<p>some conferences may be stronger than others. there is a d3soccer site called D3Kicks.com site where you may find some helpful information, i.e., rankings, etc.</p>
<p>you might visit conference websites for information as well.</p>
<p>your sons can visit the schools' athletic department websites and complete the prospective student athlete's questionnaires found there. </p>
<p>there is a website for d3 that has a helpful search engine.........see collegestudentathletes.com</p>
<p>I think you'll find out on a case by case basis.. Some coaches have multiple personalities when it comes to recruiting. </p>
<p>One thing to honestly consider and this will sound very mean... If the player needs the coach's "help" to get in, is that the best place for the player? </p>
<p>Look at it this way... (example only) your S gets help into a school that he wouldn't normally get into based on acedemics. He goes off in August and starts training...classess start, homework demands grow, practices are still long, bus trips dominate everyweekend, exams are coming. Some classes only have three exams all semester... If your student wouldn't normally be taken on his own merits for this school, Why would you expect him to do well coming in behind AND training the 6 days a week, 20+ hours? Are you possibly setting up failure? </p>
<p>Would it make more sense to concentrate on schools you can get into without help that have soccer programs? That way, you know he can do the work and while college soccer is a bit much, he is at least starting out with the ability to be there. Survival chances improve.</p>
<p>I mentioned in a earilier post about kids dropping off after a year or so because it stopped being fun...well some of that can be attributed to missing the rest of the college experience and underperforming in class. The game would still be fun, if it didn't get in the way of everything else.</p>
<p>The alternative in many cases (just ask football/basketball players) is the coaching staff chooses your major and or you take longer to degree. When they're paying (scholarship) that's one thing, when you're paying it's another.</p>
<p>
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One thing to honestly consider and this will sound very mean... If the player needs the coach's "help" to get in, is that the best place for the player?
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</p>
<p>I don't think that's mean. I think it's an excellent point. In terms of the schools we're looking at, I'd say there's help and then there's help. Help in terms of a tie breaker between two well qualified kids shouldn't negatively affect the academic experience. Help in the sense of getting a marginally qualified student into a school where he'd struggle academically has always scared me. I'd say my own son is not a good enough player that he runs the risk of getting into a school where he'd be in over his head academically. </p>
<p>I do know students who've been recruited (mostly for football) at schools where they're well below the academic standard for admission, and they are painfully aware of where they stand academically. Some are okay with it, but some are wondering if there might have been a better place for them.</p>
<p>Thanks, sometimes here you just don't know how you'll be taken.. </p>
<p>I think one thing that helped us when we were looking was watching a practice during spring ball (soccer) while we were looking at schools during hs spring break, when we could we'd drop in on training and just watch. After my S would talk to players a bit to get a feel of things. That helped. </p>
<p>Coaches say alot of things, players sometimes say something different. We found alot of helpful info from the players, even about other schools in conference. At a certain level alot of kids know each other.</p>
<p>From what I can gather, the ability of a soccer coach to "deliver slots" is seldom a reflection on that coach. The distribution of slots is decided above the coach's level and occurs in two ways:</p>
<p>a) The total number of slots and the distribution of academic (and campus culture fit) qualifications within those slots is an institutional decision.</p>
<p>b) Once the parameters of a) above have been determined, the athletic director allocates slots among the competiting interests of the teams.</p>
<p>The individual soccer coach may be able to lobby the AD for an extra slot from time to time, but those decisions are really made on global considerations: the 25 or so recruits needed for football each year, how competitive a sport can be without low-band recruits, etc.</p>
<p>Depending on where you want to attend, waiting until after your Junior year to get in touch with coaches may be too late. (Unless you are a super talent recruited by upper division schools). Get in touch with coaches ASAP and let them know you are interested. Soccer recruiting is somewhat different than other sports. Coaches do not have objective measurements (like times in T&F) to gauge individual athletes. To call the process subjective is an understatement. Having recently gone through the recruiting process with my two student-athletes the differences in recruiting b/tw T&F and soccer were like day and night. My younger was recruited and offered scholarships by several DI schools (whose coaches had actually seen play over the years), while several D3 coaches from far lesser programs would not give the time of day. (Academic qualifications were not an issue as they were both at the top of their class and the younger a National Merit Finalist.) Unless you are a National level ODP player or have connections b/tw coaches, most DIII recruiting is regional (limited scouting budgets and finances for coach recruiting travel). Large tournaments can be helpful, but it all depends on how you show during the 30 minutes a coach is able to watch you when he is looking at various other players. The best way to get noticed is by attending a camp that the coach (from the school or schools in which he is interested) will be working.</p>
<p>Thanks for the helpful information. From what I gather, the summer before junior year may not be a bad time for him to get some exposure at college camps or at least making some inquiries with coaches. I originally thought of waiting to look next summer. It may also give him some realistic feedback on both programs and the type of support a coach may give for his application.</p>
