Please help me to de-code the soccer recruiting maze

Parents Forum
1

Hi - I’m new to CC but I’m hoping I can get some advice. My son is a sophomore in an IB school. His goal is to play college soccer for a top division 1 program . His is a good soccer player but an average student. Here are his stats

Unweighted gpa - 3.5
Weighted gpa 3.9
No SAT or ACT yet

Since he is only a sophomore, he cannot officially get recruited but he does get a lot of return emails from coaches he’s emailed. Of course they are always inviting him to camp and all that… Which I gather is pretty normal for any kid. In one of his tournaments when he was a rising sophomore, 4 coaches came to watch him play - 1 ivy, 2 div 1s and 1 div 3. They are all in the top 30 schools in US.

He has received a lot of accolades including getting MVP at a UC camp, all stars at one of his top D1 schools (the one who came to see him play). He’s also on the state ODP team and won league champions the last two years. His team also won CIF championship as a freshman. He played at the professional academy level in England.

Can you give me some advice on how to better his chances of getting recruited. Is his GPA going to hold him back? Any advice is greatly appreciated as we’ve never gone through this process before. Thanks!

Soccer mom

2

Note there is a dedicated athletic recruit forum, I can’t link to it now. It is a su forum under Admissions, specialty admissions. It should have some threads you can browse. The gpa./sat s going to vary by type of school.

3

Does he play Club for an academy team or a very high level non-academy club? If not, he may have a more difficult time getting recruited for D1. Those teams go to the top college showcases and some have recruiting as part of what they offer. If not, from what I have heard (my son decided not to go that route and he would have been D3), he should send an email with a short highlight video with his soccer resume, and GPA/SATs. If the coach expresses interest (beyond camp invites), he could then follow up with what camps or high level tournaments his team will be playing at. He should definitely reach out to the D1 coach that saw him play. This is based on a meeting our team had with a coach and parents who had been through the process with their kids.

Some kids used Captain U, with mixed success.

I would also advise your son to pick a college based on other factors besides soccer. One kid I know that went to a top D1 program is now a junior and quit the team because he was not getting any playing time. The coach told him that there were new freshman and sophomores on the team that were better. But the kid loves the college otherwise and is now playing Club and is happy to have time for other pursuits. OTOH, a freshman my son played HS with is getting a lot of positive press at his D1 school. Your son has no idea whether or not he will get enough playing time to make the sacrifice worth it at a top D1 program.

Also, many of the boys on my son’s club team thought they wanted to play in college as sophomores. Of those (including a couple that left for a higher level club team), only a handful are actually playing in college and all but one are at D3 schools. Most of the D3 kids are getting some playing time, not starting, but coming in off the bench,.

As someone noted, may want to post also on the athletic forum. Good luck!

4

I wouldn’t suggest that a 3.5 makes him an average student. Depending on his SAT/ACT, I don’t think grades will be an impediment, even at an Ivy if that is his wish (and he has the ability). He’ll need to make the cut on something called the academic index, which you can either google or search here on CC to learn more about. In terms of increasing his recruitment opportunities, you need to formulate and execute a plan to increase exposure. Travel teams and showcases are typically part of those plans. Networking through coaches is another good approach. Having skills video ready and sending it to target schools often helps. I would place recruiting services near the bottom of the list, but others may suggest they helped.

5

If he can show an upward trend in his grades it would definitely help. The Ivies would still be looking for a 2000+ SAT score.

Maybe the best piece of advice my son received (then totally ignored, he was a baseball recruit) was to look at schools where he would be happy attending without playing the sport. Students, including student-athletes, tend to be happiest where they are around average academically with their peers. Scholarships, when they are offered, are usually in the 1/4 tuition range, so think about cost also.

It’s good he is starting early. As an ODP player with a good soccer resume, the coaches probably already know who he is and would welcome any sign of interest from him. If he has target schools, he can keep in touch with the coaches, updating when he has some significant news. His coaches and his soccer organization will know how to navigate the system, no real need to get a paid recruiting service.

Above all, he needs to stay healthy. If he is not on a core strength regimen, I highly recommend he starts. You will see a lot of attrition over the next couple of years from the strain of years of high level sports. Relax, enjoy the ride, and keep us updated.

