<p>I am a junior and I play soccer for my school but we are a really small school and I can hardly imagine college scouts coming to our games or even hearing about a talented player in our league. I know that I am good enough to play for a top college soccer team though. How do I get Coaches to notice me? Do I email a coach from their college website? Would coaches from other states come all the way here to watch a player because they emailed them about it? Do I make a highlight video or something? I just don't know where to begin</p>
<p>I don’t have direct experience in college soccer recruiting, but I do know that coaches get dozens of emails each day from prospective recruits. So,no, a college coach probably won’t pack up to come watch you play based on an email. The players that get recruited to the top D1 colleges usually have a pedigree that includes playing for a high-level club team with national tournament exposure (coaches do come out to watch those).</p>
<p>If you haven’t played at that level, but you are a very talented player, your coach may be able to make some calls on your behalf to college coaches. </p>
<p>Parent of younger soccer player here. While my son is just beginning to make inquiries, here is what we generally understand. D1 for boys heats up junior year, with club teams playing showcases right now. Players are planning their summer schedule, identifying camps where their target coaches will be. Those camps are expensive, typically $600-700 camp. There is lots of information out there about how to reach out to coaches before those camps begin to make sure they at least know you are there and watch you. </p>
<p>Search this board for more info – there is a father of a girl GK who has written a detailed, step by step guide to recruiting at the D1 level. While there are some differences in timing because of girl vs. boy player, it is a tremendous resource. Also, some general google searches will turn up tips and advice about how to prepare a soccer resume to send to coaches, what questions to ask of coaches etc. Soccer at the D1 level is an “equivalency” sport – I believe programs have the equivalent of 11or so full scholarships to use, which means they typically spread partial scholarships around a much larger group (seeing as how a full roster is 22-25 players). D3 offers no scholarships and coaches may have different levels of influence in admission. </p>
<p>The eye-opener for my son about all this – and why he has realized he is a D3 player – is looking at rosters of current players at D1 schools he would like. Most programs will identify the pre-college achievements of their rostered players. Those players are typically in Developmental Academy programs or ODP regional and national teams, played on state championship teams for their high school team and/or club team, received all conference/ all state honors as players. While my son is a strong player, he quickly realized he does not stack up to the qualifications of those types of players. </p>
<p>Good luck in your search!</p>
<p>Hi Maxinhighschool. If you aren’t playing club, varska is right - it’s going to be difficult to get exposure to college coaches simply from high school participation. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t things you can do.</p>
<p>One of the most important things at this point is for you to begin (if you haven’t already) making a list of schools you would like to attend, both from an academic and an athletic standpoint. My daughter made a list of 10 schools that interested her academically (based on what she wanted to study, whether she wanted to be close to home or away from home, school environment - urban or suburban, weather, etc.). She then made a list of 10 schools that interested her from a soccer perspective. Both lists included schools she thought where she thought she would easily be accepted/recruited, schools that she thought fit her academic and athletic profile pretty well, and schools that she thought would be a stretch for her (both in terms of being accepted academically and being recruited from a soccer perspective). Once you have the two lists, look carefully at the overlap to narrow down the list to those which you feel you would like to attend - both from an academic and an athletic standpoint (I would encourage you to put more emphasis on the academic part because a good choice on that front will have more lasting meaning in your life than soccer).</p>
<p>I think also that it’s very important at this stage (which is a bit late in the process, but not too late) that you find someone who can be very honest with you about your soccer ability and your academic qualifications so that you have a good idea of what level of college soccer would be a good fit for you and where you would be accepted. That will help you formulate the lists.</p>
<p>Once you have your overlap list (which might be 5-10 schools at this point - although goalkeepers can have larger lists), you will want to find ways to be seen by the soccer coaches at those schools.</p>
<p>Varska is right - playing on a high-level club team that plays at showcase tournaments is one of the best ways to be seen. But if you’re not playing club now, I think you would need to quickly find a way to join a club team. Not sure what area you live in and where the club teams in your area are in terms of the tryout process, so it could be challenging to find a place on a high-level club. You’ll need to do a little research - find club websites, make phone calls to club directors, etc.</p>
