Looking for advice from parents who have been through this

[Anonymous]

Your DD who was fairly mid about reaching out to college coaches and doing camps, solid player but not a superstar -- how did that end up for them in their college applications? Did they end up getting some attention? Did it help them in the admissions process? Did they play in college? Are they happy? (Assume for this we are talking D3 not D1.)

Our DD has done some outreach, but hasn't as rigorous as say, my 45 year old self in her 15 year old shoes. Some teammates have done more, some less. And now there is a bit of a "oh my god have I screwed this up?" vibe going on. I think things will be FINE and focus on the playing and improving, but also realize that outreach is key too.

That is, is the reality these days that every girl who makes a D3 school team has killed themselves not only to excel on the field but also in the outreach and marketing? Or is it more complicated?

Does anyone have a similar experience they can share? I know this sounds kind of basic but thank you in advance.

[Anonymous]

Give us some more context. Does she play ECNL or GA? How is her club supporting the recruitment effort?

[Anonymous]

If you're talking D3, dont kill yourself. There's athletic scholarship money with D3. If she's good and determined to play, she can probably make it as a walk-on.

[Anonymous]

Outreach is everything in college recruitment. It’s hard to overstate how important it is to email coaches regularly, send highlight film, contact ahead of showcases. This is really the only way especially for D3. College recruiting is not a passive activity. She needs to be active and she needs to be motivated to do it.

[Anonymous]

What grad year is she? If 2026 it is getting late. 2027 she needs to get on it. 2028 she still has time.

[Anonymous]

OP here. GA, 2028 hs grad year

[Anonymous]

My DD did not play GA -- she wasn't even in ECNL; she played on a few consecutive EDP club teams that were good but not outstanding. She was a very strong student and also a consistent starter on a HS team that had great success in the state championships her senior year.

She attended a couple of ID camps but was pretty narrowly focused on what she wanted, geographically, from her college, and academics came first. She started making highlight reels the end of her sophomore year, filled out questionnaires and e-mailed D3 SLAC coaches consistently through her late sophomore and all of junior year, and in early summer after junior year went to an ID camp where she just gelled with the coach and team, and loved the campus. She got an offer a few weeks later. She received their top merit award and is now a happy sophomore who would've liked to have had more playing time than she's gotten in her first two seasons, but is overall really satisfied with the academics, her teammates, and the school overall.
I don't know that she "killed herself" with the "marketing," but yes, she made numerous highlight reels after scouring video of both club and HS games, and consistently e-mailed coaches with those reels plus other updates (a strong new report card, or an honor bestowed by the HS team). It was a fair amount of work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you're talking D3, dont kill yourself. There's athletic scholarship money with D3. If she's good and determined to play, she can probably make it as a walk-on.

No there's not athletic scholarship money with D3. That's pretty much the definition of D3 sports.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. GA, 2028 hs grad year

lol. You really have no clue do you. Your dd isn’t getting recruited to d1 from ga. Only a few will. D3 from ga is very possible. Keep reaching out. They won’t start looking at her until her junior year.

Why do people respond like this? "You really have no clue do you."

A sophomore still has lots of possibilities, and now is the perfect time to be learning the pathway / strategies. Things are evolving, and more GA clubs now have relationships with college coaches. GA clubs are also highly incentivized to show that they can support D1 outcomes for players. I don't know if they will have a lot of success in the next 2-3 years, but I would say improvement and outreach are both more important than focusing on a move from GA to ECNL, if DD is otherwise happy on her team.

To that point, "parents who have been through this" may not give you the best advice, since things are always changing.

Because most parents are delusional about where their kid can reasonably expect to play in college, if at all. Not saying that OP is delusional, but most are. Very often, it ends up being at a school they would not otherwise want to attend.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. GA, 2028 hs grad year

lol. You really have no clue do you. Your dd isn’t getting recruited to d1 from ga. Only a few will. D3 from ga is very possible. Keep reaching out. They won’t start looking at her until her junior year.

That is a dumb comment. You sound like you never talked to a college coach. A good player is a good player, badge does not matter. Plus soccer by itself won’t get you anywhere. So it is more than just sticking a badge.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Your DD who was fairly mid about reaching out to college coaches and doing camps, solid player but not a superstar -- how did that end up for them in their college applications? Did they end up getting some attention? Did it help them in the admissions process? Did they play in college? Are they happy? (Assume for this we are talking D3 not D1.)

Our DD has done some outreach, but hasn't as rigorous as say, my 45 year old self in her 15 year old shoes. Some teammates have done more, some less. And now there is a bit of a "oh my god have I screwed this up?" vibe going on. I think things will be FINE and focus on the playing and improving, but also realize that outreach is key too.

That is, is the reality these days that every girl who makes a D3 school team has killed themselves not only to excel on the field but also in the outreach and marketing? Or is it more complicated?

Does anyone have a similar experience they can share? I know this sounds kind of basic but thank you in advance.

Take a breath you have time. From my experience going through the recruiting process, learning how to advocate for yourself is so important. Focus on the schools she’s genuinely interested in and be intentional about targeting them. Send emails, share video, visit campuses, and attend ID camps to help get on coaches’ radars. Cast a wide net and keep your options open, but never lose sight of academics. At the end of the day, soccer will eventually end, but education lasts. Best of luck to you and your daughter and try not to compare her journey to others. Comparison really is the thief of joy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. GA, 2028 hs grad year

She has time but this sophomore year is the year to really get going. She should comb through all her game videos from this season to create a compelling highlight reel. Now is the time to figure out which schools to target based on academics, realistic soccer level, geography, school size, intended major, etc. You should be able to get a pretty targeted list of 10-20 schools. Then start emailing the coaches of every one of the target schools. Invite them to the upcoming showcases even if they aren’t listed as attending. Send updates every month at least. Sign up for their ID camps. Her junior year will be the key year especially for D3 but she needs to be getting on their radar now.

[Anonymous]

Appreciate all the responses, thank you - op

[Anonymous]

there is no athletic scholarship for d3

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you're talking D3, dont kill yourself. There's athletic scholarship money with D3. If she's good and determined to play, she can probably make it as a walk-on.

LOL, ignore this post. There is zero athletic scholarship with D3, only needs based and academic. Walk-on maybe, but a lot of D3s are still very competitive so I wouldn't assume you can just show up.