What is a "typical" college player?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know this is a bit general but want to hear from people played or have kids who played in college.

What is a "typical" D1 male player? A starter on a winning ECNL national team by Freshman/Sophomore year in HS? A good player on a MLS next year?

What about D3? A starter on a winning ECNL RL team by freshman/sophomore year of HS?

My son is in 6th grade and is a top player on his NCSL D1 team right now. We never thought about playing in college before but he improved a lot recently.

A typical college player has very good grades in school (GPA 3.5 and above), plays Travel and subsequently Varsity at school. A College player trains hard and plays hard and stand out from most of his teammates.

Some kids choose D3 because they want to play in College but don't have the rigid training and demanding schedules/games on top of academics.

Regardless of D1 or D3 your kid needs to have the grades to into college first.

My son was a good MLS NEXT player but by his Junior year (11th grade) in High school he knew he didn't want to play soccer in College.

Since your son is only in 6th grade, a path through more rigorous ECNL or MLS NEXT would set him on the right direction.

Some excellent players can’t play high school because they are in academy or development programs. Not all great players play high school soccer.

They’ll be faster and better than most on the field if they do play high school. The skill is obvious even to a soccer parent.

Good grades as others said.

D3 has a WIDE range. Top D3 teams can be at a D1 level and filled with kids who could make a D1 team but do not want to play at that level.

Lower D3 teams can be like high school or worse.

Club teams at the bigger universities can be nearly D1 level and filled with students who didn’t want the demand of the D1 lifestyle.

If you are a D1 player, that is basically all you get to do. You can see videos from D1 soccer players on YouTube that describe their daily life.

Let me fix this for you: Almost all GREAT male soccer players do NOT play high school soccer.

At our high school this season, the best kids (at least by Jr/Sr year) are only playing solely MLSNext, even the ones that could get a waiver. We have a lot of ECNL kids drop it too since our HS plays a Fall season which is the important season (sometimes only season) for ECNL players.

The kids getting scholarships from our HS were not in the HS program.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know this is a bit general but want to hear from people played or have kids who played in college.

What is a "typical" D1 male player? A starter on a winning ECNL national team by Freshman/Sophomore year in HS? A good player on a MLS next year?

What about D3? A starter on a winning ECNL RL team by freshman/sophomore year of HS?

My son is in 6th grade and is a top player on his NCSL D1 team right now. We never thought about playing in college before but he improved a lot recently.

A typical college player has very good grades in school (GPA 3.5 and above), plays Travel and subsequently Varsity at school. A College player trains hard and plays hard and stand out from most of his teammates.

Some kids choose D3 because they want to play in College but don't have the rigid training and demanding schedules/games on top of academics.

Regardless of D1 or D3 your kid needs to have the grades to into college first.

My son was a good MLS NEXT player but by his Junior year (11th grade) in High school he knew he didn't want to play soccer in College.

Since your son is only in 6th grade, a path through more rigorous ECNL or MLS NEXT would set him on the right direction.

Some excellent players can’t play high school because they are in academy or development programs. Not all great players play high school soccer.

They’ll be faster and better than most on the field if they do play high school. The skill is obvious even to a soccer parent.

Good grades as others said.

D3 has a WIDE range. Top D3 teams can be at a D1 level and filled with kids who could make a D1 team but do not want to play at that level.

Lower D3 teams can be like high school or worse.

Club teams at the bigger universities can be nearly D1 level and filled with students who didn’t want the demand of the D1 lifestyle.

If you are a D1 player, that is basically all you get to do. You can see videos from D1 soccer players on YouTube that describe their daily life.

Let me fix this for you: Almost all GREAT male soccer players do NOT play high school soccer.

At our high school this season, the best kids (at least by Jr/Sr year) are only playing solely MLSNext, even the ones that could get a waiver. We have a lot of ECNL kids drop it too since our HS plays a Fall season which is the important season (sometimes only season) for ECNL players.

The kids getting scholarships from our HS were not in the HS program.

If you watch HS soccer, you can see why. It is mind boggling painful to sit and watch. The delusion in the stands and from the coaches that this is 'good soccer' is amazing. If your kid has played on a top MLSNext or ECNL team you can see the players have just awful first touch, can't connect, the speed of play is low, the soccer IQ from the players AND the coaches is low. If a kid can kick a field goal with the ball, he is an amazingly fantastic player even if 39 out of 40 touches he gives the ball away. Oh--extra points for popping the ball straight up in the air.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know this is a bit general but want to hear from people played or have kids who played in college.

