How to play the game?

A little background information for my questions. My daughter is a high school sophmore and a keeper playing up on a U17 team that is traveling to a couple of the major recruiting showcases over the next few months.

In preparation for these trips, her club held a recruiting information seminar targeted at the juniors on the team. Amongst the panel of speakers, they had two people talk about the D1 recruiting process. The first one, an active coach, stated that amongst the major D1 schools it was now becoming somewhat common for them to get commitments from sophmores and that this had really altered the recruiting process on the women's side. They went on record saying that they were opposed to this illegal process and refused to give advice on what to do if you were sophmore. The second, a retired D1, but active club coach, acknowledged that active recruiting was in fact taking place in the sophmore year and advised the families to follow the advice they were giving the juniors to actively solicite coaches. Later, in private, I ws advised that since my daughter was a keeper she would likely be one of the sophmores drawing interest and we should be prepared.

My first question is what is the competition like amongst D1 programs for keepers? In our area you can count the keepers with decent physical attributes and skill on one hand. Is this the same across the country? My kid has a late December birthday so she has always played up a year relative to her school year. While she has made her school's varsity and the state's ODP team, she has always been the youngest on the team and has not gotten much of the limelight. That said she's a big strong athletic girl who has been well trained as a keeper. When she does play with her age group she absolutely sets herself apart. Her coaches tell us she is a legitimate lower tier D1 prospect. Should we even bother playing the recruiting game as a sophmore?

If we do decide to start contacting coaches and inviting them to see her play at these tournaments as her club is suggesting, how should we go about things? As I read the NCAA rules, if we contact a coach, they cannot respond. If we invite one to come see my daughter play and they like what they see, how will they let us know and how should we respond?

Re: How to play the game?

A little background information for my questions. My daughter is a high school sophmore and a keeper playing up on a U17 team that is traveling to a couple of the major recruiting showcases over the next few months.

In preparation for these trips, her club held a recruiting information seminar targeted at the juniors on the team. Amongst the panel of speakers, they had two people talk about the D1 recruiting process. The first one, an active coach, stated that amongst the major D1 schools it was now becoming somewhat common for them to get commitments from sophmores and that this had really altered the recruiting process on the women's side. They went on record saying that they were opposed to this illegal process and refused to give advice on what to do if you were sophmore. The second, a retired D1, but active club coach, acknowledged that active recruiting was in fact taking place in the sophmore year and advised the families to follow the advice they were giving the juniors to actively solicite coaches. Later, in private, I ws advised that since my daughter was a keeper she would likely be one of the sophmores drawing interest and we should be prepared.

My first question is what is the competition like amongst D1 programs for keepers? In our area you can count the keepers with decent physical attributes and skill on one hand. Is this the same across the country? My kid has a late December birthday so she has always played up a year relative to her school year. While she has made her school's varsity and the state's ODP team, she has always been the youngest on the team and has not gotten much of the limelight. That said she's a big strong athletic girl who has been well trained as a keeper. When she does play with her age group she absolutely sets herself apart. Her coaches tell us she is a legitimate lower tier D1 prospect. Should we even bother playing the recruiting game as a sophmore?

If we do decide to start contacting coaches and inviting them to see her play at these tournaments as her club is suggesting, how should we go about things? As I read the NCAA rules, if we contact a coach, they cannot respond. If we invite one to come see my daughter play and they like what they see, how will they let us know and how should we respond?

My biggest problem with committing as a sophomore is that it is the parent doing the committing and not the player. In watching two of my kids go through high school, both changed their minds considerably from their sophomore year to their senior year on what kind of college they would like to attend. The college cannot contact you until next year (although they can send a canned letter letting you know the rules), so it is your call on whether you want to make contact with them this early. My question would be with your daughter playing up, will her current team get the exposure she needs next year?

recruiting as a sophomore

If your daughter is really serious about playing college soccer, then it certainly won't hurt her to write and email the coaches. Let them know that she is a 2010 playing on a 08 or 09 graduating class.

The more you put her name out there, the better chances you have for them to really take a look at her in her junior year.

My daughter is a junior but she started contacting coaches her sophomore year. Now when she is contacting those coaches, they know who she is.

Then it's up to the player to perform!

Good luck!!!

Sophmores should definitely contact coaches!

There's some good info on this board. Read it and have your player read it, too. A friend who is a SEC womens soccer coach in another state told me that even the really good kids have to stay "in his face" if they want a scholarship from him. (Note to Literalists: he meant take the initiative, not be overly agressive).

Like yours, my daughter is a keeper, but a year older. She is a junior, and has started every game in HS since she was a freshman. She is the only keeper on her club team and starts for the state ODP team in her age group. She did not make Region pool. (this should give you an idea of her level compared to your player)

She started contacting schools last year (Aug. '06) to get on their radar. Your player just needs to understand that the coaches cannot contact her, other than canned letters (they will occasionally include a handwritten note to your daughter.) If there are one or two schools she is really interested in, summer camps at the school are a great way for her to get familiar with the school and coach, and they with her. They are expensive, but fun, and if there is a good fit, things happen sooner rather than later.

