# For parents who have been there, done that....



## Carpediem

As a parent to ulittles who myself grew up in a very different sport, can you tell me at what age was a good representative of your classes skill level?  
For example everyone keeps saying ulittle is way too young to know.  They haven't hit puberty, high school, etc.  
Knowing what you know now about who moved on to college ball or beyond, at what age can you go back in your mind seeing them being a top player on their team?
Are late bloomers actually a thing?  

Just curious as in my sport 12-14 year old successes meant very little long term.


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## NoGoal

It all depends.  What I can tell you is skill, 1st touch, IQ, and hard work paired with athleticism gets to the finish line, along with a coach that believes in the player.

There are at most a dozen to 2 dozen ulittle players per age group and you will know who they are, because they are just at a different level.  These players have already been identified and if they continue on their projected trajectory.  It's a far gone conclusion, they will play college soccer.  

It's the #5-18 ulittle players on A teams and the #1-#11 players on the B teams where the abilities blur somewhat.  IMO, these players are separated primarily by what a club coach values more and how stacked the A team is. When the girls get older and have all gone through puberty, is when you will know which of these players will be better or not.  Some on the A team, get slower and don't work as hard and eventually caught by B team players who maintain their speed and work hard improving their game.

As for late bloomers, yes there is such a thing. I have seen subs on top teams move to another club team with a better coach and in a year or so....improve dramatically, become starters and recruited by college coaches.


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## soccerobserver

CarpeD in addition to what NG said the player needs a good coach. Most of us  have seen stud athletes who dominated at U little but the family stuck with the wrong coach for too long...maybe a charismatic Dad coach or a persuasive "salesman" club coach...As a consequence, former stud athlete forward cannot kick with left foot, stud winger dives and cannot defend well, kick and run fails fast player, forward won't chase back passes, doesn't understand set pieces etc etc...most kids can't get to high level by themselves as they get older...most kids will need the proper coach to develop into a competitive player w a high soccer IQ IMHO...


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## Mystery Train

I had these same questions when my daughter started playing club at U11.  It was very frustrating to wrap my head around decisions about how much of our family's time and resources should be invested in soccer without any understanding of what her potential as a player would be.  She's only 14 now, so we haven't quite "been there done that" yet, but she has played up on some U17 teams and did her first year of HS soccer, and I can see that freshman/sophomore year is really the time that you can start to see the reality of where your kid's potential falls.  I've kept track of all of the best players at her old club at U11.  About half of them are still competing at high levels, but the other half have either quit or have been left behind physically.  So yeah, I can vouch that you generally can't tell at that age.  I suppose the 1% prodigies are the exception to that, but if you have a question as to whether or not your child is a prodigy, the answer is probably "no."


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## Carpediem

Mystery Train said:


> I had these same questions when my daughter started playing club at U11.  It was very frustrating to wrap my head around decisions about how much of our family's time and resources should be invested in soccer without any understanding of what her potential as a player would be.  She's only 14 now, so we haven't quite "been there done that" yet, but she has played up on some U17 teams and did her first year of HS soccer, and I can see that freshman/sophomore year is really the time that you can start to see the reality of where your kid's potential falls.  I've kept track of all of the best players at her old club at U11.  About half of them are still competing at high levels, but the other half have either quit or have been left behind physically.  So yeah, I can vouch that you generally can't tell at that age.  I suppose the 1% prodigies are the exception to that, but if you have a question as to whether or not your child is a prodigy, the answer is probably "no."


You hit the nail on the head. My ulittles are very focused and driven right now so everything seems to be about soccer. When they don't already have games  or practices they want extra training , etc.  They both play on top teams and seem to be liked by their coaches as well as other coaches But I wouldn't call them super stars by any means, definitely not YNT players.   Just trying to figure out how to help them find balance as growing up should be about so much more.  Fortunately they are athletes so do do other sports but on a very minor scale in comparison.  
I was just curious what some of you parents of olders have seen on average as opposed to the special cases.  Even at 10 and 11, both my girls have decided they want to play soccer in college.  It is now my job to help them I guess....


