Anonymous wrote:🤣🤣🤣wait so private school, tall and not the most skilled. Yet this is supposed to be advice for regular folk.

Anonymous wrote:OP, do you think your DD was able to be seen 'early' because she's a trapped player and she had contacted the schools alongside her teammates who were getting seen as juniors? Or is her sophomore year indeed the prime recruiting window for her graduating class?

Anonymous wrote:It doesn’t seem like there have been many class of 2026 commitments from the local clubs. Maybe 6-8 so far all told? And some top players with YNT/YNT camp experience have yet to commit…or at least haven’t announced. Has it been slow going compared to previous years?

Anonymous wrote:It doesn’t seem like there have been many class of 2026 commitments from the local clubs. Maybe 6-8 so far all told? And some top players with YNT/YNT camp experience have yet to commit…or at least haven’t announced. Has it been slow going compared to previous years?

Anonymous wrote:She recently committed to an awesome school. The road to get there was was filled with many ups and downs (and a lot of travel).
She is a defender and is blessed with size (5'9) and speed. She was never known as a technical player but is extremely physical. Every few years since early middle school she bounced up to a better team finally playing for the one of the top teams in the area.
Here is my advice;
Get your daughter playing against boys at an early age. It makes a huge difference in speed of play and the level of physicality.
Get a dedicated trainer for speed and agility as early as possible. I think this is more important than a soccer trainer. If coaches see that she can really move and has adequate athleticism they will take a long look. Get fast, get strong, get quick!!!

Don't be a helicopter parent!!!! If she does not want to workout regularly then that is her loss. If she is not all in then it wont happen for her. You can't force the issue and you damn sure can't live vicariously through your kid. And by the way, STOP yelling and screaming on the sidelines. They already have too much pressure from coaches, teammates and themselves. Don't make soccer everything in your life. Go get some ice cream!!

Don't ever go to a general open tryout. Call the coach for the team you are interested in and see if they will let you come for a practice.

Try to separate yourself by being really good at one thing. Great left foot, super athlete, dynamic in the box, exceptional 1v1 defender, very physical, technically excellent. Be good at a lot but be great at one thing. And remember that 'going hard all the time' is a skill. I have seen a ton of girls with great skills who just don't go hard enough.

Do whatever you have to do to get on a ECNL team. Not ECNL RL, and not GA. Your odds of playing in college drastically go up. Even if you are riding the bench for an ECNL team its probably better than being on an ECNL RL or GA team. There are only a few decent GA teams in the area. Look at Arlington, NVA, Maryland United, Union, Bethesda (although I don't recommend Bethesda to anyone..very toxic). I'm sure there are a few others.
The absolute most important aspect of getting recruited is to play well at ECNL showcase events. Either showcase events or ECNL playoffs. Typically there will be coaches from tons of D1 and D3 schools wrapped around the field at all games. Most coaches DO NOT attend regular season ECNL games (they are busy in their own season). Its all about the showcase events.

If you are playing ECNL, try your best to skip the ID Camps. It is a money grab plain and simple. Colleges use these ID camps to pay their assistance coaches. We got bamboozled in to going to way too many. Most were a complete waste of time and money. The only good part was that she was able to see the schools and from there narrow her focus on what type of school she really wanted.

High school soccer does not matter. My daughter is not playing high school because her club season and school season are at the same time. Over use is a real thing. Its not worth it. No one gets recruited from playing high school soccer. Its extremely rare.

Really solid highlight videos and good communication with coaches before and after showcase events is key. Letting coaches know where and when you are playing is important. Using a platform like Sports Recruit makes it very easy to email coaches and create a profile. Developing a plan and getting your name out there with Instagram and X (Twitter) is a vital piece to the puzzle. Posting highlights and just being active on social media goes a long way. Highlights videos should be short (like 2 minutes max) and should have your absolute best stuff in the beginning of the video.

If your daughter does put herself in a position to be recruited, remember that most girls DO NOT go to their #1 choice. That's pretty much left for USWNT players and the absolute highest level girls. My daughter lucked up and is going to a school she really likes and is a perfect fit for her style of play (but it wasn't her #1 choice). Fit and a great college coaching staff is of upmost importance.

I am willing to answer any questions.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It doesn’t seem like there have been many class of 2026 commitments from the local clubs. Maybe 6-8 so far all told? And some top players with YNT/YNT camp experience have yet to commit…or at least haven’t announced. Has it been slow going compared to previous years?

There is a lot less due to new 28 woman roster max teams will have to abide by starting in 2025. A lot of schools have 7-11 women coming in 2025 and have to cut either players on roster or incoming freshman. The 2026 commits are going to be about 1/3 of years past.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It doesn’t seem like there have been many class of 2026 commitments from the local clubs. Maybe 6-8 so far all told? And some top players with YNT/YNT camp experience have yet to commit…or at least haven’t announced. Has it been slow going compared to previous years?

There is a lot less due to new 28 woman roster max teams will have to abide by starting in 2025. A lot of schools have 7-11 women coming in 2025 and have to cut either players on roster or incoming freshman. The 2026 commits are going to be about 1/3 of years past.

