College Commits

[Unregistered]

--- BOYS ---
Bates - GPS NH
Wesleyan - GPS NH
Wesleyan - KUA/ GPS NH
Bryant - GPS NH
Colgate - GPS NH
Providence - GPS NH
UNH - GPS NH
St. A's - GPS NH
Wisconsin - GPS NH
Holy Cross - KUA/Seacoast DA
Merrimack - Seacoast DA
Middlebury - Phillips Exeter Academy/ Seacoast NPL
CONN College - Pingree School/ Seacoast NPL
SNHU - Seacoast DA
Memphis University- Seacoast DA

--- GIRLS ----
Merrimack - GPS NH
Florida - Seacoast NPL
Wingate - FC Stars
Citadel - FC Stars
UNH - FC Stars
Central Connecticut University - FC Stars
Holy Cross - FC Stars
Providence College - Seacoast NPL
Franklin Pierce - GPS
Millersville - FC Stars NH
Wesleyan - GPS NH

[Unregistered]

--- BOYS ---
Bates - GPS NH
Wesleyan - GPS NH
Wesleyan - KUA/ GPS NH
Bryant - GPS NH
Colgate - GPS NH
Providence - GPS NH
UNH - GPS NH
St. A's - GPS NH
Wisconsin - GPS NH
Holy Cross - KUA/Seacoast DA
Merrimack - Seacoast DA
Middlebury - Phillips Exeter Academy/ Seacoast NPL
CONN College - Pingree School/ Seacoast NPL
SNHU - Seacoast DA
Memphis University- Seacoast DA

--- GIRLS ----
Merrimack - GPS NH
Florida - Seacoast NPL
Wingate - FC Stars MA
Citadel - FC Stars MA
UNH - FC Stars MA
Central Connecticut University - FC Stars MA
Holy Cross - FC Stars MA
Providence College - Seacoast NPL
Franklin Pierce - GPS NH
Millersville - FC Stars NH
Wesleyan - GPS NH
University of Memphis - FC Stars MA

///::::

[Unregistered]

Scholarship details are between a family and the school. There's very little money for male players but even for women full athletic rides are not typical. But with more scholarships and fewer international players women usually get much better deals. Many families will brag about rides but often times a good package is a combination of financial and, athletic and merit $. They feel the need to make it sound like it's all for sports but who cares? If your kid is getting a good deal, however it happens, it's all good.

Spot on - Most likely scenario in soccer for DI schools is 50-60% scholarship money unless they are a total stud player. With soccer being a "counter" sport for the NCAA very rarely do you get a full ride. ANY NH parent or player telling you they are getting a "full ride" is flat out lying. They will be making partial tuition payments or taking out partial school loans.

[Unregistered]

Spot on - Most likely scenario in soccer for DI schools is 50-60% scholarship money unless they are a total stud player. With soccer being a "counter" sport for the NCAA very rarely do you get a full ride. ANY NH parent or player telling you they are getting a "full ride" is flat out lying. They will be making partial tuition payments or taking out partial school loans.

AND NOBODY at SUSC associated with DA (boys or girls) will tell you this. My son played 3 years of DA with SUSC (14 through 16) and it became clear in 15 that no scholarship money was coming his way despite his SUSC coaches saying he was a low DI high DII player and that there were serious inquiries about him - when I asked where were the recruiting letters, contacts, or emails - SUSC said they are coming. Meanwhile DIII and some JUCO schools were very interested, we got those contacts, but never a DI or DII inquiry.

So my son decided in 17 to play HS soccer with his friends. SUSC wanted us to stay and said we needed to be patient, scholarship offers would be coming. They never did. We payed tens of thousands of dollars for him to be a DIII player - plays at a competitive DIII school in MA and loves it. Loved playing HS soccer and said he wished he had played all 4 years.

We had two other former DA families ahead of us try to tell us the same thing but we were waist deep in the SUSC kool aid about "soccer $$$" for school. Once my son arrived at college - his current college coach, a former DI assistant explained to us how scholarships work at DI & DII and it was the most eye opening 10 minutes ever! Wish I knew then what I know now.

The SUSC experience was good, but did not deliver on the "outcomes" of what was said about his ability and college prospects. The instruction was good, the training was good, but there was never any real "spirit" to the team or game; just results based. My son found a stronger bond and spirit in HS soccer that the DA experience lacked.