6

He needs to attend every top level national and regional recruiting tournament he has time for and you can afford. HE MUST contact every D1, D2 and D3 coach attending those tournaments-every coach (or assistant coaches who handle recruiting) to any school he might even remotely be interested in. He should do this via email. He should very briefly list his school and sport accomplishments (GPA, etc.), and give specific details about his jersey number, the dates, times and field numbers where he will be playing during each tournament. He should include links to film if he has it, and names and contact information of his club and high school coaches. He should contact the college coaches multiple times prior to each tournament, and again after each tournament. D1 coaches will not respond, and can not contact him yet. He should exoress specific interest in followup contacts with coaches. He should arrange to visit the colleges, and arrange to meet the coach during each visit. He should have a series of questions ready to ask each coach.

Coaches are innundated with interested high school players. Your son needs to make sure he is in a place where he will be seen, and he needs to make sure coaches know he is specifically interested in their program. He needs to be able to verbalize how he sees himself fitting in that college and that program. He needs to be ready to adjust his expectations. He may want D1, but find that D3 coaches are much more interested.

If he is interested in D1 or D2 programs he needs to register with the NCAA site, and complete the online forms.

Most of the kids I know who have gone on to play D1 sports were pretty far along in the process in their sophomore years.

7

Here’s the athletic recruits forum: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/athletic-recruits/

8

@Soccermom2018, I am afraid I have to burst a bubble, but this might be advice that can help your son go in with open eyes. Wanting to play for a top D1 soccer program is not a good reason for deciding on a college. As some have pointed out, he needs to pick his college based on where he would like go if he decides not to play and where he will get the best education.

My older son was a high level club soccer player. Over 50% of his peers that decided to play college soccer quit after their first year playing. More like 90% were no longer playing senior year. Also in D1 programs it is hard to see the field as an underclassman. D2 offers more chances to play early. College soccer is a full time job in season and a part time job out of season. The team will be his social group and his life. He will not have the same college experience as your average college student.

As prior poster mentions, soccer scholarships are not like football. D1 max # of scholarships is 9.9. D 2 is 9. D 3 does not offer athletic scholarships. Neither do Ivy’s. Pick any college and look at the number of players on a roster. At least 25-30. Divide that by 9 or 10 and what’s the average slice per player? Also, the coach can pull your scholarship from year to year. Coaches keep their job by winning. They are under pressure for results. Players quit because they are not playing, they have no life outside soccer and all for a full time job with part time “pay”.

If he is determined to play in college, then he does need to reach out to the schools he is interested in to let them know where he will be playing tournaments, send them videotapes etc. Men’s college soccer travel budgets are tight. He also needs to focus on improving his grades and nailing the ACT or SAT. He’s only a sophomore, he can do it. When comparing equal players, a coach is going to take the one with better grades and test scores. They want players that can stay academically eligible. They also want players with good enough stats to get academic merit scholarships that, when combined with the small athletic scholarship they can offer, may be good enough to convince the player to come on board. Also, please keep in mind that players who are strong players at his age may be so because of being more physically mature for his age than others. Those advantages even out as the players finish developing physically. Also, injuries can happen. Grades aren’t impacted by injuries.

There is far, far more scholarship money available for academics than men’s soccer. Plus, the goal should be to get a good education, graduate with a degree and enjoy the college experience, correct? Older son broke his leg at the end of his junior year right before state cup and ODP Regional Camp, but he was on the fence about playing in college anyway. He is so glad he did not and has been able to enjoy the full college experience. He feeds his “soccer jones” playing intermural soccer and futsal every season, and is also now helping coach U littles with the Physical Therapist he did his internship with. He had a 3.8 UW gpa and 28 ACT score, found a school that gave him in state tuition and an annual scholarship that covered 50% of the tuition. When I think of the money we spent on club and coaching fees, tournament fees, car, air and hotel costs to out of town tournaments, Regional leagues and Club Regionals, ODP, other training fees etc. it would have easily paid for a year of college at the state flagship.

His little brother quit soccer after freshman year in HS to focus on his grades and get a job. He now has 5 grand in the bank, and I saved at least 6 grand not paying for soccer his final 3 years. He focused on grades and test scores, in his senior year now. He has been accepted to all 5 colleges he applied to and all have already offered him academic scholarships and honors college acceptance. He should be able to go to college for even less than his brother.

I hope this helps give you a different perspective, and that your son has a wonderful college experience.

9

Thank you for all your responses - it helps a lot to gain a better understanding. I have posted on the athletic forum as well!

10

Very wise - Gr8one! I will definitely advise him of such. Thank you!

