OP, I love your attitude. Seriously. It sounds like you did everything to *help* your kid but didn't *push* her. I especially appreciate your advice to keep calm on the sideline and avoid adding pressure.

Because you're being so candid -- which, again, I appreciate -- I have two fundamental questions:

1. Did you get the sense that soccer programs may be cut in the not-too-distant future as colleges are forced to spend more on football and basketball, possibly paying direct salaries?

2. Why is your daughter interested in playing college soccer?

Anonymous wrote:It's great and accurate about being recruited. There are some clubs that get recruited from GA. The quality of club and coaching is essential. You've only cracked the surface though and you don't know the half of it. You've made d1, but can your daughter maintain herself on the same team for four years? Good luck as the college level is more bumpy than the club level

Totally understand and not our first rodeo in the crazy world of college athletics.

It's great and accurate about being recruited. There are some clubs that get recruited from GA. The quality of club and coaching is essential. You've only cracked the surface though and you don't know the half of it. You've made d1, but can your daughter maintain herself on the same team for four years? Good luck as the college level is more bumpy than the club level

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, did your daughter pursue any Ivy's? I hear that they don't offer much of a scholarship but if the school wants the player, they'll help with recommendation towards admission. What's your experience with offers from any of them?

She had three Iveys that were pursuing her. They we really not in consideration due to how slow their recruitment process is and that if you have a halfway decent family income you will still pay 30-40k per year for tuition. Girls will commit to the 'application process'. Typically each school will have 6 or 7 open spots available for their soccer players. You still have to have the grades and for some the SAT/ACT scores. My DD didn't want to wait around for months and I damn sure didn't want to pay 30-40k. I have heard numerous kids tuition is way less but most of it is needs based. You might get certain grants as well.
We had a visit to one and it was awesome. The Iveys just march to their own beat. Its awesome if you can get in and it works for some. Stating the obvious, that Ivey league degree carries big weight but its not for everyone. Lots of girls just dont want to wait around.

This is accurate. Girls may target Ivies and some P4s but you have to have the grades and you have to want the Ivies and the work once you are there. When we did a visit at one Ivy, half of the girls on the team were pre-med. You almost have to want the school more than the soccer. Pre-med at Columbia and D1 soccer is a fair amount of work. Girls not up for it and who want some certainty but have the grades focus on the better academic P4s and rest of D-1 after a while.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How does recruiting for Ivies work? I’m seeing some girls commit to an Ivy during junior year but then some commit their senior year. Do you have to wait and be patient and pass up on other non-Ivy schools? It seems like a timing mismatch and a problem of the bird in hand…

Girls that commit their Junior year are committing to 'application process'. They still have to get in to the school. Being a recruit drastically helps unless you have terrible grades or bomb the SAT. Most Iveys want at least a 1350 SAT and a very high GPA. The GPA cant be based on easy classes. Rigor is extremely important and honestly I think the high school is important as well.
If you want to pursue the Iveys and they haven't offered you a spot early in the recruitment window, you might have to pass on some really good schools. My DD didn't want to do that. She wanted to get the process behind her asap. She lucked out with a great school and awesome coaching staff. Some girls would be happy to wait with the possibility on going to Columbia or Harvard. Different strokes!

Your order is also important. Are you the team's top recruit or the last one in. Help with admission is on a sliding scale. Most Ivys will go test optional unless you have a great score. You will still need to submit a score for NCAA but admissions does not see that. Where you go to HS is important as PP said. Do they know the school? Are they ok with rigor?

You do have to put some trust int he coach if you think you can. Most often they will tell you -- yes I think this will work or its 50-50 or this will be tough. Adnmissions will give pre-reads to help this.

A lot of girls who target the Ivys also target the high academic D-3s and drop there is the Ivy is not coming through -- think UAA schools.

Anonymous wrote:How does recruiting for Ivies work? I’m seeing some girls commit to an Ivy during junior year but then some commit their senior year. Do you have to wait and be patient and pass up on other non-Ivy schools? It seems like a timing mismatch and a problem of the bird in hand…

Girls that commit their Junior year are committing to 'application process'. They still have to get in to the school. Being a recruit drastically helps unless you have terrible grades or bomb the SAT. Most Iveys want at least a 1350 SAT and a very high GPA. The GPA cant be based on easy classes. Rigor is extremely important and honestly I think the high school is important as well.
If you want to pursue the Iveys and they haven't offered you a spot early in the recruitment window, you might have to pass on some really good schools. My DD didn't want to do that. She wanted to get the process behind her asap. She lucked out with a great school and awesome coaching staff. Some girls would be happy to wait with the possibility on going to Columbia or Harvard. Different strokes!