<p>DEFINITELY start the recruiting process before junior year. I think that post sophomore summer is the most important for a variety of sports because the coach has you on his/her radar so he/she can come watch you during your junior year. One word about camps: sometimes coaches see things over the course of a few days that they might otherwise miss during a game so you get to show more of what you have athletically and attitude-wise. Good Luck.</p>
<p>It is also helpful to provide each coach with a tournament schedule. A coach cannot afford (no matter what div) to attend single games. However, they do try and attend the big tourneys and if you let them know you're going to be there, usually they'll look in. </p>
<p>Remember though, they cannot communicate with the player directly in these situations. So if they're there watching and taking notes, that's pretty good. </p>
<p>Also go to the ncaa clearing house and sign up. I think it still costs $27 but you can put all your information there and ANY college coach can check without violation of NCAA rules. We received several out of the blue soccer contacts based on the clearinghouse. Also it is a good place to read the rules about college sports. </p>
<p>This is a really helpful thread, so thanks to all the people with experience who have posted. I've been reading a book that explains athletic recruiting in the Ivy League (and by extension sheds light on the NESCAC). You might not need it after IDad's thorough explanations, but I recommend it. It's called "Playing the Game: Inside Athletic Reruiting in the Ivy League"; the author, Chris Lincoln, played soccer at Middlebury, I believe. It explains the AI (academic index) and how this affects recruiting. </p>
<p>My D is only in 9th grade, but if her soccer interest continues, I figure I'm better equipped by this book to help her through this process. Of immediate interest is whether to invest the time and money in a camp after 10th grade, and which one. If anyone has suggestions of either Ivy (long shot, so preferably ones with less daunting soccer programs) or NESCAC women's college camps that you think are really useful, please post!</p>
<p>If you are looking at summer camps for girls with NESCAC coaches, the Dartmouth camp has traditionally atttracted coaches from several of these schools. Last year the head coaches for Bowdoin, Amherst, Middlebury and Williams attended. While the Dartmouth coaches tend to have tunnel vision regarding their preselected recruits, the other coaches are generally actively searching for those diamond in the rough players who for various reasons are not regional ODP players.</p>
<p>I would make an observation. With the apparent role camps play in recruiting, it is easier to understand why elite college athletics skews so heavily white and affluent. I can't imagine that too many low income soccer players can comfortably afford these fancy camps. Multiply across the spectrum of sports.</p>
<p>Interesteddad - It's not just the camps. Most of the elite travel soccer clubs are heavily white and affluent as well. I suspect a lot of the other sports that involve travel are similarly skewed. I would note, however, that our soccer club does have some players on scholarship with our team, and some of those players are being looked at by some nearby DI programs. I imagine other clubs have similar programs. The director of our program is very conscious of the high number of kids he views as spoiled rich kids, and he's making an effort to change that. I haven't investigated whether any of the camps have financial aid for low income players, but I would think that it would be in their interest to offer it.</p>
<p>In some sports, elite athletes are invited to attend camps & tournaments where all of their travel/other fees are paid. In other words, their club teams are sponsored and their cost is zero. However, when a camp is sponsored by a particular school instead of an outside entity, the athlete must pay their own way according to NCAA rules because it is considered to be an individual school gaining contact and a recruiting advantage with the athlete. My son's old soccer club (he quit that sport in 8th grade) charged fees from the majority of the team that helped to scholarship a few players who could not have otherwise afforded to play and travel with the team. And, yes, usually those scholarship kids were superior athletes who helped the club win games.</p>
<p>One other note: anytime a parent or student athlete contacts a coach, I suggest they include a game/tournament schedule (as suggested above), an unofficial transcript, a letter of recommendation from another coach, and a copy of SAT/ACT scores, along with any awards the student has won. A complete resume will help the coach get a better picture of your child as an athlete and a student. When my son was being recruited, the first thing colleges wanted to know about were his grades and test scores... they do not want to waste their resources pursuing a recruit who will not be academically eligible for their institution.</p>
<p>"an unofficial transcript, a letter of recommendation from another coach, and a copy of SAT/ACT scores, along with any awards the student has won. A complete resume will help the coach get a better picture of your child as an athlete and a student. When my son was being recruited, the first thing colleges wanted to know about were his grades and test scores... they do not want to waste their resources pursuing a recruit who will not be academically eligible for their institution."</p>
<p>This is what the NCAA clearinghouse is for. I would strongly suggest every athelete who feels they can play a college sport pay the $27 fee and put all their infomation (mostly listed above) on the offical NCAA website. Coaches aren't allowed to do some things when looking for recruits, but they can use this site anytime. </p>
<p>We received several schools interest soccer wise because their coaches visited the site, reveiwed the information and decided to contact us becuase S fit the mold for their type of student athelete.</p>
<p>The other league to look into, outside of the NESCAC and the Ivy League, is the UAA. A lot of UAA schools have been mentioned here on this thread already. They are: WashU, Rochester, NYU, Carnegie Mellon, Brandeis, Chicago, and Emory. The league blends competitive sports with serious academics.</p>