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The numbers don't lie.

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    The numbers don't lie.

    The numbers don't lie. In our TeamRank™ section on TopDrawerSoccer.com we rate approximately 2,500 teams. There are many more "travel" or "select" teams than this, but this gives us the most successful and serious Boys and Girls teams from age groups U13 to U18 across the country. If we conservatively list 15 players for each of these teams, we are talking about 37,500 players in club soccer at a time.

    Now in DI college soccer, there are just more than 500 teams for Men and Women combined. If we count 20 players per DI roster that's 10,000 players at a time in top-tier college soccer. Now our TeamRank™ covers six age groups so if you cut that by a third it's still 24-25,000 players. But then again, there's only enough full scholarship money available for half of the 10,000 players we mentioned (at the most optimistic estimate). Even adding scholarships available at DII, basically more than half of the players in the top of club soccer WILL NOT have scholarship money waiting for them when they get to the college years.

    Now how many of the 37,500 are thinking at some point that they WILL be getting scholarship money? If you said most of them I think that is the correct answer.

    http://www.topdrawersoccer.com/componen ... /nid,7505/

    #2
    Re: The numbers don't lie.

    Go to the NCAA website and you will see how many players go on to play college soccer. not many.

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      #3
      Re: The numbers don't lie.

      The TopDrawer article is right. Very few players receive D1 soccer scholarships. However, the article probably understates how hard it is to get a college soccer scholarship.

      The article says that the 2,500 TopDrawer-ranked teams are the "most successful and serious" teams in the country. Since that number covers 6 age groups in both genders, we're talking about the top 200 or so teams in a given age group. In Mass. Girls U13 and U16 (I chose those because U16 is probably the state's most successful age group, and U13 is the most openly ambitious), 3-4 teams in each age group are in the top 200 nationally, according to Gotsport.com. Now, if we lived in Southern California or Texas, the number 4 team in the state would probably be a nationally competitive team. But in Mass, that's just not true. In most years, we have 1 or 2 teams per age group that would make it. The current U16G is unusual in having 3 - Scorpions, Stars United, and Stars Rovers. The current U13G has only 1 - Stars.

      Why is this significant? Because it roughly matches up with the kind of team whose players have realistic chances at a D1 scholarship. There are about 300 women's D1 programs, each with 12 scholarships to hand out. In any given year, about 3 scholarship equivalents are available for incoming freshmen. That's 900 full scholarships. Of course, schools don't give full scholarships very often. If a 1/2 scholarship is the norm, that makes 1,800 available. If 1/4 scholarships are the norm, 3,600 are available.

      If there are 18 girls on each of the 200 "top" teams, that's 3,600 players - just about the number of 1/4 scholarships available. This tells me as a parent that if my daughter starts (i.e. is in the top 1/2) for one of our state's top 1 or 2 teams, her chance at a D1 scholarship is realistic. Doesn't mean she'll get one, but it's a reasonable aspiration. If she's on the bench of a top team or a top player from one of the next 2 or 3 teams, the possibilities are smaller, and if she does get one, it would probably be for less than 1/2. Beyond that, it's a real long shot.

      In any given year, there are maybe 25-30 "serious" club teams. That works out to about 500 "serious" players. If D1 scholarships go primarily to the 20 or so "top" players on the "top" 2 teams, less that 5% of the generic "serious" players will get scholarships. Those are long odds.

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