My daughters experience was similar with her committing in April of her freshman year. Our manager did the same with the brochures/profiles of the team. I do think it can be a bad thing for the rest of the players that aren't committed do to the fact that not nearly the number of coaches came to watch our games once those top players committed. When our top players weren't committed we had huge numbers of coaches watching, once they committed early our coach numbers dropped. Obviously they were there to watch those top players but others could benefit if they did the things needed to stand out. The club coaches really weren't involved except for passing on the initial interest, the players took over after that.
well, after countless soccer seasons, cost sensitivities have long since left the building. LOL
Have your player email and call the coaches of colleges they are interested in. It is not complicated, it just takes some time. This is work they will need to do with or without the third-party recruiting services, so in my opinion, no need to spend the money.
This has also been mentioned previously in this thread, but I'll mention it again. When your DD attends showcase events (assuming ECNL, DA, NPL), the events themselves are ususally linked with some of these services. My DD has both Total Global Sports, Scouting Zone and one other where you can create a profile and put your DD's relevant info/grades/accolades, as part of the particular event. The college coaches leverage these sites during the event and so as long as you create the profile, they will have access to it and it's free (basic profile). I agree you don't need to spend any money on things like this specifically for this reason. However, some folks do spend the cash have good feelings about a number of platforms so it's really up to you, but just know that your DD can do the same thing just by actively sending out communication to the coaches where she has interest. Main thing is to make sure you're on a team that gets looks and goes to some marquee events where coaches flock. Much easier to make the connections.
Great post. I agree. My kid just finished and went through some big time challenges but wouldn’t have traded it for anything. Loved where she was and got the most out of both academics and athleticsAs my kiddo is wrapping up her 1st year in college as a "student-athlete" playing women's soccer, i've learned a lot as a parent. But of all the learnings, the one that stood out (by a LARGE margin) that I highly encourage all parents to discuss with their recruited player is this ....
**Choose the college your player loves FIRST, soccer program SECOND** (in that specific order)
For example: My kiddo had a great rookie year and played/started 75% of the pre and regular season. Once season ended, all hell broke loose as her coaching staff resigned/got fired, subsequently arrested by the FED's, and her school/soccer program became ground zero to the largest college scandal in decades..... My player also endured a late season concussion, and just recently another concussion in a spring game. At this point, given the long term affects of recurring concussions and her future goals/objectives, she's decided to sit out next year and will likely become the team manager until she graduates in 2022.
But at the end of the day, regardless of the injuries she's endured .....regardless of the $hitstorm within her soccer program..... she's stoked to be where she is, and doing what she's doing. Why?......she chose her dream school 1st, soccer program 2nd - and it's made all the difference.
Best of luck to all of parents of players in the process. Soccer can be a "golden ticket" of opportunity.....encourage/guide your player to use it wisely
I've always felt it best to be honest and up front. Since I was the one making the brochure, I made sure to list the player's that had committed. Btw, the ones listed still received emails and offers after listing them as COMMITTED in bold red letters, that's on the coach and player in my book after that point
As my kiddo is wrapping up her 1st year in college as a "student-athlete" playing women's soccer, i've learned a lot as a parent. But of all the learnings, the one that stood out (by a LARGE margin) that I highly encourage all parents to discuss with their recruited player is this ....
**Choose the college your player loves FIRST, soccer program SECOND** (in that specific order)
For example: My kiddo had a great rookie year and played/started 75% of the pre and regular season. Once season ended, all hell broke loose as her coaching staff resigned/got fired, subsequently arrested by the FED's, and her school/soccer program became ground zero to the largest college scandal in decades..... My player also endured a late season concussion, and just recently another concussion in a spring game. At this point, given the long term affects of recurring concussions and her future goals/objectives, she's decided to sit out next year and will likely become the team manager until she graduates in 2022.
But at the end of the day, regardless of the injuries she's endured .....regardless of the $hitstorm within her soccer program..... she's stoked to be where she is, and doing what she's doing. Why?......she chose her dream school 1st, soccer program 2nd - and it's made all the difference.
Best of luck to all of parents of players in the process. Soccer can be a "golden ticket" of opportunity.....encourage/guide your player to use it wisely
ONLY if you have no clue, no time, no interest and about $3K to spend. I had signed up with NCSA way back in the early start of the process ($750 for a basic package back then which included several phone sessions and 1 Highlight video), lol, (that's how I learned how to do the video's myself), also keep in mind, they will constantly try to "up sell" you however, I used the website for kind of a road map early on since I had no clue. I also did research on the NCAA website to get a better understanding, trust me, it's really not that hard or time consuming. The only reason I ended up using someone at the end was, it was putting a major strain on my relationship with my kid, she got tired of me asking, did you send that email, did you reply to coach xyz, I just wanted a normal relationship with my kid before she left and I'm really glad I did it that way. Plus, it also made it easier for me to work through the mentor for the final negotiations.
Only after June 15 of their sophomore year.
interesting. I can see the part about keeping a normal relationship with your kid! What do you mean by a mentor? was this in addition to NCSA's platform?
