Agree 100% with what GT45 said. If your coach doesn’t have college connections it isn’t going to happen. I have been through this process with couple players. Are there times that an anomyly can happen? Of course, but please be honest for parents on this forum and don’t give false impressions. For the majority of players if they aren’t on an ECNL team or don’t have a coach with connections you can attend every camp in town and be amazing and you still can’t get the coaches attention at a top 25 program. There are too many amazing players to select from. I do believe there is a place for every decent player in college if you work hard at this process but you have to be flexible and open to options- not too 25 D1 programs.
Recruiting Tips for Parents Just Starting the Process
- Thread starter MakeAPlay
- Start date
FilpoFutbol9
BRONZE
so... you agree 100% with what kjr said
smh nobody reads
been off the board for a while now i remember why!
Are you serious??? I simply tried to simmer the hope that kids will get top 20 offers out of random ID camps. Turns out they conceded that was correct. I did not say they hid their identity. I said I wanted to learn more about their situation. I also did not say they misled everyone.yo i appreciate you sharing your teams experience. the dude went from not believing you to acting like you'd hidden your identity to saying you misled everyone. i got what you were saying and have heard the same thing from other people. anyway congrats to your dd and her teammates. no jealousy here! ok maybe a little but i've seen yr team play
Feel free to dump money into ID camps. I promise it will be a bad investment in 9 out of 10 of them. But, the coaches will appreciate your donation to their checking account.
Ummm, talking about not reading? I clearly quoted GT45 and stated I agreed with GT45 - not sure what you are talking about SMHso... you agree 100% with what kjr said
smh nobody reads
been off the board for a while now i remember why!
You need to communicate with these coaches that will be at the camp. A bigger camp can be successful if they know your kid is coming and have shown some interest in email conversations, watched some highlights. Also, if you want to go far away, some of these camps are the only way to meet these coaches in person without spending lots of travel money. I liked the 5-12 coaches camps much more than the 25-50 coaches.
If your kid is the best one out there they also notice. Make sure your kid talks to the coaches they are interested in. Some will be interested and tell you to contact them. Email after the camp each coach. Set up a zoom call to discuss the college, what they are looking for, and what your player if looking for.
A one college camp is great as well if interaction has advanced to text, phone or zoom calls and mutual interest. This is where you hope to seal the deal. You kid will know if the college is the right one. How is the whole coaching staff, how are the current players since they usually help out. Afterwards should be a conversation between player and coach on what is the next step, are you looking for a 2024 striker and do you think there is a spot for me. Then email/text afterwards, and close the deal.
Lower D1, D2, D3 and NAIA may use this camp to make their final decisions. The closer the camp, the more you should go to. If you have to fly to a camp, you better be sure to have already spoken with them, gauged thier interest in your player and your players interest in the school, the go if you feel you are close with the college.
If your kid is the best one out there they also notice. Make sure your kid talks to the coaches they are interested in. Some will be interested and tell you to contact them. Email after the camp each coach. Set up a zoom call to discuss the college, what they are looking for, and what your player if looking for.
A one college camp is great as well if interaction has advanced to text, phone or zoom calls and mutual interest. This is where you hope to seal the deal. You kid will know if the college is the right one. How is the whole coaching staff, how are the current players since they usually help out. Afterwards should be a conversation between player and coach on what is the next step, are you looking for a 2024 striker and do you think there is a spot for me. Then email/text afterwards, and close the deal.
Lower D1, D2, D3 and NAIA may use this camp to make their final decisions. The closer the camp, the more you should go to. If you have to fly to a camp, you better be sure to have already spoken with them, gauged thier interest in your player and your players interest in the school, the go if you feel you are close with the college.
We've heard of a few strong teams who have chosen to stay together with good coaches, have the same results as yours, with or without ECNL/GA. The key is being realistic about the quality of your child's soccer skills. A lot of parents who bring kids to Soccer ID camps are unrealistic but a few are true ballers from smallers clubs and the coaches can see it. Coaches use the ID camp experience to connect with the few stars at the camps and follow their games to see how they play in their high school and club games. Yes, 99% of kids that go to strong college soccer programs have no chance at all because their soccer skills are not at that level but if coaches see the 1% player, they will follow up.yo i appreciate you sharing your teams experience. the dude went from not believing you to acting like you'd hidden your identity to saying you misled everyone. i got what you were saying and have heard the same thing from other people. anyway congrats to your dd and her teammates. no jealousy here! ok maybe a little but i've seen yr team play
According to college coaches we know, the camps are as effective as the quality of the soccer player, the player's academic fit, and the follow up after the camp. 99% of players who go to Soccer ID camps, will not get recruited because their soccer skills are not a good fit.
Simisoccerfan
PREMIER
Sad news my daughter never got a chance to do an official visit with any colleges.
Great news she accepted an offer today. Had two showcases the past two weekends, one where she guest played with another team at ManCity Cup, then with her club team at Legends Showcase. Between all the videos she has on her YouTube channel, keeping her Instagram updated (with my videos), our club coaches helping out, and constant badgering with emails (until they say they aren't interested, keep coming up with reasons to email).
She thought she wanted to go out of state and visited on school and they liked her a lot, but she realized she felt too far away from home, plus summers would cut dramatically with "Optional player led training starting in June". Additionally coming from socal she loves the diversity of our great state and didn't feel that at the school. About this time she also felt she had a clear number one locally.
