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    GK College Recruiting

    Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
    Sorry -- what I meant was, how does the path to college soccer differ for goalies? Is the recruiting similar? Are there different activities these kids need to pursue?
    A separate thread.

    #2
    Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
    A separate thread.
    Our daughter is a U17 keeper. College recruiting seems to be the same as field players. Contact the coaches of the schools she is interested in and invite them to tournaments her team is playing in. We've sent them her soccer resume and GK stats (along with a copy of her grades/transcripts). She's a junior this year, so we'll know when she takes her SAT's, what will be a good fit for her academically.

    At tournaments, coaches she has invited have come to watch her play. She has started to receive letters from interested colleges in the last week. She'll have to visit the coaches this year to get idea if the schools are a good fit for her (along with their soccer program). Her target schools were chosen based on whether they offer the major she is interested in. At this point, location-wise she is undecided, although her preference is something closer to home (no more than 5-6 hours away).

    We actually did visit a few schools last year that were close (didn't meet with coaches, just toured the campus), so it gave her an idea of what she wants (urban vs. rural, large vs. small school, etc).

    When we visit schools this year, we will set up appts to meet with the coach if they are available and discuss whether they have serious interest in our daughter and if so, how does she fit into their program. Look at how many keepers the program currently has and when they were recruited. We have a good idea of the coaches and schools that are interested in her by now (either through the letters or calls to her club coach). Best of luck to your GK as well.

    BTW: One of the parents who posts regularly has a GK daughter at FDU. He'd probably be able to give you a good idea of what college life is like for a GK. (I know they have separate fitness standards, but training follows the same schedule as field players).

    Comment


      #3
      Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
      Our daughter is a U17 keeper. College recruiting seems to be the same as field players. Contact the coaches of the schools she is interested in and invite them to tournaments her team is playing in. We've sent them her soccer resume and GK stats (along with a copy of her grades/transcripts). She's a junior this year, so we'll know when she takes her SAT's, what will be a good fit for her academically.

      At tournaments, coaches she has invited have come to watch her play. She has started to receive letters from interested colleges in the last week. She'll have to visit the coaches this year to get idea if the schools are a good fit for her (along with their soccer program). Her target schools were chosen based on whether they offer the major she is interested in. At this point, location-wise she is undecided, although her preference is something closer to home (no more than 5-6 hours away).

      We actually did visit a few schools last year that were close (didn't meet with coaches, just toured the campus), so it gave her an idea of what she wants (urban vs. rural, large vs. small school, etc).

      When we visit schools this year, we will set up appts to meet with the coach if they are available and discuss whether they have serious interest in our daughter and if so, how does she fit into their program. Look at how many keepers the program currently has and when they were recruited. We have a good idea of the coaches and schools that are interested in her by now (either through the letters or calls to her club coach). Best of luck to your GK as well.

      BTW: One of the parents who posts regularly has a GK daughter at FDU. He'd probably be able to give you a good idea of what college life is like for a GK. (I know they have separate fitness standards, but training follows the same schedule as field players).

      Thanks! Are GKs more/less in-demand than other players, do you know?

      Comment


        #4
        Originally posted by naive_mom View Post
        Thanks! Are GKs more/less in-demand than other players, do you know?
        I think a lot depends on what their current college roster is like and who is graduating down the road. For example, our daughter will be a 2012 graduate. Some schools are already listing commitments from GK's who graduate the same year as my daughter. Mind you, the early commitments are usually National/Regional players, but it gives my daughter a realistic picture of what to expect. You can check out recruits at https://sites.google.com/site/soccerrecruits/

        For example, the list of 2012 recruits is starting to come in (you can look up the spreadsheet in a separate window by going above). Kentucky, Univ. of Texas, and Michigan State already have verbal commitments (mind you, these are either National or Regional players), so if my daughter had interest going there (she doesn't), she would face playing time competition from these incoming keepers. (The recruiting website also shows the competition from 2012 of GK's not yet committed).

        Good luck again to your daughter.

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          #5
          Thank you!

          Comment


            #6
            Would be interested in hearing from BTDT on these topics. In particular, whether the fact that FDU brought in two GKs this year was an issue in any way.

            Comment


              #7
              Originally posted by naive_mom View Post
              Thanks! Are GKs more/less in-demand than other players, do you know?
              Mine is the one at FDU. We actually found the recruiting process to be very different from field players. Most college programs carry a max of 4 keepers so not every program is necessarily looking for one every year. This really dictates a lot of what happens. Your kid could be in love with a school but if they don't need a keeper that year there probably won't be any reciprocal interest from them. You should know that coaches scout keepers differently than field players. Since a keepers role is a game can be so variable, a lot of times they would rather see them in a training session than in a game. When they do come to a game often all they want to watch is the warm up. A lot of what they are looking for is athleticism.

              Comment


                #8
                Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                Would be interested in hearing from BTDT on these topics. In particular, whether the fact that FDU brought in two GKs this year was an issue in any way.
                Most college coaches generally don't split GK duties with rostered keepers. Usually the strongest keeper gets the starting position and the other(s), may see limited time in goal (generally against weaker opponents). That brings up the question to ask the coach when your child is being recruited, "Are you recruiting other keepers beside me for the same year?"

