My DD has experienced all the above... The club/coach sets the tone and it is consistency that college coaches are looking for both in practice and in games. There are coaches that routinely show up at DDs practices.. Sometimes the coach will alert the girls and others not. Our coach has done a really good job in helping to create the mindset through the training environement. If you're in a situation like this, where coaches are always showing up to practice and games, chances are you have made the right choice for your DD in terms of coach/team.
ECNL vs. DA turf war has created a 'toxic environment'
- Thread starter VegasParent
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soccer661
SILVER ELITE
No no no-- not 7th grade...a bit towards end of 8th grade, but not serious...9th grade got more serious...especially that spring/summer and then she committed in fall of 10th grade...which still was earlier than most of her teammates, but it was one of her dream schools...so made decision early.
Since you don't know what you don't know and know you don't know, let me further shed some light:
Once upon a time ...
College coaches could extend verbal scholarship offers to athletes of any age, but ... verbal scholarship offers from a coach to any athlete are all non-binding, meaning the Coach can rescind the offer and the player is not bound to sign down the road. The athlete can accept a verbal offer and continue to be recruited and visit schools. All offers to 11 and 12 year olds are verbal offers, intended to motivate the athlete to continue down the path. Most college coaches have every intention of making verbal offers official, but must wait for the National Letter of Intent period.
Today ...
the NCAA has closed many of the loopholes that existed and for soccer (money sports (football, M/W basketball and baseball) are excluded) the current rule is college coaches are not allowed to extend a verbal scholarship offer to student-athletes before June 15 after their sophomore year or September 1 of their Junior year.
What this means for you, is you are getting worked up about a problem that has been fixed by the NCAA (assuming D1 and D2)
But ... verbal is non-binding and only until the athlete has signed a Letter of Intent is there a binding scholarship offer made and accepted.
I know you’re not asking me, but I’m going to interject as we are playing in the same sandbox. We had schools reaching out in 7th grade. Not making offers, but contacting our coach and emailing us with what they can “legally” say due to NCAA regulations. We were also asked by our Coach to list your Top 5 schools and encouraged to email those schools.
Like yours, my DD wasn’t interested because, “ Dad, I’m only in 7th grade”. “True, so let’s use this as the dry run/practice and just reach out to a few we know as well as the ones on your list. Cause as a 7th grader, it won’t really matter. But is a great exercise for you.”
Sometimes we have to step back and remove the perceived pressure from the situation and see it for what it is.
Your DD is going to do just fine as long as she does what she does and has fun doing it!
Started beginning of 8th grade year, very heavy towards the end of her 8th grade year, first unofficial and offer in Sept of freshmen year, verbally committed April of her freshman year. About 12-15 visits during freshman year - all but 2 offered at the time, 2 that didn't offer said when your ready let us know, which she did and one of those two is the one she picked. BTW they all know what the other has offered somehow.
Last thing I'll say on this. If your dd loves soccer and wants to continue that into college, let her. I may have missed this but i don't know what year/age your daughter is. She may be interested now but that could all change in high school as I have seen with so many kids.
DA and ECNL are not the only paths to college just the easier paths.
As far as the money goes, don't count on the athletic part, count on the academic part whether or not she continues soccer in college (she should pick the college that suits her best not the scholarship that gets her the most). As i think MAP said most college scholarships except for power 5, are year by year anyway.
Every college coach that we talked to always asked what kind of student our player was. This is in their best interest, if they can get academic money to help cover tuition it allows their athletic money to go further.
Good luck to you and your daughter, try to enjoy the ride
It goes like this Kicker: Soccer Coach to 8th grader: Rules are changing, money is leaving soon......pick NOW!!!!!! Kid: But, but
I understand its all over but now all the $$$$$$$ are gone at the Unicorn schools......hahahahahahahahahahaaha
You are in the top 20%. I want to hear other stories of not going so well........I'm super happy it's is going well for your dd, truly I am.
Out of curiosity, what exactly was she being pressured about? I mean, if she was indeed being told to hurry up and pick, what was she picking? Where offers being made even though she never contacted a school?
MakeAPlay
DA
Please everyone read this post as it is sage advice and I tell you this looking in the rear view mirror.