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## MakeAPlay

This is a great thread and every bit of advice has been spot on.  My player was a "B" team player her first two years of club.  She switched clubs, teams and coaches and now is a starter at a top D1.  Don't let your players start dictate her finish.  Ask her what she wants and make a plan.  There are plenty of colleges out there and any girl that wants to play can play.  Support your player.  Believe in her dreams.  Help drive her to the finish.


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## PLSAP

MakeAPlay said:


> This is a great thread and every bit of advice has been spot on.  My player was a "B" team player her first two years of club.  She switched clubs, teams and coaches and now is a starter at a top D1.  Don't let your players start dictate her finish.  Ask her what she wants and make a plan.  There are plenty of colleges out there and any girl that wants to play can play.  Support your player.  Believe in her dreams.  Help drive her to the finish.


I personally think this is so beautiful and couldn't find a rating that I thought was good enough. I love it MAP


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## Striker17

soccerobserver said:


> CarpeD in addition to what NG said the player needs a good coach. Most of us  have seen stud athletes who dominated at U little but the family stuck with the wrong coach for too long...maybe a charismatic Dad coach or a persuasive "salesman" club coach...As a consequence, former stud athlete forward cannot kick with left foot, stud winger dives and cannot defend well, kick and run fails fast player, forward won't chase back passes, doesn't understand set pieces etc etc...most kids can't get to high level by themselves as they get older...most kids will need the proper coach to develop into a competitive player w a high soccer IQ IMHO...


Great post- always amazed at people who think their kid is a great forward with no left foot


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## Multi Sport

All great post, all solid advice. I would just add this...

Sometimes things don't go as planned,  so have a back up plan.  There are injuries, so have patience.  Start the college dream early and do the homework on the schools together but enjoy the time now. It really does go by fast.


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## espola

Striker17 said:


> Great post- always amazed at people who think their kid is a great forward with no left foot


Or, in some cases, no right foot.


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## boots

A foot skills based coach at beginning of this soccer journey (U8 to U12) will help offset any worries about being on the right or wrong side of puberty in the future. Also, you'll find out that a skills based game is more sustainable and attractive to changing landscape of women's soccer.


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## espola

espola said:


> Or, in some cases, no right foot.


When my kids first got into club soccer, the parent of one of the best athletes on the team (who eventually left soccer for baseball) said that the overwhelming majority of goals were scored with a player's stronger foot (I don't know where he got that info, I'm just passing it along).  I asked him if there was any advantage for his son being a switch hitter in baseball.  

One of my fundamental rules of soccer is "play the ball with the closest foot".


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## SocalPapa

My DD is a true two-footed player.  Not a learned skill - she's been equally comfortable with both feet since she first started playing soccer at 5 yrs old. Is that a recruiting advantage or have most recruited players become good enough with both feet through training that there is really no distinction?


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## espola

SocalPapa said:


> My DD is a true two-footed player.  Not a learned skill - she's been equally comfortable with both feet since she first started playing soccer at 5 yrs old. Is that a recruiting advantage or have most recruited players become good enough with both feet through training that there is really no distinction?


If an otherwise excellent player can only play the ball on one side, it will go in a scout's notes.  In a game, it will go into a savvy opponent's mental notes, also.


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## MakeAPlay

SocalPapa said:


> My DD is a true two-footed player.  Not a learned skill - she's been equally comfortable with both feet since she first started playing soccer at 5 yrs old. Is that a recruiting advantage or have most recruited players become good enough with both feet through training that there is really no distinction?


It is a recruiting advantage that I would definitely have her bring up to coaches.  Most prefer a left footed player or a two footed player in certain positions.  Versatility is the key.


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## Bernie Sanders

espola said:


> If an otherwise excellent player can only play the ball on one side, it will go in a scout's notes.  In a game, it will go into a savvy opponent's mental notes, also.


I know of one very well known coach, from a very well known program that basically said, My players need to be proficient with both feet, period.
Its definitely a solid attribute.


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## chargerfan

MakeAPlay said:


> It is a recruiting advantage that I would definitely have her bring up to coaches.  Most prefer a left footed player or a two footed player in certain positions.  Versatility is the key.