Anonymous wrote:It doesn’t seem like there have been many class of 2026 commitments from the local clubs. Maybe 6-8 so far all told? And some top players with YNT/YNT camp experience have yet to commit…or at least haven’t announced. Has it been slow going compared to previous years?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How big of a part do USYNT ID Camps and any other noteworthy individual accomplishment play when getting recruited to D1?

Do coaches care about the resume - special invitations, awards, trophies, titles, etc or is interest mostly based on the player quality they observe in videos and at showcases, outside of academic profile?

I see D1 college player profiles list all their high school soccer accomplishments but does that matter to coaches? I know it does to the player, their family and friends. They almost never list club names or accomplishments although that's likely been a higher level competition and their primary soccer career all along. What's up with that?

tl;dr: yes, other accomplishments matter

My DD (2025) is committed to ACC D1. USYNT was massive deal for coaches when we were talking and one school (which no girl on my DD's team went to), Florida, straight up told a parent that "she's not USYNT pool, so max is 50% scholarship". While I understand 50% is glorious, the fact that a school like Florida, who aren't tip top of women's soccer, has those requirements was baffling to all of us. Coaches do care some because the awards, accolades (even High School), and USYNT pools mean other coaches have practically verified your ability to play. We saw coaches at showcases and ECNL playoffs, but maybe one or two halves..? So other things you can add to your 'resume' will greatly build on their own interest in the girl.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP: sorry so many are here with nasty comments.

Your DD is very lucky and graced with athletic ability, but I’m sure has also put in so many hours of hard work. It’s really quite impressive.

Question for you:

Do you think the ECNL girls who live in Maryland are at a disadvantage due to the HS season? Following a friends daughter’s recruiting journey (ECNL from Florida) and she was on 4 recruiting visits and played an ECNL game just this week.

The MD high schools play in the fall so I don’t see how that is possible for them. The recruiting classes fill up, don’t they? And of the MD girls aren’t being seen, how does that work?

Thanks.

This is OP. Maryland girls are at a disadvantage for sure. Then again not really. It is how your prioritize the recruitment process. If your objective is to play college soccer then you always prioritize the club team. As previously stated over and over, high school soccer doesn't matter at all. All the club games are over the weekend so she never missed any high school games (she is at a private school so all games are during the week). Her club team plays in the fall so come spring is when we went to ID camps and this summer is when we took official visits (after August 1).
Please read previous post about ID Camps.

My advice if you think your DD has serious college aspirations and if the high school and club play at the same time, then don't play high school at all (or very limited). Always put the club team first. That is where the college looks are coming from. Always be peaking at the right time (going into showcase events..usually December, January, and May). Those 9 games or so at major showcase events are all that matters. Regular ECNL season, high school season, and even small local showcase events really don't matter if she wants to play major D1 soccer.
I will repeat this again and again.
Perform well at the showcase events,
Start communicating with coaches a year before your recruitment window opens (June 15th).
Cast a super wide net with sending out highlight videos (keep them short and best highlights first),
Try to get good playing time on an ECNL team.
Make sure you have a good relationship with your club coach so he/she can gauge what colleges are showing interest before June 15th.
MAX EFFORT on the field is a valuable skill. I see time and time again girls with really nice technical skills and/or great athleticism but they just don't go hard enough.
Its important that parents get involved (without being overbearing) in the recruitment process. We are talking about 16 years old kids. Most of them don't have a clue about how to navigate all of this.
One thing I failed to mention in my original post was THE INTERVIEW. Properly prepare your DD for the interview process. We did mock interviews with her to make sure when she did eventually take calls from coaches after June 15th she didn't sound like a complete dumb ass. She had tons of prepared questions to ask them. We made sure she came across in a professional manner. Spoke clearly, concise, confident and extremely respectful. I listened in on the first call. After that I knew she was good to go all by herself. She took notes of the conversations and started preparing a list of schools that she liked (and a list of schools she said NOPE to).
The school she eventually committed to called her numerous times after June 15th. After we got back from the ECNL playoffs in Seattle (they watched every game) they called to set up an official visit.
This is what basically happened at that specific official visit;
They flew us in that evening and the head coach met us outside of baggage claim (nice!). We drove directly to the school just to cruise around and see the campus. Had dinner. They put us up in a very nice hotel. They next morning we met the coaching staff on campus. The day was filled with tours around the school. Dorms, academic buildings, eating areas, athletic facilities. DD left us and went to hang out with current girls from the team. That afternoon the team had a scrimmage which we watched. They fed us all day! After the game the head coach met us in his office. Small talked for a minute and told us what his plan is for the next few years for the program. Told DD where she fits in to the plan. Made her the offer. DD left to spend the night with some of the teammates from the team. Picked her up in the morning and flew back. As parents we felt extremely comfortable with the staff. We got home and she wanted a few days to think through it all. She spoke to a few other schools that had offered one last time to weigh everything. We spoke about it all as a family (even the dogs). A few days later she set up a facetime with the head coach and informed them she was committing. They acted like they hit the lottery! She then forced me to buy her a boat load of school merch.

Anonymous wrote:Our friend’s daughter in Florida is making official visits to schools now, like OP’s daughter did over the summer.

Probably not as high on the prospect lists but still getting out there. And hey they put her name on a parking spot when she arrived at one school - so there’s that!