Is there a path to college play for DD?

[Anonymous]

DD has been playing since U9 for a club that's ok but not great. She started on the lowest team, and made her way to the middle team more recently. She's currently U15, 8th grade, so she's got 5 more years of play before college. She's probably average to slightly above average for the team she plays on. Maybe she'll improve, maybe she won't. She goes to a good school and does well, so academically I think she'll have a pretty good shot at a lot of colleges. She's probably best suited to a smaller D1, liberal arts or Ivy, if I had to guess. So not a school with a huge soccer program or a top team or anything like that.


We're not an especially soccer-savvy family, so I'm just coming to realize, I think, what her chances of getting to play in college might be, and it's looking a little grim. So my question is, is there a path to college-level play for a kid like her at a small D1 school? And if so, what, specifically, can we do to improve her chances? And finally, is the whole recruitment industry (getting a video made, getting recommendations, id clinics, etc.) important for her, or is it overkill at the level we're talking about? Or would it all just be pointless at her intermediate level of play?

Thanks for any thoughts you have!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DD has been playing since U9 for a club that's ok but not great. She started on the lowest team, and made her way to the middle team more recently. She's currently U15, 8th grade, so she's got 5 more years of play before college. She's probably average to slightly above average for the team she plays on. Maybe she'll improve, maybe she won't. She goes to a good school and does well, so academically I think she'll have a pretty good shot at a lot of colleges. She's probably best suited to a smaller D1, liberal arts or Ivy, if I had to guess. So not a school with a huge soccer program or a top team or anything like that.


We're not an especially soccer-savvy family, so I'm just coming to realize, I think, what her chances of getting to play in college might be, and it's looking a little grim. So my question is, is there a path to college-level play for a kid like her at a small D1 school? And if so, what, specifically, can we do to improve her chances? And finally, is the whole recruitment industry (getting a video made, getting recommendations, id clinics, etc.) important for her, or is it overkill at the level we're talking about? Or would it all just be pointless at her intermediate level of play?

Thanks for any thoughts you have!

If she is not on the top team at a good club (ECNL, DA or something just below that level of play) she will not be recruited to play on a D1 - team period.

D3 is still a possibility if she works really hard over the next 3 years and ends of playing on a more competitive team than where she is now. There are over 400 division 3 schools and I know girls who played on a second teams at a good club, and on a first team at a weak clubs, who are playing Division 3 soccer. They are not playing on the better academic or better soccer playing Division 3 teams, however, like the NESCAC schools.

[Anonymous]

If she is not on the top team at a good club (ECNL, DA or something just below that level of play) she will not be recruited to play on a D1 - team period.

D3 is still a possibility if she works really hard over the next 3 years and ends of playing on a more competitive team than where she is now. There are over 400 division 3 schools and I know girls who played on a second teams at a good club, and on a first team at a weak clubs, who are playing Division 3 soccer. They are not playing on the better academic or better soccer playing Division 3 teams, however, like the NESCAC schools.

[Anonymous]

Maybe. D2 and D3 are easier pathways.

She could hit up a D2 ID camp. I've seen coaches give offers after a camp to rising seniors. He was very candid and up front about they types of players he recruited. He stated D2 and D3 got most of those not taken by D1 and he recruited year to year (think rising seniors without offers).

So there is a path. Lower level D1, maybe. Hit up some ID camps would be my suggestions for smaller D1's. Email coaches and let them know of her interest in the next couple years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If she is not on the top team at a good club (ECNL, DA or something just below that level of play) she will not be recruited to play on a D1 - team period.

D3 is still a possibility if she works really hard over the next 3 years and ends of playing on a more competitive team than where she is now. There are over 400 division 3 schools and I know girls who played on a second teams at a good club, and on a first team at a weak clubs, who are playing Division 3 soccer. They are not playing on the better academic or better soccer playing Division 3 teams, however, like the NESCAC schools.

This just isn't true. Go to ANY college women's soccer program website and look at their roster. Browse through the players and their backgrounds. There are always a few that do not come from ECNL or DA for nearly every school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If she is not on the top team at a good club (ECNL, DA or something just below that level of play) she will not be recruited to play on a D1 - team period.

D3 is still a possibility if she works really hard over the next 3 years and ends of playing on a more competitive team than where she is now. There are over 400 division 3 schools and I know girls who played on a second teams at a good club, and on a first team at a weak clubs, who are playing Division 3 soccer. They are not playing on the better academic or better soccer playing Division 3 teams, however, like the NESCAC schools.

This just isn't true. Go to ANY college women's soccer program website and look at their roster. Browse through the players and their backgrounds. There are always a few that do not come from ECNL or DA for nearly every school.