The ride is much better now. But the last two years was a little of a pressure cooker that I don't think any of you old timers daughters had to go through. That's the whole point of the DA debate. My dd just wants to PLAY. She's 15 and is playing HS and ECNL now after being asked to be one of the first rats (Unicorns) to experience this new "Developmental League" called the DA. I'm mad at the process of putting 12 and 13 year olds through the meat grinder with the help of US Soccer, Surf and UCLA all by the time their 13 years old. It s a BUSINESS to get into college, pure and simple. All you who say, "that's awesome, you a had so and so at your practice" or "Coach K is going all around "poping" in to all the AAU basketball courts with 7th and 8th graders and telling the AAU coach to tell his players they better make a decision by the beginning of 9th grade or $$$ will go to someone else.......that's laughable. Coach K is only coming over to say, "hi" to let said recruit, "I like you." My kid is very happy and I am too. This is the forum to drop off my toxic gas, right?
First, send your list of 5. No college coach can call you, right? So all the 7th and 8th graders write an email (mind never did) with the same old stuff and then your told 100 college coaches watched her game at the DA SHOWCASE SHOWDOWN. If your coach and DOC are professional than maybe you will get some good information for later but that was not happening with the RULE CHANGES coming in May 2019. College coach: Look, thanks for calling me Sally. Your amazing, I need a Center Back for your class and your my #1 favorite. I need an answer by Monday or I will call my 2nd favorite CB and so on. Player: Ok, thanks coach for being patient and allowing me the time to consider the next four years, I mean in four years consider the next four years of my life. Player laying bed Sunday night wondering WTF to do.......that is INSANE!!!!!
Coach text back and asks, "I forgot to ask what your grades are like?
You’re Roll playing something and making a lot of assumptions that aren’t the reality in my experience.
Look... I think we can all agree that the process (pre-rule change) was insane. My DD was part of the insanity (commited Oct. of last year early part of her Sophomore year), but what tempered that was our family making sure she understood what was going on and what she needed to do in order to make informed decisions. We made sure to expose her to different schools and the pros/cons associated. All along the way making sure her aspirations/goals weren't pipe dreams with her coach and DOC. As MAP and others have always said, picking the school based on academic merit is primary. Once that is narrowed down go from there. My DD has always had college/education on her mind from early age because we planted that seed. That said, she also wants to be a pro, so the soccer part was of equal importance. Sure ideas change and motivations change... I get that, but you have to be able to discern what is real, what is chatter and what ultimately makes your kid tick & guide them accordingly. Each recruiting process is different for each individual. You can/should take tips from this forum (which are fantastic and helped me through my daughter's recruitment), but the journey is hers and your family's alone. The shit you're hearing regarding making quick decisions is the "chatter" I'm talking about. From what you say, it sounds like your DD will not have a shortage of options. Weigh them all with her when she's ready and make informed decisions that works for her and your family, in terms of the school, the soccer and the financials.
Keep in mind Kicker your dd is 2023. No pressure for most 2023s but I could imagine if I put myself in your shoes (I do that sometimes) your dd would feel a tad little more pressure than the other Unicorns (total joke, you know me, I hope) because of a certain list she is on? Are you saying you had no "opportunities" that someone was telling you could happen if you pick up the phone? The top Unicorns in 2022 had pressure if they wanted $$$$$$$$ towards school and have 90% paid for or more. How do you think the phone calls went with them? Just curious. Today's 7th or 8th grader grader won't be having that phone call now. which is soooooooooo gooooooooooood for our DAUGHTERS. I'm happy your dd got to practice her phone calling and I mean that with respect. I know other 2022s who did it for that reason as well. I am starting to get concerned for some of them because maybe they, shoulda, coulda, woulda taken the deal $$$ at ASU instaed of hoping USC or UCLA will coma knocking. Maybe they still will???? Come on Kicker, were not hearing about the other 8 that it went horrible for. MAP and few are stoked and that's great for them.
(commited Oct. of last year early part of her Sophomore year). Older forum folks keep saying stuff like this. Thanks for the info though.
Many, not all 2022s went through hell pressure wise, trust me!!!! College coaches were begging for kids to call. TRUST ME!!!!! In 6th grade DOCs or coaches called me to ask for my dd services because she was a hell of a playa. In 8th grade the coaches called again (dd is free agent, wants to play HS) and it went like this.
ECNL COACH: Where do you want to play in college?
DD: Not sure I want to.
