ISL Soccer - how difficult to make the team?

Prep School Admissions Prep School Parents
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I’m not exactly sure how to phrase this question … I’m wondering how difficult is it to be a starter for the boys soccer team at an ISL boarding school?

We live in MA, my son has been playing club soccer since forever. He’s a good player, on a good team, and they play in the top tier of the NEP (NPL this Spring). He’s in 7th grade now; will be applying next Fall.

There an 8th grader at his middle school that’s applying to boarding school now, and he’s in the Revs Academy, so there’ll be at least one player of that caliber out there.

I imagine some schools in the ISL are better than others. And I imagine that some schools recruit more than others. That said, if anyone has any insight, I’d love to hear your thoughts and/or experiences!

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@cinnamon1212 knows a bit about the NE prep school soccer scene.

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Thanks @eb23282. I’m only vaguely familiar with the specific ISL schools; my kids have attended NEPSAC schools. That said, I think the 2 leagues are fairly similar – some schools put more emphasis on their soccer team, including recruiting, some less. But the level of soccer is quite high – higher than regular high school for sure, maybe as high as regular club soccer. Keep in mind that many schools have international kids through programs like Right to Dream (although that specific program is not common in the ISL). With the NEPSAC schools a few bring in a lot of PGs and seniors, and that might especially be the case for the next year. You’ll want to find out if a school you are considering does that. In my opinion it isn’t a great thing (although it does mean the soccer level is very high). I’ve seen a talented 9th grade boy make Varsity in 9th grade – quite an achievement at a soccer powerhouse – but not get playing time and lose confidence. That lack of confidence pretty much destroyed the playing career of that boy and he’s not playing in college, which was his dream.

My youngest son is my most serious soccer player, and he went to a mid-table school – not a powerhouse, not a disaster. It is rare for a 9th grader to make varsity even at a school like this, but he did, and became a starting center back who played every minute of every game (as center backs do). Obviously, that means 14 year olds are playing with 18 and 19 year olds, so that’s a question to ask yourself – can your son hang with older players?

Being on a strong club team means – obviously w/o knowing specifics of your son or the school in question – that there’s a very decent chance he’d make the varsity team. Is your son a starter on the club team? The strongest player? Yes to both means he probably would make varsity and might be a starter.

One piece of advice, if you haven’t done so already, is to reach out to the coaches at the schools your son applied to – I am sure they’d be interested in hearing from a good club player, and at a minimum it can’t hurt, but may very well help with admissions.

Once you are deciding between schools, besides figuring out how many PGs/seniors they bring in, you will want to figure out what the coach philosophy is on playing time. The 1st coach my son had took seniors who did not play a single minute all season on that team. That makes for a terrible team culture/morale. The new coach did not give equal playing time, of course, but did play everyone when he could and that made a huge difference. He also didn’t take kids who could not play at that level.

A resource for more information is THE NEW ENGLAND SOCCER JOURNAL. They cover prep school soccer (as well as club and college) pretty thoroughly. If you spring for a subscription there will be many articles about specific schools/players etc.

Thanks for giving me the opportunity to talk about soccer! There have been no games/scrimmages this year so I am at least happy to talk here. This was long, the tl/dr version is: it is rare to make varsity as a 9th grader, and rarer still to be a starter, but it can be done and does happen.

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The good thing about the ISL for younger players vs other prep leagues is they don’t have PG’s playing.

You can look at the rosters on Maxpreps. Obviously, it changes every given year depending on talent enrolled, but it will give you a general idea if Freshman play on varsity. Use ‘19 season and before due to Covid.

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Thanks @cinnamon1212 for the great info! I wasn’t thinking about him making varsity as a 9th grader (third form), that didn’t even occur to me, but you definitely gave me some interesting points to consider.

I’m also curious, with many schools requiring third and fourth form students to play 2 or 3 sports, do the players at boarding school somehow continue to play/practice soccer “year round”? If not, how do they stay at, or above, the level of a player at the LPS that plays soccer for his school in the Fall and for his club in the Winter and Spring?

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I will defer to @cinnamon1212 , but here is how I understand it. Extremely competitive soccer. Some say as competitive as it gets, at least in NE. They do have fewer kids to choose from, per school, and that does make it easier IMO for fringe players, 2nd sport athletes and senior-year varsity-types. So, if you are asking - will my student be a 4-year varsity starter - not likely, but based upon his resume, he will make that team in his sophomore or junior year - sounds about right assuming a similar progression.

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I think we are saying the samee thing @michaeluwill . It is high level soccer, but not the highest in the northeast, in my opinion.

Players that want to play at the highest level and play in college definitely play club soccer while at boarding school. In addition to playing sports in the other seasons, or doing a sport-equivalent activity. Good time management is a crucial skill. (But many club soccer players in middle school also have to have good time management, so in a way they have a leg up).

There are different routes to playing club. I really don’t know what kids in the ISL do. With the NEPSAC schools (and it wouldn’t surprise me to learn the are expanding to the ISL schools) a club called Black Rock takes the best prep school players (@michaeluwill, that’s where the best soccer in the northeast is, along with academy teams). In normal times, it is by invitation, no try outs needed. Some players play on regular club teams, some get waivers and play for academy teams. Some schools train with the Pro Project (at least, Northfield Mount Hermans does, don’t know which other schools do as well). That would be another question to ask the soccer coach at the schools you are considering – how do they support (or not) the kids playing club.

