question about European girl moving to US to play soccer
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Anonymous
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I have a cousin in Europe who has an 05 girl who is apparently a real standout. They are asking me to figure out a way to bring her here so she can train in the US. I won't go into the reasons behind the idea... just asking for thoughts on how feasible this is.
I think the family thinks that she'll be playing in high school or that everything will be easy and local. They asked me about "scholarships." I assume that high school scholarships are irrelevant to the discussion, that she would have to make a DA or ECNL team. I live in NOVA and I assume she'd be competing all over. I have boys, not girls, and my kids are a little younger so I really don't know what kind of commitment this is. Am I right that there is no way for this to happen without an adult becoming her full-time chauffeur?? Needless to say, I have no interest. I am sure the Division college teams are full of foreign players. Did those kids attend high school in the US?? Any advice?? TIA. |
Anonymous
| Most of the foreign college players did not come over until college. |
Anonymous
| Yes you would be a full time chauffeur. |
Anonymous
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What visa would she use? That stops 99% of people who think they can just “pop into America” for a few years. You cannot get a student visa to attend a public us high school. Only private schools are an option and that entails a significant cost >= college costs.
Basically tell them to sort the visa first then you can talk. |
Anonymous
Thanks, I think you are right that that is the first step. |
Anonymous
Paul VI has scholarships and housing for kids. They have a record of girls on their teams committing to great colleges. Also, you can play HS there and DA (since there is a scholarship). This is where I would start. Paul VI is very much about sports and academics. |
Anonymous
| There's a boarding school in Minnesota whose soccer teams play in DA, Shattuck-St. Mary’s, maybe they have scholarships??? |
Anonymous
| Also IMG in Florida. |
Anonymous
IMG is a DA school, like St Mary's. |
Anonymous
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There are plenty of good clubs, plenty of mediocre clubs, and plenty of poorly-ran clubs. Contact clubs near you and set up a date she can go train. This way, she can learn the environment and the coach can assess her. At that point, either sign up or move on to the next club. DA and ECNL are generally considered the top leagues, although that doesn't mean the environment/coach/team is best (they can vary by age group). There are some decent CCL teams in northern VA, but your geography is probably the best indicator of initially getting choices.
GotSoccer isn't the best barometer but it'll be a good start. In northern VA (for 2005 girls): McLean ECNL, SYA, SYC, and NVSC (notice Arlington DA isn't top 5 but from what I see in DA standings they're pretty successful) In MD (depending what part of norther VA): Montgomery, Bethesda Hope she considers what's best/most important to her. |
Anonymous
| Moving to the States FOR youth soccer training is a terrible idea. |
Anonymous
Yep.. Just come for the free college ride. That is what Europeans that get cut from Foreign youth Academy or don't have what it takes over there do. |
Anonymous
| Just considering that we have no idea what country this European 2005 girl is from, I'd like to state that maybe there are other reasons for coming to the U.S., and, U.S. has a great track record of both player development and success in the women's game. |
Anonymous
Is she looking to make her youth national team? She is not eligible for USWNT as a foreign citizen. It does not sound like she has dual citizenship. Or is she just interested in playing US college soccer and an American education for free? Those are things that should be considered. |
Anonymous
Please.. OP never mentioned anything at all about USWNT. Only mention was college. |