My Daughter just committed to a major D1 University - As Me Anything
![[Post New]](/jforum/templates/default/images/icon_minipost_new.gif){kind=icon}
Anonymous
| OP - did your daughter show "natural" talent at a young age? Always the best player on her team? At what age did she start playing club soccer? At what age did she specialize/give up other sports? |
Anonymous
| I have a question perhaps your daughter can answer....My daughter is young and showing strong potential. She's been to a few ID sessions and the hardest part is trying to make an impact at all times even when NOT on the ball. It's tough to show your stuff when you don't have the ball at your feet. What advice would your daughter provide about how to make an impact in ID sessions even when off the ball and nobody is playing you? Thanks in advance. Your post is great and I appreciate your help. You might want to start a College Soccer Mom page in X!!! |
Anonymous
| OP, did your daughter pursue any Ivy's? I hear that they don't offer much of a scholarship but if the school wants the player, they'll help with recommendation towards admission. What's your experience with offers from any of them? |
Anonymous
I am going to add to the ‘same here’. My DD is playing D1 ball (NOT P4). She did get some nibbles on June 15, but because she wasn’t an automatic hit we did go to some school specific ID sessions, not the big cattle call camps. Before each one, there was contact to insure they were still interested, and a request for “what do you want to see from me specifically”. In almost every case where she eventually got an offer, she was getting feedback on the spot. In one case the coach had said to the assembled group “I don’t do day-of”, but then signaled 3 girls to stay behind, and then talked to each one of them for a long time. In another, the coach kind of walked my DD to the edge of the field and then just chatted while everyone else was leaving. This was our experience, and yours may vary, but for the most part your kid kind of knows if there is interest at the ID session. I will offer some hope, DD did get offers from schools where she didn’t do an ID session on campus, but in two cases the coaches came to a minimum of 6 ECNL games and stayed for all of her minutes. They also did significant phone interviews. My guess is, for both of those schools my DD was not a top 3 for her position, but number 5-8 on the whiteboard and they got rejected by their faves. They had watched enough to know they weren’t buying a pig in a poke, but chances were high the kid wasn’t going to be a starter. |
Anonymous
I could tell before she ever played soccer that she was a natural athlete. She did gymnastics from probably K to 2 grade. You could just see it. She ran like a horse and had great hips and timing. She has never been the best player on her team but easily one of the best athletes. Her technique on the ball has got much better over the last few years. She started playing club soccer in the 6/7 grade. She played rec ball for awhile first and then finally transitioned over. I would say almost every year or so she moved to a better team. She gave up tennis around around 4/5 grade. She wanted to pay team sports instead. I honestly think she would have had a dominating lacrosse career but I didn’t know where to take her to train or get on a team. I don’t recommend giving up other sports to primarily focus on one until later in high school. Some kids figure it out at different times growing up. But at some point most kids will need to lock in on one sport. |
Anonymous
I asked her this question. She said in ID sessions its all about who goes the hardest. Max effort on every play. If you dont have the ball are you in the the space you should be in? Are you seeing the play unfold and anticipating? Are you standing around and watching? Playing a team sport with 11 players on the field it can be easy to hide. Max effort all the time is very noticeable. Are you talking out there? Are your celebrating good play by your teammates? You can not make in impact at all times but you can seen by being vocal and giving max effort at all times. Her advice, not mine! |
Anonymous
Love this advice. Just watch Cavin Sullivan play, the 14 year old who signed as a Pro with the Union and will transfer to Manchester City at 18. That kid, equivalent to a HS freshman/ sophomore, goes all out for the whole game. He plays like his life depends on it! It is very noticeable the amount of effort he puts out there. |
Anonymous
| How does recruiting for Ivies work? I’m seeing some girls commit to an Ivy during junior year but then some commit their senior year. Do you have to wait and be patient and pass up on other non-Ivy schools? It seems like a timing mismatch and a problem of the bird in hand… |
Anonymous
She had three Iveys that were pursuing her. They we really not in consideration due to how slow their recruitment process is and that if you have a halfway decent family income you will still pay 30-40k per year for tuition. Girls will commit to the 'application process'. Typically each school will have 6 or 7 open spots available for their soccer players. You still have to have the grades and for some the SAT/ACT scores. My DD didn't want to wait around for months and I damn sure didn't want to pay 30-40k. I have heard numerous kids tuition is way less but most of it is needs based. You might get certain grants as well. We had a visit to one and it was awesome. The Iveys just march to their own beat. Its awesome if you can get in and it works for some. Stating the obvious, that Ivey league degree carries big weight but its not for everyone. Lots of girls just dont want to wait around. |
Anonymous
Girls that commit their Junior year are committing to 'application process'. They still have to get in to the school. Being a recruit drastically helps unless you have terrible grades or bomb the SAT. Most Iveys want at least a 1350 SAT and a very high GPA. The GPA cant be based on easy classes. Rigor is extremely important and honestly I think the high school is important as well. If you want to pursue the Iveys and they haven't offered you a spot early in the recruitment window, you might have to pass on some really good schools. My DD didn't want to do that. She wanted to get the process behind her asap. She lucked out with a great school and awesome coaching staff. Some girls would be happy to wait with the possibility on going to Columbia or Harvard. Different strokes! |
Anonymous
Your order is also important. Are you the team's top recruit or the last one in. Help with admission is on a sliding scale. Most Ivys will go test optional unless you have a great score. You will still need to submit a score for NCAA but admissions does not see that. Where you go to HS is important as PP said. Do they know the school? Are they ok with rigor? You do have to put some trust int he coach if you think you can. Most often they will tell you -- yes I think this will work or its 50-50 or this will be tough. Adnmissions will give pre-reads to help this. A lot of girls who target the Ivys also target the high academic D-3s and drop there is the Ivy is not coming through -- think UAA schools. |
Anonymous
This is accurate. Girls may target Ivies and some P4s but you have to have the grades and you have to want the Ivies and the work once you are there. When we did a visit at one Ivy, half of the girls on the team were pre-med. You almost have to want the school more than the soccer. Pre-med at Columbia and D1 soccer is a fair amount of work. Girls not up for it and who want some certainty but have the grades focus on the better academic P4s and rest of D-1 after a while. |
Anonymous
| It's great and accurate about being recruited. There are some clubs that get recruited from GA. The quality of club and coaching is essential. You've only cracked the surface though and you don't know the half of it. You've made d1, but can your daughter maintain herself on the same team for four years? Good luck as the college level is more bumpy than the club level |
Anonymous
Totally understand and not our first rodeo in the crazy world of college athletics. |
Anonymous
|
OP, I love your attitude. Seriously. It sounds like you did everything to *help* your kid but didn't *push* her. I especially appreciate your advice to keep calm on the sideline and avoid adding pressure.
Because you're being so candid -- which, again, I appreciate -- I have two fundamental questions: 1. Did you get the sense that soccer programs may be cut in the not-too-distant future as colleges are forced to spend more on football and basketball, possibly paying direct salaries? 2. Why is your daughter interested in playing college soccer? |