We were told early on that being both footed was an advantage. Thankfully she had a coach that enforced it, so she is as strong on her left as her right. Took a few years though. I would say it's worth doing the extra work as coaches really seem to like it. So many girls taking that extra unnecessary touch to use their stronger foot.


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## Lambchop

Striker17 said:


> Great post- always amazed at people who think their kid is a great forward with no left foot


Or the kid who is good with both feet but has no soccer IQ!


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## MakeAPlay

https://www.topdrawersoccer.com/college-soccer-articles/2017-womens-division-i-transfer-tracker_aid41220

Pick the school first, the soccer second....


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## PLSAP

MakeAPlay said:


> https://www.topdrawersoccer.com/college-soccer-articles/2017-womens-division-i-transfer-tracker_aid41220
> 
> Pick the school first, the soccer second....


long list...


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## MakeAPlay

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865679469/UVU-soccer-Florida-States-Moul-transferring-to-Utah-Valley.html

Glad to see her rejoining Lemay at Utah Valley.  She is a great player and an even better person.  My player misses her.  Pick the school not the soccer.


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## DD2002

This is a great post! Every DD story is different. Here's is my DD story (very motivational, please read to the end):
When DD was 4 years old when she played rec soccer for the first time. She scored just about every time she got the ball. We were like I guess she likes soccer.
From 5-7 years DD was just have fun playing AYSO, we enjoyed watching her play. DD took a break from soccer from 8-9 years old, we forgot to sign her up because we have 3 kids and our schedules didn't allow the free Saturdays. DD played U10 AYSO and scored lot of goals but was not selected to the spring select teams. I still remember at the tryout they gave her a number and we were to go to the website in 2 days and check to see if her number was on the list. My DD just stared at the computer screen as we couldn't find her number, to say she was disappointed is a understatement. DD tried club and was labeled a "B" team player so we left club and decided to just allow her to have "fun" playing rec soccer. DD signed up for U12 AYSO and local indoor soccer leagues. DD scored lots of goals and her AYSO team went all the way to state tournament at the end of year, she made the spring select team and did very well at indoor soccer, DD was asked to play 2 years up at the local indoor leagues. Again DD tried out for club soccer again and was told she was not a "A" team player so we decided to take a break from organize soccer BUT DD did not want to stop training. THIS IS WHEN YOUR DD will decide what they want to do, trust me my DD could have quit soccer easily and we would of been fine with her pursuing something different but she had a dream of playing soccer so we supported her 100%. At 11-12 years old my DD trained every single day for 365 days straight she never took a break. I would even find her doing push-ups and sit-ups at night in her room my herself. I would take her to the park at night and she would kick, dribble, run and just flat out work hard every single day. She decorated her bedroom walls with soccer idols and motivation quotes. It was really shocking to us how much motivation she had to succeed even when she was not getting immediate results but we went with it and decided to help her as much as we could. At 11 years old we found her local soccer trainer who at the time only trained boys but he found a interest in our DD so he decided to take her on to make her the "best" soccer player in the world, that was exactly what he said and we were like "this guy is crazy" but DD loved his training sessions. DD enjoyed the challenge of beating boys in soccer so we took her to random parks in a not so good places of town so she could train every week with her trainer, this is where her skills started to rapidly increase. At 12 years old she tried out for club soccer again and was asked to play 1 year up on a "A" team on the best club in our town. We were very proud! At 13 years old she started to change physically and mentally. My DD got bigger, faster and stronger but just lacked experience playing club games. DD did great her 1st year of playing club and earned starting position by the end of the year playing 1 year up. It didn't take long for her to start scoring goals, learning how to play at a higher level and her team has won several tournaments and recently finished 1st place undefeated in league play. At 14 years old I took her to 1 college id camp where 25 colleges attended, DD was amazing at camp showing tremendous skills and scored a game winning goal in the final 11v11 game with dozens of college coaches watching and the game was filmed and sent out to colleges. DD started to get letters and brochures in the mail from top D1 schools and emails daily with camp invites. DD went to a local skills camp at our local D1 campus in town and the coaches were excited to see her there, they knew who she was and wanted to start the process of recruiting her right away. In six months time they kept track of her, shortly after seeing her play at there college id camp, we met with them on campus and my DD made a verbal commitment to our local D1 women's college soccer program at 14 years old (DD is freshman in HS, Class of 2020). My DD was the youngest player to ever be recruited by our local D1 school in any sport. DD has been asked to several national college id camps and to travel to Europe and play with a USA select soccer team this summer. Recently, DD was ranked #16 best forward and #48 best player in Southern California by TopDrawer soccer. We are NOT located in SoCal and DD doesn't play ODP or ECNL. To see my DD play checkout her youtube, #gokyra. The reason I wanted to share my DD story is because every player has a past and it's the reason my DD plays soccer and continues to train hard every single day. If you read all the way down to here thank you and good luck to all those DDs out there and remember to never give up and keep grinding. - Very Proud Soccer Dad


