should we target D1, D2, or D3 scholls?

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good advice. Never thought about a group ID event.

Different poster - I think it's money well spent, especially if you're unsure where you might best fit. There's plenty of them around that are one day, not too costly.

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Thanks for responding (not trolling) I think he is a good player. I wasn't purposely trying to make him sound great I was trying to give what was a realistic view of where he is, most of the time people say they need more info. He's not a DA player, Star ECNL player, he was never Gatorade player of the year, or all American, ODP regional team. I have no thought of him going pro, semi pro, going/ playing at a top D1 school, or getting a scholarship.
I'm just a Dad that didn't go to College, don't really feel like I have answers for my kid when it comes to colleges. Seems to be a lot of people that are on here that know a lot. Don't quite understand the trolling when people ask questions. Why can't people just be kind?

It's not just that people can't be kind. There SHOULD be better ways to get information and to get it from people who actually know who you are talking about and have direct experience with your kid.

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The league you play in and the teams you play against matters little. It might help with exposure but what good is exposure if the coaches that are watching aren’t buying what you’re selling? Parents are the worst evaluators or their own kids abilities against what coaches see. I especially love the parents brag about the team and league their kid plays in yet never mentions they are bench warmers. Then the parents wonder why their kid wasn’t recruited to the same types of school the impact players were. Don’t be that parent.

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The league you play in and the teams you play against matters little. It might help with exposure but what good is exposure if the coaches that are watching aren’t buying what you’re selling? Parents are the worst evaluators or their own kids abilities against what coaches see. I especially love the parents brag about the team and league their kid plays in yet never mentions they are bench warmers. Then the parents wonder why their kid wasn’t recruited to the same types of school the impact players were. Don’t be that parent.

Just absurd. Parents know the difference between the top 2-3 stars on a team and benchwarmers. Now parents may object to their kid being a benchwarmer and cling to some denial, but they're not thinking that UVA is calling with a full ride if the kid is sitting the bench most of the time.

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Just absurd. Parents know the difference between the top 2-3 stars on a team and benchwarmers. Now parents may object to their kid being a benchwarmer and cling to some denial, but they're not thinking that UVA is calling with a full ride if the kid is sitting the bench most of the time.

Of course the league matters - because being a top player on a mediocre team in a mediocre league won't get you to UVA.

[Unregistered]

good advice. Never thought about a group ID event.

Within his club, are there kids that are in a similar spot on the roster (i.e., starter, one of the better players, perhaps play the same position) as your son? What level of play do they seem to be recruited for at the college level? Talk to their parents and see what their process has been - even if it was under a different set of recruiting regs.

For example, if your kid is a starting defensive mid who plays 65+ minutes a game and is one of the core players on the team, is there a similar kid 1 or 2 years older who is in a similar spot? If so, are those kids being recruited by D3's, low level D1's, etc.?

I think you're doing the right thing by trying to get an accurate gauge of your son's level. We did that with our daughter (benchmarked her against kids at the same position that were 2-3 years older than her). Once we saw that those kids were going to good D1 schools and getting good packages, we felt much more comfortable building our target school list.

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Of course the league matters - because being a top player on a mediocre team in a mediocre league won't get you to UVA.

What was absurd is the idea that parents can't deduce that starting versus sitting the bench tells you something.

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What was absurd is the idea that parents can't deduce that starting versus sitting the bench tells you something.

Unfortunately, there are always players or parents that believe that a kid on the bench is better than the kids starting. At times it's comical.

My daughter plays with a kid that is completely convinced that she should be starting and playing most of the game, yet doesn't realize that the ONLY reason why she wasn't cut from the team completely is because she's a senior and the school has a policy about cutting seniors.

And parents are far worse than kids. The worst of the lot are American Football dads (I am one), who never played soccer and tend to notice only the activities that are prized on the gridiron. They have no idea how the positions on the field connect, and easily obsess on only the most obvious things ("Mia is wicked fast." "Susie isn't afraid to run into other kids." "Lucy can kick the ball farther than anyone else."). They have no idea why their kid isn't starting, so they assume that it's a mistake.

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My first child (boy) is approaching what most consider a critical year. He is currently a sophmore. Don't want to be that dad that tells him "you're not good enough for x". But I don't want to be like most Dads and overestimate my kids abilities or ceiling. I'm sure it's easy to identify that top 1% player that played DA , was a starter , and an impact player. but then there is that top 5% group. I would "think" (correctly or incorrectly) that this is where my son would fit.
He has played NPL most of his time (on top NPL teams) or Premier Div 1 in the regional league. many of his teammates (who I think he is on par with) have played DA at points here and there. at younger ages they played against Oakwood and Seacoast United and I don't recall them ever losing. He was selected for Id2 training and was always invited back but we moved before they formed a team, don't know if he would've made it or not.
He was in 2 state cup championships. When his team went to jefferson cup they played the number 1 team in the country at the time STA-MUSC and his team won 3-0.

