| Your are on your high school or club soccer team and | | | | return a dividend. The time and money involved in |
| you discovered that you have ability to play the game | | | | traveling to tournaments is a huge commitment. Again |
| at a higher level then most of your teammates. The | | | | soccer recruiting is more than just joining a club soccer |
| idea of taking your game to the next level and playing | | | | team. |
| in college appeals to you, but you are not sure how to | | | | That is why I suggested to get an athletic assessment |
| make that happen. You will find the answers to that | | | | from your coach. If you are not a Dl type of athlete |
| question in this article. | | | | then club soccer is ok for fun and improving your skills |
| Athletic Assessment | | | | but not to get a scholarship. The coaches that attend |
| You need to get together with your coach or coaches | | | | these tournaments are for the most part Dl coaches |
| to see exactly at what level you can play in college. | | | | and are all looking at athletes that they had previous |
| Only about 1% of all high school soccer athletes are | | | | contact with in many cases. Club soccer teams and |
| Division l prospects, so be real. There are 201 Dl | | | | tournaments are not the only way to get exposure, |
| schools that offer women's soccer and 199 that offer | | | | and not necessarily the best way to get noticed. |
| men's soccer. The problem is that there are only 9 | | | | Soccer recruiting has gone high tech. |
| scholarships available per year per school, so do the | | | | Self Promotion |
| math. When they are gone they are gone, and walking | | | | My suggestion would be to start the process as early |
| on does not offer you much of a chance to ever hit | | | | as your sophomore year in high school. Start to |
| the field. On the other hand there are 575 Dll, Dlll, and | | | | contact the coaches of the schools that you already |
| NAIA combined opportunities for women and 665 Dll, | | | | know you would like to attend. Again, keep in mind at |
| Dlll and NAIA combined opportunities for men. You can | | | | what level you can play. We discussed earlier on to |
| in fact get all or most of your education paid for at the | | | | get with your coach for an athletic assessment to |
| lower levels if you are the right kind of athlete. Soccer | | | | determined at what rate you can expect to improve |
| recruiting is not just about joining a club team. | | | | and at what level you can play. The reason that is |
| Academic Assessment | | | | important because you don't want to waste your time |
| Get together with your school counselor to make sure | | | | contacting coaches at a level your talent is not good |
| you are on track to meet NCAA academic | | | | enough to be considered as a prospect for their team. |
| requirements to compete in athletics in college. What | | | | Gather phone numbers and email addresses of 20 or |
| you should discuss are core class requirements, GPA, | | | | so schools that you think you would like to attend, and |
| and SAT/ACT scores. I recommend that you take the | | | | get busy contacting them. You can always call the |
| SAT test no more than 3 times. You can take the | | | | coach, but the coach is under NCAA guidelines as to |
| best score from each test to get your best composite | | | | when they can contact you by phone or email. Have |
| score. Do not put a lot of stock in the essay portion if | | | | ready a Player Profile, letter of recommendation from |
| you don't do well, because college coaches or the | | | | your coach, and a promo DVD to send out if |
| NCAA are not taking that part of the test into | | | | requested by coach. See my article on "promoting with |
| consideration at this point in time. No matter how bright | | | | video" as to what should be the content of the video |
| your light shines on the field, if your academics are not | | | | or DVD. Keep in touch with college coaches on a |
| up to par then it's community college. | | | | weekly basis once you make contact. Keep coaches |
| Initial Eligibility Clearinghouse | | | | updated game by game when you are in season. |
| You must register, under NCAA guidelines, with the | | | | Regardless of what the college coach is saying, you |
| NCAA Initial Eligibility Clearinghouse at the end of your | | | | have to understand and I want to make it very clear |
| junior year if you intend to play Dl or Dll soccer in | | | | that you DO NOT have a deal until you have signed a |
| college. Go to The Guide for the College Bound | | | | Letter of Intent. It is a very big competitive game, and |
| Student-Athlete will come in very handy. Download the | | | | college coaches jobs depend on them getting the best |
| guide or get a copy from your high school counselor, | | | | talent possible. I have seen and heard of things |
| and study it as if it were a text book. | | | | changing on the plane ride over. The next thing I want |
| Exposure | | | | to caution you about is not to let your grades slip the |
| To play club soccer or not is the question. To join a | | | | last quarter of your senior year. You may think you |
| club soccer team is one way to get exposure and get | | | | have a deal, but it can be taken away if your grades |
| noticed by college coaches, but it is not for everyone. | | | | slip below that schools or NCAA requirements. Soccer |
| There is cost involved here that may or may not | | | | recruiting is serious business for all that are involved. |