<p>One thing that was very effective for our daughter was attending college ID camps put on by (or attended by) the coaches of the schools in which she was interested. That might be a good route for you if you can’t join a high-level club team. Some will tell you that these camps are only money-makers for the schools. There’s no denying that they are money makers. But if you use them strategically, they can be helpful to you in the recruiting process as well. Here are some tips:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Since there is a cost for participation (and the cost is not always cheap), it’s important to choose the camp or camps you will attend carefully. Make sure you really would like to attend the college before deciding to attend its camp.</p></li>
<li><p>Make sure it’s a college ID camp - check the school’s soccer program website (they are usually not part of the main university website but on a separate website for the college’s athletic program) and look for references to clinics and camps. Then find the ones that have the word “ID” in them. I can’t guarantee that they all have “ID” in their names, but that word seems pretty common.</p></li>
<li><p>Here’s the important part that is often missed (and leads participants to say that the ID camp was not useful in the recruiting process) - you have to make sure that the coaches know your name, which camp you will be attending, and why you are attending (because you want to play soccer for them) - all before you attend. That way, they will keep an eye out for you at the camp. There are a few ways to do that (and it wouldn’t hurt to do all of them):</p></li>
</ol>
<p>a. Call them. Yes, and talk to them on the phone. If you’re interested in a Division 1 NCAA school, the coaches will not be allowed to initiate phone calls to you until after July 1 of your junior year. But you can still call them before that - if they pick up, they can talk to you. If you leave a message, they can’t call you back - just keep trying, as they can be hard to reach sometimes. If you’re interested in a Division 2 or Division 3 NCAA school, there are different rules. Search online for the “2013-14 NCAA Guide for the College Bound Student Athlete” - there’s a free pdf of it on the NCAA Publications website (once you find the right page on their website, it’s not obvious that you can get it for free - you have to check a box to get the button for the free download). When you talk to them, tell them who you are, what your soccer experience is, that you’d like to play for them, and that you will be attending their ID camp.</p>
<p>b. Have your high school coach call them on your behalf and tell them about you, that you have expressed interest in playing for them, and that you will be attending their ID camp.</p>
<p>c. Send them emails and include a soccer profile (like a resume - focused on your soccer experience AND your academic record - academics are very important in the process). Tell them you’ll be attending their camp and that you want to play soccer for them.</p>
<p>d. When you get to the camp, be sure to introduce yourself to the coaches and remind them of your earlier contact and tell them that you’re very interested in playing for them.</p>
<p>You could make a highlight video. If you’re not playing high-level club soccer, though, the challenge is that the college coaches will most likely not see you playing against strong competition.</p>
<p>Here’s the thread that Midwestmomofboys was referring to (thanks to Midwestmom for the kind comments):
<a href=“College Recruiting Tips For Soccer - Athletic Recruits - College Confidential Forums”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/athletic-recruits/1291234-college-recruiting-tips-for-soccer-p1.html</a></p>
<p>Hope this helps.</p>
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<p>9.9 men, 14 women, actually. The rest of the advice is spot on.</p>
<p>All of the advice given here is great! Definitely check out KeeperDad’s posts from a couple of years ago regarding his D’s recruitment process. Recruitment for men is definitely a bit different than for women- there are fewer spots and a larger pool so it is extremely competitive. We went through this last year with my son who is now with a D2 program. It is a tough process. Soccer coaches do not recruit from high school for the most part, but from club teams. It is very important that you be playing on a club team at the highest level possible, and attending the big tournaments- Surf Cup, Dallas Cup, etc. Many D1 coaches only recruit from ODP/Academy/ National teams, so that is very limiting. My son chose not to play Academy because in Calif., Academy players can not play high school soccer, and that was a must for him. While it did limit his choices a bit, it really wasn’t a problem in the end. We did find that even when he attended big tournaments, the majority of coaches attending were recruiting for women’s teams. His biggest successes came after coming up with a list of schools that were academic matches for what he wanted in a school, and then to go after those coaches very aggressively. HIs original list was pretty large, and as time went by, he narrowed it down based on the schools he really wanted, and feedback from coaches (lack of interest on their parts. ) In the end he really concentrated on his top 5 choices and put a lot of energy towards them. They consisited of a mix of a D1, a D2, and a few D3’s. He was lucky in that he ended up with some good choices, and fortunately is at his top choice, which was a D2. </p>
<p>As far as how to approach a coach, it is very important that you have a short high-light video of your play available. Don’t be afraid to send it or a link to it (we posted it on YouTube and sent the link) to coaches in a short e-mail, including your picture imbedded into the body of the e-mail, your GPA, test scores, and a little about your soccer. It helps to look at the school’s website for each school to include a sentence or two about why you are interested in that team. Be sure to check the websites for updates each time you send an e-mail, as college coaches switch schools frequently. Also include a specific schedule for any upcoming tournaments you will attend, and invite them to come watch you. After you send the e-mails, don’t be shy about calling the coaches a week or so later to follow-up. It can be a bit intiimidating at first, but my son found most coaches were very receptive and helpful (or course there were a couple who were not). </p>
