My Daughter just committed to a major D1 University - As Me Anything

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid plays a different sport, but one thing I wonder, if a college coach reaches out to your coach before June 15 before your junior year, do you know? Can your coach tell you? If they come to your game, I know they can't talk to you but can they tell your coach who you're watching?

I'm trying to figure out if you go into June 15 with a sense of "X school seems to be interested" or if you really have no idea.

Our coach would always tell us if a school was showing interest. She started getting interest early freshman year. Her coach would let us know every school that expressed interest. Some schools faded away and some schools came in out of nowhere. Remember that every girls style of play might not fit with the colleges style of play. 'Style of Play' is one phrase we heard a lot through the process.

Of course the college coaches can send them mail but no real conversations unit June 15th.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also, some of the ECNL rosters have in excess of 25 kids on them. If your goal is to play in college, I thought playing time mattered more than just being on a team. How can the Coach see you play at a showcase event if you are the 2nd or 3rd string on your team? I've been told by coaches, it is important to have significant playing time over just being on a team. Or did just being on an ECNL team seem to open the 'doors of interest' for your daughter?

Great question! Our team had 20 players but because of her position (defender) she rarely came off the field. College coaches got plenty of opportunity to see her. For showcase events our coach made sure everyone got plenty of playing time especially the girls who are not committed yet. We routinely had 80-90 coaches at our showcase games. A good higher ranked ECNL team will have tons of coaches at their games.

Was your daughter contacted by coaches that were not on her list do to them just being able to watch her?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:<< Don't ever go to a general open tryout. Call the coach for the team you are interested in and see if they will let you come for a practice.>>

Watch a college practice to show interest? Sure.

Joining in the practice? That’s an NCAA violation unless something has changed!

SMH...Ask the club team coach to come to a practice!! Not the college coach. wow

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"Don't be a helicopter parent!!!!" yet posted this

Just trying to help other parents navigate the process

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For every junior that commits to a school there are several who commit and never play in college. A lot changes in a year. Until that pen meets the paper it's just a verbal agreement that isn't worth anything.

Yep - every single person on the planet with a kid interested in playing in college knows this. Stop being a Doug Downer. We know the rules. We know what can happen.

BTW - even if you sign and sit the bench - the $$ and the stipend and the NIL is still all yours for the taking! Who cares if you play or not? My kid played 17 minutes last year on a full scholarship and is walking around with a monthly $2,600 stipend debit card! Now THAT's worth something!

Preach!! Amen to this

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just to be clear, your daughter committed to a D1 school and she is starting her Junior Year of High School today?

Yes! Recruitment window for her opened up June 15th. She had calls, emails, texts, and mail from a ton of schools. A few called at midnight on June 15th. Numerous schools came out to see her one last time at ECNL Playoffs in Seattle. They then called to set official visits after August 1st. She made her decision a few days after one of the official visits.

So when did you start contacting the schools? Fall or Spring of sophomore year? Did you invite them to the showcases or Seattle then? Did any schools find her without you contacting them first or is it all initiated by the player? Just trying to understand the mechanics of this.

I have a trapped ECNL player that likely won’t play high school, similar reasons as your D. I imagine yours kept training while her team was playing high school ball but was she able to pick up games somewhere?

And thank you for all this!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When did you daughter get on an ecnl team? Which grade or what age? Thanks for the great post.

She got on in the 8th grade. So I guess she was like 13 or so. She is a trap player. 2026 playing 07

I think trap players end up better players. Yes, there is the one season where they don’t play as their older teammates are playing high school. But they basically play up with an older grade the whole time and end up as better players.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also, some of the ECNL rosters have in excess of 25 kids on them. If your goal is to play in college, I thought playing time mattered more than just being on a team. How can the Coach see you play at a showcase event if you are the 2nd or 3rd string on your team? I've been told by coaches, it is important to have significant playing time over just being on a team. Or did just being on an ECNL team seem to open the 'doors of interest' for your daughter?

Great question! Our team had 20 players but because of her position (defender) she rarely came off the field. College coaches got plenty of opportunity to see her. For showcase events our coach made sure everyone got plenty of playing time especially the girls who are not committed yet. We routinely had 80-90 coaches at our showcase games. A good higher ranked ECNL team will have tons of coaches at their games.

Was your daughter contacted by coaches that were not on her list do to them just being able to watch her?