Another note: After 9/1 of the junior year, if a coach emails with his/her cell phone, your player should call! They can't call you, nor can they ASK you to call them, but they can answer if a player calls them. Connect the dots.

At this point, she is still looking at schools from NAIA to "mid-tier" Div I. FSU was the only "big-time" program interested early on, but has since gotten a committment from a higher-rated '09 keeper. She has an offer for a full ride in hand, but we (her parents) will not let her commit yet. She stays in constant contact with the coach, and handles all of the coaching contacts herself.

She has also taken several "informal" visits to schools. Make sure you know the NCAA rules, but if you go to see them on campus at your own expense, coaches have a little more freedom to talk with your player about their program. It's not a bad idea to visit a school on your own, even if a kid isn't going to play sports.

Just be warned, the recruiting process is slightly different for keepers. A college coach may have as few as two keepers, and they will want to see her play. A lot. In the "I wish I had done this" category, tape her games, starting now. If you can edit yourself, great, but if you can't, find someone who can edit the video down to a highlight reel. Don't just include spectacular saves, but also enough footage to show how she directs her defenders and manages her box. A few punts and goal kicks would be nice to see.

What we also found is that coaches will watch the keepers intently during warm-ups. I've had more than one college coach tell me that they can tell a lot in warm-ups, and if your daughter's team has a good defense, they may not see much action in the games. DON'T GOOF OFF DURING WARM UPS!!

Finally, help manage your player's expectations. Even top players don't get a mailbox full of letters on Sept. 1 of their junior year, and many are disappointed because of this. The best may get one or two, tops, but most players won't get anything then. My daughter's club team is in the middle of their junior year (U17) and my daughter is one of two players with a written offer in hand -- we have two players going to CA in Jan for national team tryouts, but only one of them has a written offer in hand at this point, and they are a top-50 ranked team, nationally.

Unless your player is truly a tippy-top national-level player, the process is a marathon, not a sprint. But the rewards for your player and you are well worth the effort.

Good luck! ...and remember, Luck "happens" when preparation meets opportunity.

Great advice!
I was wondering how class of 09 recruiting is going. My daugher's U17 team has had a couple of players make verbal committments but most are still waiting.

Is this normal? I had heard that the recruiting process was really speeding up and colleges were rushing to sign the 09s.

Any thoughts on this?

Great advice!
I was wondering how class of 09 recruiting is going. My daugher's U17 team has had a couple of players make verbal committments but most are still waiting.

Is this normal? I had heard that the recruiting process was really speeding up and colleges were rushing to sign the 09s.

Any thoughts on this?

Great advice!
I was wondering how class of 09 recruiting is going. My daugher's U17 team has had a couple of players make verbal committments but most are still waiting.

Is this normal? I had heard that the recruiting process was really speeding up and colleges were rushing to sign the 09s.

Any thoughts on this?

My daughter plays on two teams in different states (One USYSA, one US Club - it's a long story, but the short version is that she has about 4 months where the players on her primary club team are playing HS, but HS ball is over where we live). As of January 8, 2001 of her two teams (approx. 34 players), two players have committed. About five or six have offers in hand, but haven't committed. Another dozen or so have made visits to schools, and there is mutual interest, but no offer yet.

Based on what I've seen so far, the market for '09s seems "down" from the'08s. I honestly don't know if this is because the overall talent level is lower in our state, or just the vagaries of what colleges need for '09. It seems that most schools we've talked to are looking for a few specific players.

Also based on those same conversations, the market for '10s appears that it will be strong. For example, one college we are talking to is only picking up 4 '09 players, but plans to add 7 - 8 '10 players. I know UGA was only planning on picking up 3 - 4 '09s.

Hope that helps...

As of January 8, 2001

Uh, I meant January 8, 2008...

Great advice!
I was wondering how class of 09 recruiting is going. My daugher's U17 team has had a couple of players make verbal committments but most are still waiting.

Is this normal? I had heard that the recruiting process was really speeding up and colleges were rushing to sign the 09s.

Any thoughts on this?

My daughter plays on two teams in different states (One USYSA, one US Club - it's a long story, but the short version is that she has about 4 months where the players on her primary club team are playing HS, but HS ball is over where we live). As of January 8, 2001 of her two teams (approx. 34 players), two players have committed. About five or six have offers in hand, but haven't committed. Another dozen or so have made visits to schools, and there is mutual interest, but no offer yet.

Based on what I've seen so far, the market for '09s seems "down" from the'08s. I honestly don't know if this is because the overall talent level is lower in our state, or just the vagaries of what colleges need for '09. It seems that most schools we've talked to are looking for a few specific players.

Also based on those same conversations, the market for '10s appears that it will be strong. For example, one college we are talking to is only picking up 4 '09 players, but plans to add 7 - 8 '10 players. I know UGA was only planning on picking up 3 - 4 '09s.

Hope that helps...

This makes sense. For some reason, it seems like there are a lot of 2008 being recruited but not as much scholarship $$ open for the 2009s. Anybody notice this?

I too sense the same about the 09's and the recruiting process being strangely handled.
It seems as though schools are commiting their scholarship funds early and not taking a good luck at what is really out there and available to them