@wrldpossibility , if you haven’t made a highlights tape, do that for sure and send it out. One coach asked for a whole game - not sure if he was just trying to work out the overall quality or style of play or what. But that can help as well as the camps, especially beforehand as it makes your son someone of interest. I am sure there is a D3 program where he could play. The question is whether it is at one of the schools he’d prefer to attend. That is where it gets more challenging because it’s also not just about "good enough " but also about which positions are needed, etc.
Yep, we’re thinking of the same team/level, @sushiritto . Problem is, we’re on the other end of the state from Portland, so for the kids around here who make that team, their families either have to move or they have to live with host families. Either way, it’s not a level we’re going to reach.
Buy a nice video camera and tripod and get a bunch of tape on him over the next few months. Edit into a highlight reel and send the video to every coach at every school he’s interested in. If the team travels to area where there’s a school that fits the bill for him, send that coach a couple emails about time and location of the game(s). If a coach has summer camp of some kind, then if possible, try to attend. Also, speak with his current coach and get him on board to talk to these D3 schools, telling them they (Timbers) have a player the D3 school coach should look at for their team.
And don’t forget to mention his wonderful academic stats.
Obviously, familiarize and follow NCAA rules. 
77 "Who has studied that in detail? Curious."
Look up Bowen, Espenshade or Hurwitz. But it is pretty obvious that the high end LACs have to recruit a ton of athletes each year.
Williams total enrollment is 2,070. They have 951 roster spots on all the varsity teams they sponsor. 747 Williams kids are varsity athletes on at least one team. Williams athletes are not dummies; but being an athlete is one of the best ways for an average/excellent student to get past the admissions office.
There’s 411 colleges that play D3 mens soccer. So there’s a lot of variation in (i) the level of play and (ii) the level of academics (for athletes and non-athletes).
If sports is going to be your hook, job #1 is to figure out what your kid’s level of play is. Is he qualified to play at the top 25 D3 schools? 25-50? Top 50-100? Once you identify the band of schools that are an athletic fit, then job #2 is to pick from that band the schools that are academic fits.
Once you have that list, then market the kid to the coaches at that school. Email with a cover letter, an athletic/academic resume, and a link the highlight reel/game video. Those are easy to make yourself, but also cheap to have someone make for you. Google around on YouTube or Vimeo and you will find thousands of examples.
Being geographically far away is really not a problem. It is pretty much like trying to find a job. Send out a bunch of letters, see what kind of feedback you get, then follow up.
One thing you might want to consider is whether you would like to watch him play in college. My daughter is 2000 miles away and while I can usually watch the game streamed, it is not as much fun as being there. I have been able to go for spring break freshman year and junior year, attending 3 games each year, but many other parents on the east coast go to all the games, or at least to 3-4 weekends per year. I really miss it and I’m already feeling withdrawal that next year is her last year.
If she had had a choice of two schools, one in my area and one not, I’d have preferred the closer school even if it cost a little (little) more or if it wasn’t near a beach. My second daughter plays a club sport and I’ve driven 150 miles to watch her play but usually her games are a little closer. Her freshman roommate is a dancer and dancer mom drives the 150 miles (well probably 120 for her) all the time to watch performances. I know parents with kids at multiple schools and they travel from Notre Dame to Florida to Boston to just about anywhere every weekend. Great if you have the money, but I can only do it if I’m close enough to drive. My daughter’s team might make the playoffs and I’d really like to go!
The OP and S have identified a list of schools already. I’m sure the list isn’t final, but I’d think that with the stats that the S has, they wouldn’t want to lower the bar too much on the academics of the school in order to play soccer, but that’s just a guess. I certainly wouldn’t.
As for level of play, we know the level of play. He plays for the “B” level academy team for the Portland Timbers. High caliber, but not the highest. If he played for the “A” level academy team, then the D3 coaches would typically be salivating over him since the “A” level academy teams produce D1 level talent and D3 teams would/will try to “steal” them away from D1 schools.
I’m not as familiar with the “B” level teams, but if they attend a couple travel tournaments a year (OP mentioned Vegas and Vegas is an top/excellent tournament, but with many levels of play), then I’d say the team is about on the same level a “Platinum” level club team. I’m sure the D3 coaches know where their pool of talent comes from.
Also, position matters. Some positions are higher demand than others.
We know a handful of kids who grew up playing soccer and ended up getting recruited as kickers on various DIII football teams. Another possibility to consider.
@northwesty I should have quoted the entire sentence.
I was asking how you knew being black was a bigger hook than being an athlete.
Those studies say that.
The best hook is AA, with recruited athlete a surprisingly close second. A good ways back is Latino in third place. Legacy comes in a little bit behind Latino at #4.
“As for level of play, we know the level of play. He plays for the “B” level academy team for the Portland Timbers.”
OK, so tell us how that translates into for D3 college?
Is that good enough for D3 top 25? Top 50? Top 100? Tufts? Vassar? Bates? Pomona? Haverford? CC? Oberlin?
Can you link the study that says that @northwesty ?
"OK, so tell us how that translates into for D3 college?
Is that good enough for D3 top 25? Top 50? Top 100? Tufts? Vassar? Bates? Pomona? Haverford? CC? Oberlin?"
There’s just not enough info given here and I can’t watch the OP’s son play. However, the level of play could translate well to those D3 schools. I know the “A” level U15/16 and U17/18 Timbers’ academy teams are “bottom half of the league” type teams. No playoffs, but I have no data on the “B” level team.
And any college coach (or often staff) would be able to evaluate a video of him play or him in person and be able to tell the family within about 15-30 minutes whether it translates. And the son and family should be already be getting feedback from the Timbers coach(es).
I’m not actually asking the OP to answer, but questions I’d have would be does he start on his team? What position or positions does he play? How tall is he? Has he taken the “beep (or bleep) test” (a test of stamina) and, if so, what was his score? What’s his team’s tournament and league record? Is he fast? How fast?
I suggest using primarily Massey but also Hero Sports D3 Men’s Soccer rankings to create a list of soccer programs in various tiers. The top 50 will be extraordinarily competitive for recruiting, with D1 overlap. Maybe 50-150 are very very competitive. Its only about 275-400 where you hit a range where they are happy to have you if you are a credible but unremarkable player. Cross check that list with admission safety/match/reaches. Get the tape (though for a current sophomore, tape is probably premature, unless you are looking at top 50 programs), and start emailing coaches. Go to Athletic recruit board under Admissions, and search old threads for format for soccer resume and emails to coaches.
Good luck! It’s a fun ride, for kid and parent.
That’s the data you need and what you have to figure out first to play this game.
Is your kid a player at the level of Bowdoin (#13) or Bates (#89) or Colby (#123)? Obviously very similar schools academically, but very different propositions when it comes to getting recruited for the soccer team. Same goes for Haverford (#19) and Swarthmore (#171).
This is super helpful. Until we get actual feedback from college coaches, DS’s Timbers coach agrees that he’s probably in that middle range of 50-150. Sushi is correct that the A Timbers team is pretty much going straight to D1 and even trying out for pro soccer straight out of high school…not DS’s level. Going to cross-reference this list on Massey to see what pops up, because academic choices trump soccer fit, for us.
“That’s the data you need and what you have to figure out first to play this game.”
That’s ridiculous. You must be an attorney, because you really enjoying arguing. The answer to your question is NO. I’m not going to argue with someone on the internet about soccer. And about the OP, who I know almost zero about.
As I thought, the OP’s son and his coaches know exactly his level of play and where his fit meshes with the son’s list of colleges. To the OP, don’t forget to reach! Best of luck, the ride is fun.
To the OP – I’m estimating with those numbers, but generally, I think its pretty accurate. If your son does a college ID camp at a college program in your region this summer, just for the experience, they usually have written evaluations where they tell you what band they think you can play. That can help with identifying the list. In our experience, there was not major difference between say, 75 and 125, in recruiting – all the coaches want to bring in the strongest class they can.The differences will be in how a particular player fits their needs in terms of style, position, even physique. You can spend (too much) time cruising the roster stats of schools of potential interest – if everyone is over 6’2 and 180 lbs, and your player is 5’7 and 135, chances are it is not a good fit. You can also read about individual player’s club experience and awards – if everyone on the team was an All State high school player 3 years running and won state championships, and the prospective player isn’t a starter or hasn’t been nominated for any conference recognition etc., it tells you something. It doesn’t mean not to schedule a meeting with coach on your visit, but go in with your eyes open.
As complicated as this can seem at the beginning, it is really enjoyable to see your son navigate this process – my kid grew so much from his first coach meeting through the fall of senior year when he was communicating regularly with coaches by phone and email.
Lawrence U in Appleton, WI? Not in the running for serious WI residents since we have UW-Madison with a much better campus, city and school!
@wis75 The OP is not a WI resident and is looking for small colleges.
Super helpful, @Midwestmomofboys, thank you! Getting him to an east coast ID camp this summer will be difficult, but we can get him to a CA or NW one.