Recruiting Tips for Parents Just Starting the Process
- Thread starter MakeAPlay
- Start date
Do you know what year that represents?
Looks like the average number of hs recruits is probably 3 per college
What I don't think is plausible is the statement that 90% of all ECNL players will play in college. To make this work 18 out of every ECNL teams 20 player roster would play in college. This likely happens with the better teams but not every ECNL team.
I would believe that 80% of D1 recruits are ECNL. This aligns with what you can see in the rankings app.
When I see statistics thrown around without corresponding data that doesn't seem likely it bothers me.
I got you... but remember, there are schools like Southern New Hampshire University. Essentially 2 floors of an office building, in the middle of a strip mall, with a parking lot and advertising budget.
I don't know if they truly change the trajectory of your life but many of these schools have a women's soccer team. I know ladies attending and playing at these schools and half the time they show up expecting the lobby doors to be locked.
this is right now
The statement was 90% of the D1 recruits come from ECNL but this year its panning out to be around 80%. I think like 60% of all ECNL players will play D1. I just saw that stat too but I cant remember where.
You're making a third statement. "90% of the D1 recruits come from ECNL"
Here's where the 90% statement came from. Which invalidates both percentage statements.
Girls ECNL - FC Alliance Knoxville
https://fcallianceknox.org/girls-ecnl-coaching-staff/ FC ALLIANCE GIRLS ECNL Elite Clubs National League is considered one of the best youth girls leagues in the world. The league features the top youth clubs in the United States in a collaboration to raise the level of soccer in this country...
fcallianceknox.org
Elite Clubs National League is considered one of the best youth girls leagues in the world. The league features the top youth clubs in the United States in a collaboration to raise the level of soccer in this country. As much as 70% of the league moves on to NCAA Division 1 college soccer in any given year. Typically 90% of ECNL players play some level of college soccer.
I think you can see what I'm getting at. There is some valid ECNL detail floating around about college commitments and player level. However there's also a bunch of nonsense that's just not true. Parents latch onto what aligns most with their expectations and regurgitate it as fact.
Ok well I was just trying to clarify what I originally said where I thought 90% of the D1 recruits this year were from ECNL and I was wrong. I never said 90% of ECNL players play D1 so that's what I was trying to clarify as that's crazy. I then did more research though on what I saw and I found that around 80% of the D1 POWER 4 recruits from this year as a week ago or so were from the ECNL so I guess that's what I should of clarified.You're making a third statement. "90% of the D1 recruits come from ECNL"
Here's where the 90% statement came from. Which invalidates both percentage statements.
Girls ECNL - FC Alliance Knoxville
https://fcallianceknox.org/girls-ecnl-coaching-staff/ FC ALLIANCE GIRLS ECNL Elite Clubs National League is considered one of the best youth girls leagues in the world. The league features the top youth clubs in the United States in a collaboration to raise the level of soccer in this country...
Elite Clubs National League is considered one of the best youth girls leagues in the world. The league features the top youth clubs in the United States in a collaboration to raise the level of soccer in this country. As much as 70% of the league moves on to NCAA Division 1 college soccer in any given year. Typically 90% of ECNL players play some level of college soccer.
I think you can see what I'm getting at. There is some valid ECNL detail floating around about college commitments and player level. However there's also a bunch of nonsense that's just not true. Parents latch onto what aligns most with their expectations and regurgitate it as fact.
aong cangkol
SILVER
If we use an average club as an example, SoCal Blues 2024 college commits, I believe 12 players were offered (about 50%). Perhaps more are going to walk on and community college.
I think it is a marketing word play, it says "...will play...". It does not specify got an offer or which league. There is club soccer in college as well.
"...80% D1 recruits are ECNL..." This is more believable.
Looking this up made me realize ECNL only starts in 2009. I thought they have been the ruler of US girl soccer since the beginning of time.
Therefore it is possible the landscape will change again, not saying it would be better or worse.
I agree with 80% of D1 is formerly ECNL..
When you look through the ranking app at top clubs you can see which league is largely represented.
If I was a D1 coach that's where I'd start looking for players. But, I'd also look at the top clubs from other leagues because they wouldn't be as picked over for talent.
When you look through the ranking app at top clubs you can see which league is largely represented.
If I was a D1 coach that's where I'd start looking for players. But, I'd also look at the top clubs from other leagues because they wouldn't be as picked over for talent.
The discussion got me curious so I dug a little further.
"Per our analysis of almost 1900 players in the 2025 class, the breakdown is as follows as far as D1 commits per league:
63% NL
21%GA
5% ECRL
6.5% USYS, E64, DPL, Other
4.5% International
Source: @ImYouthSoccer on X.com
My takeaways - some subjective, some not:
-ENCL and GA (not just ECNL) are the main sources of D1 players (83%). It's hard to get D1 if you're not in one of the leagues.
-ECNL sends the most girls to D1 (3x GA)
-GA also sends many girls to D1 (many is subjective but 400+ is a good amount in my eyes)
-According to the source, there are 349 D1 women's soccer programs and they estimate there will be 2100 slots in D1 for 2026. So that's over 6 recruits per program on average.
"Per our analysis of almost 1900 players in the 2025 class, the breakdown is as follows as far as D1 commits per league:
63% NL
21%GA
5% ECRL
6.5% USYS, E64, DPL, Other
4.5% International
Source: @ImYouthSoccer on X.com
My takeaways - some subjective, some not:
-ENCL and GA (not just ECNL) are the main sources of D1 players (83%). It's hard to get D1 if you're not in one of the leagues.