[Unregistered]

Spot on - Most likely scenario in soccer for DI schools is 50-60% scholarship money unless they are a total stud player. With soccer being a "counter" sport for the NCAA very rarely do you get a full ride. ANY NH parent or player telling you they are getting a "full ride" is flat out lying. They will be making partial tuition payments or taking out partial school loans.

Who is going on about full scholarships? You make it sound like your scenario isn’t any good. Some schools are $70K a year so getting $180K ($40K x 4 years) to play soccer and get a fantastic education is bad?

[Unregistered]

AND NOBODY at SUSC associated with DA (boys or girls) will tell you this. My son played 3 years of DA with SUSC (14 through 16) and it became clear in 15 that no scholarship money was coming his way despite his SUSC coaches saying he was a low DI high DII player and that there were serious inquiries about him - when I asked where were the recruiting letters, contacts, or emails - SUSC said they are coming. Meanwhile DIII and some JUCO schools were very interested, we got those contacts, but never a DI or DII inquiry.

So my son decided in 17 to play HS soccer with his friends. SUSC wanted us to stay and said we needed to be patient, scholarship offers would be coming. They never did. We payed tens of thousands of dollars for him to be a DIII player - plays at a competitive DIII school in MA and loves it. Loved playing HS soccer and said he wished he had played all 4 years.

We had two other former DA families ahead of us try to tell us the same thing but we were waist deep in the SUSC kool aid about "soccer $$$" for school. Once my son arrived at college - his current college coach, a former DI assistant explained to us how scholarships work at DI & DII and it was the most eye opening 10 minutes ever! Wish I knew then what I know now.

The SUSC experience was good, but did not deliver on the "outcomes" of what was said about his ability and college prospects. The instruction was good, the training was good, but there was never any real "spirit" to the team or game; just results based. My son found a stronger bond and spirit in HS soccer that the DA experience lacked.

Plausible you left too soon and lost any opportunities?

[Unregistered]

Plausible you left too soon and lost any opportunities?

There is very little money in men's soccer. It's just a fact. There are fewer men's D1 programs (100 fewer programs than women's) fewer scholarships (9.9 vs 14 for women and that's only if a program is fully funded and not all are) and more international players in men' soccer than women's (internationals get substantial $ to entice them away from home where they go to college for almost nothing).

not the poster

[Unregistered]

Spot on - Most likely scenario in soccer for DI schools is 50-60% scholarship money unless they are a total stud player. With soccer being a "counter" sport for the NCAA very rarely do you get a full ride. ANY NH parent or player telling you they are getting a "full ride" is flat out lying. They will be making partial tuition payments or taking out partial school loans.

Your figures are closer to accurate only for women's. Men's is substantially less and in fact many men get virtually nothing. And yes it is true a "full" athletic ride is very rare. Those go to the true studs or the top GK. If a player gets close a free ticket it is most often a combination of athletic, merit (which the school grants, not the coach) and financial aid (which is dependent on your financial status). There are also rules for D1 and D2 on how those $ can be combined. D3 obviously has no athletic $. That said, if your child can go to a good $60K/year school and has to pay $20K (again, most likely a combination)? That's a great deal. Hopefully you've been socking away in a 529 or can cover the rest with your income. If need be have them take out the federal max which leaves them with a reasonable student loan amount of just under $25K at graduation.

[Unregistered]

AND NOBODY at SUSC associated with DA (boys or girls) will tell you this. My son played 3 years of DA with SUSC (14 through 16) and it became clear in 15 that no scholarship money was coming his way despite his SUSC coaches saying he was a low DI high DII player and that there were serious inquiries about him - when I asked where were the recruiting letters, contacts, or emails - SUSC said they are coming. Meanwhile DIII and some JUCO schools were very interested, we got those contacts, but never a DI or DII inquiry.

So my son decided in 17 to play HS soccer with his friends. SUSC wanted us to stay and said we needed to be patient, scholarship offers would be coming. They never did. We payed tens of thousands of dollars for him to be a DIII player - plays at a competitive DIII school in MA and loves it. Loved playing HS soccer and said he wished he had played all 4 years.

We had two other former DA families ahead of us try to tell us the same thing but we were waist deep in the SUSC kool aid about "soccer $$$" for school. Once my son arrived at college - his current college coach, a former DI assistant explained to us how scholarships work at DI & DII and it was the most eye opening 10 minutes ever! Wish I knew then what I know now.

