Hi everyone, I am an international athlete who has kept in touch with a few schools some have shown interest basically one from school from the Pac 12 two from big ten and one from big 12. But I am really worried I sent out lots of emails without thinking about the fact that they are all in season.
Makes me unsure if they had a chance to read, etc. Also, I am hoping to start school in 2019 and feel like it is getting too late. Sorry for rambling just don’t know where to turn to. I also don’t want to send emails unnecessary and seem pushy.
Another school asked for game footage after reading my prospective student athlete questionnaire I almost answered immediately, but haven’t gotten an answer, it has been two months, but the same happened to another school and they later said that they were interested, it could have to do with timing but not sure.
You are correct that D1 schools are wrapping up their conference tournaments and preparing for national tournament. At the same time, soccer commitments are announced in February, I think, so the coaching staff is likely still working recruiting at the same time as coaching. Since you are international, coaches haven’t had the opportunity to see you at recruiting camps or major tournaments, so you have to work harder to get noticed. Make sure your emails are addressed to all the assistant coaches, not just the head coach. Send updated film, even if it is not “fancy” – the point is to demonstrate your skill on and off the ball, speed, field sense etc. It just needs to show what you can do in order to get them interested. Don’t panic, but don’t wait too long either.
Do you have or want a back up plan? We are in the midwest and know a bunch of guys who play at NAIA and NCCAA (religious schools but many have very diverse rosters, with lots of international students). Both leagues offer athletic scholarships and may be worth a look while you continue to work the D1 schools.
Sending emails to assistant coaches was something I noticed and later sent to them and was happy to see that
I got a few more responses. Some schools have asked for more footage but I just finished my season an plan on playing for a D1 senior team so if it doesn’t work out with college I will just stay home. But thank you for mentioning an alternative.
I plan on being able to send more footage within a month when I continue preseason with a D1 team. But I am just so worried I feel like a lot of emails have just gone unanswered. Even the ones not interested gave a response it feels a lot harder without any response at all, currently I am trying to figure out if there is anything productive I can do within this month.
Also thank you for taking your time with your response.
Are you male or female? Can’t tell from your posts. The Big 12 schools (Texas, Texas Tech, Texas Christian, etc.) do not have men’s soccer teams at the NCAA level. They do have women’s teams.
Yes, the teams are still playing, and the better teams are in playoffs. It is very late for a senior, but you may want to keep up the contact and take a gap year.
I am actually taking a gap year right now, for private reasons I chose to work and play D1 club soccer. Also, heard from a few others that it is getting late but at the same time I know people who played at my level with/against me who started this process around this time in 2017 for the 2018 season and have succeeded.
I forgot to ask whether you think I should try emailing some of the schools who have not responded again in case they only not answered because of the timing and being in season etc, or does that seem presumptuous?
You do need to continue emailing coaches, every other week is probably good. You should cast a wide net, as it is late, and likely some school’s incoming recruit classes are full. Do you have a recruiting profile at one of the sites such as becrecruited.com with sport highlights and academic stats? A twitter account with highlight video? If so, direct them to the sites in your email and/or when you fill out the online recruiting questionnaire.
Lastly, is your club coach/other personnel contacting coaches on your behalf? If not, why?
Thank you for your input so I started emailing about 20 schools a few months ago and some have shown interest, but some have not replied at all, which makes me believe that maybe I should mail those same schools again. All I have is a YouTube channel, until now I have mailed and filled out recruitment questionnaires. No coach has helped me, but that has to do with people expecting you to go pro after the level I am at now. (I am from Europe).
Do you believe that it would be alright to write to them again and say something like, I tried to reach out to you earlier, but it might not have been a good timing so I though I would try again. (Obviously I don’t want to sound ignorant).
I honestly appreciate any input from people on this website since I don’t really know where to turn to otherwise.
Yes, it is ok to email again. Don’t explain in second email why you are emailing again. Email goes to head coach, copy all assistant coaches. Tell them your academic stats (make sure your stats are in range), and soccer experience. Tell them why you would be a good fit for College X and their program. Provide link to your youtube channel.
Focus on schools that fit from a talent and academic perspective, especially ones that you know have taken players from your club and/or other european clubs. Be confident and concise in communications, obviously you have a lot of soccer talent. If you haven’t filled out each college’s online recruiting questionnaires do that too, you never know which communication will get a coach’s attention. If your current coach has had contact with any of these college coaches by way of former players going there, ask him/her to email/call with their support.
Lastly, at this point, 20 schools may not be enough, I suggest a wider net, if this is the path you are certain you want. Are you looking at only at DI and DII schools? Do you need financial aid/scholarships? Are you applying to US colleges whether you can play soccer there or not?
Wow, thank you for such a well written response I am going to start looking at other schools to get in touch with and try to get in touch with the ones who haven’t responded. But should I fill out the same questionnaires to the same schools even though I haven’t gotten a response from that school when filling it out earlier? Also would you recommend sending separate emails to the head coach and assistant or does that no matter?
I am honestly just interested in D1 schools otherwise I feel like I might as well stay home and study and play D1 and hopefully even higher here.
If you already filled out the recruiting questionnaire, no need to do it again. You can email coach and assistants separately, but I don’t think you have to. It does allow for more personalization to do them separately, on the other hand it takes more time. So, your choice. (Of course, don’t combine coaches from different schools on the same email!) You can also call the coaches, just mind the time difference.
Targeting DI in your case, for the reasons you cite, makes sense. You will also need to register with the NCAA eligibility center: https://web3.ncaa.org/ecwr3/ Good luck!
I just sent out a few more emails and will send out more tomorrow. I think I will register with NCAA when I feel like it is getting more serious. Once again thanks for all the helpful advice.
Just saw that people have started signing today I though that was in february? Also is there any point in trying to contact teams who have published their signings or does thath mean that they are done?
There used to be an early signing period (1 week) in the fall and then no signings until mid-April. Now that is for basketball, another week in Dec for football, but other sports just start signing now and go until school starts.