Reply to College Recruitment Process -- When Does It Start?

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[quote=Anonymous]Freshman year, kids who may want to play in college start to think about the types of schools they might want to look at, learn a little about the recruiting process from their club, and get familiar with how to build a highlight reel. Also good to make sure they understand what they have to do academically to align with their target schools.

Sophomore year, player starts email outreach to target schools with highlight videos. They should start to look more carefully at style of play at target schools and discuss with club coach what strategy will be for those schools. Touch base with college coaches at top target schools on somewhat regular basis, not just the day before a showcase when hundreds of other kids are doing the same thing. Start to tour schools and attend ID camps to narrow list. Work hard to maintain good grades and to build other aspects of college application besides soccer (leadership, service, etc.). Start to think through/practice calls or meetings with college coaches.

Junior year - summer before, attend ID camps at target schools and continue to reach out, engage. Have club coach reach out to college coaches at target schools after camps or showcases to get feedback (if college coaches haven't already reached out to them or player). Phone calls with coaches and official visits can occur. Player should have a good list of questions ready for calls/visits that show he or she has researched team. Ask about roster management, academic support, culture, travel policies, how they would bring value to program, and any limitations on major (e.g., some D1 programs won't accommodate nursing students and STEM majors whose practicals or labs conflict with practice or midweek travel). By junior year, should have a good idea what programs/schools are interested and start to narrow focus. Take SAT or ACT in fall to get baseline, and repeat in spring. Keep up good grades and other activities.

Senior year - if not yet committed, keep up outreach, college visits, ID camps, etc. and consider whether walk-on or college club soccer are good back-up plans.

Overall - encourage your kid to choose the right college with or without soccer. i.e., the fabled broken leg test. Would you still love this school if you couldn't play soccer? Keep college soccer in perspective - very very few kids will play past college, but what you do academically will impact the rest of your life. Also, coaches come and go, so don't choose a school just for a coach unless other aspects of the school are the right fit. Don't discount D3...could be an opportunity to be an impact player and get a nudge into an academically strong school.

This process will look different is your kid is a very top recruit/USNT material but for most ECNL travel players, it's a process of the player seeking out the right fit and getting in front of the right coaches, so IMO ID camps are vital to this. In ID camps, you get to interact with the coaching staff, be on campus, and get direct feedback. Important at ID camps for players to be "on" both on the field as well as during warm-ups, check-in, water breaks, etc.

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