What is a "typical" D1 male player? A starter on a winning ECNL national team by Freshman/Sophomore year in HS? A good player on a MLS next year?

What about D3? A starter on a winning ECNL RL team by freshman/sophomore year of HS?

My son is in 6th grade and is a top player on his NCSL D1 team right now. We never thought about playing in college before but he improved a lot recently.

Size matters for college soccer. The bigger you are the more opportunities you will have for college soccer. Go to colleges and look at rosters. It's not everything, but when looking at the differences it's noticeable.

American football bias.

Googled Rutgers. Solid D1 soccer club. Made NCAA playoffs last year. A third of the players are the average height of 5’9”. The greats of the sport? Modest height at best: Pele, Messi, Xavi, Modrich, Maradonna.

Granted traditionally tall positions like goalie and center back are big on Rutgers but plenty of (small) skill in their midfield and attack. I recall their 6 - traditionally a ‘big’ position (I think his number was 24) to be particularly dominant. He is 5’8”

https://scarletknights.com/sports/mens-soccer/roster

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know this is a bit general but want to hear from people played or have kids who played in college.

What is a "typical" D1 male player? A starter on a winning ECNL national team by Freshman/Sophomore year in HS? A good player on a MLS next year?

What about D3? A starter on a winning ECNL RL team by freshman/sophomore year of HS?

My son is in 6th grade and is a top player on his NCSL D1 team right now. We never thought about playing in college before but he improved a lot recently.

A typical college player has very good grades in school (GPA 3.5 and above), plays Travel and subsequently Varsity at school. A College player trains hard and plays hard and stand out from most of his teammates.

Some kids choose D3 because they want to play in College but don't have the rigid training and demanding schedules/games on top of academics.

Regardless of D1 or D3 your kid needs to have the grades to into college first.

My son was a good MLS NEXT player but by his Junior year (11th grade) in High school he knew he didn't want to play soccer in College.

Since your son is only in 6th grade, a path through more rigorous ECNL or MLS NEXT would set him on the right direction.

Some excellent players can’t play high school because they are in academy or development programs. Not all great players play high school soccer.

They’ll be faster and better than most on the field if they do play high school. The skill is obvious even to a soccer parent.

Good grades as others said.

D3 has a WIDE range. Top D3 teams can be at a D1 level and filled with kids who could make a D1 team but do not want to play at that level.

Lower D3 teams can be like high school or worse.

Club teams at the bigger universities can be nearly D1 level and filled with students who didn’t want the demand of the D1 lifestyle.

If you are a D1 player, that is basically all you get to do. You can see videos from D1 soccer players on YouTube that describe their daily life.

Let me fix this for you: Almost all GREAT male soccer players do NOT play high school soccer.

At our high school this season, the best kids (at least by Jr/Sr year) are only playing solely MLSNext, even the ones that could get a waiver. We have a lot of ECNL kids drop it too since our HS plays a Fall season which is the important season (sometimes only season) for ECNL players.

The kids getting scholarships from our HS were not in the HS program.

If you watch HS soccer, you can see why. It is mind boggling painful to sit and watch. The delusion in the stands and from the coaches that this is 'good soccer' is amazing. If your kid has played on a top MLSNext or ECNL team you can see the players have just awful first touch, can't connect, the speed of play is low, the soccer IQ from the players AND the coaches is low. If a kid can kick a field goal with the ball, he is an amazingly fantastic player even if 39 out of 40 touches he gives the ball away. Oh--extra points for popping the ball straight up in the air.

Every.single college coach that has talked to my son has said 'we don't care about high school soccer'. They won't come watch it and they want highlight tape only from MLSnext and ECNL level games. Anyone can get some amazing reels dribbling basically what amounts to traffic cones.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know this is a bit general but want to hear from people played or have kids who played in college.

What is a "typical" D1 male player? A starter on a winning ECNL national team by Freshman/Sophomore year in HS? A good player on a MLS next year?

What about D3? A starter on a winning ECNL RL team by freshman/sophomore year of HS?

My son is in 6th grade and is a top player on his NCSL D1 team right now. We never thought about playing in college before but he improved a lot recently.

Size matters for college soccer. The bigger you are the more opportunities you will have for college soccer. Go to colleges and look at rosters. It's not everything, but when looking at the differences it's noticeable.

American football bias.

Googled Rutgers. Solid D1 soccer club. Made NCAA playoffs last year. A third of the players are the average height of 5’9”. The greats of the sport? Modest height at best: Pele, Messi, Xavi, Modrich, Maradonna.

