My child is a sophmore and hopes to play at a decent level in college, yet much like BTDT's description of his daughter, mine is also not much interested in the entire college recruitment dance. She has attended a few showcase tournaments and probably will do a couple more this year. She has been contacted directly by D3 coaches, so it's clear these schools are interested. She also regularly receives camp invites from D1 summer camps. Is there a way to know whether these coaches are interested, or their contact is merely a group e-mail trolling for business? How does she guage their interest level? Any advice how to engage her in the process and proceed? How much is the process typically driven by parents? I'm constantly amazed at the efforts it seems many T-S posters have expended, but worried between our two full time jobs, and younger children, neither myself nor my husband will be able to effectively manage the process. Are my worries justified? Any advice on how to help our daughter, without making this a third full time job, negatively impacting the entire family will be genuinely appreciated. Thanks.
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Until fall of your daughter's senior year, you will really need some intermediary to help with determining some of the things that you are asking about. Although the NCAA rules for e-mail contact are considerably loosened in the Jr. year, my experience is that a club or HS coach tend to get better responses and a more honest appraisal regarding a school's interest. The fact is that most early recruiting stems out of a direction by the college coach, to the club coach, that the player/parent call them on campus - leading to an unofficial visit. But it isn't always the club coach. Here is a bit of a primer:
(1) E-mails about camps mean that your child's name has made its way onto that programs general release list. If it is a generic form e-mail, then don't look too deep into its significance. Playing in a showcase that releases participant's rosters will land you on these lists. These camps can be an excellent way to be seen, in the right circumstances, but they are almost all primarily money makers for the coach and the set-up and numbers usually make legitimate recruit evaluations difficult. For a camp to work for you as a recruiting device/ aid, there needs to be earlier communications with that school and a clear indication by the coach that they have already seen your child and want to see them again - preferably at the camp.
(2) E-mails from a school that indicate that they have seen your child play and that include basic information about the program and NCAA recruiting rules mean that your player is considered to be a prospect at that school. Whereas the general list can include thousands of names, an initial prospect list might include 30-50. These players are usually rated top to bottom and the list is always being adjusted with the addition (or subtraction) of names and changes to the rankings. If you get an e-mail like this - respond to it. They will want you to fill in their recruit quest. - if it is a school that interests you, fill it out and send it back. Also include your approx class rank and/or GPA and the results of any standardized tests. Finally, send them an e-mail with your upcoming schedule and invite them to see your child play. If you aren't interested, send back a short but polite response indicating so. These e-mails are sent to and should be returned by your player. But parents are typically actively involved and should edit and review everything. So make sure that recruiting info/ e-mails are coming and going out of an account to which you both have access.
(3) Being told by your intermediarry that the college coach wants you to call and set up an unofficial visit, is an indication that you are being seriously looked at by the school. You may still be on a prospect list that exceeds 25 other players, but if this is a school that interests you - I suggest that you set up the visit. Even if the school isn't all that interesting, these unofficial visits can help you learn the process (in dealing with the coaches) and give your child a better idea of the similarities and differences between colleges. It may seem early (and it is) but it is the way the system works and your child will need to mature to succeed. Just remember, unofficial visits have strict limitations regarding what the school can spend on your daughter. So the bulk of the costs (including all travel) will be born by you. Take that into account before you agree to go see Washington State or U Cal Berkley.
(4) If your daughter isn't in a national or regional pool it is pretty unlikely that they will be pursued to make a commitment before their Jr. year. Look at some other posts about the timelines for different players and programs. For most players, even ones that will garner some D1 $$, soph. year is about identification and evaluation - for both sides. Finally, don;t be too anxious. There is no doubt that the pressures and timelines are real. That progarms do spend their money and fill out their recruiting classes earlier and earlier with each year - BUT - you need to try to take as much control as possible. The only way to do that is by becoming informed. Go the NCAA web-site and learn the rules. Investigate the different programs and their coaches. ASK QUESTIONS OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE EXPERIENCE.
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You and your daughter have to define what "decent level" means. More importantly, she needs to set some priorities for the end result of the process. For example, does she want to play all 4 years or would she join a team for which she won't see the field til junior year ? Would she play for a school that she loves but a coach she doesn't ? How about vice versa ? Is she using the recruitment process to try to get into the best academic school possibly at the expense of the soccer experience ? Is scholarship money the most important thing ? What about school size, school location, specific academic offerings ?
Having your daughter answer these questions will go a long way to narrowing down the field. Real interest from the coaches can be gauged during junior year but unless your kid is a top recruit who everyone wants, its kind of like a grade school romance - each side is waiting for the other to make the first move toward committment.Comment
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Reread the posts above a couple of times, they have some great insight. Here are a couple of things to ponder.
1. Your kid's attitude towards the recruiting "dance" may be more confusion than disinterest. The way the process works they are being asked to make decisions about things that few of their peers have even started to think about. Avoidance behaviors are natural under these circumstances. It is going to be very very frustrating but don't make it such an onerous thing that you and your kid's relationship is damaged.
2. There is no way around your involvement but there is a difference between you doing all the work and you taking the lead while they learn to dance. The really difficult part of the process is keeping your attitudes at bay while your child matures enough to understand them. My advice is to start with the knowledge that your kid has no idea what any of this is about and do so with the expectation that you will carry the ball for big chunks of time. Eventually they will get to a point where it is relavant to THEM and they will take over for you.