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## espola

DD2002 said:


> This is a great post! Every DD story is different. Here's is my DD story (very motivational, please read to the end):
> When DD was 4 years old when she played rec soccer for the first time. She scored just about every time she got the ball. We were like I guess she likes soccer.
> From 5-7 years DD was just have fun playing AYSO, we enjoyed watching her play. DD took a break from soccer from 8-9 years old, we forgot to sign her up because we have 3 kids and our schedules didn't allow the free Saturdays. DD played U10 AYSO and scored lot of goals but was not selected to the spring select teams. I still remember at the tryout they gave her a number and we were to go to the website in 2 days and check to see if her number was on the list. My DD just stared at the computer screen as we couldn't find her number, to say she was disappointed is a understatement. DD tried club and was labeled a "B" team player so we left club and decided to just allow her to have "fun" playing rec soccer. DD signed up for U12 AYSO and local indoor soccer leagues. DD scored lots of goals and her AYSO team went all the way to state tournament at the end of year, she made the spring select team and did very well at indoor soccer, DD was asked to play 2 years up at the local indoor leagues. Again DD tried out for club soccer again and was told she was not a "A" team player so we decided to take a break from organize soccer BUT DD did not want to stop training. THIS IS WHEN YOUR DD will decide what they want to do, trust me my DD could have quit soccer easily and we would of been fine with her pursuing something different but she had a dream of playing soccer so we supported her 100%. At 11-12 years old my DD trained every single day for 365 days straight she never took a break. I would even find her doing push-ups and sit-ups at night in her room my herself. I would take her to the park at night and she would kick, dribble, run and just flat out work hard every single day. She decorated her bedroom walls with soccer idols and motivation quotes. It was really shocking to us how much motivation she had to succeed even when she was not getting immediate results but we went with it and decided to help her as much as we could. At 11 years old we found her local soccer trainer who at the time only trained boys but he found a interest in our DD so he decided to take her on to make her the "best" soccer player in the world, that was exactly what he said and we were like "this guy is crazy" but DD loved his training sessions. DD enjoyed the challenge of beating boys in soccer so we took her to random parks in a not so good places of town so she could train every week with her trainer, this is where her skills started to rapidly increase. At 12 years old she tried out for club soccer again and was asked to play 1 year up on a "A" team on the best club in our town. We were very proud! At 13 years old she started to change physically and mentally. My DD got bigger, faster and stronger but just lacked experience playing club games. DD did great her 1st year of playing club and earned starting position by the end of the year playing 1 year up. It didn't take long for her to start scoring goals, learning how to play at a higher level and her team has won several tournaments and recently finished 1st place undefeated in league play. At 14 years old I took her to 1 college id camp where 25 colleges attended, DD was amazing at camp showing tremendous skills and scored a game winning goal in the final 11v11 game with dozens of college coaches watching and the game was filmed and sent out to colleges. DD started to get letters and brochures in the mail from top D1 schools and emails daily with camp invites. DD went to a local skills camp at our local D1 campus in town and the coaches were excited to see her there, they knew who she was and wanted to start the process of recruiting her right away. In six months time they kept track of her, shortly after seeing her play at there college id camp, we met with them on campus and my DD made a verbal commitment to our local D1 women's college soccer program at 14 years old (DD is freshman in HS, Class of 2020). My DD was the youngest player to ever be recruited by our local D1 school in any sport. DD has been asked to several national college id camps and to travel to Europe and play with a USA select soccer team this summer. Recently, DD was ranked #16 best forward and #48 best player in Southern California by TopDrawer soccer. We are NOT located in SoCal and DD doesn't play ODP or ECNL. To see my DD play checkout her youtube, #gokyra. The reason I wanted to share my DD story is because every player has a past and it's the reason my DD plays soccer and continues to train hard every single day. If you read all the way down to here thank you and good luck to all those DDs out there and remember to never give up and keep grinding. - Very Proud Soccer Dad


Needs work on her left.