Granted traditionally tall positions like goalie and center back are big on Rutgers but plenty of (small) skill in their midfield and attack. I recall their 6 - traditionally a ‘big’ position (I think his number was 24) to be particularly dominant. He is 5’8”

https://scarletknights.com/sports/mens-soccer/roster

Argentines traditionally used to reject any kid that passed a certain height from the academy. They wanted a lower center of gravity and favored a style with players the likes of Maradona and Messi. They saw height as a disadvantage. I just watched a documentary about this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know this is a bit general but want to hear from people played or have kids who played in college.

What is a "typical" D1 male player? A starter on a winning ECNL national team by Freshman/Sophomore year in HS? A good player on a MLS next year?

What about D3? A starter on a winning ECNL RL team by freshman/sophomore year of HS?

My son is in 6th grade and is a top player on his NCSL D1 team right now. We never thought about playing in college before but he improved a lot recently.

A typical college player has very good grades in school (GPA 3.5 and above), plays Travel and subsequently Varsity at school. A College player trains hard and plays hard and stand out from most of his teammates.

Some kids choose D3 because they want to play in College but don't have the rigid training and demanding schedules/games on top of academics.

Regardless of D1 or D3 your kid needs to have the grades to into college first.

My son was a good MLS NEXT player but by his Junior year (11th grade) in High school he knew he didn't want to play soccer in College.

Since your son is only in 6th grade, a path through more rigorous ECNL or MLS NEXT would set him on the right direction.

Some excellent players can’t play high school because they are in academy or development programs. Not all great players play high school soccer.

They’ll be faster and better than most on the field if they do play high school. The skill is obvious even to a soccer parent.

Good grades as others said.

D3 has a WIDE range. Top D3 teams can be at a D1 level and filled with kids who could make a D1 team but do not want to play at that level.

Lower D3 teams can be like high school or worse.

Club teams at the bigger universities can be nearly D1 level and filled with students who didn’t want the demand of the D1 lifestyle.

If you are a D1 player, that is basically all you get to do. You can see videos from D1 soccer players on YouTube that describe their daily life.

Let me fix this for you: Almost all GREAT male soccer players do NOT play high school soccer.

At our high school this season, the best kids (at least by Jr/Sr year) are only playing solely MLSNext, even the ones that could get a waiver. We have a lot of ECNL kids drop it too since our HS plays a Fall season which is the important season (sometimes only season) for ECNL players.

The kids getting scholarships from our HS were not in the HS program.

If you watch HS soccer, you can see why. It is mind boggling painful to sit and watch. The delusion in the stands and from the coaches that this is 'good soccer' is amazing. If your kid has played on a top MLSNext or ECNL team you can see the players have just awful first touch, can't connect, the speed of play is low, the soccer IQ from the players AND the coaches is low. If a kid can kick a field goal with the ball, he is an amazingly fantastic player even if 39 out of 40 touches he gives the ball away. Oh--extra points for popping the ball straight up in the air.

+1 I can't effing wait until this HS season is over.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know this is a bit general but want to hear from people played or have kids who played in college.

What is a "typical" D1 male player? A starter on a winning ECNL national team by Freshman/Sophomore year in HS? A good player on a MLS next year?

What about D3? A starter on a winning ECNL RL team by freshman/sophomore year of HS?

My son is in 6th grade and is a top player on his NCSL D1 team right now. We never thought about playing in college before but he improved a lot recently.

A typical college player has very good grades in school (GPA 3.5 and above), plays Travel and subsequently Varsity at school. A College player trains hard and plays hard and stand out from most of his teammates.

Some kids choose D3 because they want to play in College but don't have the rigid training and demanding schedules/games on top of academics.

Regardless of D1 or D3 your kid needs to have the grades to into college first.

My son was a good MLS NEXT player but by his Junior year (11th grade) in High school he knew he didn't want to play soccer in College.

Since your son is only in 6th grade, a path through more rigorous ECNL or MLS NEXT would set him on the right direction.

Some excellent players can’t play high school because they are in academy or development programs. Not all great players play high school soccer.

They’ll be faster and better than most on the field if they do play high school. The skill is obvious even to a soccer parent.

Good grades as others said.

D3 has a WIDE range. Top D3 teams can be at a D1 level and filled with kids who could make a D1 team but do not want to play at that level.

Lower D3 teams can be like high school or worse.

Club teams at the bigger universities can be nearly D1 level and filled with students who didn’t want the demand of the D1 lifestyle.

