Son is still on the fence about his college decision. He plays soccer at a pretty high level for both club and HS but was not recruited at Carleton, but we live in New England. Can anyone pass along their stories about the team, coach, ability to walk on? Many thanks
Uncommon,
Your son should probably email the coach directly with his questions. Have your son outline his soccer achievements and awards, and if you have tapes, just send some (or a link) along to the coach. The coach would be able to say better than anyone whether your son stands a chance of walking on, and you will have much more definitive information with which to make that college decision.
When you say he wasn’t recruited, are you saying that he sent in tapes and showed interest but got no follow-up?
Maybe more accurate to say that he only filled out the Recruit Me form and has not been an active participant in the preparation required to play a future college sport but now seems much more interested.
I am not sure “Recruit Me” is a highly effective recruiting tool, when not followed up by the necessary hard work of emails, calls, camps, tapes and everything else that is involved in being a recruited athlete.
As a general matter, if only for psychological reasons, it is tougher to catch a coach’s eye as a walk-on during tryouts than during recruiting season since typically the coach has already identified his needs and sought out recruits to fill those needs. On the other hand, it is just a guess that the team is solidified – it may well not be. I see no reason not to roll the dice by communicating with the coach now about the team. What has your son got to lose? Your son does have one thing going for him that prospies do not – he is admitted. It won’t cost the coach anything to take a good look, and who knows, there may be a fit.
The ability to walk on to a D3 soccer team can really vary from year to year depending on the number of seniors graduating and how successful they were at recruitment that year. Your son definitely needs to get in touch with the coach soon and hopefully can impress him enough to be invited to preseason training.
We met the soccer head coach at Carleton and you will not find a nicer person. Send your resume and video highlights, and if no response, call him a few days later.