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## DD2002

espola said:


> Needs work on her left.


Wow in 3 mins since post went up! Thanks for the quick advice and watching a video. She has been working hard on left foot!


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## NoGoal

DD2002 said:


> Wow in 3 mins since post went up! Thanks for the quick advice and watching a video. She has been working hard on left foot!


I would also advise, when she juggles don't have her use her knees and keep the ball low.  Don't let the ball go higher than her knees.  Lastly, have her try juggling using her left foot only.

Congrats on your DDs verbal commitment.


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## Zerodenero

DD2002 said:


> This is a great post! Every DD story is different. Here's is my DD story (very motivational, please read to the end):
> When DD was 4 years old when she played rec soccer for the first time. She scored just about every time she got the ball. We were like I guess she likes soccer.
> From 5-7 years DD was just have fun playing AYSO, we enjoyed watching her play. DD took a break from soccer from 8-9 years old, we forgot to sign her up because we have 3 kids and our schedules didn't allow the free Saturdays. DD played U10 AYSO and scored lot of goals but was not selected to the spring select teams. I still remember at the tryout they gave her a number and we were to go to the website in 2 days and check to see if her number was on the list. My DD just stared at the computer screen as we couldn't find her number, to say she was disappointed is a understatement. DD tried club and was labeled a "B" team player so we left club and decided to just allow her to have "fun" playing rec soccer. DD signed up for U12 AYSO and local indoor soccer leagues. DD scored lots of goals and her AYSO team went all the way to state tournament at the end of year, she made the spring select team and did very well at indoor soccer, DD was asked to play 2 years up at the local indoor leagues. Again DD tried out for club soccer again and was told she was not a "A" team player so we decided to take a break from organize soccer BUT DD did not want to stop training. THIS IS WHEN YOUR DD will decide what they want to do, trust me my DD could have quit soccer easily and we would of been fine with her pursuing something different but she had a dream of playing soccer so we supported her 100%. At 11-12 years old my DD trained every single day for 365 days straight she never took a break. I would even find her doing push-ups and sit-ups at night in her room my herself. I would take her to the park at night and she would kick, dribble, run and just flat out work hard every single day. She decorated her bedroom walls with soccer idols and motivation quotes. It was really shocking to us how much motivation she had to succeed even when she was not getting immediate results but we went with it and decided to help her as much as we could. At 11 years old we found her local soccer trainer who at the time only trained boys but he found a interest in our DD so he decided to take her on to make her the "best" soccer player in the world, that was exactly what he said and we were like "this guy is crazy" but DD loved his training sessions. DD enjoyed the challenge of beating boys in soccer so we took her to random parks in a not so good places of town so she could train every week with her trainer, this is where her skills started to rapidly increase. At 12 years old she tried out for club soccer again and was asked to play 1 year up on a "A" team on the best club in our town. We were very proud! At 13 years old she started to change physically and mentally. My DD got bigger, faster and stronger but just lacked experience playing club games. DD did great her 1st year of playing club and earned starting position by the end of the year playing 1 year up. It didn't take long for her to start scoring goals, learning how to play at a higher level and her team has won several tournaments and recently finished 1st place undefeated in league play. At 14 years old I took her to 1 college id camp where 25 colleges attended, DD was amazing at camp showing tremendous skills and scored a game winning goal in the final 11v11 game with dozens of college coaches watching and the game was filmed and sent out to colleges. DD started to get letters and brochures in the mail from top D1 schools and emails daily with camp invites. DD went to a local skills camp at our local D1 campus in town and the coaches were excited to see her there, they knew who she was and wanted to start the process of recruiting her right away. In six months time they kept track of her, shortly after seeing her play at there college id camp, we met with them on campus and my DD made a verbal commitment to our local D1 women's college soccer program at 14 years old (DD is freshman in HS, Class of 2020). My DD was the youngest player to ever be recruited by our local D1 school in any sport. DD has been asked to several national college id camps and to travel to Europe and play with a USA select soccer team this summer. Recently, DD was ranked #16 best forward and #48 best player in Southern California by TopDrawer soccer. We are NOT located in SoCal and DD doesn't play ODP or ECNL. To see my DD play checkout her youtube, #gokyra. The reason I wanted to share my DD story is because every player has a past and it's the reason my DD plays soccer and continues to train hard every single day. If you read all the way down to here thank you and good luck to all those DDs out there and remember to never give up and keep grinding. - Very Proud Soccer Dad