If you are a D1 player, that is basically all you get to do. You can see videos from D1 soccer players on YouTube that describe their daily life.

Let me fix this for you: Almost all GREAT male soccer players do NOT play high school soccer.

At our high school this season, the best kids (at least by Jr/Sr year) are only playing solely MLSNext, even the ones that could get a waiver. We have a lot of ECNL kids drop it too since our HS plays a Fall season which is the important season (sometimes only season) for ECNL players.

The kids getting scholarships from our HS were not in the HS program.

If you watch HS soccer, you can see why. It is mind boggling painful to sit and watch. The delusion in the stands and from the coaches that this is 'good soccer' is amazing. If your kid has played on a top MLSNext or ECNL team you can see the players have just awful first touch, can't connect, the speed of play is low, the soccer IQ from the players AND the coaches is low. If a kid can kick a field goal with the ball, he is an amazingly fantastic player even if 39 out of 40 touches he gives the ball away. Oh--extra points for popping the ball straight up in the air.

I’m not saying you’re wrong, but ECNL/MLS Next is only marginally better. If your kid plays beyond ECNL/MLS Next level, you can see that the play is slow, technical skills are shaky and it is rife with low IQ play.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know this is a bit general but want to hear from people played or have kids who played in college.

What is a "typical" D1 male player? A starter on a winning ECNL national team by Freshman/Sophomore year in HS? A good player on a MLS next year?

What about D3? A starter on a winning ECNL RL team by freshman/sophomore year of HS?

My son is in 6th grade and is a top player on his NCSL D1 team right now. We never thought about playing in college before but he improved a lot recently.

A typical college player has very good grades in school (GPA 3.5 and above), plays Travel and subsequently Varsity at school. A College player trains hard and plays hard and stand out from most of his teammates.

Some kids choose D3 because they want to play in College but don't have the rigid training and demanding schedules/games on top of academics.

Regardless of D1 or D3 your kid needs to have the grades to into college first.

My son was a good MLS NEXT player but by his Junior year (11th grade) in High school he knew he didn't want to play soccer in College.

Since your son is only in 6th grade, a path through more rigorous ECNL or MLS NEXT would set him on the right direction.

Some excellent players can’t play high school because they are in academy or development programs. Not all great players play high school soccer.

They’ll be faster and better than most on the field if they do play high school. The skill is obvious even to a soccer parent.

Good grades as others said.

D3 has a WIDE range. Top D3 teams can be at a D1 level and filled with kids who could make a D1 team but do not want to play at that level.

Lower D3 teams can be like high school or worse.

Club teams at the bigger universities can be nearly D1 level and filled with students who didn’t want the demand of the D1 lifestyle.

If you are a D1 player, that is basically all you get to do. You can see videos from D1 soccer players on YouTube that describe their daily life.

Let me fix this for you: Almost all GREAT male soccer players do NOT play high school soccer.

At our high school this season, the best kids (at least by Jr/Sr year) are only playing solely MLSNext, even the ones that could get a waiver. We have a lot of ECNL kids drop it too since our HS plays a Fall season which is the important season (sometimes only season) for ECNL players.

The kids getting scholarships from our HS were not in the HS program.

If you watch HS soccer, you can see why. It is mind boggling painful to sit and watch. The delusion in the stands and from the coaches that this is 'good soccer' is amazing. If your kid has played on a top MLSNext or ECNL team you can see the players have just awful first touch, can't connect, the speed of play is low, the soccer IQ from the players AND the coaches is low. If a kid can kick a field goal with the ball, he is an amazingly fantastic player even if 39 out of 40 touches he gives the ball away. Oh--extra points for popping the ball straight up in the air.

I’m not saying you’re wrong, but ECNL/MLS Next is only marginally better. If your kid plays beyond ECNL/MLS Next level, you can see that the play is slow, technical skills are shaky and it is rife with low IQ play.

Depends on the team. And even at it's worst, it is heads and shoulders above HS soccer. HS=Rec soccer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:D1 profile now: big, international experience or coming in as a transfer, old.

High school club teams such as ECNL or MLSNext aren’t as relevant. The top college coaches don’t even go to US college showcases any more. They send their assistants.

Is this true for D1 womens teams too? I see hundreds of college coaches at showcases.

No. D1 women’s teams recruit heavily from high school players now.

I imagine this will change as European clubs become more dominant in the sport, however.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know this is a bit general but want to hear from people played or have kids who played in college.

What is a "typical" D1 male player? A starter on a winning ECNL national team by Freshman/Sophomore year in HS? A good player on a MLS next year?

