The College Soccer Recruiting Process
There is more to the college soccer recruiting process than simply performing well on the soccer field. The truth is that both women’s and men’s college soccer teams at the NCAA D1, D2, or D3 levels are not the limit. There are other college leagues that have the same level of talent and skill such as NJCAA and NAIA. Moreover, there is a rigorous process to even become a prospective soccer player at one of these teams. Depending on the college and division, you can be competing with thousands of recruits for a chance to get a spot on the team. It can’t be stressed enough how important it is to be proactive and assertive in the college soccer recruiting process.
KickStart Sports is the platform that makes this entire process as easy as possible for you. Not only will you work with experienced players and coaches that have been through this process, but KickStart Sports works with foregin college recruiting agents to help you get your foot in the door.
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The college soccer recruiting process can be competitive, but here are 7 simple ways that you can increase your chances of a successful outcome:
Almost every college soccer team in NCAA Division 1, 2 and 3 has a soccer questionnaire that is available for prospective students to fill out on their team website. A completed questionnaire allows potential recruits to put themselves in the college coach’s system of communication The earlier, the better. This action will alert college soccer coaches that you are indeed interested in their soccer program.
This is extremely important and can be a great asset in the college soccer recruiting process. With so many prospective student athletes and so few college soccer coaches, it is almost impossible for coaches to make it out to see everyone play across the USA. A soccer highlight video will give the coach a chance to see you play early in the recruiting process and could put you on the short list for that team.
Let coaches know that you are interested in their program. Tell them specifically what you think is appealing about the school and the team. If they are in your area, tell them what soccer tournaments and showcases you are playing in. Coaches have limited resources and need to prioritize what tournaments to go to and who they will be seeing. Factor yourself into the coach’s decisions by giving them your soccer schedule early on in the process. It will increase the likelihood of them seeing you play if they are already going to the tournament.
If you are not diligent about responding in time and/or following up to the college coach, he/she may think you are no longer interested in his/her college. College coaches sometimes get over a hundred emails a day, so make sure you follow up. Persistence makes you more visible and shows that you are interested in the college.
College soccer id camps are a very popular way for coaches to identify potential recruits. With so much going on during the year, many college coaches will utilize a popular summer ID camp to energize their recruiting pool.
As you get further along in the process of communicating with a college coach, it is important that you (not your parents) stay on top of it. Additionally, most coaches want to see YOU personally communicating with them. For many college coaches constant communication from parents is a “red flag” and will make you a less attractive recruit.
Grades matter in the college soccer recruiting process. At the end of the day you cannot forget that you are still a STUDENT-athlete. Although many player are enamored with the “full-ride” dream, the reality is academic scholarships are more prevalent and easier to attain than athletic scholarship. Having a high GPA makes you more attractive to college coaches because better students may require less scholarship or less admissions involvement from the college coach.