All the time! There were plenty of schools that reached out especially after June 15th. Most of the schools reached out because they saw her at showcase events. I will repeat...ITS ALL ABOUT THE SHOWCASE EVENTS!!!
1. Contact coaches before the showcase events stating your interest in the school. Give them your times and location of all three of the games.
2. BALL OUT during those games.
3. Have a parent annotate what coaches came to the games.
4. Take that list of schools and contact them a few days later thanking them for coming to see you play.
5. Once you get you highlights video done from that showcase event, send them the link to the highlight video. I highly recommend that athletes setup their own YouTube channel to 'store' all of their videos in one common place (especially if your club does not use a platform like Sports Recruit)

This process is an way to start communication with college coaches. You have a reason to contact them (showcase times, thanks for coming, highlight link)
6. Send the highlight link out to all other schools that didnt come to watch you play. The objective is to get your name out there
7. Post short highlight clips on IG and X. Follow every colleges IG and X account to keep up with what they are doing. Like the colleges posts.

Yes, this is a process but is gets super easy once you have done it a few times. Hardest part is generally putting together the highlights but like I said in the original post, keep it short with only the best stuff. If you are not savvy with video editing software or techniques...try your best to figure it out. YouTube is your friend.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When did you daughter get on an ecnl team? Which grade or what age? Thanks for the great post.

She got on in the 8th grade. So I guess she was like 13 or so. She is a trap player. 2026 playing 07

I think trap players end up better players. Yes, there is the one season where they don’t play as their older teammates are playing high school. But they basically play up with an older grade the whole time and end up as better players.

Totally agree. Plus you are able to learn the recruitment tricks from the older girls after they are committed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For every junior that commits to a school there are several who commit and never play in college. A lot changes in a year. Until that pen meets the paper it's just a verbal agreement that isn't worth anything.

Yep - every single person on the planet with a kid interested in playing in college knows this. Stop being a Doug Downer. We know the rules. We know what can happen.

BTW - even if you sign and sit the bench - the $$ and the stipend and the NIL is still all yours for the taking! Who cares if you play or not? My kid played 17 minutes last year on a full scholarship and is walking around with a monthly $2,600 stipend debit card! Now THAT's worth something!

Preach!! Amen to this

Meh. Your life is not your own when you play D1.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also, some of the ECNL rosters have in excess of 25 kids on them. If your goal is to play in college, I thought playing time mattered more than just being on a team. How can the Coach see you play at a showcase event if you are the 2nd or 3rd string on your team? I've been told by coaches, it is important to have significant playing time over just being on a team. Or did just being on an ECNL team seem to open the 'doors of interest' for your daughter?

Great question! Our team had 20 players but because of her position (defender) she rarely came off the field. College coaches got plenty of opportunity to see her. For showcase events our coach made sure everyone got plenty of playing time especially the girls who are not committed yet. We routinely had 80-90 coaches at our showcase games. A good higher ranked ECNL team will have tons of coaches at their games.

Was your daughter contacted by coaches that were not on her list do to them just being able to watch her?

All the time! There were plenty of schools that reached out especially after June 15th. Most of the schools reached out because they saw her at showcase events. I will repeat...ITS ALL ABOUT THE SHOWCASE EVENTS!!!
1. Contact coaches before the showcase events stating your interest in the school. Give them your times and location of all three of the games.
2. BALL OUT during those games.
3. Have a parent annotate what coaches came to the games.
4. Take that list of schools and contact them a few days later thanking them for coming to see you play.
5. Once you get you highlights video done from that showcase event, send them the link to the highlight video. I highly recommend that athletes setup their own YouTube channel to 'store' all of their videos in one common place (especially if your club does not use a platform like Sports Recruit)

This process is an way to start communication with college coaches. You have a reason to contact them (showcase times, thanks for coming, highlight link)
6. Send the highlight link out to all other schools that didnt come to watch you play. The objective is to get your name out there
7. Post short highlight clips on IG and X. Follow every colleges IG and X account to keep up with what they are doing. Like the colleges posts.

Yes, this is a process but is gets super easy once you have done it a few times. Hardest part is generally putting together the highlights but like I said in the original post, keep it short with only the best stuff. If you are not savvy with video editing software or techniques...try your best to figure it out. YouTube is your friend.

Sounds like you (or your kid) did most of the work.

Did your club provide anything worthwhile to the process of being recruited?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just to be clear, your daughter committed to a D1 school and she is starting her Junior Year of High School today?

Yes! Recruitment window for her opened up June 15th. She had calls, emails, texts, and mail from a ton of schools. A few called at midnight on June 15th. Numerous schools came out to see her one last time at ECNL Playoffs in Seattle. They then called to set official visits after August 1st. She made her decision a few days after one of the official visits.

So when did you start contacting the schools? Fall or Spring of sophomore year? Did you invite them to the showcases or Seattle then? Did any schools find her without you contacting them first or is it all initiated by the player? Just trying to understand the mechanics of this.