What about D3? A starter on a winning ECNL RL team by freshman/sophomore year of HS?

My son is in 6th grade and is a top player on his NCSL D1 team right now. We never thought about playing in college before but he improved a lot recently.

A typical college player has very good grades in school (GPA 3.5 and above), plays Travel and subsequently Varsity at school. A College player trains hard and plays hard and stand out from most of his teammates.

Some kids choose D3 because they want to play in College but don't have the rigid training and demanding schedules/games on top of academics.

Regardless of D1 or D3 your kid needs to have the grades to into college first.

My son was a good MLS NEXT player but by his Junior year (11th grade) in High school he knew he didn't want to play soccer in College.

Since your son is only in 6th grade, a path through more rigorous ECNL or MLS NEXT would set him on the right direction.

Some excellent players can’t play high school because they are in academy or development programs. Not all great players play high school soccer.

They’ll be faster and better than most on the field if they do play high school. The skill is obvious even to a soccer parent.

Good grades as others said.

D3 has a WIDE range. Top D3 teams can be at a D1 level and filled with kids who could make a D1 team but do not want to play at that level.

Lower D3 teams can be like high school or worse.

Club teams at the bigger universities can be nearly D1 level and filled with students who didn’t want the demand of the D1 lifestyle.

If you are a D1 player, that is basically all you get to do. You can see videos from D1 soccer players on YouTube that describe their daily life.

Let me fix this for you: Almost all GREAT male soccer players do NOT play high school soccer.

At our high school this season, the best kids (at least by Jr/Sr year) are only playing solely MLSNext, even the ones that could get a waiver. We have a lot of ECNL kids drop it too since our HS plays a Fall season which is the important season (sometimes only season) for ECNL players.

The kids getting scholarships from our HS were not in the HS program.

If you watch HS soccer, you can see why. It is mind boggling painful to sit and watch. The delusion in the stands and from the coaches that this is 'good soccer' is amazing. If your kid has played on a top MLSNext or ECNL team you can see the players have just awful first touch, can't connect, the speed of play is low, the soccer IQ from the players AND the coaches is low. If a kid can kick a field goal with the ball, he is an amazingly fantastic player even if 39 out of 40 touches he gives the ball away. Oh--extra points for popping the ball straight up in the air.

I’m not saying you’re wrong, but ECNL/MLS Next is only marginally better. If your kid plays beyond ECNL/MLS Next level, you can see that the play is slow, technical skills are shaky and it is rife with low IQ play.

Depends on the team. And even at it's worst, it is heads and shoulders above HS soccer. HS=Rec soccer.

This is a regional difference, though. HS soccer in (for instance) the California Central Valley is very good. There isn’t an MLSNext club there, and not even ECNL in some areas. There is a very deep soccer culture because of all the immigrants. The championship HS games in the Central Valley are big affairs attended by California college coaches.

But yes, high school soccer in suburban Maryland is not very good.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know this is a bit general but want to hear from people played or have kids who played in college.

What is a "typical" D1 male player? A starter on a winning ECNL national team by Freshman/Sophomore year in HS? A good player on a MLS next year?

What about D3? A starter on a winning ECNL RL team by freshman/sophomore year of HS?

My son is in 6th grade and is a top player on his NCSL D1 team right now. We never thought about playing in college before but he improved a lot recently.

A typical D1 player right now will go to college around age 20 and come from international academies. They are big, with international training, and they are older. The percentage of international D1 players is going up every year on the men’s side.

D3 is different. D3 now gets the kids who five years ago would have been D1 recruits.

D1 is a full time job on top of academics. And it's year round. D3 is kids who want to play soccer but also want a life outside of soccer. FWIW club soccer at some schools like UMD can be at the same level as D1.

When did D1 soccer become "full time job" and "year round"?
The schedules do not reflect that. (August/September to November)

It became year around since MLS NEXT and ECNL became year around!

... Tell me your kid is not playing top level without telling me your kid is not playing top level. LOL.

So you're saying the NCAA D1 Soccer season Does Not run August to November?

Why are you putting ECNL and MLS Next in the same category? Is it because outside of the MLS Club Academies they are both expensive Pay-to-Play?

DP. MLSNext has nothing to do with why D1 is year round and certainly ECNL does not. Serious D1 teams have been the same for a decade plus. Why and how are you under the impression they run August to November? Just because that’s the primary season game schedule? What do you think happens the rest of the year? Hint: June is generally free.

It is not an "impression" if the schedule for all the schools are published.
August - November. Fact. Truth.

