Using Soccer to Get into College

[Anonymous]

Parents to 3 DDs that have recently started or about to start their Travel soccer journeys. Our girls enjoy soccer and we are doing our part with individual training to see how far their talents can take them, but they are not natural “elite” talents at least at this stage. They do well academically, again at this stage of their middle elementary school years, where they seem to be the top 1-3 students in their classes.

We know that it is possible to excel both at sports and academics but we imagine it will get more difficult in the coming years. Our top priority is that they go to great colleges. How can soccer help with that outside of the life lessons they are learning by playing a team sport.

There’s the obvious path of being an elite talent being recruited to play at these great schools and also the path of being academically great but how can we best leverage soccer played at a good but not elite level? If not being recruited by colleges, does it make more sense to try and make the HS team for a stronger resume? Or would it make more sense to dial it back in the later years and focus solely on the academics while playing less competitive soccer, say on lower level travel teams. How do college admissions value travel soccer outside of DA/ECNL when considering a prospective student? Is it just considered a regular extracurricular activity akin to playing an instrument at that point?

We know we have a ways to go and many things will change along our journey but just want to be informed as much as possible as we begin to focus their time on their strengths.

[Anonymous]

Your kids interests may change by high school. Most kids do. Many kids playing soccer since 5 are done/burned out by high school. Only about 10-20% of the kids that started playing with my son are still playing now at 14.

I have 2 relatives that quit soccer at the start of high school recently and received track scholarships. Others received academic Scholarships.

School always trumps sports in our house. My boys have always gotten straight As, but if they started to not have time to get school work done—soccer would be cut back.

You are thinking way too much about this at your kids young ages. Parents fixated on college soccer are the ones that lose focus and end up driving the love of sport out of their kids.

You take it season by season and always let them be in charge of what they want to do. The end of every year, my kids decide where they want to play. If they want to keep at it, etc. along the way, if I saw them starting to get weary of too much too soon, I changed environments and I steered clear of the overly invested/obsessed parents.

Just let them have fun.

[Anonymous]

Great question. My rising U12 DD is in a similar situation. Hence, I am looking to hear from seasoned parents as well.

[Anonymous]

Best colleges are typically D3 soccer. So there you go.

[Anonymous]

Ivy teams don’t have the best teams. I was recruited by one. Only they also don’t offer scholarship money.

[Anonymous]

OP here. School also trumps sports in our household. I thought I had established that playing soccer in college would probably not be their path but how we can still leverage the sport to help achieve a great college. Appreciate the response.

Are there any parents that have gone through this path and have any guidance?

[Anonymous]

I was a strong athlete in high school who was not recruited and didn't play in college (Ivy League). I probably could have been ok in one of my sports but would not have made the team in the other. However, I am sure that it helped on my college applications that I showed discipline, persistence, leadership (captain of two sports), and time management skills--all the the things we all appreciate about sports, right? These are qualities that every student is going to need to succeed and here is a way to have a little bit of proof.

I don't think any colleges besides Division 1 schools see sports any differently than other extra-curriculars. And why would they???

I don't think you should overthink -- and especially not over-orchestrate -- your kids' interests. I LOVED participating in sports in high school. It was social, it was stimulating, I loved the competition, loved the process of improving little by little. For me, sports were an end in themselves.

[Anonymous]

I’m in a similar situation but my kids are a little older rising 9/10 grades. They get all A’s and also play 2 sports. They are not elite athletes and do not really want to play in college, but they enjoy the competition and comradery of playing. I wonder what the benefits of playing multiple HS sports are to getting into college? It’s certainly a large commitment in time and energy and they are well rounded athletes and excellent students. Would they be better served doing non-athletic extra curriculars? My hope is that showing dedication and commitment to something you feel passionate about, in this case sports, will come through to college admissions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m in a similar situation but my kids are a little older rising 9/10 grades. They get all A’s and also play 2 sports. They are not elite athletes and do not really want to play in college, but they enjoy the competition and comradery of playing. I wonder what the benefits of playing multiple HS sports are to getting into college? It’s certainly a large commitment in time and energy and they are well rounded athletes and excellent students. Would they be better served doing non-athletic extra curriculars? My hope is that showing dedication and commitment to something you feel passionate about, in this case sports, will come through to college admissions.