Anonymous wrote:OP, did your daughter pursue any Ivy's? I hear that they don't offer much of a scholarship but if the school wants the player, they'll help with recommendation towards admission. What's your experience with offers from any of them?

She had three Iveys that were pursuing her. They we really not in consideration due to how slow their recruitment process is and that if you have a halfway decent family income you will still pay 30-40k per year for tuition. Girls will commit to the 'application process'. Typically each school will have 6 or 7 open spots available for their soccer players. You still have to have the grades and for some the SAT/ACT scores. My DD didn't want to wait around for months and I damn sure didn't want to pay 30-40k. I have heard numerous kids tuition is way less but most of it is needs based. You might get certain grants as well.
We had a visit to one and it was awesome. The Iveys just march to their own beat. Its awesome if you can get in and it works for some. Stating the obvious, that Ivey league degree carries big weight but its not for everyone. Lots of girls just dont want to wait around.

How does recruiting for Ivies work? I’m seeing some girls commit to an Ivy during junior year but then some commit their senior year. Do you have to wait and be patient and pass up on other non-Ivy schools? It seems like a timing mismatch and a problem of the bird in hand…

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a question perhaps your daughter can answer....My daughter is young and showing strong potential. She's been to a few ID sessions and the hardest part is trying to make an impact at all times even when NOT on the ball. It's tough to show your stuff when you don't have the ball at your feet. What advice would your daughter provide about how to make an impact in ID sessions even when off the ball and nobody is playing you? Thanks in advance. Your post is great and I appreciate your help. You might want to start a College Soccer Mom page in X!!!

I asked her this question. She said in ID sessions its all about who goes the hardest. Max effort on every play. If you dont have the ball are you in the the space you should be in? Are you seeing the play unfold and anticipating? Are you standing around and watching? Playing a team sport with 11 players on the field it can be easy to hide. Max effort all the time is very noticeable. Are you talking out there? Are your celebrating good play by your teammates? You can not make in impact at all times but you can seen by being vocal and giving max effort at all times. Her advice, not mine!

Love this advice. Just watch Cavin Sullivan play, the 14 year old who signed as a Pro with the Union and will transfer to Manchester City at 18. That kid, equivalent to a HS freshman/ sophomore, goes all out for the whole game. He plays like his life depends on it! It is very noticeable the amount of effort he puts out there.

Anonymous wrote:I have a question perhaps your daughter can answer....My daughter is young and showing strong potential. She's been to a few ID sessions and the hardest part is trying to make an impact at all times even when NOT on the ball. It's tough to show your stuff when you don't have the ball at your feet. What advice would your daughter provide about how to make an impact in ID sessions even when off the ball and nobody is playing you? Thanks in advance. Your post is great and I appreciate your help. You might want to start a College Soccer Mom page in X!!!

I asked her this question. She said in ID sessions its all about who goes the hardest. Max effort on every play. If you dont have the ball are you in the the space you should be in? Are you seeing the play unfold and anticipating? Are you standing around and watching? Playing a team sport with 11 players on the field it can be easy to hide. Max effort all the time is very noticeable. Are you talking out there? Are your celebrating good play by your teammates? You can not make in impact at all times but you can seen by being vocal and giving max effort at all times. Her advice, not mine!

Anonymous wrote:OP - did your daughter show "natural" talent at a young age? Always the best player on her team? At what age did she start playing club soccer? At what age did she specialize/give up other sports?

I could tell before she ever played soccer that she was a natural athlete. She did gymnastics from probably K to 2 grade. You could just see it. She ran like a horse and had great hips and timing.
She has never been the best player on her team but easily one of the best athletes. Her technique on the ball has got much better over the last few years.
She started playing club soccer in the 6/7 grade. She played rec ball for awhile first and then finally transitioned over. I would say almost every year or so she moved to a better team.
She gave up tennis around around 4/5 grade. She wanted to pay team sports instead. I honestly think she would have had a dominating lacrosse career but I didn’t know where to take her to train or get on a team.
I don’t recommend giving up other sports to primarily focus on one until later in high school. Some kids figure it out at different times growing up. But at some point most kids will need to lock in on one sport.

