There is a lot of talk on TS on what you DON'T need to play college soccer. You don't need ECNL. You don't really need a good club at all because it all comes down to talent and player desire anyway. And then when you get to D3 the advice we get from our resident guru sets an even lower bar. Some town soccer and some high school play will more than suffice. Anytime anyone questions or disagrees with our resident guru we are told we are doing a horrible disservice to all of the families coming through the ranks, and that almost anything that is counter to what he preaches is "nothing but marketing hype." Just put "nothing but marketing hype" into the TS search function and you will get literally hundreds of his posts. And of course in getting lectured we have to put aside what he actually did in reality, which involved strategically moving one kid around to at least a handful of different clubs, going to showcases, and pushing the recruitment envelope as hard as he could, and then linking the second kid to one of the top clubs in New England, doing ODP all the way to the top, personal fitness trainers, personal GK trainers, District Select, playing up, playing with boys teams, etc, etc.
But is their another kind of disservice? One that derives from grossly understating what it takes to play college soccer? Let's start with the fact that the majority of good to very good players who play club soccer from roughly age 10 to 17 won't make it to play college soccer, and by definition that means being able to play at a college that the majority of those kids want to attend. And out of the minority left over that do make D3 rosters many of those never really play. A lot of club parents come through the ranks figuring that if their kids can't cut it for D1 then of course they will at least make the grade for D3. And this of course is not true at all. And so it is a major disservice to downplay what it takes to the extent that most end up believing something is a cinch instead of what really is a longshot. And if these same people listened to the guru advice on TS they would believe that that there are hardly any hurdles at all, and that playing a good to high level of club soccer is just unnecessary and a waste of money.
My own point of view is that club soccer and things like DAP and ECNL and upper-tier non-DAP and non-ECNL aren't critical for the exposure value. I completely agree that in most cases going to some far-flung tournament with the idea of being found by some West Coast school you probably won't attend anyway is not the way to go about selecting a college. What I think does matter is having teammates to train with who are challenging in terms of skill and speed and play...challenging enough to push a kid to his or her maximum potential in terms of his or her own speed of play...and competition that does the same thing. Where that happens, and in what state, etc are not that important. The other thing the club structure does is give you a good gauge about where your kid is at and what levels are reasonable to expect both now and in the future. Forget for a moment whether a kid decides to play for DAP or ECNL. If a kid can't make one of those teams, then medium to high level D1 is probably out of the question. That of course doesn't mean that they have to play for that team just because they can make it, and for those kids, yes, there may be other reasonable paths to a similar or same outcome. The same goes for the better to upper-tier non-DAP and non-ECNL club teams. If you can't make those then there is a very good chance you aren't going to play for a top 50-75 D3 college. You will not play at that level just by playing in high school and showing up in good shape unless you are an extreme, freakish outlier athlete.
Look at the Boys commitments lists for Mass for the past 4-5 years. Look at the D3 commits and look at where all of the kids played. 90% or more are from DAP clubs and the next 4-5 top non-DAP club teams in the state every year (Blazers, MPS, NEFC, Crusaders, Stars, etc). In the list that gets posted on TS and updated over the course of the year you'll be hard-pressed to find a kid listed who didn't play club.
Now look at Wheaton's (the other Wheaton in Illinois) incoming frosh class of 7 recruits....3 from DAP (one of whom is a D1 transfer from perennial powerhouse Creighton), 1 who is a HS All-American and national player of the year, and the other 3 with very strong club and high school credentials. They are NOT your pedestrian high school players.
http://athletics.wheaton.edu/news/20...528144257.aspx
Anyone who listens to the guru advice here and takes it literally is going to find himself bitterly disappointed.
But is their another kind of disservice? One that derives from grossly understating what it takes to play college soccer? Let's start with the fact that the majority of good to very good players who play club soccer from roughly age 10 to 17 won't make it to play college soccer, and by definition that means being able to play at a college that the majority of those kids want to attend. And out of the minority left over that do make D3 rosters many of those never really play. A lot of club parents come through the ranks figuring that if their kids can't cut it for D1 then of course they will at least make the grade for D3. And this of course is not true at all. And so it is a major disservice to downplay what it takes to the extent that most end up believing something is a cinch instead of what really is a longshot. And if these same people listened to the guru advice on TS they would believe that that there are hardly any hurdles at all, and that playing a good to high level of club soccer is just unnecessary and a waste of money.
My own point of view is that club soccer and things like DAP and ECNL and upper-tier non-DAP and non-ECNL aren't critical for the exposure value. I completely agree that in most cases going to some far-flung tournament with the idea of being found by some West Coast school you probably won't attend anyway is not the way to go about selecting a college. What I think does matter is having teammates to train with who are challenging in terms of skill and speed and play...challenging enough to push a kid to his or her maximum potential in terms of his or her own speed of play...and competition that does the same thing. Where that happens, and in what state, etc are not that important. The other thing the club structure does is give you a good gauge about where your kid is at and what levels are reasonable to expect both now and in the future. Forget for a moment whether a kid decides to play for DAP or ECNL. If a kid can't make one of those teams, then medium to high level D1 is probably out of the question. That of course doesn't mean that they have to play for that team just because they can make it, and for those kids, yes, there may be other reasonable paths to a similar or same outcome. The same goes for the better to upper-tier non-DAP and non-ECNL club teams. If you can't make those then there is a very good chance you aren't going to play for a top 50-75 D3 college. You will not play at that level just by playing in high school and showing up in good shape unless you are an extreme, freakish outlier athlete.
Look at the Boys commitments lists for Mass for the past 4-5 years. Look at the D3 commits and look at where all of the kids played. 90% or more are from DAP clubs and the next 4-5 top non-DAP club teams in the state every year (Blazers, MPS, NEFC, Crusaders, Stars, etc). In the list that gets posted on TS and updated over the course of the year you'll be hard-pressed to find a kid listed who didn't play club.
Now look at Wheaton's (the other Wheaton in Illinois) incoming frosh class of 7 recruits....3 from DAP (one of whom is a D1 transfer from perennial powerhouse Creighton), 1 who is a HS All-American and national player of the year, and the other 3 with very strong club and high school credentials. They are NOT your pedestrian high school players.
http://athletics.wheaton.edu/news/20...528144257.aspx
Anyone who listens to the guru advice here and takes it literally is going to find himself bitterly disappointed.
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