If there are no summer ID Camps or other events, as may be the case, what do you think will happen with the class of 2021 and 2022? Do you think that coaches will have to make decisions using the information they already have?
Yes, if no camps happen, coaches will use what the info have, and potential recruits who they have already seen play will have an advantage. With that said, some coaches may make offers to recruits having never seen them play…this is more likely in DIII than DI/II…but possible at all levels should coronavirus be an issue thru the summer.
I expect that camps in warm weather states that seem to be planning on opening up sooner rather than later are more likely to be a go this summer than camps in virus hot spots, such as the NY or Boston areas.
S has been making frequent contact with coaches these past two months in an effort to simply stay on the radar. He’s asked about summer ID camps and the response has varied from “everything is cancelled through the summer” to “we’re still planning to have our July camp”. A few coaches have said they won’t do anything in the summer but will be holding ID clinics in the fall which would be a logistical challenge for use since that’s his HS season (assuming he has one).
In contradiction to what Mwfan1921 said about coaches using the info they have, more than one coach has said their recruiting timetable is being pushed back as they want to use the late fall tournaments as a data point. I don’t think a lot of recruits will be offered early this year.
I suspect you are both right :-). If coaches can push their recruiting decisions back because they will be able to see players in the fall, I think you are right, they will. However, it is not clear that they will be able to see soccer players playing in the fall, in which case logically they will be forced to use the information they have. I know everyone is saying “send video” but coaches are also saying they don’t make recruiting decisions off of video. I am trying to focus on the positives, which is that my son has some recruiting interest from schools that have seen him play a fair amount, and not focus on the fact that other schools have said they are interested in seeing him play more before making a decision . . . .
Are any of your kids getting many responses to recruiting emails right now? Specifically men’s soccer. My s is a rising junior and still very busy with his school works. So he doesn’t do any contacts with coaches. Can anyone speak to the realistic timeline for Men’s soccer recruiting? Thanks.
@ivyjjang My son is finishing up his sophomore year so most schools he’s targeting can only respond with an NCAA disclaimer and their camp info.
Rising juniors can have email contact, and contact with coaches at tournaments, starting June 15 this year. Coaches can’t answer emails from current sophs until then.
Your student can be filling out online recruiting questionnaires at the schools they are interested in right now, or once school is out. They should follow up with an email to the coaches, attach video if you have one. Your kid’s coach (HS or club) should be able to tell you at what level they can play in college. Academics will help further target schools.
Access the soccer recruiting calendar (in ‘other sports’) and guidelines here: http://www.ncaa.org/student-athletes/resources/recruiting-calendars/division-i-and-ii-recruiting-calendars
After the NCAA has extended their recruiting 'Dead Period" through August 31st, Future 500 ID camp emailed us. They said they will expand their coaches list from 50 coaches to 75 college coaches(D2, D3) at camp and offer to give us Free film. What do you think about this ID camp?
There are many paths to athletic recruitment; my son’s was that we never did a “generic” ID camp, he only went to specific schools’ camps. Also, depending on where the camp is held I think there’s an excellent chance that it will be cancelled (not that that’s a reason to sign up or not sign up).
To my mind, one of the first steps in recruiting is for your club coach to give an assessment of where your son projects out to play in college. Once you know that, you can target schools.
I see you asked earlier about getting replies to emails. D3 can reply any time; D1 only after June 15 of your sophomore year. But by now you probably know that!
@cinnamon1212 Really appreciate your advice!
I just checked the Future 500 boys camp page. They have the logos for Princeton, Penn State, Wake Forest and Clemson over the “List of 75 coaches” link. That’s slightly deceptive in my opinion. Also, that list of “75” is really only 29 right now. I’d be leary of any ID camp this summer.
Re Future500 – my D3 kid did it the summer before senior year bc a few coaches would be there that he couldn’t get in front of any other way. Future 500 was his first, and only, mega camp. It served the purpose of getting him in front of specific coaches, but it is a different camp environment than what he knew from elite overnight camps in prior summers. Future 500 was basically an all-game format – players are assigned to one specific team and play several shorter matches a day. The coach of their assigned team was a 2nd assistant from a local program making sure playing time was reasonably fair, but not really coaching in terms of play. The all-game format often led to “selfish” play to make a quick impression on coaches.
Listening to parents, I heard a lot of chatter about how they were there to find the biggest athletic scholarship, without regard to school. I can see how the camp could be useful for that, but that was not our purpose.
I agree, the mega-camps are a different beast with different intentions. But @Midwestmomofboys, how difficult was it to hold in your laughter when hearing parents talk about using them to find the biggest athletic scholarship?
Oh @eb23282 . . . . it was hard. The whole camp felt like we’d landed on an alien planet. All he wanted to do was play in the midfield in front of 3 specific D3 LAC coaches at schools he was really interested in – didn’t happen. He did get D1 interest as a center back since he played in the back 1/2 the games bc the roster was top heavy with midfielders.
Re my post in #13 – I meant to illustrate how absurd the whole thing was, not to sound “braggy.” The point was, at Future 500, what he wanted to accomplish didn’t happen. And then there was this nice but irrelevant interest from a school which was a complete mis-match with his priorities.
@Midwestmomofboys Don’t get me started on goalkeeper training at mega-camps. It’s usually a decent workout, but almost always segregated way off to the side, far from any attending coaches. Then, during scrimmages, splitting time in goal can mean extended periods of inactivity.
@GKUnion I can imagine!