3. Be prepared for change. Realize that the kids really don't know much and that you need to give them experience to draw from to make a decision. A big part of the dance is the search and discover phase where you go all over the place to see what is out there and see how it strikes them. Just know that it is a rare kid who can walk on to a college campus as a high school sophmore and fully understand it's merits and disadvantages. They will likely change their minds about critical factors dozens of times over the course of the process.
4. Don't narrow things down too early. Do yourself a favor and start with as broad a list of schools as you can muster. There are a tremendous number of variables that come to play in the recruiting process. Coaches will change. Opportunities will change. Your kid's attitudes will change. If you start with too narrow a list you run a greater risk that the stars might not align properly for your kid. Keep in mind is that what you ultimately seek is a great fit for your kid. Use the recruiting dance like a fitting session rather than a race.Comment
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Go to the women's college recruiting web site. https://sites.google.com/site/soccerrecruits/
Take a look at the colleges your daughter might be interested in, then take a look at where and what clubs those colleges are recruiting players from. It will also list what the soccer accomplishments of those players are. This should give you an idea where your daughter might fit in terms of her soccer. I found the hardest part is determining the academic fit if your player is basically your average student. Until SATs are taken, it's tough to know where a B average is going to take you.Comment
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Thanks for the thoughtful responses.
My daughter is a high B, low A student at a fairly rigorous school that has fought against grade inflation more than most. Median overall grades usually about a B-. She's a top student in a couple of her classes. Right now she's more interested in playing for a top 25 soccer team, than any particular area of study. Luckily, most of these universities require decent academics, so her focus on her studies improved because of her interest in soccer. She'd like to attend and contribute as a freshman, especially as it seems at many D1 programs unless a player establishes themselves early they become less likely to play as an upperclassman. She wants a coach she respects, and her preferred style of play, being 5-3 on a tall day, stealing a phrase from another thread, is more La Liga than EPL.
Which makes me wonder. It's easy to research schools. How does she research style of play of various programs? Are there any online discussion groups similar to T-S that discuss various women's college teams in depth?
Our school guidance department is willing to begin the process they usually begin for Juniors for her now, because of the soccer timeline and its importance to her, so this is a big plus and will help her begin to sort schools by the various differences.
Back to work. Thanks again to all.Comment
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Big soccer does discuss style occassionally but the vast majority of comments are on west coast teams, FSU and UNC. They also have a different view of schools/players than out here so you might learn that the Mass viewpoint is not always without its own prejudices.Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
My daughter was also concerned about style of play and I did everything I could to get her to see a team play. If it couldn't be accomplished on an unofficial visit, she would try to see away games. Unfortunately spring play is not always a good picture of style but preseason and fall play usually show you what the coach is trying to do. It is also pretty good for seeing how the coaches interact with the players, officials etc. You and your player can tell a lot by how a coaching staff responds to a loss.Comment
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I don't mean this in a snotty way in the least, but unless your kid is at the regional pool level she is not really a prospect for a top 25 program. The best thing you can do now is form a very clear picture of where she might fit. Please understand that at the next level everyone was a once a star and can play at a fairly high level. It may seem harsh, but since your daughter is only 5'3" many coaches already consider her to have one strike against her. Unless she has ABOVE average speed to compensate for her lack of size you will find that she is not really consider an upper tier player. You may be much better off setting your sites on low level D1 or D2 program.Originally posted by Unregistered View PostComment
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And even if she is a regional pool player - understand that most of the money for top 25 programs will go to NP players. You really have to ask yourself if your daughter would be happy going to a school where there is EXTREME competition for playing time and an expectation that your commitment to soccer is your first priority. That will mean that she is initially enrolled in an undecided program and restricted from more difficult majors unless she shows herself to be an exceptional student/ athlete - at the college level - not HS.Originally posted by Unregistered View PostComment
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I can't underscore this post enough. Please do not underestimate what this poster is saying with respect to the academic piece. A lot of parents seem to think that the college coaches operate in the best interest of their child. This is recruiting lip service. The reality is that only happens when your child's best interests run parallel with the program's.Originally posted by Unregistered View PostComment
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A question about the spreadsheet that shows college recruitment. Is this just showing the girls that are being awarded scholarships to play at these schools, or does it show all of the new recruits to these schools whether they are geting scholarships or not. Thanks.Comment
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The spreadsheet are new recruits whether or not they are getting scholarships.Originally posted by Unregistered View PostComment
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Most Massachusetts girls are dreaming when they target top 2O programs. If you doubt me, take a look at the 2010 and 2011 commits to these schools another poster provided. These commits all have resumes longer than this page. I wish your daughter luck, but a 5 foot nothing, non-regional team, non-national team player has very little chance competing against the big dogs for scholarship money and playing time. Neither is guaranteed. Many of us already know the handful of NE players that will be targeted by top 20 programs. (And I'm exaggerating when I imply there are even 5!) Fortunantely you didn't identify your daughter or her team and have avoided certain derision, while at the same time prompting an intelligent and fruitful discussion, which are all too rare here these days.Comment
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Just for the record, the top 20 teams for 2009:
1 North Carolina
2 Stanford
3 UCLA
4 Portland
5 Notre Dame
6 Florida St.
7 Boston College
8 Wake Forest
9 South Carolina
10 Virginia Tech
11 UCF
12 Santa Clara
13 LSU
14 Florida
15 Maryland
16 Penn St.
17 Washington St.
18 Southern California
19 Oregon St.
20 Georgia
Mass has 2010s and 2011 committed to UCLA, BC, Maryland, Penn St. Any others? Not all commits are Regional or NT players. In fact, one of the commits is not even a regular starter for her club team.Comment
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