RI is a CRAP Soccer State

[Unregistered]

You are overestimating scholarship numbers. For girls, schools only have 3 or 4 per class. Signing classes exceed that number meaning some players are not receiving scholarship money. If you are looking at club soccer as an investment, it is one with high risk.

Div 1 programs that are fully funded have 14 soccer scholarships for women, 9 for men. That is split among the entire roster. The majority of female recruits will get 40-60%. Very few full scholarships. For males it’s significantly less and there’s much more competition from international players on the men’s side (although the women’s side is seeing more and more international players). Historically, you will see significant percentages of the top girls teams from Stars, NEFC, