Anonymous wrote:Hire a marketing firm because all you are doing is marketing your kid. Recruiting doesn't involve you doing much the very few who are recruited are wanted, all the others want to play and have to market themselves actually the parents most of the kids really don't want to and never reach their senior year in the sport.

Anonymous wrote:It is important to get a feel for types of schools and the only way to do that is to visit them. “I’m not going to college for years.” Realistically, if soccer is to be played you will be picking one around Christmas your Junior year of high school.

So - yes - you have to start thinking hard about college. What type of school? What will you study in general? Where in the country? Those are the most important things. Then you can craft your search to fit. No your kid does not have to pick a major as a high school sophomore, but you also want good options of likely fields of interest. And - as my own daughter learned - you have to be realistic about what majors an athlete can have.

Finally, and this is very important, you have to be realistic about finances. Soccer is not a full ride deal. What you can afford, what scholarships your kid can qualify for, and what debt you and your kid can take on are key components in the process. There is a big difference between graduating owing $25K versus $125K. Be realistic and your kid can be realistic.

Anonymous wrote:For the girls (primarily looking for D1). Start building up film clips and a list of target schools in ninth grade. Maybe do a local ID camp in the spring to get a feel for how they run (they’re all similar). During the summer between 9th and 10th grade, have your school count narrowed to a dozen or so. Make sure you have an honest assessment of your DDs skills, sometimes one of those multi college ID camps are useful for getting a better understanding of your kids skills. Fill out the interest form on the schools websites for the programs you are targeting. In 10th grade, keep getting film clips and start letting coaches know you are interested and in what showcases you’ll be playing (this is where leagues with national showcases help). If your club has a recruiting platform, use that and make sure it is kept up to date. If they don’t have a platform, you’ll probably want to join one. Get to the schools ID camps in the winter and spring if possible (presumably your list will begin to get smaller) take the SATs in the spring of 10 th grade. I know it’s early, but this lets the coaches know if you will be academically qualified (they have a good idea on how this number improves as kids take it later in HS). If you don’t here from your target schools in June of your 10th-11th grade summer, call them.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:She has been to 4 ID sessions at this school alone and did an overnight recruiting trip, did pregame with the team and was on the sideline with them for a match - so she has invested in her decision.

Do you have to pay for the ID sessions?

Anonymous wrote:She has been to 4 ID sessions at this school alone and did an overnight recruiting trip, did pregame with the team and was on the sideline with them for a match - so she has invested in her decision.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Reverse recruiting is the best advice! Recruiting services are good for providing information, etc. but there is really not much they provide that you can't find online with a few google searches. Honestly, the best approach is for the player (not the parent, although you can help with edits, etc.) to reach out to the coaches of the schools they are interested in and let them know they have interest in playing at their school and why. Provide them some academic and athletic achievements to date, etc. This helps them get on the coach's radar. They can then stay in contact with the coaches and ask them to attend matches and stay in touch with each other. One of the biggest impacts my DD had on coaches was to attend their school specific ID camp days (not the ones with 20 coaches and hundreds of kids). The school specific ones have about 40 kids and the school coaching staff and some of their players helping. They get to know the coaches directly, get a feel for the team culture, in some cases, and really get seen and evaluated by the coaches. The risk here is that your kid has to perform in this environment. Coaches go to games to watch target prospects, not to generally recruit. Yes, they may see or find someone along the way but are normally there to see kids who have reached out and asked them to come watch. I would recommend starting in 9th grade and make sure it is at schools they want to attend, even if soccer was not in the picture. They should always ask the question..."If I could not play soccer, would I love going to school at X?". My DD started in 9th grade, was very successful in finding about 10 coaches to stay in touch and were responsive, came to watch her play and showed real interest. She narrowed it down to about 3 by the end of 10th grade and committed at the end of her 11th grade year. She will start college in 2022 at a school that has a great nursing program (most important aspect of her search) and is also a successful soccer program with a culture she loves, coaches who respect her and teammates who are already welcoming her and talking to her through text, etc. She has been to 4 ID sessions at this school alone and did an overnight recruiting trip, did pregame with the team and was on the sideline with them for a match - so she has invested in her decision. Fortunately, she is a solid player who works hard to improve and maybe it was "easy" for her. But...she put the work in and very easily could have been left unfound or worse, gotten interest from schools she was not really interested in, if she was relying on coaches to find her. She had to recruit the schools and coaches, not the other way around.

Useful info. Thank you

What are ncaa rules for direct coach contact? What date can that start? I didnt think they could communicate until after 10th grade.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Reverse recruiting is the best advice! Recruiting services are good for providing information, etc. but there is really not much they provide that you can't find online with a few google searches. Honestly, the best approach is for the player (not the parent, although you can help with edits, etc.) to reach out to the coaches of the schools they are interested in and let them know they have interest in playing at their school and why. Provide them some academic and athletic achievements to date, etc. This helps them get on the coach's radar. They can then stay in contact with the coaches and ask them to attend matches and stay in touch with each other. One of the biggest impacts my DD had on coaches was to attend their school specific ID camp days (not the ones with 20 coaches and hundreds of kids). The school specific ones have about 40 kids and the school coaching staff and some of their players helping. They get to know the coaches directly, get a feel for the team culture, in some cases, and really get seen and evaluated by the coaches. The risk here is that your kid has to perform in this environment. Coaches go to games to watch target prospects, not to generally recruit. Yes, they may see or find someone along the way but are normally there to see kids who have reached out and asked them to come watch. I would recommend starting in 9th grade and make sure it is at schools they want to attend, even if soccer was not in the picture. They should always ask the question..."If I could not play soccer, would I love going to school at X?". My DD started in 9th grade, was very successful in finding about 10 coaches to stay in touch and were responsive, came to watch her play and showed real interest. She narrowed it down to about 3 by the end of 10th grade and committed at the end of her 11th grade year. She will start college in 2022 at a school that has a great nursing program (most important aspect of her search) and is also a successful soccer program with a culture she loves, coaches who respect her and teammates who are already welcoming her and talking to her through text, etc. She has been to 4 ID sessions at this school alone and did an overnight recruiting trip, did pregame with the team and was on the sideline with them for a match - so she has invested in her decision. Fortunately, she is a solid player who works hard to improve and maybe it was "easy" for her. But...she put the work in and very easily could have been left unfound or worse, gotten interest from schools she was not really interested in, if she was relying on coaches to find her. She had to recruit the schools and coaches, not the other way around.

Useful info. Thank you

Anonymous wrote:Reverse recruiting is the best advice! Recruiting services are good for providing information, etc. but there is really not much they provide that you can't find online with a few google searches. Honestly, the best approach is for the player (not the parent, although you can help with edits, etc.) to reach out to the coaches of the schools they are interested in and let them know they have interest in playing at their school and why. Provide them some academic and athletic achievements to date, etc. This helps them get on the coach's radar. They can then stay in contact with the coaches and ask them to attend matches and stay in touch with each other. One of the biggest impacts my DD had on coaches was to attend their school specific ID camp days (not the ones with 20 coaches and hundreds of kids). The school specific ones have about 40 kids and the school coaching staff and some of their players helping. They get to know the coaches directly, get a feel for the team culture, in some cases, and really get seen and evaluated by the coaches. The risk here is that your kid has to perform in this environment. Coaches go to games to watch target prospects, not to generally recruit. Yes, they may see or find someone along the way but are normally there to see kids who have reached out and asked them to come watch. I would recommend starting in 9th grade and make sure it is at schools they want to attend, even if soccer was not in the picture. They should always ask the question..."If I could not play soccer, would I love going to school at X?". My DD started in 9th grade, was very successful in finding about 10 coaches to stay in touch and were responsive, came to watch her play and showed real interest. She narrowed it down to about 3 by the end of 10th grade and committed at the end of her 11th grade year. She will start college in 2022 at a school that has a great nursing program (most important aspect of her search) and is also a successful soccer program with a culture she loves, coaches who respect her and teammates who are already welcoming her and talking to her through text, etc. She has been to 4 ID sessions at this school alone and did an overnight recruiting trip, did pregame with the team and was on the sideline with them for a match - so she has invested in her decision. Fortunately, she is a solid player who works hard to improve and maybe it was "easy" for her. But...she put the work in and very easily could have been left unfound or worse, gotten interest from schools she was not really interested in, if she was relying on coaches to find her. She had to recruit the schools and coaches, not the other way around.

Anonymous wrote:Reverse recruiting is the best advice! Recruiting services are good for providing information, etc. but there is really not much they provide that you can't find online with a few google searches. Honestly, the best approach is for the player (not the parent, although you can help with edits, etc.) to reach out to the coaches of the schools they are interested in and let them know they have interest in playing at their school and why. Provide them some academic and athletic achievements to date, etc. This helps them get on the coach's radar. They can then stay in contact with the coaches and ask them to attend matches and stay in touch with each other. One of the biggest impacts my DD had on coaches was to attend their school specific ID camp days (not the ones with 20 coaches and hundreds of kids). The school specific ones have about 40 kids and the school coaching staff and some of their players helping. They get to know the coaches directly, get a feel for the team culture, in some cases, and really get seen and evaluated by the coaches. The risk here is that your kid has to perform in this environment. Coaches go to games to watch target prospects, not to generally recruit. Yes, they may see or find someone along the way but are normally there to see kids who have reached out and asked them to come watch. I would recommend starting in 9th grade and make sure it is at schools they want to attend, even if soccer was not in the picture. They should always ask the question..."If I could not play soccer, would I love going to school at X?". My DD started in 9th grade, was very successful in finding about 10 coaches to stay in touch and were responsive, came to watch her play and showed real interest. She narrowed it down to about 3 by the end of 10th grade and committed at the end of her 11th grade year. She will start college in 2022 at a school that has a great nursing program (most important aspect of her search) and is also a successful soccer program with a culture she loves, coaches who respect her and teammates who are already welcoming her and talking to her through text, etc. She has been to 4 ID sessions at this school alone and did an overnight recruiting trip, did pregame with the team and was on the sideline with them for a match - so she has invested in her decision. Fortunately, she is a solid player who works hard to improve and maybe it was "easy" for her. But...she put the work in and very easily could have been left unfound or worse, gotten interest from schools she was not really interested in, if she was relying on coaches to find her. She had to recruit the schools and coaches, not the other way around.