and play division one men’s soccer. Low division one to be sure, but it can happen if a player has talent and is willing to take the initiative. Men’s soccer is underfunded at some schools which reduces the recruiting budget, thus reducing the opportunity for coaches to travel to see kids. If one lands in their lap, they sometimes take them. Always worth a try.</p>
<p>Englishsprout…bottom line is, even if you are a strong club player, there are so many players out there that you really need to take the initiative and contact the coaches of the schools you are interested in. Do not expect to “be discovered”.</p>
<p>Well (sorry for late reply, and thanks for the advices), i’ve been getting many mixed questions about my status, so here is some information about me:
I’m male junior
I played soccer for 3 years and like I said (this may be really broad), i’ve been improving exceptionally fast.
I am about to move up to a team that goes on college showcases every other month
I have decent academic standings (1/500 rank, 4.80 GPA, 34 on ACT, etc)</p>
<p>And, I am very interested in playing D-1 Soccer, especially at an Ivy League school. However, as most of you may know, my knowledge on college sports is very limited, as a i get confused with NCAA regulations.</p>
<p>You said that I have to show initiative. Does this mean I should email the coach directly? If so, will he not be annoyed by the questions I have, because I have quite a lot to ask him.</p>
<p>English-- dont ask the coach idiotic questions. Contact caches are proivide grades game film, and a list of accomplishments. They wil most likely evaluate your tape and decide if they want to continue wih the recruitment process.</p>
<p>leopard03 - can you clarify your statement? I think there’s some typos and I’m struggling to understand your suggestion.
For Englishsprout - definitely contact the coach. First and foremost, complete the form on the college athletic website for athletes who are interested in being recruited. Then, let the coaches of the schools you are interested in attending know that you will be at tournaments. Provide your team name, your number, field position, team jersey colors, and game schedule (time and field). Even if they are not listed as attending, let them know you will be there (not all coaches register ahead of time).
Your rank and ACT score will qualify you for consideration, and the information you supply on the schools form will provide the other information the coach needs.
Good luck!</p>
<p>Listen a lot of what these people are saying is true but a lot of it is not. I am a current d1 soccer player at a large state school thats ranked in the top 25 and am actually planning to transfer to an ivy league school next year. Believe me there are a lot of players especially like a program i am at that are national team players or at the very least regional players. My team alone is bringing in 4 national team players next year. But to play division 1 you don’t have to have a large resume. You just have to be good enough when they see you play. And for you to get a school to see you play you have to sell yourself. And the bottom two thirds of division one programs probably have about no national team players or maybe one. So there is a lot of room for good players who may have previously gone unnoticed during there high school years to get recruited and make an impact at a mid level division one team. </p>
<p>When I was going through the recruitment process I started receiving mail from coaches at the end of my sophmore year so you are starting late. But its not to late I actually ended up going to a school that didn’t initially recruit me but I really wanted to go to. I made the initiative of emailing the coach and talking to him about my odp experience and awards and grades. Then went on to tell him my tournament schedule and the times and fields I’d be playing at as well as sending him a highlight tape and a full game tape. Because I went this route I didn’t commit till about november of my senior year but most schools that do heavy recruiting these days try to get their class done around august or september. I actually lost out on a couple d1 schools because I told them I wanted to wait after they offered me. And most schools do not want to wait. But it was worth it and I got into the school that I always wanted to play for. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, since being here I’ve had two acl surgeries and I lost my scholarship. And because of the injuries i’ve decided to focus on school more and thats why I plan on transferring to a ivy league school and playing there. Also, this isn’t true in a lot of sports but in soccer the ivy league is one of the more competitive leagues. Brown, Penn, Harvard all graced the top twenty five this past year. So saying you want to play for an ivy league school is a lot harder soccer wise then you might think. </p>
<p>Moral of the story is sell yourself, you have to sell yourself or coaches won’t see you. Also, Don’t settle, a lot of kids I know went to schools they didn’t like because they were the best soccer teams. And these kids ended up transferring and not playing or were just extremely unhappy.</p>