He goes to a school with 2300 students and made varsity as a freshman (was the only freshman on the team) he started and played every game. his team does well 13-1-1.
@ 15 years old he played in the ENPL nationals and played against 2019 NEFC U19 team that won the championship. I heard they had 6 players on that team that were going D1 and had 3 NE Revs players that were guest players. Although his team lost to NEFC he played well and looked like he could "keep up" He didn't look like a liability but didn't look dominant as he often does when he plays NPL when playing age appropriate.
His club is going ECNL next season and he currently is the best overall player on his team. His club also has a showcase team that takes the best players from U16-U19 and scrimmages against local D3 and D2 colleges and the games are competitive. win some lose some tie some.
We have yet to contact any schools to come see him play as we assumed any time before sophomore year was worthless. plus he was still growing (currently 6', but hasn't filled out yet so he is only 160lbs). NEFC had giants with muscle like THOR. So we are just starting our college visits.
During the last Disney showcase he was sent emails from two D3 colleges that they were very interested in him and wanted him to visit their campus and they were "officially recruiting him to play". So I know he has some level of talent but not sure if he is just a good D3 player, an average D2 player, or low level D1 player. So where do we go from here?

What state are you from? Much of what you’ve written here doesn’t make sense.

[Unregistered]

Just absurd. Parents know the difference between the top 2-3 stars on a team and benchwarmers. Now parents may object to their kid being a benchwarmer and cling to some denial, but they're not thinking that UVA is calling with a full ride if the kid is sitting the bench most of the time.

You would be surprised.

[Unregistered]

What state are you from? Much of what you’ve written here doesn’t make sense.

played in Mass for a couple years, then moved to Indiana, now live in Florida

[Unregistered]

Within his club, are there kids that are in a similar spot on the roster (i.e., starter, one of the better players, perhaps play the same position) as your son? What level of play do they seem to be recruited for at the college level? Talk to their parents and see what their process has been - even if it was under a different set of recruiting regs.

For example, if your kid is a starting defensive mid who plays 65+ minutes a game and is one of the core players on the team, is there a similar kid 1 or 2 years older who is in a similar spot? If so, are those kids being recruited by D3's, low level D1's, etc.?

I think you're doing the right thing by trying to get an accurate gauge of your son's level. We did that with our daughter (benchmarked her against kids at the same position that were 2-3 years older than her). Once we saw that those kids were going to good D1 schools and getting good packages, we felt much more comfortable building our target school list.

the reason why I (a florida resident) am on a mass forum is because it's weird down here, very few of his teammates want to play soccer in college, they all want to go to big party schools. there are only a small handful from his club that seem to be being groomed for college, one of the better players just committed to Florida Tech (which is a great school) and has a good D2 soccer team. it is one of the places we are considering but we are also thinking UNH and University of Vermont so I figured I might get more help from the more intellectual Mass forum--- the Florida forum is horrible.

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the reason why I (a florida resident) am on a mass forum is because it's weird down here, very few of his teammates want to play soccer in college, they all want to go to big party schools. there are only a small handful from his club that seem to be being groomed for college, one of the better players just committed to Florida Tech (which is a great school) and has a good D2 soccer team. it is one of the places we are considering but we are also thinking UNH and University of Vermont so I figured I might get more help from the more intellectual Mass forum--- the Florida forum is horrible.

I don't even think FL has any D3 schools do they? Just D1 and D2? The big D1s in FL are huge and it's highly unlikely a player with your son's resume stands a chance. Even UNH and Vermont would be a stretch - take a look at where their players come from and who plays the most. Speaking from experience lower 1/3 D1 would be the best targets, if he even wants D1 at all. If he wants to come back this way there are tons of great D3 schools where he'd probably play a lot (making the roster is one thing, playing is another). There's also a good network of club teams at the bigger schools - pretty good soccer, get to play other schools and travel, but no "commitment" at all.

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One of the best players in Mass high school history got a scholarship to play at UNH. Barely played and transferred to Keene State where he is one of the stars of that team.

[Unregistered]

I don't even think FL has any D3 schools do they? Just D1 and D2? The big D1s in FL are huge and it's highly unlikely a player with your son's resume stands a chance. Even UNH and Vermont would be a stretch - take a look at where their players come from and who plays the most. Speaking from experience lower 1/3 D1 would be the best targets, if he even wants D1 at all. If he wants to come back this way there are tons of great D3 schools where he'd probably play a lot (making the roster is one thing, playing is another). There's also a good network of club teams at the bigger schools - pretty good soccer, get to play other schools and travel, but no "commitment" at all.

The big D1's I agree wouldn't be interested. I looked at Vermont's roster and was surprised there were a few local kids as well as players from like GPS NH and other clubs. about 1/3 seem to be international kids. How do you tell who gets minutes? and who doesn't? and when you say lower 1/3 D1 schools , how do you identify them , like is there a list? I know some of these questions seem ridiculous but I was so focused on his grades and saving for College I really wasn't ever thinking playing in college was such a big deal, he seems to want to play at that level (he doesn't talk about wake forest, BC, or UNC ) so I think he is optimistically realistic of where he'd like to try, seems to gravitate to a student population less than 25,000. Not in a city setting, has a good soccer program, and has a good engineering program. We liked the vibe of Valpariso. we didn't go there thinking of college prospects just kinda found ourselves there. it felt like a good size and community. where Indiana university and UCF in florida are just too big.