Post date: Jan 22, 2018 2:44:43 PM
1. Any player interested in playing college soccer, regardless of what level, should complete the following:
1a. Player Profile (one page resume) (see attached template)
1b. If possible put together video clips of good plays. Audio isn't needed, but the plays should be long enough to see your movement off the ball (15-20 secs before you actually make the play). Limit the video highlights to less than 7 mins.
1c. Inform your current (and past) coaches of your desire (comp. & HS)
1d. Research the schools you are interested in attending; make sure they have the academic programs you want
1e. Research those schools' soccer programs; determine which positions you'd like to tryout for; strongly consider attending a training/id camp at the school.
1e. HS Junior/Senior year reach out to those schools' coaches (possibly earlier, see #2 and email turn-offs #3) & apply for NCAA or NAIA Eligibility (see attached document below and their attached guides).
2. Timeline
2a. Can start #1 as early as HS Freshman year IF you are playing Varsity ball; otherwise as soon as you are playing Varsity ball. UNLESS it is a NCAA Div I school.
NCAA Div I rules changed (May 2019) for soccer to the following:
No communication with a student-athlete is allowed until June 15 after sophomore year.
No official visits, unofficial visits or off-campus contact is allowed until August 1 before junior year.
No recruiting conversations or verbal offers are allowed until June 15 after sophomore year.
2b. Never too late to do so (odds go down the longer you wait, but some recruits do dropout late)
3. Player to Prospective College Coach Email Turn-offs. Introductory emails from student-athletes to college coaches can be a great way to break the ice and get their information in front of a program they are interested in. But, the opposite can also be said of introductory emails—they can close doors to college programs, too. In our recent survey of over 395 college coaches, they revealed their top email deal-breaker:
Generic emails that are copy and pasted
The have the wrong school name or coach’s name
They mention a major the school doesn't offer
The student-athlete has done no research on the school
They ask for a scholarship immediately
The email is written by the parent
There’s no club information included
They have poor grammar
The student-athlete has poor academics
Using the phrase: "If they are bad at soccer"
Using the phrase: "Come watch me play"
The financial situation won't work
4. What current & former coaches can/should relay to prospective college coaches:
Here’s the information that they hope to learn when seeking a recommendation or reference from an athlete’s current coach: