Minimum height for a goalie?

Fact

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One of my children was good enough for his team to play half time in goal and half on the field for most of his soccer career. We were fine with him playing goalie from a young age because we knew that if this was the path he chose, he would be tall enough to continue playing at a high level and was developing the foot skills to play out the back. When his friends were being recruited coaches told them that they would not even bother looking at anyone under 5'10" regardless of vertical jump. But this was awhile ago.

My concern is when I see Ulittles in goal only because their team has not found a taller committed goalie. I see these kids lose development opportunities to play on the field and know that they will most likely be replaced when someone taller comes along.

For those of you currently in the recruiting mode, what are you hearing about the minimum height to be recruited? Both for boys and girls, assuming DII, DIII and NAIA.
 
One of my children was good enough for his team to play half time in goal and half on the field for most of his soccer career. We were fine with him playing goalie from a young age because we knew that if this was the path he chose, he would be tall enough to continue playing at a high level and was developing the foot skills to play out the back. When his friends were being recruited coaches told them that they would not even bother looking at anyone under 5'10" regardless of vertical jump. But this was awhile ago.

My concern is when I see Ulittles in goal only because their team has not found a taller committed goalie. I see these kids lose development opportunities to play on the field and know that they will most likely be replaced when someone taller comes along.

For those of you currently in the recruiting mode, what are you hearing about the minimum height to be recruited? Both for boys and girls, assuming DII, DIII and NAIA.
It's probably more difficult to be recruited, but you can certainly find smaller GKs at academically oriented D3 colleges. In a quick check of a random set of schools distributed around the country (Redlands (CA), Carleton (MN), Carnegie Mellon (PA), and Vassar (NY)), all have at least one GK who is 5'9", 5'8", or 5'7". Probably depends upon the coach.

More broadly, though, the percentage of ALL kids, even those on top flight teams at U-little, who go on to play college soccer is exceedingly small. The question shouldn't be what is going to happen to the kid later on, but does the kid love it. If that's what the kid is passionate about, let him have fun. If he's not, though, then find him another situation even if he's great at it and likely to be 6'4" when he grows up.
 
For those of you currently in the recruiting mode, what are you hearing about the minimum height to be recruited? Both for boys and girls, assuming DII, DIII and NAIA.
I think there are exceptions to every rule, and I've posted before about short keepers who have succeeded at very high levels, so I always cringe when I hear coaches say things like they "don't bother even looking" if a player is not X feet and inches tall. BUT, there is a general threshold that is obvious most college coaches observe, so as a parent, it's good to know what that is before going into the recruiting years.

For girls, 5'7" is about the cut-off point for most D1 programs and high level soccer programs in the smaller school divisions. You'll see 5'6" and 5'5" keepers sprinkled throughout the D3 and NAIA ranks, though. Search really hard and you might find a couple at 5'4".

I've done a lot of research on women's college rosters, and not much on the men's side, but I would imagine you would add 3-4 inches to the numbers I put for the girls. That would make the 5'10" estimate you mentioned about right for D1 keepers on the shorter end of the spectrum, but still viable.
 
On the boys side, it all depends on the style of the coach, based on our experience.

In college, many coaches collect physically advantaged players - taller, faster and stronger - over technical players (especially in the east coast). So if the coach of the school of interest is one of those, the keeper better be 6-1 and above (same goes for CBs and F).

There are plenty of technical coaches too. They tend to like size too but not to the extent as mentioned. They put more value to reaction time quickness, footwork for body positioning and soccer IQ for positioning defending players. As long as the keeper is around 5-10~6, and has other attributes and quality, then the player has a chance.

All that said, for shorter players - field or goal - they need to really shine to be noticed over taller, bigger players.

As for D1 vs others, its over generalization to say if this, then D1, if not D2/D3/NAIA. There are plenty of D1 quality players in D3 and vise-versa. It just depends on the program and the school. There are so many small D1 schools in the east that they get who they get.
 
@Fact,
I cringe too seeing young players get pigeon holed in goal for the reasons you cite. With every collegiate soccer team you have your recruits and walk-ons. When it comes to GKs, I understand that program wills have two legitimate starters that are recruited and another 1 or two walk-ons to support training. So when you look at a men's D1 roster with two keepers that are 6'1 and 6'3 and another that is 5'10, you can figure out the walk-on.

From what I understand, the typical college coach looks at a HS player, especially a GK and says to himself, hmmm, not quite there yet but he has the height, athleticism, and psyche. His technique, footwork, speed, etc., needs to improve and MY STAFF can bring this kid to the next level. Virtually all 15-17 year old boys are a good 3-4 years from being field players at the collegiate level, so the coaches are picking potential and its much safer going with the tall kid with the right psyche than the short kid with the same psyche.
 
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