11

Best of luck @SoccerMom2018. Another tale for you. Female classmate of my youngest, whom we have known since kindergarten, is a top ECNL level player, 6 foot tall, runs like the wind, great competitor (and young lady). Blew her ACL end of junior year. Not sure if she plans on playing in college, but she does not have to for a scholarship. She is in top 5% in her class, has worked as hard in the classroom as she does on the pitch.

Love soccer, we are a soccer family. But soccer careers are only momentary, and the players have to be prepared for the real world.

12

I have heard from players and parents that unless there are coaches that have expressed prior interest, it is very hard to get noticed a these tournaments or college camps. Of course a kid that can truly stand out might get a look, but otherwise it is often a wast of money if no coach actually wants to have a look at your kid.

13

I disagree (a little) with the idea that you should only go to a school if you’d go there without the sport or the athletic scholarship. There were certainly schools we looked at that, even though my daughter liked the coach, the school was not right so we crossed them off the list. However, she’s at a school that we couldn’t afford without the athletic scholarship. If she doesn’t play, she’ll have to transfer and she knows that (unless she can find $$$ from another source). But all the pieces were important to her- the academics, the location, the sport, and the feel of the school.

My daughter is in her second year. If you ask her if the school is perfect, she’ll say no, but that no other school would have been either. She does think she picked a good school for her. She does think she picked a good team for her (new team so as a freshman she starts every game and plays almost 100% of the time). She still takes it term by term. She’s seen others leave the team and knows that nothing is set in stone.

Some athletes aren’t going to go to a school without a team and a scholarship. If Duke is the first choice for a bsketball player, the next option might be Memphis and not Emory or Hopkins.

14

Good points twoin. For boys, however, athletic scholarships in soccer are generally minimal so may be less of a factor. Good luck to your daughter. I hope she keeps loving her school and her sport!

15

mom2and - “I have heard from players and parents that unless there are coaches that have expressed prior interest, it is very hard to get noticed a these tournaments or college camps. Of course a kid that can truly stand out might get a look, but otherwise it is often a wast of money if no coach actually wants to have a look at your kid.”

I completely agree that the player (and parent) need to be realistic on if the player is a good fit for the college team. There is plenty of information available to you to be able to tell if your player is a match for the team. If the college roster has national team players that is a good sign on the types of players they attract. Looking at the NCAA rankings is also a good idea. Programs in the top 30 even top 40 all attract top athletes. Most of which are there for their sport first and academics second.

16

Agree that looking at player bios on the D1/2/3 rosters are a good way to see where your player might fit athletically.

I would recommend getting a feel for different types of schools to see what resonates for your son. While these kids want to play, and are motivated by the idea of playing for top programs, things happen – the career-ending injury, the coaching change where your player is no longer part of the system. Every coach we talked to said, choose the school first, and then the soccer program. 10th grade is not too soon to rule out or rule in various types of schools.

In 10th grade, my kid early on realized he only wanted small schools with small classes, no 100+ person lectures for him. Even if he had been a competitive D1 recruit, he would not be happy at a large school. So we were able to focus on D3 schools, identifying the key features that mattered to him in terms of academics and campus culture, and then researching the soccer programs. The target list becomes short awfully quickly when you start to eliminate schools which don’t play a style of soccer your son could be successful with or which aren’t recruiting your son’s position for his year etc. We met with coaches who were honest that they had several years depth in a particular position and would not be recruiting for that position out of his class or that it was a very low priority.

ID camps the summer before 11th grade will be very important for a prospective D1 player, and registration for those camps can open as early as December or January. Put together a soccer resume – google what that might contain – basically contact and academic info, high school and club coaches, teams, and accomplishments amd major tournaments coming up, links to youtube or other highlight video. Attach the soccer resume and include the highlight link directly in the email to the coach. Copy the Assistant coach(es) on the email as they often take the lead in following up with prospects, and you want to make sure the right person to act on the email gets it.

Working on D3 recruiting has helped my son mature tremendously, he has learned to talk with coaches on the phone and in person, handle a large volume of correspondence – we made a chart which tracks communication by school, and flags what needs to be done next – meeting with players, staying overnight, turning down invitations for alcohol etc. But it is also very stressful. A school that loves you, you might not care very much for, and a school you love, might have already moved on. There is a lot of emotional maturing that happens during the recruiting cycle.

Good luck to your son.