I have a trapped ECNL player that likely won’t play high school, similar reasons as your D. I imagine yours kept training while her team was playing high school ball but was she able to pick up games somewhere?

And thank you for all this!!

We started contacting schools via Sports Recruit email around the middle of her freshman year. Yes, we stated giving them times and locations for showcase events around middle of freshman year. Lots of schools found her primarily because she was playing for a better ECNL team and she typically played well at the showcase events. ITS ALL ABOUT THE SHOWCASE EVENTS!!!
Her club team plays in the fall. Her school plays in the fall. So she never really missed any training.

We were/are very strategic about training outside of normal practice sessions. During the season we don't do much else besides occasional speed work. During the off season and summer we try to do a few days of strength training and a few days of speed work per week. Don't Burn the Steak. Don't over due it. Find a balance. They can work on technical skills all day every day but dont allow too much strength and speed work. Rest, hydration, recovery is super important. Speed an agility work is of utmost importance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also, some of the ECNL rosters have in excess of 25 kids on them. If your goal is to play in college, I thought playing time mattered more than just being on a team. How can the Coach see you play at a showcase event if you are the 2nd or 3rd string on your team? I've been told by coaches, it is important to have significant playing time over just being on a team. Or did just being on an ECNL team seem to open the 'doors of interest' for your daughter?

Great question! Our team had 20 players but because of her position (defender) she rarely came off the field. College coaches got plenty of opportunity to see her. For showcase events our coach made sure everyone got plenty of playing time especially the girls who are not committed yet. We routinely had 80-90 coaches at our showcase games. A good higher ranked ECNL team will have tons of coaches at their games.

Was your daughter contacted by coaches that were not on her list do to them just being able to watch her?

All the time! There were plenty of schools that reached out especially after June 15th. Most of the schools reached out because they saw her at showcase events. I will repeat...ITS ALL ABOUT THE SHOWCASE EVENTS!!!
1. Contact coaches before the showcase events stating your interest in the school. Give them your times and location of all three of the games.
2. BALL OUT during those games.
3. Have a parent annotate what coaches came to the games.
4. Take that list of schools and contact them a few days later thanking them for coming to see you play.
5. Once you get you highlights video done from that showcase event, send them the link to the highlight video. I highly recommend that athletes setup their own YouTube channel to 'store' all of their videos in one common place (especially if your club does not use a platform like Sports Recruit)

This process is an way to start communication with college coaches. You have a reason to contact them (showcase times, thanks for coming, highlight link)
6. Send the highlight link out to all other schools that didnt come to watch you play. The objective is to get your name out there
7. Post short highlight clips on IG and X. Follow every colleges IG and X account to keep up with what they are doing. Like the colleges posts.

Yes, this is a process but is gets super easy once you have done it a few times. Hardest part is generally putting together the highlights but like I said in the original post, keep it short with only the best stuff. If you are not savvy with video editing software or techniques...try your best to figure it out. YouTube is your friend.

Sounds like you (or your kid) did most of the work.

Did your club provide anything worthwhile to the process of being recruited?

Yes, but you have to put in the work!! The club can only help but so much. The biggest thing the club can do is advocate for your DD. Every college coach will call the club coach asking about the athlete. Grades, personality, good teammate, misc..
Some club coaches have great relationships with college coaches so it makes it easy to advocate. Its important that the athlete has a great relationship with the club coach. Everything should be transparent with solid two way communication

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just to be clear, your daughter committed to a D1 school and she is starting her Junior Year of High School today?

Yes! Recruitment window for her opened up June 15th. She had calls, emails, texts, and mail from a ton of schools. A few called at midnight on June 15th. Numerous schools came out to see her one last time at ECNL Playoffs in Seattle. They then called to set official visits after August 1st. She made her decision a few days after one of the official visits.

OP, thanks for the information (I know some people nit-pick it apart, but it's what we get in an open forum), I legitimately did not know, as my daughter just started 5th grade. I defiantly thought this process started a year and half later (Like December of their Senior year for some reason.) So, this is good information to consider!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, how much did you spend (on average) per year on your daughter's soccer? How much is her scholarship per year?

Funny that you ask this because I just did the calculation the other night.
I think in the last two years I have spent about 25-30k. Club fees, uniforms, travel (the big expense), id camp fees, training sessions.

There is NO comparison regarding her scholarship with is worth about 330K for all four years. She has a full ride (which is rare in womens soccer) That does not include a additional living stipend that is thousands of dollars a semester. Plus the NIL deal!