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Anonymous wrote:Maybe I missed it but I haven’t seen an answer as to if this is a binding offer or if the school can change their mind. It seems really early unless a player is USWNT material. And do schools review apps from an academic perspective before junior year?

Seriously?????
Most girls commit before their JR year. Seriously look at Soccer Wire or Top Drawer or EVERY SINGLE club website in the area.
YES - schools review academic material and YES the kids have to continue to excel academically and turn in data.
They are only verbal commits at this stage. Either side and back out but it is rare for the college to back out.
At most high academic schools the girls can commit early but must have specific SAT or ACT scores. My kid committed as a Sophomore but had to have a SAT of 1450-1500. Georgetown, Duke, Wake, UVA, Michigan, William and Mary are just samples of schools requiring academic excellence as well as soccer skills.

So how is she doing now? Your DD must have committed years ago before the NCAA rules because NOBODY can commit BEFORE THE END of sophomore year. Would have to be a rising Junior in order to come before those rules. Nobody, no matter how good. It is illegal to give an offer before June 15th. I think less than 14 girls committed two weeks after June 15th but pace picked up after that.

Parents, if any coach contacts you before June 15th at end of Sophmore year, that is a major red flag and you should immediately cross them off your list. Do not mess with NCAA R&R on recruiting.

Coaches can have contact during camps and through club coaches.

Coaches at camps cannot talk about recruiting with a player. Most coaches will not even evaluate you from camp because they do not want to cross the line. Yes the can talk to club coaches. Our club had a policy not to tell player or parents of the contact or the substance of the call. So not sure how that helps.

Coaches are allowed to coach the players and provide feedback to those players. It happens in every sport at every college. Sometimes coaches will make a player camp to earn an offer. They're always evaluating campers so your interl is way off.

Been to a ton of ID camps. Including a number of P4. If it is before June 15 after Soph year many will not provide feedback at all at that time. Of course if a GK made a good save they would say good save. But no post camp discussion. If they like you they will call June 15 or thereafter but nothing before that.

Almost all of them will give feedback.....to a select group. They are usually kept after or brought to the side and talked with one-on-one. Details like what club do you play for? Who's your coach? When is your next event? Feedback on your play. Etc. It's not typically going to happen with all 60 kids at the camp, but for a select group, it certainly does happen.

Exactly right. The coaches will praise the girls by name and will pull them aside during water breaks to give pointers. This has happened to my d at every ID camp and has given her a feel for the coaching style and level of interest. Some coaches can be over the top and that has turned off some players we know but most are subtle and calculated with feedback.

I am going to add to the ‘same here’. My DD is playing D1 ball (NOT P4). She did get some nibbles on June 15, but because she wasn’t an automatic hit we did go to some school specific ID sessions, not the big cattle call camps. Before each one, there was contact to insure they were still interested, and a request for “what do you want to see from me specifically”. In almost every case where she eventually got an offer, she was getting feedback on the spot. In one case the coach had said to the assembled group “I don’t do day-of”, but then signaled 3 girls to stay behind, and then talked to each one of them for a long time. In another, the coach kind of walked my DD to the edge of the field and then just chatted while everyone else was leaving.

This was our experience, and yours may vary, but for the most part your kid kind of knows if there is interest at the ID session. I will offer some hope, DD did get offers from schools where she didn’t do an ID session on campus, but in two cases the coaches came to a minimum of 6 ECNL games and stayed for all of her minutes. They also did significant phone interviews. My guess is, for both of those schools my DD was not a top 3 for her position, but number 5-8 on the whiteboard and they got rejected by their faves. They had watched enough to know they weren’t buying a pig in a poke, but chances were high the kid wasn’t going to be a starter.

OP, did your daughter pursue any Ivy's? I hear that they don't offer much of a scholarship but if the school wants the player, they'll help with recommendation towards admission. What's your experience with offers from any of them?

I have a question perhaps your daughter can answer....My daughter is young and showing strong potential. She's been to a few ID sessions and the hardest part is trying to make an impact at all times even when NOT on the ball. It's tough to show your stuff when you don't have the ball at your feet. What advice would your daughter provide about how to make an impact in ID sessions even when off the ball and nobody is playing you? Thanks in advance. Your post is great and I appreciate your help. You might want to start a College Soccer Mom page in X!!!

OP - did your daughter show "natural" talent at a young age? Always the best player on her team? At what age did she start playing club soccer? At what age did she specialize/give up other sports?