D02, congrats!

Question....based on her story, skill set, rankings etc, it is a tremendous achievement for her to attend/play college ball...again, congrats. But I am curious why she decided to commit so early instead of contining to source other opportunities/looks from more acclaimed universities/athletic programs in the central/nor cal area?


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## CaliKlines

Zerodenero said:


> D02, congrats!
> 
> Question....based on her story, skill set, rankings etc, I am curious why she decided to commit so early instead of contining to source other opportunities/looks from more acclaimed universities/athletic programs in the central/nor cal area?


D02, congratulations...  Some posters on here feel like they have to second guess your family's decision because they think they know better. I'm sure she is thrilled with her decision, and again, congratulations and enjoy it!


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## Zerodenero

CaliKlines said:


> D02, congratulations...  Everyone feels like they have to second guess your family's decision because they know better. I'm sure she is thrilled with her decision, and again, congratulations.


No cali. Not judging at all....Truly interested. Your dd, my dd and a whole lotta dd on this forum have great stories. All different. All respectable. Just enjoy reading about the process my friend.


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## DD2002

Zerodenero said:


> D02, congrats!
> 
> Question....based on her story, skill set, rankings etc, it is a tremendous achievement for her to attend/play college ball...again, congrats. But I am curious why she decided to commit so early instead of contining to source other opportunities/looks from more acclaimed universities/athletic programs in the central/nor cal area?


As parents we just try to put our kids in the best situations possible. DD had a list of ten D1 schools she is interested in. She was contacted by most of them one way or another but for some of the top schools it was hard to assess there interest in her at 13 years old (that's when her process began). Junior year is when "officially" the D1 schools can recruit players but the rate of early commits is very high most top D1 schools already have there players and scholarship money allocated by then. DD was looking at schools during SoCal and NorCal tournaments the past year. Most of those top D1 schools started to commit players my DD age. 1 year up the rate of players making verbal commits increased x3. 2 years up x5. We didn't feel pressure at all to give a verbal commit but when you look at the facts women's college soccer programs recruit youth players. To sum it up, our local D1 school really showed a very high interest, will allow DD to grow athletically and academically (avg college GPA on team was 3.7). In the end they told DD to take her time and they would wait until she knew it was where she wanted to go. DD waited several months before deciding on D1 CSU Bakersfield, which is a great school  for her and the soccer program has improved drastly in past 2 years. Hope that helps!


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## DD2002

CaliKlines said:


> D02, congratulations...  Some posters on here feel like they have to second guess your family's decision because they know better. I'm sure she is thrilled with her decision, and again, congratulations and enjoy it!


Thanks Cali, We are truly happy for DD. DD is super excited!! She just recently attended another id camp at CSU Bakersfield and met players from Washington, Oregon and Colorado all high level ECNL players coming to play for the school in the next few years. Exciting stuff!!!


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## PLSAP

DD2002 said:


> Thanks Cali, We are truly happy for DD. DD is super excited!! She just recently attended another id camp at CSU Bakersfield and met players from Washington, Oregon and Colorado all high level ECNL players coming to play for the school in the next few years. Exciting stuff!!!


Congrats of your DD's commitment!!!
I just have a small question, are you still looking at other colleges? Why are you putting her in more ID Camps? Exposure to other players?