The SUSC experience was good, but did not deliver on the "outcomes" of what was said about his ability and college prospects. The instruction was good, the training was good, but there was never any real "spirit" to the team or game; just results based. My son found a stronger bond and spirit in HS soccer that the DA experience lacked.

Sorry to hear the club led you on. Clubs should never promise even college spots, let alone scholarship $. But they know they hooks to get families to keep paying big $. We were fortunate that I had a nephew go through the process a few years ahead of my son. He gave up HS, got a few token $ to go a good academic school but got cut year 1 (another very ugly reality of college sports - you probably won't play all 4 years). It was soul crushing and his single parent almost couldn't afford to keep him there. Giving up HS was never really an option for my son (good HS team with a coach he likes) but watching his cousin go through that sealed the deal. Playing top club gave him the best of both worlds and he ended up at a place very similar to many of his friends who did play DA.

[Unregistered]

Plausible you left too soon and lost any opportunities?

No - my son was always a low DII / High DIII player, slightly undersized (5'9" 160) with good skill and speed - but I trusted what DA and SUSC were telling us about scholarship money from DII schools coming our way. He was a DA starter for two years and he started every game in college as a freshman. He is right where he belongs.

I wish we had listened to the other SUSC DA parents ahead of us who "warned" us but we thought we were the exception. In total we spent 3 semesters of college tuition over those 3 years on club soccer for him to end up still having to pay full tuition to play in college.

[Unregistered]

No - my son was always a low DII / High DIII player, slightly undersized (5'9" 160) with good skill and speed - but I trusted what DA and SUSC were telling us about scholarship money from DII schools coming our way. He was a DA starter for two years and he started every game in college as a freshman. He is right where he belongs.

I wish we had listened to the other SUSC DA parents ahead of us who "warned" us but we thought we were the exception. In total we spent 3 semesters of college tuition over those 3 years on club soccer for him to end up still having to pay full tuition to play in college.

This is more common than people think. Some clubs will lie (or exaggerate) to keep players. It’s important to learn as much as you can about the soccer world and be realistic even when it’s difficult. Coaches should be honest even if it’s not what the parents and player want to hear.

I think college id clinics are a good reality check. How a player fits in at various schools and divisions will dictate where they can play and how much they may be wanted. If they go to four to five division I id clinics and struggle to keep up and have no interaction with the coaches and no response afterwards then time to move to plan B. Same is true for division II.

You are correct with the waste of money and the missed opportunity to play high school. Not sure how Seacoast’s DA program keeps going as the boy’s teams are very weak and the costs and sacrifices aren’t worth the end results.

[Unregistered]

Of course many clubs and coaches will tell you what you want to hear. It's a business first, and keeping customers keeps them in business. Other parents warning you about the pitfalls of recruiting don't benefit in sharing information. Clubs absolutely benefit spoon feeding you.

[Unregistered]

Not sure how Seacoast’s DA program keeps going as the boy’s teams are very weak and the costs and sacrifices aren’t worth the end results.

Here are some recent Seacoast boys commits:

2 players - Harvard (2017, 2019)
2 players - UNH (2016, 2017)
1 player - Tampa (2018)
1 player - Holy Cross (2019)
1 player - Colgate (2019)
1 player - Swarthmore (2019)
1 player - Middlebury (2019)
1 player - Wesleyan (2019)

...and this is not a complete list by any means. So I think the "end results" are good for a lot of players.

[Unregistered]

Here are some recent Seacoast boys commits:

2 players - Harvard (2017, 2019)
2 players - UNH (2016, 2017)
1 player - Tampa (2018)
1 player - Holy Cross (2019)
1 player - Colgate (2019)
1 player - Swarthmore (2019)
1 player - Middlebury (2019)
1 player - Wesleyan (2019)

...and this is not a complete list by any means. So I think the "end results" are good for a lot of players.

Good academic schools (ehich is what most families care about) but by no means good soccer programs. Nor would they get in without the grades. None of them required DA to get there. High level club would have sufficed, especially the liberal arts D3s.

[Unregistered]

Good academic schools (ehich is what most families care about) but by no means good soccer programs. Nor would they get in without the grades. None of them required DA to get there. High level club would have sufficed, especially the liberal arts D3s.

Colgate is a good soccer program, but I do not think that Seacoast has a 2019 going there, I think that is a mistake.