College Corner

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College Corner

Making Sense of the College Scouting and Recruiting Game

Only five percent of all male and females who participate in high school interscholastic sports will go on to compete in college at some level. And of that figure, only eight-tenths of 1 percent will receive fully funded scholarships. Have you gone on official visits, received a few hundred recruiting letters by your junior year? Have you contacted college coaches or are you waiting for them to call you? Where do you fit in the recruiting picture?

Players in the recruiting game, especially high school athletes, can never start too early, nor get too much help. However, most students don’t know NCAA rules, how to contact coaches, or how to get matched with the best college for them. Anyone in the recruiting business will attest that changes in NCAA rules and technology have changed the collegiate recruiting world, and made it increasingly complex.

Seniors: What to do if you don’t have a solid list of contacts

If you are a senior who is lacking a solid list of at least five to ten contacts, do not panic. There is still time and there are still coaches who are recruiting. However, you may need to be flexible with the opportunities that are available and you need to be realistic. The top programs, at all levels, will for the most part be done with their recruiting by senior year. There are a few exceptions such as injury or if a player or coach backs out of a verbal commitment.

Bottom line, you can not afford to waste any time. You need to maintain the contacts that you have now and you must to reach out to more coaches to see what is still available. The best way to do this is to call coaches! You will get an answer right away and this is the most direct approach. Here are some good questions to ask a coach whom you haven’t had contact with yet:

• Are you still recruiting for 2009?
• Are you looking to recruit (your position) for 2009?
• When do you want to have your 2009 roster finished by?
• Have you seen me play yet? If not, can I send you a video?

You need to act quickly with these coaches and make sure that they have everything they need from you right away. They will need to evaluate you based on your background and your current skills. This will come with knowing your current club team and seeing you play live or through video. Coaches can tell if a recruit will be a good fit for their program off of these two things and will be able to decide if they want to pursue the player further.

You need to form a relationship with the coaches and you must do so quickly. This will require speaking with them on the phone multiple times, emails back and forth and lastly, meeting face-to-face on a campus visit. They need to know that you are serious about their university and that you will to do whatever you can to play for their program.

The signing date for Division I and II starts February 4th and lasts until August 1st, but be aware that many recruits for these levels have made their verbal commitments and are just waiting until February to solidify that commitment. Division III and NAIA programs do not use the National Letter of Intent and therefore, may be recruiting a bit longer. There is still plenty of time left for you to find the right college fit, however that time will go by quickly. You have one semester left of high school and you need to take full advantage of it!

Colleges with Soccer Programs (Click)

College Recruiting Guide (Click)

Talented high school athletes are actively recruited by Division I schools

The majority of high school athletes and parents believe that talented high school/rep athletes are actively recruited by Division I college coaches. The reality is that only about 2% of these athletes are “actively recruited” by leading college coaches, leaving the remaining 98% to “recruit themselves” through self-directed efforts.

Most Division I schools give players full rides Division I men's soccer has 9.9 scholarships.

Division I women’ s soccer has 12 scholarships. Not all schools provide their soccer programs with the full allotment. The scholarships are usually divided amongst 22 to 30 players. Most schools shy away from full scholarships, because it is a large investment in one player, and it often costs a team potential depth. As well, many schools choose to increase individual player scholarships year by year, based on performance.

Scholarship money can only be found at Division I and Division II schools.

While only Division I and Division II NCAA schools offer scholarships, many Division III schools have money available based on need, grants, etc. Many schools take a holistic approach to recruiting students, and being an athlete at Division III might increase your chances of receiving other forms of aid. NAIA schools also offer scholarships and might be a direction to consider. Whichever Division you choose, approach the economic aspects of college from every direction.

Being on the National Team, a Provincial Team or a good club team, is all you need to do to get recruited

Do not leave anything to chance. On a given weekend in the US, college coaches see 300 to 400 players. If your team is going to a US tournament, make yourself seen. Write letters. Give coaches your schedule, your jersey number. Make phone calls. It is much easier for coaches to evaluate you when they know of you ahead of time. This will only increase interest and exposure. The school you want to go to will now make an effort to see you play.

Players need parent agents

Stories of parent agents have received notorious status in the college ranks. A parent agent is considered a red flag, and often means an immature recruit, or an unenthusiastic recruit. To put it simply, college coaches are weary of parents who are the initiators in the recruiting process. Coaches want to hear from the kids. They want to know if kids are well spoken, mature, intelligent and enthusiastic about their university. In other words, coaches do not want to recruit the parent.

Some schools are simply too expensive to consider

"Discounted tuition" is a term used to describe the amount of money you are paying after you receive your financial aid package. Schools will often work with coaches to provide a package for a student-athlete, whom they believe will be a positive addition to their institution.

Division I Is Always The Best

"Some players don’t have a good understanding of what Division I is," say some college coaches. They might say, “ I want to play Division I,” but I could recommend a good DII, or DIII school. In reality, there are some Division I programs that are no better than some Division II, or III programs. A lot of people have a misconception about the level of play at various universities.

All Programs Are The Same

Often, players will contact a college coach about attending their school and know nothing about the soccer team, the players, the coach, or the style of play. If you are a left midfielder, and the team has three sophomore left midfielders, chances are good that is not the school for you. If another school may have a graduating senior and a junior at your position, you’ re more likely to get playing time earlier. If you are interested in a particular school, I recommend going and watching that team play. Watching one game will answer a lot of your questions. It is recommended that student-athletes make a list of the top schools of interest to them and then find out as much as they can about each school.

I Can’t Call The Coach

The NCAA rules regarding recruiting are more difficult to understand than any foreign language class that you are required to take in school. There are rules regarding visits to a university, gifts from a coach, pickup games while you are on recruiting visits and contact with the coach. Many student-athletes are worried they will break the rules and somehow risk their college soccer career. However, most of those rules pertain to the coach and not the player.

High School Stars Automatically Become College Stars

If you are recruited by a major college, chances are you were one of the best players on your rep team. You've been the "go-to player," the one who dictates the pace, the one everybody counts on. It's been a nice ride, but it's over. Some kids assume that since they were the star of their rep team, that they will be the star in college, too. They don't fully understand the level of college soccer. They think they do, and their parents think they do, but they don't. The pace of college soccer is like nothing else they've seen before, and even players who come from some of the top club teams aren't used to the demands in college.