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## DD2002

PLSAP said:


> Congrats of your DD's commitment!!!
> I just have a small question, are you still looking at other colleges? Why are you putting her in more ID Camps? Exposure to other players?


Not looking at other colleges. The college soccer id camp she went to was the college she verbally committed too. DD was youngest player there. Most of the players were out of state 1998-2000, it was definetly good exposure for DD to play against much older players.


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## NoGoal

Zerodenero said:


> No cali. Not judging at all....Truly interested. Your dd, my dd and a whole lotta dd on this forum have great stories. All different. All respectable. Just enjoy reading about the process my friend.


Funny,   Cali got defensive as if it was his DD.  Makes you go hummmmmmm!


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## Zerodenero

NoGoal said:


> Funny,   Cali got defensive as if it was his DD.  Makes you go hummmmmmm!


Well...it certainly reads that way.

But hey....Be it Cal...Cal Tech...and yes, Cal State. All great opportunities and it pretty dang awesome. So to that, I truly say congrats to D02's Dd....congrats!

But you, me and a bunch of other posters w/D1 committed DD's know that taking an early bird (a freshman) offer from a state school is sorta like being a freshman and deciding to marry a girl after the first kiss. There's a whole lotta fish in the sea....go out a bit further, head to the deeper water, you'll find/catch much bigger fish.

I'll wrap my final thought with this...... to the parents with DD's getting offers as freshman. Unless that college, is her #1, dream school, favorite athletic program ever.....It pays to collect the cards another year until at least her sophomore year.

You/your kid will walk away from the table having known you picked the best hand


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## MakeAPlay

NoGoal said:


> Funny,   Cali got defensive as if it was his DD.  Makes you go hummmmmmm!


@CaliKlines is lame and internalizes everything.


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## MakeAPlay

Zerodenero said:


> Well...it certainly reads that way.
> 
> But hey....Be it Cal...Cal Tech...and yes, Cal State. All great opportunities and it pretty dang awesome. So to that, I truly say congrats to D02's Dd....congrats!
> 
> But you, me and a bunch of other posters w/D1 committed DD's know that taking an early bird (a freshman) offer from a state school is sorta like being a freshman and deciding to marry a girl after the first kiss. There's a whole lotta fish in the sea....go out a bit further, head to the deeper water, you'll find/catch much bigger fish.
> 
> I'll wrap my final thought with this...... to the parents with DD's getting offers as freshman. Unless that college, is her #1, dream school, favorite athletic program ever.....It pays to collect the cards another year until at least her sophomore year.
> 
> You/your kid will walk away from the table having known you picked the best hand


ZD as always you give out some very sage advice.  Sometimes it is hard not to get wrapped up in the excitement of getting a first offer.  To many players transfer after their first year of college because of rushing decisions or getting caught up in the excitement.  Taking the time to generate and consider additional opportunities is always a great idea when a player is so early in the process.


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## MakeAPlay

DD2002 said:


> As parents we just try to put our kids in the best situations possible. DD had a list of ten D1 schools she is interested in. She was contacted by most of them one way or another but for some of the top schools it was hard to assess there interest in her at 13 years old (that's when her process began). Junior year is when "officially" the D1 schools can recruit players but the rate of early commits is very high most top D1 schools already have there players and scholarship money allocated by then. DD was looking at schools during SoCal and NorCal tournaments the past year. Most of those top D1 schools started to commit players my DD age. 1 year up the rate of players making verbal commits increased x3. 2 years up x5. We didn't feel pressure at all to give a verbal commit but when you look at the facts women's college soccer programs recruit youth players. To sum it up, our local D1 school really showed a very high interest, will allow DD to grow athletically and academically (avg college GPA on team was 3.7). In the end they told DD to take her time and they would wait until she knew it was where she wanted to go. DD waited several months before deciding on D1 CSU Bakersfield, which is a great school  for her and the soccer program has improved drastly in past 2 years. Hope that helps!


Congratulations!  One of my players ODP teammates had an excellent first year at Bakersfield and loves it.  She is from Bakersfield so she obviously knew what she was getting into.  It sounds like your player has done a lot of hard work to put herself in that position.  Congratulations!  