You are saying its "year round" scheduled activities by the teams, Without Proof.
You may be right, but where is your evidence?
Also, the original point of contention is that D1 players don't do well in Academics because of their Year Round commitment to the team.
Another claim with facts not in evidence.

My evidence is the experience of my kid playing D1 and that of the other dozen+ kids we personally know who do. If for whatever strange reason you want to believe that kids don’t practice year round (other than a few weeks off in the summer) on D1 teams, you’re welcome to do so. You’re not going to find practice schedules online because teams get around NCAA requirements by calling the off-season ones “captains’ practices” or similar. To find spring mini-season/exhibition match schedules online you will need to follow teams social media accounts closer to the spring.

I didn’t see anyone on here claiming D1 players fail to excel academically due to the D1 time commitment. That’s certainly not the case for any of the D1 players I know. What you will hear from every D1 coach is that you will only have time for two out of three of: academics, your sport, and non-sport extracurriculars. That’s an overstatement, but generally true that kids who are driven about their sport and academics will not have the robust social life or traditional fun college experience available to non-recruits, which is one reason a lot of kids and parents on here prefer D3.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know this is a bit general but want to hear from people played or have kids who played in college.

What is a "typical" D1 male player? A starter on a winning ECNL national team by Freshman/Sophomore year in HS? A good player on a MLS next year?

What about D3? A starter on a winning ECNL RL team by freshman/sophomore year of HS?

My son is in 6th grade and is a top player on his NCSL D1 team right now. We never thought about playing in college before but he improved a lot recently.

A typical college player has very good grades in school (GPA 3.5 and above), plays Travel and subsequently Varsity at school. A College player trains hard and plays hard and stand out from most of his teammates.

Some kids choose D3 because they want to play in College but don't have the rigid training and demanding schedules/games on top of academics.

Regardless of D1 or D3 your kid needs to have the grades to into college first.

My son was a good MLS NEXT player but by his Junior year (11th grade) in High school he knew he didn't want to play soccer in College.

Since your son is only in 6th grade, a path through more rigorous ECNL or MLS NEXT would set him on the right direction.

Some excellent players can’t play high school because they are in academy or development programs. Not all great players play high school soccer.

They’ll be faster and better than most on the field if they do play high school. The skill is obvious even to a soccer parent.

Good grades as others said.

D3 has a WIDE range. Top D3 teams can be at a D1 level and filled with kids who could make a D1 team but do not want to play at that level.

Lower D3 teams can be like high school or worse.

Club teams at the bigger universities can be nearly D1 level and filled with students who didn’t want the demand of the D1 lifestyle.

If you are a D1 player, that is basically all you get to do. You can see videos from D1 soccer players on YouTube that describe their daily life.

Let me fix this for you: Almost all GREAT male soccer players do NOT play high school soccer.

At our high school this season, the best kids (at least by Jr/Sr year) are only playing solely MLSNext, even the ones that could get a waiver. We have a lot of ECNL kids drop it too since our HS plays a Fall season which is the important season (sometimes only season) for ECNL players.

The kids getting scholarships from our HS were not in the HS program.

If you watch HS soccer, you can see why. It is mind boggling painful to sit and watch. The delusion in the stands and from the coaches that this is 'good soccer' is amazing. If your kid has played on a top MLSNext or ECNL team you can see the players have just awful first touch, can't connect, the speed of play is low, the soccer IQ from the players AND the coaches is low. If a kid can kick a field goal with the ball, he is an amazingly fantastic player even if 39 out of 40 touches he gives the ball away. Oh--extra points for popping the ball straight up in the air.

I’m not saying you’re wrong, but ECNL/MLS Next is only marginally better. If your kid plays beyond ECNL/MLS Next level, you can see that the play is slow, technical skills are shaky and it is rife with low IQ play.

Depends on the team. And even at it's worst, it is heads and shoulders above HS soccer. HS=Rec soccer.

This is a regional difference, though. HS soccer in (for instance) the California Central Valley is very good. There isn’t an MLSNext club there, and not even ECNL in some areas. There is a very deep soccer culture because of all the immigrants. The championship HS games in the Central Valley are big affairs attended by California college coaches.

But yes, high school soccer in suburban Maryland is not very good.

It's awful in the private schools as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know this is a bit general but want to hear from people played or have kids who played in college.

What is a "typical" D1 male player? A starter on a winning ECNL national team by Freshman/Sophomore year in HS? A good player on a MLS next year?

What about D3? A starter on a winning ECNL RL team by freshman/sophomore year of HS?

