College Soccer and Recruiting the Student Athlete

One of the most important decisions a young person will make while in high school is the choice of a college to attend. If the student is fortunate to not only be academically qualified but also athletically as well, then opportunities exist to secure a college scholarship.

The lucky student who possesses recognized soccer abilities has additional opportunities if they become known. College coaches are constantly on the lookout for new prospects. Often you will find coaches at tournaments viewing any number of players. As a prospective college player, it is of utmost importance that you be identified as early as possible. Important ways to showcase your abilities include tournaments, club soccer, high school soccer, and the Olympic Development Program. Many coaches begin identifying potential prospects in a player's junior year of high school (club soccer ages U16 and U17). Most scholarship offers are made early in a students senior year. Players can verbally commit to schools as early as July 1st preceding their senior year in high school.

Attending tournaments etc is not all it takes to be recognizd by college coaches. In womens soccer you must let the coaches know you exist so they can watch you play. Soccer is so big and so organized albeit under the publicity radar that often college coaches won't know to look for you unless you let them know you'd like them to.

A prospective college player must take the following course of action:

A number of factors should be considered when selecting a college: Local vs away-from-home - Commuting vs residential campus - Large vs small school - Area of academic interest - The cost of education - The success of the program - Sunday play - etc.

2 - Send a letter of introduction to the coach at your colleges of interest. Express your interest in that school and why (both academically and athletically). This letter should include a player profile/resume including: (make is short & sweet, to the point, one to two pages max)

a. Your name, address, and telephone number, email address
b. High school and club team,
c. Grade point average, ACT and/or SAT scores and academic interests,
d. Player position/s,
e. Club soccer awards
f. High School soccer awards
g. Academic Awards
h. Other Athletic awards

This letter should be sent before your junior year begins and again before the beginning of your senior year. Include a schedule of tournaments and club and high school league games so that a coach can have an opportunity to see you play as much as possible.

3 - Register with the NCAA Clearinghouse. This will assure you are on the right academic track helping assure your eligibility and avoid unwanted surprises. Also, you must receive an NCAA Clearinghouse number before you can make an official visit to a campus you are interested in.

4- Follow up by personally contacting coaches and introducing yourself (Note: NCAA rules currently won't allow NCAA coaches to return your calls before July 1st preceding your senior year in high school. Therefore don't assume a coach has no interest in you because they don't return your call. Keep contacting them. Also don't think this means you should just wait until your Senior year).

5 - Take the ACT and SAT test early in your junior year. This will allow plenty of time for re-takes if you'd like to or need to improve your score. Also, by taking the test and if you're lucky enough to get a high school this will imediately help your recruiting status. Continue to improve your grade point average (a coach would rather not invest in a player who has a marginal grade point average who risks their eligibility once in college). Also, due to the limited scholarship money available to women's soccer programs, many coaches would like you to be able to receive academic scholarship money as well.

Remember, a college coach will have the above type of interchange with not only you but with 25 other prospects as well. Being prepared both academically, athletically, and organizationally will enhance your possibilities as a college player prospect.