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[quote=Anonymous]Coaches recruit players, not teams.  It is okay not to be on a great team, and certainly possible to be recruited, but coaches also need to see a kid play - usually 3 or 4 times - to be able to make a determination on ability.  That can be done in many ways -- watching a club or high school game, watching your kid play at a camp, and/or watching your kid play in a tournament.  Those are the typical opportunities.  Women's soccer is not a revenue sport at most schools so recruiting budgets are pretty low.  Coaches will come to a few tournaments, attend a camp or two, host a camp or two, and come to local games.

What should you do now -- winter of freshman year?

1.  Get in top condition.  Work on fitness, speed and agility.  Coaches, are like everyone else, impressed by their first impression.  A kid who is fit and athletic is someone who will have a leg up on their competition.  Coaches always think that they can make an athlete better.  
2.  Work on her ball skills.  Can she juggle and routinely hit 200 plus?  If not -- get there.  Learn a couple of tricks too.  In the winter, stay after school and borrow a corner of the gym everyday.  Juggle.  Juggle, Juggle.  Play corner ball -- knock the ball into the corner -- play right foot, then left foot -- one touch only.  Work with a trainer to develop an appropriate upper body weight routine.  Do that every other day.  She will be playing with and against kids who are 2 to 3 years older than her now.  She will need the upper body strength to fight for the ball.  She will need the core body strength to reduce the risk of injury.
3.  Tryout for the best teams that work with your family requirements.  It is no good to tryout for a team you cannot afford either with money or time.
4.  Sit down together and plan academics.  Women's college soccer is not a sport for kids who get poor grades.  Unless you are a true superstar there are lots of very good players who will not prove to be a grade risk.  Academics are also key for scholarship money.  A good player who qualifies for academic money is someone the coach really will want.  Even a fully funded Div 1 women's program will only have 14.9 scholarships to divy up among about 30 players.  A kid who can qualify for say a 50% academic scholarship means that the coach can give a 25% scholarship freshman year and you parents will not be in for that much.  That allows the coach additional money to spread around to other recruits and players.  If your kid works out and earns playing time or a starting position the coach can bump the amount for sophomore year.  If your kid decides to quit, their academic scholarship money means they can likely continue on at the school.  To qualify for academic money the NCAA requires a student to have a minimum of a 3.5 academic gpa (no gym, art, music etc) or a 29 ACT or equivalent SAT.  They easy one to control is the gpa.  It is NOT weighted.

What else should you be doing freshman year?

Making some basic decisions:

A.  Where geographically is your kid interested in attending?  Most kids go within 150 miles of their home.  If your kid wants to focus on the West Coast, then you need to consider what that really involves -- financially and emotionally.  Is it realistic?
B.  What type and size of school is your kid interested in attending?  Big, Medium Small,  Religious, Private, Public.  Most kids really have no clue what is out there.  My kid always liked whatever school she last visited.  What you should be doing right now is visiting schools in your area.  Go check out and take the standard prospective student tour at different size schools.  Look at Urban and rural schools.  Even if your kid is sure she does not want to go to a small school -- go check out a couple.  By the time you have looked at 10 schools you and your kid will have some real insight into what she may want. 
C.  Consider carefully college academics.  What might she want to study?  Hard to really know for lots of kids as freshman (or college seniors).  But, if you have a kid who is dead set on becoming an engineer -- then maybe you need to cross small liberal arts schools off the potential list.  Even if the kid has no idea -- it is a good idea to start talking about it.  
D.  Take some time and consider your college finances.  Be realistic here.  If the kid does not get any athletic scholarship money (common for a freshman) what will that mean for where she can attend?  Do not cross off privates with high list prices.  Kids with good grades do not pay list.  This goes back to the need to do well academically.  The pool of potential schools gets a whole lot bigger if academic money is realistically available.

Timing:  This summer your kid should be continuing to improve their skills and fitness, and honing down what they want to look for in a school.  They should attend a couple of local ID camps to get a feel for what they are like more than anything else.  Familiarity will help keep nerves down.  The only goal really is to learn what the camps are like.  Play as often as she can.  Play pick up games with high school guys can be helpful.  The speed of play is much faster and will improve her speed and work rate.

Sophomore year -- play as high of level club as you can that works for the family.  It is not worth straining family budgets to the breaking point to play on a team.  It is not worth screwing up family dynamics to play on a team.  Work hard and get better.  Set up a new email for the kid that will be soccer specific.  Use an appropriate name.  "Teddybear 14" is not someone that a coach wants to recruit.  The NCAA has strict rules on coach/recruit communications.  Get them.  Read them so you know (and your kid knows) what to expect.  The rules change each year - both by the NCAA, and because what coaches can do depends on the year of the recruit.  Create a soccer resume.  Plenty of examples out there.  Start to get specific on schools of potential interest.  If they offer a camp or if the coach is attending a camp elsewhere -- sign up and go.  If your kid has some real interest in a handful of schools then email those coaches providing her soccer resume and schedule.  Coaches are looking to recruit kids who want to come play at their school.  Spend some time on the email.  Explain why she wants to go to the school.  Be knowledgeable about the team and how they are doing.  Check out a game (in person if possible, but lots of games are streamed on line).  Coaches get tons of form letters.  They pay attention to the ones that show real interest.

If your team is playing a showcase tournament -- send resumes and emails to coaches who are listed as coming -- but focus on the schools that are of interest to your kid.

Junior year -- sucks.  It is a tough year for high school kids who are not going through recruiting.  Be ready for the stress.  You and your kid can get through it.  But it is not easy.  You need to be getting down to a handful of potential schools.  There obviously needs to be some mutual interest.  Start going on campus visits hosted by the coach.  Do not turn down any of these if they are local.  Even if your kid has limited interested (or no interest) it is good practice for when they go to a school they really want to get an offer from.  (Word to the wise -- always bring her gear.  An impromptu pick up game is always possible.  Dress the part of a soccer player.  Coaches are recruiting a soccer player not a coed}.  The goal of many Div 1 coaches is to be done with recruiting by Jan 1 of the Junior year class.  Not always possible, but that should be your goal too.

Don't panic if no offers are out there and everything is still up in the air.  Lots of kids pick schools well into their senior year.  The difference is that the later you get, the less athletic money will be available to give out.  It will be committed to other players.

There are likely several schools that will be a good fit for your kid.  Not getting into school that is the No. 1 choice is not the end of the world.  Your kid needs to be looking for a school that is a good fit academically, athletically, financially and socially.  Again, it is very important to be realistic about money here with your kid.  If you cannot afford the school then cross it off the list.  Do NOT make that decision though without first talking to the financial aid folks at the school.  The often are very good in finding money for good students who also are athletes.

Your kid also needs to find out what playing is like at college.  She needs to be talking to players on the teams.  Kids who played in her club and are playing in college now.  Kids from her high school who are playing in college.  What do they see as the pros and cons.  Take a look at the roster this year for the schools your kid is interested in.  How many seniors are on the roster?  Then go back and look at the roster 3 years earlier (their freshman year).  How many freshman were on the roster?  50% attrition rate is about average.  Lots of schools are closer to 80%.  Why?  The time demands are a bitch.  The NCAA allows Div 1 schools to require 20 hours a week during the season and 8 hours out of season.  That does not include:  "Volunteer" time spent in the weight room and reviewing film.  That does not include time spent going to and from the practice facilities and changing before and after practice.  Most kids on a 4 year graduation plan will go to summer school to keep up.  It is a lot of time and it means not doing lots of normal college stuff.  And, if you are not playing nor likely to play in the future, it is not much fun.  Every player at some point in time will be convinced that the coach hates them.  It can really suck when you are running bleachers after a loss that you did not even travel for.  One of my daughter's friends told the story of her coach spending 5 minutes yelling at the kids who did not make the travel team after a loss, because they sucked so bad that they could not beat out the crappy players who did make the travel team.  College coaches are not as nice as high school and club coaches.  If you are not playing, and not likely to play in the near future, the coach will want you to quit and free up that scholarship money.  (That said -- I know two of my kid's friends who did not play a ton but blew knees and their coaches had no problem letting them stay on ).

It is often not easy for freshman.  Playing time is finite.  There is no "I" in team, but there are two in "Playing Time".  The atmosphere in the lockerroom is not always friendly as kids fight for playing time.  Rest assured, if your kid is playing there are at least 2 players who think that they should be playing instead of her, and while they would not wish her to get hurt or to screw up and get benched, they also won't be upset if that happens.  For kids who were stars in high school and on club teams -- sitting on the bench, getting yelled at by the coaches, and getting the cold shoulder from older teammates can be a real slap in the face.

There are lots of pros too -- Cash (a bit up in the air and depends greatly on the school = my kid doesn't get any).  Athletic dorm and housing assignments.  Training table access (basically after hours)  Study table and specialized tutoring.  Good and bad there.  Typically for soccer freshman and kids below a 3.0 have to go to study table -- usually a nice library like facility where computers and tutors are available.  Priority in scheduling classes.  Free swag and laundry services.  Key.  Players wear the gear a lot mostly because they do not have to wash it.  And, it is not always cut throat competition between teammates.  Lots of good friendships come out of it.

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