Read what I wrote. I said ECNL, DA or something just below that level of play. Are you telling me you can go two or three levels down from DA or ECNL and be recruited to play D1? That is a unicorn situation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If she is not on the top team at a good club (ECNL, DA or something just below that level of play) she will not be recruited to play on a D1 - team period.

D3 is still a possibility if she works really hard over the next 3 years and ends of playing on a more competitive team than where she is now. There are over 400 division 3 schools and I know girls who played on a second teams at a good club, and on a first team at a weak clubs, who are playing Division 3 soccer. They are not playing on the better academic or better soccer playing Division 3 teams, however, like the NESCAC schools.

This just isn't true. Go to ANY college women's soccer program website and look at their roster. Browse through the players and their backgrounds. There are always a few that do not come from ECNL or DA for nearly every school.

Read what I wrote. I said ECNL, DA or something just below that level of play. Are you telling me you can go two or three levels down from DA or ECNL and be recruited to play D1? That is a unicorn situation.

+1. Review this linked list of Class of 2020 committed players and find the girls who are not coming from DA or ECNL clubs or a team just below that level of play. I'll be waiting a long time for you to find one.

https://www.soccerwire.com/recruiting/girls-2020-college-commitments/?filter=eyJzb3J0X2J5IjoibWV0YS5pc19mZWF0dXJlZC5yYXciLCJzb3J0X2RpcmVjdGlvbiI6ImRlc2MiLCJxdWVyeSI6IiIsInNlbGVjdGVkRmlsdGVycyI6eyJtZXRhLmdlbmRlci5yYXciOiJmZW1hbGUiLCJtZXRhLmlzX2NvbW1pdHRlZC5yYXciOiIxIiwibWV0YS5ncmFkdWF0aW9uX3llYXIucmF3IjoiMjAyMCJ9LCJzZWxlY3RlZFJhbmdlRmlsdGVycyI6e30sImN1cnJlbnRQYWdlIjoxfQ==

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If she is not on the top team at a good club (ECNL, DA or something just below that level of play) she will not be recruited to play on a D1 - team period.

D3 is still a possibility if she works really hard over the next 3 years and ends of playing on a more competitive team than where she is now. There are over 400 division 3 schools and I know girls who played on a second teams at a good club, and on a first team at a weak clubs, who are playing Division 3 soccer. They are not playing on the better academic or better soccer playing Division 3 teams, however, like the NESCAC schools.

This just isn't true. Go to ANY college women's soccer program website and look at their roster. Browse through the players and their backgrounds. There are always a few that do not come from ECNL or DA for nearly every school.

Read what I wrote. I said ECNL, DA or something just below that level of play. Are you telling me you can go two or three levels down from DA or ECNL and be recruited to play D1? That is a unicorn situation.

+1. Review this linked list of Class of 2020 committed players and find the girls who are not coming from DA or ECNL clubs or a team just below that level of play. I'll be waiting a long time for you to find one.

https://www.soccerwire.com/recruiting/girls-2020-college-commitments/?filter=eyJzb3J0X2J5IjoibWV0YS5pc19mZWF0dXJlZC5yYXciLCJzb3J0X2RpcmVjdGlvbiI6ImRlc2MiLCJxdWVyeSI6IiIsInNlbGVjdGVkRmlsdGVycyI6eyJtZXRhLmdlbmRlci5yYXciOiJmZW1hbGUiLCJtZXRhLmlzX2NvbW1pdHRlZC5yYXciOiIxIiwibWV0YS5ncmFkdWF0aW9uX3llYXIucmF3IjoiMjAyMCJ9LCJzZWxlY3RlZFJhbmdlRmlsdGVycyI6e30sImN1cnJlbnRQYWdlIjoxfQ==

Lots of players exist that don't sign up or are not listed on soccerwire or Topdrawersoccer. There are committed players in our club that never show up on either site.

It's like using GotSoccer to find the best team in the nation.

[Anonymous]

She should be able to play for a small D3 liberal arts school if playing soccer in college is a priority for her. It was for me in my sport. I was not good enough for D1, but really enjoyed the experience of playing a sport and being on a team in college, and going to a small school suited me so it worked out great.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If she is not on the top team at a good club (ECNL, DA or something just below that level of play) she will not be recruited to play on a D1 - team period.

D3 is still a possibility if she works really hard over the next 3 years and ends of playing on a more competitive team than where she is now. There are over 400 division 3 schools and I know girls who played on a second teams at a good club, and on a first team at a weak clubs, who are playing Division 3 soccer. They are not playing on the better academic or better soccer playing Division 3 teams, however, like the NESCAC schools.