I think that’s the real question. Do college admissions know the time commitment needed to play Travel sports? If it is only viewed as any other extracurricular activity, maybe it makes sense to focus on other activities that aren’t as time consuming while still playing Travel at a less committed level and spending more time on the academics?

[Anonymous]

Let me put it this way: if your kids start a non-profit fundraising / raising awareness enterprise for whatever cause (save the whales, save the ocean, save the trees) when they are 10 years old and work on it here and there with mini projects at their school or during the summer from age 10-19, that will impress admissions a lot more than playing a sport that millions of other kids also play.

[Anonymous]

One more POV...

Got a rising DS junior, who starts for both HS and travel teams.

Fortunately, his HS team is in the WCAC, which means great competition and lots of recruiting interest.

His travel team -- like far too many this spring -- imploded. While the family scrambled to assess where to potentially play, we converged upon ECNL and CCL1/2 teams given (no surprise):

1. The level of league competition
2. League playoffs/championships
3. Showcases
4. Tournaments

Again, none of this should come as a surprise. We spoke to a lot of experienced people. College coaches tend to focus on junior year, so getting exposure is critical.

Our DS stands on terra firma with his HS team, which is perennially a top squad.

We think he will be advantaged on his new travel team, which we play in OBCG Capital Cup, VYSA State Cup, JeffCup, and FC Delco.

Fingers crossed, he stays healthy with a good attitude, gels with his new team and coaches, and makes the most of this opportunity.

[Anonymous]

So colleges are very competitive. A great academic record does not guarantee admission to the college of your choice. Sports are the same way. Colleges have their pick of the top travel kids. Below are the numbers. Just remember at a top club at u12 they take around 12-14 kids for the first team. On that first team there will be 3-5 girls who are clearly better vs the rest of girls- ie the top of the first team. Those top girls may get the interest of a college coach in a few years or there maybe a new group of top girls. The girls who make the second will not get much interest even from other travel clubs. At my DD’s club, over 125 kids came out for tryouts at u12 and most had been playing travel soccer for 3 years. There will be the same type of competition for the top team till they age out of travel after high school.

This is for women soccer
Number of US High School Soccer Players 390,482
Number of College Soccer Players (see table below) 39,204
% of US High School Soccer Players competing at any College Level 9.4%
% of US High School Soccer Players Competing at NCAA I Schools 2.1%
Odds of a US HS Soccer Player making an NCAA or NAIA Roster 13:1
Odds of a US High School Soccer Player making an NCAA I Roster 46:1

http://www.scholarshipstats.com/soccer.html


I really do not think you should view travel soccer as a path way to college. You can start to think about it when your girls are older and are on the top team on a top club and are the top girls....like u14-u15. Otherwise they play soccer for fun. If they are pretty good at soccer, travel will usually offer them a competitive level of play. If the coach or club makes your DD unhappy switch clubs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Let me put it this way: if your kids start a non-profit fundraising / raising awareness enterprise for whatever cause (save the whales, save the ocean, save the trees) when they are 10 years old and work on it here and there with mini projects at their school or during the summer from age 10-19, that will impress admissions a lot more than playing a sport that millions of other kids also play.

“Millions of kids play” actually does put it into great perspective.

How difficult is it to get recruited by the Ivy leagues and other top academic schools but weaker soccer programs? Are those only the DA/ECNL kids as well? Our kids love the sport and could be very good at it but maybe not elite. I’d like to have a realistic understanding if the pathway to a strong college is not there through soccer. If they can do everything, great.

[Anonymous]

Stupid unless you WANT to major in soccer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. School also trumps sports in our household. I thought I had established that playing soccer in college would probably not be their path but how we can still leverage the sport to help achieve a great college. Appreciate the response.

Are there any parents that have gone through this path and have any guidance?

You cannot directly leverage participation in travel/high school soccer to achieve a great college unless your kid is recruited by the college coach.

Long term participation in a sport shows admirable qualities in a college applicant -- dedication, discipline, teamwork, etc. But those same qualities can be demonstrated by any number of other extracurricular activities (i.e. band, acting, etc.).

So your kid should participate in travel/HS soccer because she likes playing soccer more than she likes other potential extracurricular activities -- not because it will leverage a great college admission.