-ECNL sends the most girls to D1 (3x GA)
-GA also sends many girls to D1 (many is subjective but 400+ is a good amount in my eyes)
-According to the source, there are 349 D1 women's soccer programs and they estimate there will be 2100 slots in D1 for 2026. So that's over 6 recruits per program on average.
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WatchthemPlay
BRONZE
Takeaways from my kids’ recruitment if the real goal is D1 and they objectively can play that level. These are tips to maximize exposure. It doesn’t mean you have to do all these things or kids don’t get recruited with much less work. It is a lot of commitment and time and your kid has to drive this process.
- Cast a very wide net starting in 8th grade. You seriously have no idea how your kid’s interests, exposure, and playing level/style/position is going to change by the time they can talk to coaches on June 15th before junior year. Help your player create an email template that can be personalized for each school. Help your kid create a player resume that can be added to. Help your kid create a highlight video that can be added and subtracted from. Help your kid set up sport specific instagram and X. X is actually more important as coaches seem to use the platform more. Help your kid set up a soccer specific email account. Help your kid email coaches every few months starting in 8th grade & 9th grade (girls). Email monthly in 10th grade. Include new videos and updates with each email. Email invites and thank you’s with videos and any accolades before and after showcases. Let your kid take the lead, do the work and listen to them.
- Attend local ID camps for extra touches, networking and getting the vibe of college starting in 7th grade. This increases the comfort level of interacting with coaches greatly and helps your player to see what they like in a college. As a side note, neither of my kids committed to a school they attended a camp at, but I think it was very useful for the above reasons regardless. I also think camps are really helpful later in the process (sophomore year) if your kid is on a team that gets less exposure, if your kid doesn’t play as much on their team or they have a school they are in love with and want to show extra interest. However, in those scenarios, I would select camps where your kid is super interested in the school and the level is realistic otherwise it’s likely a waste of time and money.
- Be on the most competitive/successful ECNL or GA team your kid is going to start and play a lot on. Starting may be less important if your kid is on a very good team, but only if they still get significant play time. Successful teams will make playoffs which gives more exposure so that’s ideal. It’s very rare for coaches from top programs to track down non-playoff/less competitive teams to watch at showcases unless your kid is a star who has done an incredible job persuading them to come. However, it’s a delicate balance between being on the very best team with limited play time and a more medium team but play the whole game. Ultimately, I would still prefer my kid be on the medium team where they play the whole time/the coach totally supports them and just work harder to go to more ID camps, send more emails, make more highlight videos to get exposure.
- The above info applies whether it’s ECNL or GA. Have had kids in both systems. Same college coaches came to watch the top teams in ECNL and GA. Playing a lot on the team is still critical. I would say there is more exposure on a medium ECNL team vs a medium GA team (assuming they are playing the same amount of time on both). However, there is the same exposure opportunity on the very top ECNL and GA teams. Again, they need to be playing so that should be the key factor in deciding.
- Emails and social media give exposure, but it’s very rare to get recruited unless that translates when a coach comes to watch a game or practice. It’s very stressful, but a kid has to be able to show their talents. Having a coach watch at showcases and being a standout is way more important than I thought it would be. This is something out of your control as a parent and a lot of time out of your kid’s control depending on the dynamic, but if they are getting considerable play time and are on a team that coaches are going to come watch they have the greatest opportunity to show their skills. If you are getting 15 minutes play time or coaches aren’t there due to the level of the team, it’s a lot harder.
- Having a coach who supports your kid and has connections is important. Our experience is college coaches will directly talk with club coaches before June 15th if they are interested. They will give feedback after showcases about kids they like. They will call a club coach if they receive an email from a kid they are interested in. This is all before June 15th. For one of my kids, we had a pretty good idea of which colleges were excited about her probably 6 months before June 15th based upon discussions between her club coach and college coaches. Showcase performances and emails from our kid to college coaches expressing interest prompted conversations between her club and college coach. If we didn’t trust her club coach and her club coach wasn’t an advocate of her, it would be an obstacle. If coaches aren’t reaching out and your kid is doing all the things, it’s also a good indication that maybe they are aiming too high at this time and need to adjust their college list.
- Communication needs to be open with the club coach. Parent, kid and club coach need to all talk about goals, where they are in the process, and college lists on an ongoing basis. You need to get input on coaches on which colleges are realistic and this may change over time. Copy club coach on emails to colleges so they are in the loop if a college coach reaches out to them. Tell the club coach if a college coach is coming to a game. They can’t help or support if they don’t know what’s going on.
06/07 blues team is ranked 153 in the nation so arguably 3000+ girls better than them. If you’re looking at that team and 50% got offered that’s absolutely amazing!
What’s Koges numbers?
I got a question. If Alex Morgan was coming up right now as lets say a 13 year old player in SoCal does she have the same career path and see the same success in soccer?
Probably only if her parents were willing to drive from Diamond Bar to Norco or Great Park 5 times a week.
I think she played for Surf a couple of months.
I'm talking skill wise. The little video their is of her playing soccer at that age is interesting. I think the skill level has just jumped exponentially in just those 15 years. I'm asking would her 13 year old skill level she was at be able to hang with a 13 year old top player now?
Yes as a outside back.
Soccerfan2
GOLD
I don’t think so personally. Search up some old WNT games on YouTube from the early 2000’s. USA v Brazil 2004 for example. The difference in skill vs today is clearly visible.