This just isn't true. Go to ANY college women's soccer program website and look at their roster. Browse through the players and their backgrounds. There are always a few that do not come from ECNL or DA for nearly every school.

Read what I wrote. I said ECNL, DA or something just below that level of play. Are you telling me you can go two or three levels down from DA or ECNL and be recruited to play D1? That is a unicorn situation.

+1. Review this linked list of Class of 2020 committed players and find the girls who are not coming from DA or ECNL clubs or a team just below that level of play. I'll be waiting a long time for you to find one.

https://www.soccerwire.com/recruiting/girls-2020-college-commitments/?filter=eyJzb3J0X2J5IjoibWV0YS5pc19mZWF0dXJlZC5yYXciLCJzb3J0X2RpcmVjdGlvbiI6ImRlc2MiLCJxdWVyeSI6IiIsInNlbGVjdGVkRmlsdGVycyI6eyJtZXRhLmdlbmRlci5yYXciOiJmZW1hbGUiLCJtZXRhLmlzX2NvbW1pdHRlZC5yYXciOiIxIiwibWV0YS5ncmFkdWF0aW9uX3llYXIucmF3IjoiMjAyMCJ9LCJzZWxlY3RlZFJhbmdlRmlsdGVycyI6e30sImN1cnJlbnRQYWdlIjoxfQ==

Wow, this guy got defensive quickly!

I would say there is a pretty big gap between DA/ECNL and the next tier. In this area, EDP is the closest.

I've seen CCL players and NPL players recruited. Those are NOT strong leagues AND are 2 to 3 levels down.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If she is not on the top team at a good club (ECNL, DA or something just below that level of play) she will not be recruited to play on a D1 - team period.

D3 is still a possibility if she works really hard over the next 3 years and ends of playing on a more competitive team than where she is now. There are over 400 division 3 schools and I know girls who played on a second teams at a good club, and on a first team at a weak clubs, who are playing Division 3 soccer. They are not playing on the better academic or better soccer playing Division 3 teams, however, like the NESCAC schools.

This just isn't true. Go to ANY college women's soccer program website and look at their roster. Browse through the players and their backgrounds. There are always a few that do not come from ECNL or DA for nearly every school.

I agree with the PP. Not because of the program she is with, but because of the description of the player. She's not a stand out even there, which means she doesn't have that special something D1 will look for.

Now, at 8th grade it is far from too late. I would recommend additional training and see if an area ECNL or DA team would take a look and consider her as a training player of some kind so she can practice with better. Also, like futsal would be great for ball skills and I would recommend speed and agility if she doesn't have speed. D1 looks for speed and technical ability. 5 years is a long time, and if she has the passion, she can get there.

If she doesn't have the passion, D1 is not the end all, be all. There are plenty of quality programs at D2 and D3 levels, and I don't think "just making" a program is what matters. Will they ever actually play her? Who wants to join a program to never make it on the field?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If she is not on the top team at a good club (ECNL, DA or something just below that level of play) she will not be recruited to play on a D1 - team period.

D3 is still a possibility if she works really hard over the next 3 years and ends of playing on a more competitive team than where she is now. There are over 400 division 3 schools and I know girls who played on a second teams at a good club, and on a first team at a weak clubs, who are playing Division 3 soccer. They are not playing on the better academic or better soccer playing Division 3 teams, however, like the NESCAC schools.

This just isn't true. Go to ANY college women's soccer program website and look at their roster. Browse through the players and their backgrounds. There are always a few that do not come from ECNL or DA for nearly every school.

Read what I wrote. I said ECNL, DA or something just below that level of play. Are you telling me you can go two or three levels down from DA or ECNL and be recruited to play D1? That is a unicorn situation.

+1. Review this linked list of Class of 2020 committed players and find the girls who are not coming from DA or ECNL clubs or a team just below that level of play. I'll be waiting a long time for you to find one.

https://www.soccerwire.com/recruiting/girls-2020-college-commitments/?filter=eyJzb3J0X2J5IjoibWV0YS5pc19mZWF0dXJlZC5yYXciLCJzb3J0X2RpcmVjdGlvbiI6ImRlc2MiLCJxdWVyeSI6IiIsInNlbGVjdGVkRmlsdGVycyI6eyJtZXRhLmdlbmRlci5yYXciOiJmZW1hbGUiLCJtZXRhLmlzX2NvbW1pdHRlZC5yYXciOiIxIiwibWV0YS5ncmFkdWF0aW9uX3llYXIucmF3IjoiMjAyMCJ9LCJzZWxlY3RlZFJhbmdlRmlsdGVycyI6e30sImN1cnJlbnRQYWdlIjoxfQ==

LMAO. This list is so incomplete it's laughable. For VA it only covers FCV, Loudoun, Richmond United and McLean - ironically the SoccerWire Premier Partner clubs.