My son is in 6th grade and is a top player on his NCSL D1 team right now. We never thought about playing in college before but he improved a lot recently.

A typical college player has very good grades in school (GPA 3.5 and above), plays Travel and subsequently Varsity at school. A College player trains hard and plays hard and stand out from most of his teammates.

Some kids choose D3 because they want to play in College but don't have the rigid training and demanding schedules/games on top of academics.

Regardless of D1 or D3 your kid needs to have the grades to into college first.

My son was a good MLS NEXT player but by his Junior year (11th grade) in High school he knew he didn't want to play soccer in College.

Since your son is only in 6th grade, a path through more rigorous ECNL or MLS NEXT would set him on the right direction.

Some excellent players can’t play high school because they are in academy or development programs. Not all great players play high school soccer.

They’ll be faster and better than most on the field if they do play high school. The skill is obvious even to a soccer parent.

Good grades as others said.

D3 has a WIDE range. Top D3 teams can be at a D1 level and filled with kids who could make a D1 team but do not want to play at that level.

Lower D3 teams can be like high school or worse.

Club teams at the bigger universities can be nearly D1 level and filled with students who didn’t want the demand of the D1 lifestyle.

If you are a D1 player, that is basically all you get to do. You can see videos from D1 soccer players on YouTube that describe their daily life.

Let me fix this for you: Almost all GREAT male soccer players do NOT play high school soccer.

At our high school this season, the best kids (at least by Jr/Sr year) are only playing solely MLSNext, even the ones that could get a waiver. We have a lot of ECNL kids drop it too since our HS plays a Fall season which is the important season (sometimes only season) for ECNL players.

The kids getting scholarships from our HS were not in the HS program.

If you watch HS soccer, you can see why. It is mind boggling painful to sit and watch. The delusion in the stands and from the coaches that this is 'good soccer' is amazing. If your kid has played on a top MLSNext or ECNL team you can see the players have just awful first touch, can't connect, the speed of play is low, the soccer IQ from the players AND the coaches is low. If a kid can kick a field goal with the ball, he is an amazingly fantastic player even if 39 out of 40 touches he gives the ball away. Oh--extra points for popping the ball straight up in the air.

I’m not saying you’re wrong, but ECNL/MLS Next is only marginally better. If your kid plays beyond ECNL/MLS Next level, you can see that the play is slow, technical skills are shaky and it is rife with low IQ play.

Depends on the team. And even at it's worst, it is heads and shoulders above HS soccer. HS=Rec soccer.

This is a regional difference, though. HS soccer in (for instance) the California Central Valley is very good. There isn’t an MLSNext club there, and not even ECNL in some areas. There is a very deep soccer culture because of all the immigrants. The championship HS games in the Central Valley are big affairs attended by California college coaches.

But yes, high school soccer in suburban Maryland is not very good.

It's awful in the private schools as well.

^ this is mainly because the best players only play Club

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know this is a bit general but want to hear from people played or have kids who played in college.

What is a "typical" D1 male player? A starter on a winning ECNL national team by Freshman/Sophomore year in HS? A good player on a MLS next year?

What about D3? A starter on a winning ECNL RL team by freshman/sophomore year of HS?

My son is in 6th grade and is a top player on his NCSL D1 team right now. We never thought about playing in college before but he improved a lot recently.

A typical college player has very good grades in school (GPA 3.5 and above), plays Travel and subsequently Varsity at school. A College player trains hard and plays hard and stand out from most of his teammates.

Some kids choose D3 because they want to play in College but don't have the rigid training and demanding schedules/games on top of academics.

Regardless of D1 or D3 your kid needs to have the grades to into college first.

My son was a good MLS NEXT player but by his Junior year (11th grade) in High school he knew he didn't want to play soccer in College.

Since your son is only in 6th grade, a path through more rigorous ECNL or MLS NEXT would set him on the right direction.

Some excellent players can’t play high school because they are in academy or development programs. Not all great players play high school soccer.

They’ll be faster and better than most on the field if they do play high school. The skill is obvious even to a soccer parent.

Good grades as others said.

D3 has a WIDE range. Top D3 teams can be at a D1 level and filled with kids who could make a D1 team but do not want to play at that level.

Lower D3 teams can be like high school or worse.

Club teams at the bigger universities can be nearly D1 level and filled with students who didn’t want the demand of the D1 lifestyle.

If you are a D1 player, that is basically all you get to do. You can see videos from D1 soccer players on YouTube that describe their daily life.