Fast forward to her sending out about 25 emails before the first showcase (then having field times and numbers changing so she had to send out emails again.) She also opened up about the possibility of playing D2, and wasn't as high on her number one because she didn't feel any love coming from the coaching staff. Some new schools joined in on the pursuit, including Cal who she had some wonderful conversations with their keeper coach. One school had three coaches watch her this past weekend, spoke with her club coaches, and then spoke to her and another player on her team. She really liked them. Also turns out they had ECNL games there this weekend as well, so many of the coaches had a chance to watch their games besides showcase games. This was important because the school that had watched her was able to see other keepers during the same weekend.
Monday after the tourney they texted and asked if she could come for a tour Wednesday (today). It was separate from her teammate who will come see them next week and it makes sense as they don't want players knowing what other players are getting, plus each player has different needs. She did a two hour tour with 3 current players, then 1 hour with the head coach and my wife. (I never get to go to these, probably for the better). They told her she was the best keeper they had seen, they want to sign immediately, and they expect her to compete with the senior keeper her freshman year. They then made a great offer(better than I expected). For some reason they said they wanted to talk to me. They called, told me everything, and I asked my daughter if there was anything about the school she didn't' like. She said everything was great and wanted to say yes but mom said wait for dad.
After hearing all the details my daughter texted him, he called back, and she accepted the offer.(FYI kids and parents should not share exact details, my wife was going to tell her Dad and I had to remind her that he will end up telling everyone on the team at one of the games). He then called her club coach to let him know. Haven't seen my wife and kid this happy in a long time and great to know we still have 1 more year of club, 1 year of High School, and then 4 years of college. Thanks to everyone that has given advice on her and I'll continue to share as well.
Congrats! What school will she be attending?
oh canada
GOLD
This 100%. Unfortunately, most parents--even at U17--still don't understand the difference between an average player, good player, and great player. To the surprise of many parents, merely playing for a "top" team or club doesn't affect a college coach's opinion re player ability.
Aside from just asking the coaches directly, is there a way to find out which schools use the max number of scholarships allowed and which aren't fully funded? To put it a different way, I assume some D1 schools can't afford to fund the 14 max scholarships allowed for womens soccer per NCAA rules, so they only use some portion of the 14? Or some D2 schools can't afford the 10 allowed?
dk_b
GOLD
I would not trust anyone other than a coach or administrator (if you know a player on the team, I'd use that for corroboration but I would not bank on the player as controlling info unless I 2d sourced through a coach/administrator and I'd treat any parent's information as "likely" at best). It's a critical question, especially if the player is considering a state school that is not in his/her home state since that can impact the extent of funding. The only thing I know about my own kid's school is what her offer/award was/is. Beyond her award, I don't know if they fully fund up to 14 although I believe they do (any school that has FBS football probably funds all 14 scholarships BUT whether it is in-state or includes out-of-state would be a question to ask, I'd think)
Simisoccerfan
PREMIER
The athletic scholarship side is a black hole. Teammates don't discuss it with each other nor do most parents. Impossible to find published data too. The only thing you can trust is the deal presented to your kid. It is also not the norm for scholarships to be guaranteed for 4 years. I believe only the Power 5 and Notre Dame guarantee scholarships. At most colleges it is renewed annually and can change. Even in the Power 5 schools coaches can pressure players to transfer. Also don't believe parents that say their kid got a full athletic scholarship for soccer. That is exceedingly rare.
dk_b
GOLD
I agree with this 100%
youthsportsuggghhhhgghh
BRONZE
I agree -- my daughter has several teammates playing college soccer from D1 to D3 and the only thing we absolutely know is that the Ivy league doesn't give athletic scholarships! We also think we know that scholarships are done on an annual basis and nothing else
paytoplayisgood
SILVER
That is debatable. What is not debatable is that, based on your writing skills, you are not good enough for college.
This is one of the most ridiculous things I've ever seen written here.
Almost all of our players have already received college offers, ranging from scholarships at top 20 programs to admissions support at DIII schools. I've been told we're an "outlier," and yes, what we're doing isn't easy to replicate, but the fundamentals are simple. Focus on development, not wins and losses for 9-year-olds; a great coach is more valuable than a big club name on the kit. And then parents, when you're starting the recruiting process, if you're realistic about your kid's level and make an effort to connect with colleges (playing in showcases, going to ID camps) there are a lot of opportunities to play college soccer.
dk_b
GOLD
I read that comment as an obvious trolling effort to elicit reactions from parents who have had kids go through this (and have kids playing in college) are only keenly aware that there are different ways to be recruited and that no specific combination of alphabet soup guarantees that your kid WILL find a college or that your kid will NEVER find a college. I have an ECNL alumna daughter playing in college and non-ECNL daughters who wish to play in college. They know that their path will be different than that of their older sister but they know of and personally know enough non-ECNL players playing at the next level to embrace the reality of what is possible.
I absolutely fed the troll! But the statement contained everything that is wrong with US youth soccer. Expensive, closed "elite" leagues aren't the only pathway to playing in college. And playing in college shouldn't be the goal of playing youth soccer. But that's like shouting at the ocean around here.