Below is a better source for commitments - although still incomplete and missing some in-state 2020 D1 commits -

https://www.topdrawersoccer.com/search/?query=&divisionId=&genderId=&graduationYear=2020&positionId=0&playerRating=&stateId=47&pageNo=0&area=commitments

[Anonymous]

To quote OutKast, I'm just being honest

Anonymous wrote:So my question is, is there a path to college-level play for a kid like her at a small D1 school?

There's essentially no chance. Yes as others have said, players can get recruited to D1 schools from non-DA and ECNL clubs, and even from good B teams. But scholarships for B team players are unusual (and then that's only at clubs with deep quality) and I know lots of solid but unspectacular players on top teams who can't get a D1 scholarship. Nothing in your post suggest your daughter has the skills to attract that level of interest.

Anonymous wrote:And if so, what, specifically, can we do to improve her chances?

Probably very little at this point. If she's a great athlete, then you can get personal training and quality group training to improve her skills which she'll need to spend lots of time on her own practicing but at this point, it's not clear that a place like HP Elite would take your kid. And if she was so inclined, she'd had done the work already.

Anonymous wrote:And finally, is the whole recruitment industry (getting a video made, getting recommendations, id clinics, etc.) important for her, or is it overkill at the level we're talking about?

Obviously getting her in front of more coaches would increase her chances of finding a coach that's interested in her but going from a chance in hell to two chances in hell doesn't mean a a whole lot. But to avoid future feelings of "we didn't try hard enough" go to a local soccer camp of a school that's not that good (say American, Catholic, or Marymont) and see how your daughter performs. If you can honestly say she's in the top 10 girls out there or the coach shows interest in her, then maybe keep trying, but if she's lost in the crowd, you're wasting your time. Videos would be useless in your situation

Anonymous wrote:Or would it all just be pointless at her intermediate level of play?

You've probably already guessed my answer to this question. You'll hear there's tons of soccer scholarships out there, and relatively speaking, there's a lot. But not every player on even the best teams will earn one. Have your kid keep playing for as long as it's fun, recognizing that if she wants to play in college, it will almost certainly be at the club level. Have her go to school some place she loves instead of some place she was able to squeeze out a invited walk-on position.

[Anonymous]

Unless your daughter is strong enough to move on to a DA or ECNL team (or very competitive regional club team), I think D1 (at least the top 2/3) would be a stretch. (that being said, a lot of good can happen in 3+ years especially if a kid works hard).

Once she gets to HS, my advice is for your daughter to approach the college search by looking for schools that are the right fit for her academic interests/background/profile, your family's finances, and her personal preferences of what type of environment is right for her (small vs large, liberal vs conservative, city vs small town, etc.), and then see where soccer might fit in. For example, if she decides that UVA is the right place for her, then club soccer might be a great way for her to continue to play. Maybe she considers a smaller NECAC school...perhaps worth sending her to an ID camp to see if there's interest from the coach.

Also, don't assume Ivies are weak, easy-to-access soccer programs - Harvard just recruited two national team players from the Class of 2020. They can get really good soccer talent b/c, well, they're Harvard. Lots of very smart kids are also very good soccer players these days. While the Ivies aren't winning national championships, they are fielding strong-ish teams.

If she wants to play college soccer in any division, she'll need a highlight video (for making introductions), recruiting outreach, and ID camps/showcases by sophomore year of HS. Maybe the summer after her freshman year, have her attend a couple of ID camps and have her club coach get feedback from the college coaches. By then, you should have a sense of what's realistic for her. The summer after 9th grade, my daughter went to a multi school ID camp where the coaches provided individual feedback to the players during the camp - not recruiting conversations, but more skills assessments and strengths/weaknesses. Then she and we met with her club coach to talk about next steps - started sending emails to coaches before showcases, visiting schools just to get a sense of what she liked, and then attending ID camps for schools that were on her list.

Lastly, if she wants to play college soccer, her fitness levels will need to be strong - that means training outside of club practice. Based on my experience with DA and ECNL teams, many of the better players do work on their own, many with a trainer.

So...if she decides she wants to play soccer in college (any division), she'll want to work to move on to an ECNL or DA team, really work on her skills and fitness, and find a coach who can be her advocate and help support her development and the recruiting process.

[Anonymous]

She sounds more like a college club soccer player. (And that's not a ding against her … just sounds like that might be a good fit.) Are you asking because you hope she gets money?