Let me fix this for you: Almost all GREAT male soccer players do NOT play high school soccer.

At our high school this season, the best kids (at least by Jr/Sr year) are only playing solely MLSNext, even the ones that could get a waiver. We have a lot of ECNL kids drop it too since our HS plays a Fall season which is the important season (sometimes only season) for ECNL players.

The kids getting scholarships from our HS were not in the HS program.

If you watch HS soccer, you can see why. It is mind boggling painful to sit and watch. The delusion in the stands and from the coaches that this is 'good soccer' is amazing. If your kid has played on a top MLSNext or ECNL team you can see the players have just awful first touch, can't connect, the speed of play is low, the soccer IQ from the players AND the coaches is low. If a kid can kick a field goal with the ball, he is an amazingly fantastic player even if 39 out of 40 touches he gives the ball away. Oh--extra points for popping the ball straight up in the air.

I’m not saying you’re wrong, but ECNL/MLS Next is only marginally better. If your kid plays beyond ECNL/MLS Next level, you can see that the play is slow, technical skills are shaky and it is rife with low IQ play.

Depends on the team. And even at it's worst, it is heads and shoulders above HS soccer. HS=Rec soccer.

This is a regional difference, though. HS soccer in (for instance) the California Central Valley is very good. There isn’t an MLSNext club there, and not even ECNL in some areas. There is a very deep soccer culture because of all the immigrants. The championship HS games in the Central Valley are big affairs attended by California college coaches.

But yes, high school soccer in suburban Maryland is not very good.

It's awful in the private schools as well.

This is also regional. It is not good in DMV area private schools. But it can be very good at private schools in certain regions of the country (some areas of Texas, California, Arizona).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know this is a bit general but want to hear from people played or have kids who played in college.

What is a "typical" D1 male player? A starter on a winning ECNL national team by Freshman/Sophomore year in HS? A good player on a MLS next year?

What about D3? A starter on a winning ECNL RL team by freshman/sophomore year of HS?

My son is in 6th grade and is a top player on his NCSL D1 team right now. We never thought about playing in college before but he improved a lot recently.

A typical D1 player right now will go to college around age 20 and come from international academies. They are big, with international training, and they are older. The percentage of international D1 players is going up every year on the men’s side.

D3 is different. D3 now gets the kids who five years ago would have been D1 recruits.

D1 is a full time job on top of academics. And it's year round. D3 is kids who want to play soccer but also want a life outside of soccer. FWIW club soccer at some schools like UMD can be at the same level as D1.

When did D1 soccer become "full time job" and "year round"?
The schedules do not reflect that. (August/September to November)

It became year around since MLS NEXT and ECNL became year around!

... Tell me your kid is not playing top level without telling me your kid is not playing top level. LOL.

So you're saying the NCAA D1 Soccer season Does Not run August to November?

Why are you putting ECNL and MLS Next in the same category? Is it because outside of the MLS Club Academies they are both expensive Pay-to-Play?

DP. MLSNext has nothing to do with why D1 is year round and certainly ECNL does not. Serious D1 teams have been the same for a decade plus. Why and how are you under the impression they run August to November? Just because that’s the primary season game schedule? What do you think happens the rest of the year? Hint: June is generally free.

It is not an "impression" if the schedule for all the schools are published.
August - November. Fact. Truth.

You are saying its "year round" scheduled activities by the teams, Without Proof.
You may be right, but where is your evidence?
Also, the original point of contention is that D1 players don't do well in Academics because of their Year Round commitment to the team.
Another claim with facts not in evidence.

My evidence is the experience of my kid playing D1 and that of the other dozen+ kids we personally know who do. If for whatever strange reason you want to believe that kids don’t practice year round (other than a few weeks off in the summer) on D1 teams, you’re welcome to do so. You’re not going to find practice schedules online because teams get around NCAA requirements by calling the off-season ones “captains’ practices” or similar. To find spring mini-season/exhibition match schedules online you will need to follow teams social media accounts closer to the spring.

I didn’t see anyone on here claiming D1 players fail to excel academically due to the D1 time commitment. That’s certainly not the case for any of the D1 players I know. What you will hear from every D1 coach is that you will only have time for two out of three of: academics, your sport, and non-sport extracurriculars. That’s an overstatement, but generally true that kids who are driven about their sport and academics will not have the robust social life or traditional fun college experience available to non-recruits, which is one reason a lot of kids and parents on here prefer D3.

+1 a lot that are very academic want D3 for this reason too. D1 really is a job. You are on the go traveling constantly-- mid week too.