Blutarski wrote:

CompletelyClueless wrote:There are so many active and highly knowledgeable people in this forum, that I was hoping I could convince a few of you to chip in and help educate the clueless parents with soccer players were only decent, but not ECNL/MLS/GA level players. I pieced together some information by looking at old posts, but I am assuming that there are a lot of other parents that are as clueless as I am and could use a tutorial all in one forum?

Personally, I have a U15 who’s a good athlete and soccer player, but not great. I think any recruiting or effort to play in college would have to come from our end, coaches are not going to be seeking us out. My kid loves soccer and wants to play in college if possible, but isn’t looking for money and would be more than happy at a D3 college. Can someone please give us some tips or instructions?

Some of my questions are:
- when should I be starting this process?
- is there any place I should be registering?
- I assume anything that wants you to subscribe or pay money is kind of just a rip off? Is this true?
- I keep seeing all these posts that say you should make contact with coaches at the colleges you were interested in, but if my kid is not ECNL level, Is that just a waste of everyone’s time?
- Is there any information or video or something I should be starting together now? Or can I just chill out for at least a couple years
And worry later?

Below are some answers. Ideally this is driven by the player, and guided by the parent, but the process is so competitive and onerous that parents need to participate to be successful. You are right that the best players in the top leagues find it easy to get recruited, but the farther down the food chain you go, the more it is on you to market yourself. There are literally tons of resources on the internet about how the process works.

- when should I be starting this process?
Your player should start in her freshman year by identifying target schools and sending introductory emails. As she approaches tournaments, she should be providing her game schedule, and inviting the coaches to come.

- is there any place I should be registering?
- I assume anything that wants you to subscribe or pay money is kind of just a rip off? Is this true?
There are numerous recruiting services that can make the process a bit easier. If your player is less organized and persistent, these can help. They provide services that make it easier to find and write emails with read receipt tracking, a place to house player profiles and videos, track who is looking, and plenty of help articles. In general, they provide nothing that you can't do for yourself, they just streamline the process and give you purpose built tools for doing so. Some people think they are a ripoff, others appreciate the value. YMMV.

- I keep seeing all these posts that say you should make contact with coaches at the colleges you were interested in, but if my kid is not ECNL level, Is that just a waste of everyone’s time?
Definitely not a waste of time. Plenty of non-ECNL players play in college. There are 35,000-40,000 women's college players, and a quarter of these turn over every year. ECNL only graduates about 2300 or so per year. If you don't make your player known to coaches, they won't be found, particularly if they are not playing ECNL. Your player will have to market herself aggressively.

- Is there any information or video or something I should be starting together now? Or can I just chill out for at least a couple years
It's a long process, and the earlier your player starts, the better. Even in the early years, when coaches are prohibited from responding to players, you want to be communicating. Coaches are looking for two things, does this player want to play at my school, and is she talented enough to be competitive. The former is demonstrated by your interest, the latter is demonstrated by her play. You have to get them interested enough to come see her play. Highlight and/or game videos are a great way of giving a coach a preview of her level of play and are worth investing in. Prepare an online player profile (free at several sites) and include a link to her video(s). As a non-ECNL player, she will have less access to high level tournaments that draw coaches automatically so video is even more important.
Additionally, you may need to consider ID camps at the schools that make the most sense for her. These can be a good opportunity for her to gauge her level of play relative to other interested players, and to let coaches get an early evaluation. If she has some clear favorite schools, attending multiple ID camps there will definitely communicate her interest. Beware though, ALL of these ID camps are an additional source of income for these coaches first, and a way to see emerging talent second. It is easy to waste a ton of money this way fruitlessly, so you'll have to choose wisely. Typically group camps with dozens of coaches and hundreds of players are not good value.

Swaggalicious wrote:

Liv4Life wrote:So how important is a GA or ECNL team for a girl who is looking at D3 colleges- schools that make NCAA tournament - maybe even lower level D1 if it fits. My daughter plays on a CCL team and the closest GA/ECNL program practice/games are 45- 1 hour away. She was a 4 year state ODP player before stopping that when she made varsity in HS. One of the 2 best players on her CCL team for reference. We are realistic in the process but do not want to drag her that far if not necessary 3-5 times a week.

Thanks in advance

I’ll take a swing at this but take it for what it’s worth bc there is no set path or definitive rules here. I think of it like applying for jobs out of college. If you go to Stanford, employers know and are familiar with what training and education you received. Does that automatically mean you are smarter than someone that went to GMU? No, it just takes more work to vet a candidate from a less prestigious school. Playing in ecnl gives college coaches a known standard to judge a potential recruit. Are there good players on CCL teams, of course, but it takes more work for the college coach. Maybe there isn’t a ecnl club nearby. Lots of Beach FC players play at top D1 schools. Maybe the player is a top two sport star. Whatever the case, it takes more work from the player to explain and the coach to vet. Can it work. Yes but just a harder path. Coaches recruit players, not teams so whatever the situation, you want your DD to be featured, get a lot of touches, make an impact on the field and not just be seen as a role player. Don’t misinterpret that as being a ball hog but think key passes, big chances, completed passes, interceptions, tackles, etc.