<p>Hello guys! CCposters advised me to come here, so let me explain my problem:</p>
<p>Since my early years I play soccer and I think that I've the level required to play in the Harvard's soccer team but I'm an international student so it's complicated to be seen in action. Moreover I currently don't play in a team due to a lot of reasons (It's pointless to talk about it and will take several hours). Some of you might think that a boy who don't play in a team can't have the level required but those who know soccer will tell you that the most important thing in soccer is the technical skill (which can't be lost unless putting on weight very excessively or sth like that) even though physical characteristics are important. I've nothing to envy the best player technical skill in france who are, you can be sure, better than the american players because it's simply not the national sport...)
Let's be brief, I've the technical skill required to play in a good team (I'm not saying that I am Ronaldinho ;)) and the physics condition can get back in 3 months with an intensive training.</p>
<p>Is there one way or another to show that I'm good at this sport (video...) without going try out which would be impossible to me.
PS: I'm a junior and my grades are not so bad, I'm actually aiming a perfect score in SAT(II) Maths, Physics and a good score +2200 in SAT(global)</p>
<p>I’m one of the people who advised you to post over here and I’m glad you did. Don’t worry, give it a day or so, people will give you advice. I don’t know about soccer, but I do know a lot about recruiting. It isn’t unusal for internationals to be recruited for athletics, and the admissions people understand that they need to make allowances for language challenges, etc.</p>
<p>I’m sure someone here will give you advice about how to show American coaches your skills, whether by video or some other way.</p>
<p>Also, try not to get hung up on Harvard or any other particular school. There may be a lot of different options for you.</p>
<p>Getting the Harvard’s coach attention without playing on a team is not realistic. A video could help you get the coach’s attention, but only if it were a video of you playing a high level game. Juggling and ball tricks are nice, but they won’t show the coach how well you play in actual competition.</p>
<p>So, you need to start playing for a team. If you don’t, I would rate your chances of ever playing for Harvard as extremely remote, basically 0%.</p>
<p>If you start playing for a team, promptly send the head coach an email with a video of you playing, along with your academic record. Even then, getting the coach’s attention will be a longshot. Your video needs to show you playing for or against a U17-U20 team of a professional club (or equivalent). </p>
<p>You could also try to get a well respected French coach to call the Harvard coach on your behalf. But even then, the Harvard coach would at a minimum need to see video of you playing before he would even consider you as a potential recruit.</p>
<p>I think your best answer is to look at this from the coaches perspective. You are asking any college coach (never mind Harvard) to take a lot of risk, and a leap of faith on one of their recruiting slots. Recruiting is the life blood of any college athletic program, and sometimes the coaches job & reputation can be on the line. Requesting that a college coach recruit you based on your self-evaluation and SAT hope scores is not going to happen. A long shot would be for a reputable third-party to evaluate your skills as “off the charts” and you nail the SAT. I have been around college recruiting for a bunch of years, and I don’t see colege coaches taking this level of risk ever. I think you need to think of other ways to be recruited or possibly consider walking on. Good luck.</p>
<p>It’s too bad, honestly I knew that it would be almost impossible. I’ve a question
it’s too expensive and pointless to go to the USA just for trying out but do they go abroad or sth like that to compete for example (europe) because the airline ticket would be cheaper and I might have the opportunity (financial) to show my qualities in a training. would he agree if I come in to train just 2 hours?–> as I said three months to get the physical condition back I’ll be ready</p>
<p>is it possible to play with the team if I’m miraculously accepted to a good college (I’m above all going to study even though I love playing soccer) with my scholar reports or the slots will be already alloted?</p>
<p>Again I knew that it’d be complicated but it’s too bad because I could</p>
<p>If you end up at a college you want to go to and you would be an impact player on the soccer team, I cannot imagine any coach in their right mind would turn away someone like that. I have seen walk on players on soccer teams, not only earn a starting role but eventually scholarship money. Follow your dreams!!</p>
<p>I agree with momof2010. The most traditional way for you to do this is as a walk-on where you assume the risk and the coach doesn’t. Find the colleges that you are most interested in, and then initiate a dialogue about your situation with the coaches. Some coaches will be interested and some coaches will not…don’t take it personally, and just keep moving forward. </p>
<p>Apply to the schools that you see as the best fit and overall opportunity. Once accepted, you can begin to narrow down where you want to go. Make your decision, and then walk-on. Truthfully, this is how recruiting was done in non-revenue sports 30+ years ago when I played tennis in college. Good luck!</p>
<p>Mom—you can be an impact player, but if you are NOT that coaches chosen player you might very well end up wasting a years eligibility. Some schools will stockpile talent, but in doing that some competitors just give up. We are currently in that space, during the recruit process we could have been a #1 at some lesser schools, while a recent national champion school said up front you will not play until…and that was cool, but it’s another thing when you have a situation where a coach says hey I need you on my team because you have 3.77 gpa,(team gpa 2.23) and you don’t figure in our plans for this year. So, nothing is worse than either beening lied too during the recruit process or being used to help a team that doesn’t want you to participate. Makes you wanna just get caught up in a NCAA violation and hurt the team…</p>
<p>Schoolhouse, if the coach said they only need you for your gpa how is that being lied to? Sounds pretty honest to me. It sounds like the original poster wants to be on a team period, does it matter how he gets there?