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That’s an impossible question to answer for two reasons: He is too young to see his athletic development down the road. And, you cannot determine who else will be on his ISL team. There are stories of a kid going to a school and another kid who is phenomenal being the starter and in the year just before your kid. This happened to one of my nephews at a top BS. Not ISL. But still. He ended up fine. Played Junior and Senior year.
Most top kids in any sports are on the local club team. IF your club team ranks highly compared to other club teams and your kid is on the highest level club team, you might have a bit more data. But boys, in particular change a lot. A kid who is weak today can be a powerhouse tomorrow.

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That’s a very valid point. I know kids who are playing Academy or NPL that you would assume would be the best player on many other teams, but they’re honestly not better than kids on some lower level club teams. Not everyone has the desire to play club at the top level. My kid had that opportunity but also had other interests that would prevent him from training 6 days a week so he played lower level club with less time commitment. But he’s still better than some of the kids on those top teams.

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Though I’m not a soccer expert, I would also add, that some of the most talented athletes are three sport athletes. The kid who does another sport or two in addition to soccer might be Varsity in all three. Some kids actually combine and flip in and out of sports.

This is particularly true of talented track athletes whose speed and agility can translate to stick sports or soccer.

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Are there certain schools you are considering? The ISL has a HUGE range of teams.

Both my kids played soccer in MA and my current BS kid is at an ISL school.

There are definitely teams where an NEP kid is going to start as a freshman, and then there are teams where the only kids who see the field are ECNL/academy level.

Also, for boys, size does come into play. I have seen academy level kids who are just small because they haven’t matured yet and they struggle on the field. Actually, even my daughter who was not a small girl, had an adjustment period her freshman year. It really is a whole other world when you are suddenly playing kids 4-5 years older than you. Some of them are really big and strong D1 level players and your kid is a little 14 year old. It is somewhat funny actually when you see it for the first time.

Attaching a screenshot of the spread in 2018 - you will see the variety is very big.

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Here’s 2019 (I forgot what the last season year was - this past season was a covid bust).

Anyway, you can see how variable it is as well. ISL schools have a lot of trouble with consistency because it is hard to get into many of them so talent is not dependable year after year.

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Oh, meant to address the playing while at BS. Yes, it is very hard. Many of the ISL schools have three season sport requirements for at least freshmn if not freshmen and sophomores. Kids are not playing club during the school soccer season. There are weird rules about it actually in MA - I am struggling to remember the governing body of high school sports. Both my kids also played a varsity winter sport so that was hard because club coaches expect futsal or at least attendance to all the winter club practices. We did our best.

Spring, oof. If your kid is at a top academic school it is rough. They are trying to play a travel sport while playing a school sport and taking days off for tournaments. It is a mess but I suppose it is doable.

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That’s why Black Rock started its Prep School arm – the club provides transportation to practices and tournaments (mostly) and fits with the prep school schedule.

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Sure, but I still think it is hard. Also, for kids not playing Black Rock, even harder. My daughter just stayed on her ECNL team and my son decided to play basketball instead of soccer (well, LOL, I mean pre covid) so I don’t have direct experience with Black Rock - but the OP’s kid is an NEP player so my guess is Black Rock isn’t where that kid is going to play.

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Oh agree it is hard! But it’s hard to fit everything in at prep school, whether it’s the debate team, club soccer or starring in the school play. Also, unless it changes, Black Rock isn’t available to ISL schools, unfortunately.

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Often something has to give. With my kid who was good though not great at their sport, it was the club team. One cannot do the highest level classes, join clubs, do other EC’s and also do games/tournaments every weekend and still sleep.

There was a total number of zero kids in ALL the highest level classes and that also did the club team. That’s not indicative for all but I’d guess many kids have to find a balance between class rigor and sports especially if they are at a very high level and traveling.

Kids can burn out. I’m thankful my kid realized after the first year that Club had to be dropped. Varsity sports was possible but doing a single sport all year round wasn’t that balanced in their opinion. YMMV.

We have seen kids who are very successful at their sport (which seems to be a singular focus) and academics. These kids often don’t do many social/other activities at school. There are also kids who do professional theater etc. These kids miss a lot of the social activities which happen on weekends.

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Well, there ARE kids that manage high level club sports, high academics and other ECs but I agree they are rare. They are stars because it is rare. I agree that most kids can’t manage it. That’s one reason I say the most critical attribute for success at a rigorous boarding school is not intelligence but is good time management.

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I agree, they are rare. I guess it depends too regarding one what you consider high level. I have never seen anyone do a regional/national level EC, a state/regional/national level sport and keep the top grades all in the same timeframe. I’m sure they exist, but I haven’t met one yet. I’ve seen kids who shine in multiple areas on a city wide basis but that’s not the same, IMO.

I consider high level to be something where you/your team really shine at the state/regional level or above. I think most folks would have a lower bar than that. But my thinking is, BS are really top notch so you are trading an education at a high level against all of the other variables.

I think time management is an important piece. For my kids, it’s focus, planning and balance. When something gets out of synch they need to readjust.

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I think it is impossible for anyone – boarding school or not – to be at a national level in more than one thing. The way I think about a “star” is that it has to be achievable by some kids. Anyone operating at a high level (e.g. at the top 2-3% nationally in their sport, who can also achieve top grades in rigorous classes(e.g. on the top honor roll) who can do a third thing at a high level (e.g. have the lead in a school play) is unusual at a boarding school (or, anywhere). There probably are a few in each boarding school class. They stand out.

I don’t think that should be the standard for defining sucess at a boarding school let me be clear. One of my sons could barely do anything more than classes and school sports (well, he was also very social). A different son can juggle multiple roles. They both had successful boarding school experiences.

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