                Being in goal, nothing is guaranteed. Examples off the top of my head is a friends daughter (GK) played for Colgate for one year. The following year, they brought in a GK with National experience. Friend's daughter saw hardly any time the following year with National keeper earning starting time and minutes, even as a freshman. We know another keeper at George Washington who supposedly has a full ride, but has had very limited playing time (maybe 5 games in 3 years). Again, they are playing what they feel is the stronger keeper. Yale's backup keeper left to go to North Carolina Tar Heels because (supposedly) she was unhappy with her playing time (I can't imagine she'lll see much more time as NC has a National keeper starting already).

                Bottom line, be realistic. If the keeper brought in is National or Regional level, your daughter may end up being the practice keeper for the team.

                Comment


                  #9
                  Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                  Would be interested in hearing from BTDT on these topics. In particular, whether the fact that FDU brought in two GKs this year was an issue in any way.
                  We did know that FDU was bringing in two keepers this year and that the other one was pretty good. One of the things that attracted my daughter was the coaches felt both would contribute this year and going forward that there would be a very good opportunity get a lot of minutes. You should know that keepers tend to get injured in the college game. Right now the starting keeper is banged up and my daughter is out altogether. The other freshman is probably going to start seeing some meaningful minutes along with another keeper who I don't think were they were planning to play much.

                  With my daughter's injury, even if she does make it back to practice she is going to be so far behind that she may never end up getting an opportunity to play this year. She has been out for three weeks already and there is still a question whether or not she will make it back at all this season. The injury is not devastating but it ended up to be more serious than originally thought. All in all I would much prefer FDU's response to what I experienced back in my college days. As a sports family we always knew full well that this sort of scenario could happen but that doesn't make it any easier to deal with when it becomes a reality. Injuries are just one of the things all college athletes must be prepared for. The tough thing is in a results oriented level they can end a career before it gets off the ground.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Originally posted by beentheredonethat View Post
                    Mine is the one at FDU. We actually found the recruiting process to be very different from field players. Most college programs carry a max of 4 keepers so not every program is necessarily looking for one every year. This really dictates a lot of what happens. Your kid could be in love with a school but if they don't need a keeper that year there probably won't be any reciprocal interest from them. You should know that coaches scout keepers differently than field players. Since a keepers role is a game can be so variable, a lot of times they would rather see them in a training session than in a game. When they do come to a game often all they want to watch is the warm up. A lot of what they are looking for is athleticism.
                    Agree with most of your post. However, the coaches that are currently recruiting my daughter have watched her games, not just her warmups. Some have come to multiple tournaments she has been playing in. We've been told athleticism is a biggie, but so is having soft hands, long punts and goal kicks, great communication skills in directing the back line and being great with your feet (passbacks). On corners, can they get to the ball or are they pushed off easily? Can they tip the ball over the net when it is too high to catch? Do they make an attempt to catch the ball, rather than bat it away? Are they aggressive in coming out for breakaways, etc.

                    One of the most annoying things my daughter says, is when field players think you can just stick anyone in goal and they will know what to do. GK is a tough position and to find one who has the technical, tactical and athletic skills, is like finding gold.

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Originally posted by beentheredonethat View Post
                      We did know that FDU was bringing in two keepers this year and that the other one was pretty good. One of the things that attracted my daughter was the coaches felt both would contribute this year and going forward that there would be a very good opportunity get a lot of minutes. You should know that keepers tend to get injured in the college game. Right now the starting keeper is banged up and my daughter is out altogether. The other freshman is probably going to start seeing some meaningful minutes along with another keeper who I don't think were they were planning to play much.

                      With my daughter's injury, even if she does make it back to practice she is going to be so far behind that she may never end up getting an opportunity to play this year. She has been out for three weeks already and there is still a question whether or not she will make it back at all this season. The injury is not devastating but it ended up to be more serious than originally thought. All in all I would much prefer FDU's response to what I experienced back in my college days. As a sports family we always knew full well that this sort of scenario could happen but that doesn't make it any easier to deal with when it becomes a reality. Injuries are just one of the things all college athletes must be prepared for. The tough thing is in a results oriented level they can end a career before it gets off the ground.

                      Sorry to hear about your daughter's injury. All the best to her for a speedy recovery.

                      Comment


                        #12
                        I have two boys who are/were keepers at the D3 level. It is important to look at the current rosters to see how many keepers there are, in which classes and to see how they have done. It may also be helpful to look at past years rosters and stats to get an idea of how the coach has used keepers in the past. Our older son was recruited at a D3 school. When asked the coach indicated that he had several other keeprs he was recruting. Turned out there were 5 freshman keepers at pre-season. Looking back at the rosters from 4 years prior you could see the same thing. There were 4-5 freshman keepers that year too. The following year there were only 2 who stayed with the team. Seems like the coach was using a shotgun method hoping to hit on one of the five.

                        Some coaches seem to look for a good keeper or two every four years. Others will look every two years and have one "apprentice" for two years.

                        The recruiting itself seems to be similar to field players with the exception that a coach who has a keeper may not be interested at all.

                        Do your homework and become as knowledgable as you can about each team.

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