I am sorry your son is in that situation, my advise to anyone being recruited is go where you KNOW you are really wanted if your sport is super important to you.</p>
<p>Thanks but can you explain me
“Makes you wanna just get caught up in a NCAA violation and hurt the team” what’d you mean?
“wasting a years eligibility” I don’t understand, I may sound silly, sorry</p>
<p>Anyway if I realize that they don’t really wanna me as a player they can’t compelled me to stay in the team unless I’ve a scholarship and if so I’d stay not to pay the scholar fees and appease my parent’s pocket because after all I wanna study and I’m not competing the champions’ league or sth like that</p>
<p>If I’m wrong… I don’t think I’m wrong because students are not slaves ;)</p>
<p>I would say that you should stop overestimating the american soccer’s level (I’m refering to the evertonnut’s post “playing for or against a U17-U20 team of a professional club (or equivalent)”) because a professional in france would be considered as a star in the USA
to prove it, take a look at this [url=<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sébastien_Le_Toux]S”>Sébastien Le Toux - Wikipedia]S</a></p>
<p>075014, yes you definitely could “walk on” to a soccer team after arriving on campus. In fact, a lot of very good programs will allow it via a tryout. If you are as good or better than most of the scholarship players, you have a decent shot at making the roster. Just make sure to let the coach know who you are before you arrive on campus and find out exactly and when he conducts tryouts. </p>
<p>If you try to walk on, you need to arrive in great shape to have any chance. Most D1 programs will put even their scholarship players through fitness evaluations during preseason, and if they fail, they generally are off the team. To give you an idea, a standard minimum baseline for most programs is 3 miles in less than 18 minutes (17 preferred), and then several sprint, strength and agility tests that are tougher to pass. Also if you are not fast, your probably won’t make it past the first day of tryouts.</p>
<p>Some of the bigger programs do go to Europe to evaluate potential recruits. But, I’ve only heard about them going to watch a specific player they already know about from credible sources. So you’re in a tough position.</p>
<p>Sorry to sound bleak, but I don’t want you to get your hopes up given the odds. If it’s your dream, start emailing and calling coaches and hope for the best!</p>
<p>075014, just saw your latest post about the level of play in France. Many Euro players come to play college soccer in the U.S., so you should be able to get a good read on where you stand by asking them. I can tell you that most of the Euro players who play D1 were involved in Academy teams at professional clubs before going to college. Some stand out and become college stars, some don’t. But, if you are at that level, then yes you will be able to compete well over here.</p>
<p>you’re right. firstly I’m gonna take the SAT to see what school I could go
and then narrow down my options to finally contact the coachs and explain my situation
Thank you everyone who helped me. it’s very kind of you</p>
<p>Thank you evertonnut these informations will be very useful, now I’ve a slight idea of the physical condition baseline (18min–>4.5km) I don’t like miles
what’d you mean by strength?–>body-building? or rather the raw force.</p>
<p>075014, strength tests typically include pull ups, push ups, sit ups and maybe some baseline amount of squats/jumps. Be ready for a lot of timed sprints with short rest periods between sprints to test speed endurance. No preseason weightlifting standards for strength at any soccer program I’m aware of, but each coach is a little different. The players lift a lot in the Spring (offseason). You should expect to arrive around 4 weeks before school starts for preseason, which includes two or three sessions a day. Most schools will pay for your room and food and a small per diem during preseason.</p>
<p>I know the info above is pretty typical of large D1 schools, but every coach and every program is different.</p>
<p>I think you are forgetting that coaches recruit based on “Need” and “Fit”, moreso than “Talent, Ability or Desire.” Many of those coaches believe they can develop those attributes, if all things were equal and fair and truely based on "talent’ alone many of the athletes we see playing these sports would be at home, because I’ve seen played against guy better than the ones who get recognized and paychecks. Coachability of an athlete goes a lot further than talent when a player is being recruited.</p>
even though I love playing soccer) with my scholar reports or the slots will be already alloted?</p>