Now the really hard work begins.  Colleges offer players scholarships based upon where they think that the player will be at 18-22.  The key is to continue to develop and to be ready to contribute on day one.  Good luck to you and your player.


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## Zerodenero

MakeAPlay said:


> @CaliKlines is lame and internalizes everything.


As you know, some teach their young to play checkers....others prefer to play chess.

Ive never met cali, and Im sure he's a decent guy....but over the years, the spirit of cali's posts hasnt changed much and just I'll leave it at that.

Namaste


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## DD2002

MakeAPlay said:


> Congratulations!  One of my players ODP teammates had an excellent first year at Bakersfield and loves it.  She is from Bakersfield so she obviously knew what she was getting into.  It sounds like your player has done a lot of hard work to put herself in that position.  Congratulations!
> 
> Now the really hard work begins.  Colleges offer players scholarships based upon where they think that the player will be at 18-22.  The key is to continue to develop and to be ready to contribute on day one.  Good luck to you and your player.


My DD knows that player. If it's the one I am thinking of she received freshman player of the year in WAC and is rated top 50 freshman in college soccer last year. We went to all the games last year and will continue to do so my DD enjoys watching the team play. The head coach also received head coach of the year award in the WAC last year. They are building a really nice soccer program and in the process of upgrading facilities. The basketball team at the school is also really doing well which helps all the sports programs! My DD has three years to watch the team and see the development of college players which is a plus, we like to watch players off the ball to see there movement patterns and my DD studies each player's body language to help understand how to improve her game play. DD plays for the best club in our town, eats right, trains with boys and workouts daily. We just built a gym at our house and we will be getting her a strength and conditioning trainer soon when she turns 15. It's exciting to watch your kid want to improve everyday. My DD is very honest, humble and hungry to keep getting better everyday, she has been told your not good enough in the past which has sparked a fire that keeps burning every single day (see my original post in this thread). Keep working hard all the DDs out there and you can do accomplish anything!!! Also thank you for the positive comments and advice the reason I posted was too encourage other parents to see that your going to have ups and downs during the process and I am sure my DD will still have some ups and downs in the next few years but in the end your DD will ultimately decide the outcome, just enjoy watching them play!!!


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## espola

DD2002 said:


> ... We just built a gym at our house ...


So I guess you are not really worried about scholarship money.


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## DD2002

espola said:


> So I guess you are not really worried about scholarship money.


Not worried at all one of the reasons DD made her choice to commit at this time.


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## DD2002

DD2002 said:


> Not worried at all one of the reasons DD made her choice to commit at this time.


To clarify for parents going thru the process the college with make a scholarship offer to your DD. Nothing is binding until your DD signs NLI when they are a senior in high school. In our situation we are 100% happy with our DD commitment.


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## Vin

https://mobile.twitter.com/DMVsoccer96/status/866682730448400386/photo/1


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## CaliKlines

Vin said:


> https://mobile.twitter.com/DMVsoccer96/status/866682730448400386/photo/1


Wow, I didn't realize the boys side was so heavily weighted towards the SE and Mid Atlantic states. Percentage wise, CA isn't even close. I wonder if the same holds true with girls?


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## Multi Sport

CaliKlines said:


> Wow, I didn't realize the boys side was so heavily weighted towards the SE and Mid Atlantic states. Percentage wise, CA isn't even close. I wonder if the same holds true with girls?


Read the fine print.. I believe CA has more kids playing HS Soccer then the Eastern Seaboard states combined.  Ok, maybe not combined  but you get the idea.


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## CaliKlines

Multi Sport said:


> Read the fine print.. I believe CA has more kids playing HS Soccer then the Eastern Seaboard states combined.  Ok, maybe not combined  but you get the idea.


I get that, but it doesn't change the fact that players in the SE and mid-Atlantic have a higher probability of being a D1 recruit. (I want to see if there is a mass exodus of west coast families relocating in order to increase their scholarship opportunities.)


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## Mrcoach

Striker17 said:


> Great post- always amazed at people who think their kid is a great forward with no left foot


Like Jordan Morris's parents.


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## Striker17

Thought this was timely 

http://www.eliteclubsnationalleague.com/2017/06/13/the-thousands-of-unique-paths-to-college-and-beyond/


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