<p>We found ID camps to be not all that great. If the coaches already knew my son, then they tended to be pretty productive. Sometimes he showed up to a massive camp where the coach didn’t know him, and we felt those were kind of a waste of time. It is hard to stand out when there are 150 kids there for 4 hours. He did do a few camps, and finally did (2) 4-day camps at schools that were very interested. Camps can get very expensive very quickly, so we learned to be very picky. </p>
<p>If you decide to go ahead with this process, just be prepared to be very persistant and very organized. It is time-consuming and a lot of work, but if you organize yourself, you will be fine. I would definitely recommend that you review the NCAA Eligibility Center website at <a href=“http://web1.ncaa.org/ECWR2/NCAA_EMS/NCAA.jsp”>http://web1.ncaa.org/ECWR2/NCAA_EMS/NCAA.jsp</a>. If you plan to play D1 or D2 soccer then you will be required to register. It is not required for D3 or below. Also be aware that there very competitive NAIA teams, and also that many colleges have extremely talented club teams. Often, the players are good enough to play at a higher level, but choose not to do so because they don’t want to make such a huge committment. No matter where you end up, there will be opportunities to play good soccer, even if not on a varsity level team.</p>
<p>Academics are important. As a junior, you should seek out a club team that plays in the spring (if your HS soccer is in the fall) and/or the summer.</p>
<p>The only way my son knows he is good enough for D1 is that he has gone to multiple college camps and played well with kids who were later on the team. He’s not good enough for some D1, but the one he is targeting is very interested. And he has a bunch of D3 programs he is looking at too. Playing time could be an issue depending on the coach, a coach in a top D1 program is going to pick his favorites and stick with them, so if you aren’t tall and don’t have regional or national play, you are risking sitting for a long time.</p>
<p>Telling for us was my son going to games for two D1 schools, ranked about the same. One coach subbed frequently, even his best player (ranked all-conference when the season was over) was subbed out for a time, and almost the whole bench played at least 10 minutes. The other coach subbed three times with a bench off 11 subs, and one of the subs was putting a starter back in. Really sad to see almost 30 players working hard warming up, and know that 9 of them didn’t get a single minute.</p>
<p>ID camps and notifying a coach will be your best bet. Make a point to communicate with coaches before the camps, let them know you are coming, let them know you are interested in the school. Get an athletic resume and a highlight video done - send both to the coaches. If you have a club/ or HS coach that can/will talk to a college coach ahead of your visit, that helps too. Follow up on all emails and phone calls. Keep in touch with them. Try to get feedback after each ID camp.</p>
<p>First - There are a lot of very good high school players in the country that have been traveling around the country club soccer year round since they were little. </p>
<p>Second - College coaches do not generally come to HS games. Almost all recruiting is done through club soccer showcases and through recruiting clinics and camps.</p>
<p>Third - Spring semester of junior is very late to start the process. </p>
<p>I’m not trying to crush your dreams, but just pointing out you will have an uphill battle ahead of you and will have to do a lot of work to get noticed at this point.</p>
<p>Start contacting schools you are interested in yesterday! Find summer camps and clinics for the schools you might be interested in. These are a good way to get to know the coaches and to familiarize yourself with how good the kids interested in these schools might be. DO NOT limit yourself to the best soccer schools. Since you really don’t have any context for how good you are, Get to some d3 clinics too.</p>
<p>Actually, a lot of D3 coaches don’t start recruiting until end of junior year/ beginning of senior year, so it’s really not too late from that perspective. However, it is true that the majority of college recruits have been playing club soccer for at least several years- the higher the level, the more chance of being noticed. As a junior, it will be very difficult to find a club team that is ranked highly and is willing to take on a new, less experienced player. </p>
<p>Agree with the point about D3, and there are some decent D3 programs out there, better and more serious than probably half the D1 programs. Not to say that many D3 programs aren’t kind of eh.</p>
<p>My son was just at a D3 unofficial visit, and they were saying that the coaches are wrapping up their 2014 recruits, and within a few weeks will be starting on the 2015. If you are happy with pursuing D3 (no athletic scholarships), or even D2 (which has athletic scholarships, more than D1), your timing is pretty good.</p>
<p>I think you need to think about what you mean by “top” college soccer team. You need to figure out where you fit academically, and then match that to maybe five programs. Unless your folks are rich, stick within a reasonable distance and attend prospect camps. You will not have coaches coming to see you unless you get some major press.</p>