Coach: Good bye
Next Coach: Your amazing soccer player. We sure could use some help!!!!! BTW, where you be wanting to play soccer in college? How your grades?
DD: Not sure I want to play in college.
Coach: Then why you here.
I have more but you get the point. She actually found a great TEAM and is happy to be just one of the beautiful unicorns that all of our daughters are despite how tall, fast or big they are in 7th grade. All players who take to the pitch are all beautiful unicorns
Some are smarter than the other ones, been given God given talent, blessed with parents that have the means to pay for it and are just better than the rest of us and because of that, they can play at UNICORN U. Trying to get 13 year olds to train 10 months out of the year to be the next Alex Morgan or OM is insane. However, if they fail at that their next task is getting a 4.5 GPA and be a hell of a playa is just as insane. This is why we will lose to Spain or some other EURO team next world cup. We all watched the games this year. Thank God for PKs. Show my dd the $$$$, not college and she might start training every day This pathway is full of snakes and their everywhere.
MakeAPlay
DA
MakeAPlay
DA
(commited Oct. of last year early part of her Sophomore year). Older forum folks keep saying stuff like this. Thanks for the info though.
Many, not all 2022s went through hell pressure wise, trust me!!!! College coaches were begging for kids to call. TRUST ME!!!!! In 6th grade DOCs or coaches called me to ask for my dd services because she was a hell of a playa. In 8th grade the coaches called again (dd is free agent, wants to play HS) and it went like this.
ECNL COACH: Where do you want to play in college?
DD: Not sure I want to.
Coach: Good bye
Next Coach: Your amazing soccer player. We sure could use some help!!!!! BTW, where you be wanting to play soccer in college? How your grades?
DD: Not sure I want to play in college.
Coach: Then why you here.
I have more but you get the point. She actually found a great TEAM and is happy to be just one of the beautiful unicorns that all of our daughters are despite how tall, fast or big they are in 7th grade. All players who take to the pitch are all beautiful unicorns
I think that Mr. Miyagi has the best advice for your situation:
Good luck to you and your player.
The shit you're hearing regarding making quick decisions is the "chatter" I'm talking about.
Its not chatter.....its true. It already happened. You think I would be on here to make this shit up? Before, UCLA would hold on to their "tickets" into paradise until a little later like sophomore year. All the top coaches new about the "new rule." Your kid got to wait a little longer, right? Still bad but better. "Attention K Mart Shoppers, the NCAA has changed the rules for the girls. However, they have two months to find 8 studs (really been watching from a far probably since 6th grade) so send your emails quickly and set up your phone call through your trusted coach who only has the best in mind for your dd.....hurry,
hurry, hurry.......
I agree the process was not good in the past and my daughter felt all the pressure of the coaches even though we had let them know that we would not be choosing a college until the following summer. That being said i'm not sure it's going to be any better in the future. In the past from my experience it worked something like this: YNT "unicorns" (2-4 players on top level teams ECNL/DA) verbally committed freshman year/early sophomore year for the most part, then you had a few (2-3)of the next level players go during their sophomore year then literally everyone else if they wanted to play soccer committed their junior year sometime and maybe a few stragglers lasted into their senior year. Our entire team was more or less done by their senior year.
I don't really know how the process is going to work now. Is it going to be a free for all after June 15th of their sophomore year because you now have 2700 girls chasing the money? How can coaches make offers June 15th if they really haven't spoken to the kids. Are player/parents going to have to do numerous unofficial tours during the summer between sophomore and junior years. It's going to be crazy next June 15th for the 2022 class when 2700 of the 2800 girls try to figure out what is available to them and the coaches running around trying to figure out who is available to them. We were fortunate and grateful that my daughter was recruited early due to her God given ability and her hard work but It wasn't easy and the pressure is real. All that being said, i'm not sure the new rules are better, we will have to wait and see.
Bottom line is there are plenty of opportunities for players of all different abilities in this country including about 4690 DI scholarships (335 DI soccer schools x 14) which probably means about 10,000 female athletes will get some money for D1 soccer. That doesn't count the opportunities for DII, DIII and NAIA.
Good luck to all of you now going through the recruiting process and as hard as it is, try to have fun with it.
Just FYI, i think youth soccer is more screwed up now than it ever has been before and the USSF and parents (I include myself in this category) are to blame.