<p>I'm really interested in attending college at one of the SCIAC participants and I believe I'm already a strong candidate for admission based on my academics. However, anything that could help my chances would be great. I'm wondering what the level of competition required for soccer teams is like. I come from a part of Virginia where soccer is extremely competitive. A large number of kids in my area play for nationally ranked club and high school teams (although I am not quite at that level, otherwise I would be looking at D1 schools). Does anyone know what the southern california soccer scene is like and if I'd have a chance at playing?</p>
<p>My daughter’s high school sends several athletes to SCIAC each year in various sports, but not soccer. There is a wide range of skill between the member schools, with CMS/Pomona being at the top. For these schools, I think you need to be well ranked in state at least. For CalTech, athletics are much lower. The other schools are somewhere in between.</p>
<p>I have looked at the rankings from the past year and I saw how clear of a skill difference there was between CMS/Pomona and the other schools. From their stats on the website, they seem like a formidable team, but when I looked up the national DIII rankings CMS was nowhere to be found. Does this correlate with the skill level of the SCIAC? I am not trying to say they are a weak or lesser conference, any college sports are high level. But compared to the national Division III scene, is the SCIAC closer to the top or bottom? Also, I’m looking at Occidental if I were to play a sport if that helps</p>
<p>Check the Bennett rankings as they rank the leagues as well as teams. On the women’s side they were ranked 26th out of 46 leagues.</p>
<p>Have you contacted the coach? Do you have any video of yourself playing? The coach may be able to share some information with you on their recruiting process so you would know how competitive it is. My SCIAC athlete D does not play soccer so I can’t help with that.</p>
<p>@Tyberius I checked the rankings for boys and the SCIAC is ranked 30th out of 44 teams, so it sounds a bit more like it is in my range.</p>
<p>@mamabear1234 I have not contacted the coach yet, as I will be visiting the school in a little less than a month and was planning to make a personal effort as opposed to email. Is that too late to be contacting them though? As for the video, I do not have any, but do you think video from my upcoming fall season would be too late?</p>
<p>Sorry, I am not really familiar with the whole recruiting process and wasn’t really expecting to play a sport in college until I found a school that I could potentially play soccer at, which was also up to my academic standards. I only recently began to delve in to the specifics of the recruiting process, but I am beginning to think it may be too rushed and last minute. I was mainly looking for some sort of scholarship because those small private schools can be so expensive, along with the added bonus of playing my favorite sport. 
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<p>What level of soccer are you currently playing? So. Calif. men’s soccer is very competitive. The schools you are interested in rarely (if ever) recruit out of high school and generally recruit out of top level club teams. We do know a couple of players who did walk-ons at Cal Lutheran but did not play at all. My son went through this process last year and talked to several of these coaches. He didn’t really pursue any of them as he was interested in a much larger campus. However kids we know who were recruited by these coaches were all from Nationally ranked top-20 (at least) teams. You might look at the team rosters and at playing time of players to get an idea of their various backgrounds to see how you fit in. If your academics are a match, you should send each coach a video and let them know of any upcoming tournaments you will play in. Spots in men’s soccer are in short supply and there are so many top notch players competing for very few spots. Prepare to be very persistent and best of luck. </p>
<p>I currently play club soccer, which would be my main method of getting recruited because high school soccer is only during the spring. My team is nothing special, we placed mid-table in our league’s third division (out of 6). The main college I think I have a shot at is Occidental, I checked their record for last season and it said they were 2-14, only ahead of Caltech. Were you referring to the higher placing teams, such as CMS and Pomona, as to where the players were all on nationally ranked club teams? Or do SCIAC athletes in general come from Nationally competitive club teams?</p>
<p>You should definitely look at Oxy as well as Cal Lutheran. Some of the others might be a little tougher but definitely give any that are within academic and financial reach a try. You might also look at Loyola Marymont, and if finances are not an issue, Westmont in Santa Barbara. Good luck! </p>
<p>hotchair5, I am curious how successful you are at being recruited by a school across the country. From what I have seen it is very difficult unless you are a top player. My son has had trouble getting the attention of D-2 schools in another region, and he is a DAP player who gets attention from D-1 schools locally. Hopefully D-3 schools are willing to cast a wider net.</p>
<p>@takeitallin thanks for all the advice and encouraging words, I definitely will try my hand at Oxy.</p>
<p>@Tyberius I am not necessarily looking to be recruited, I just want to know how possible playing soccer in college would be at these schools. I might just try to walk on if I get accepted and decide to attend school in Southern California, but I could make some contact with the coach when I visit. Good luck to your son, though!</p>
<p>If playing soccer is important to you you may want to e-mail the coaches of the schools you are interested in to see if they have walk-on tryouts or accept walk-ons. We have been told by D-1 coaches that they don’t have the time or need for walk-ons. It may be different at D-3 though. </p>
<p>I’ll try and find out info about the team when I visit. As for trying out, according to research and what I’ve heard from different people, DIII sports are nowhere near as “anti-walk on” as the Division I schools sound. I may end up emailing the coach about it anyways though if I am unable to get sufficient information from my visit.</p>
<p>I would still e-mail the coach and tell him what day you are visiting and ask to meet with him. We found D3 coaches easy to meet and willing to discuss their program if they had time. Depending on when the school starts, you may be visiting near preseason though so the coach may be busy.</p>
<p>D3 is barely recruiting rising seniors (2015s) now. I would suggest as others said to email the coaches and just ask. They can email you back. You can also call them.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the input, it’s been very helpful! I’ll make sure to email the coach to tell him about myself and get some info about the program. </p>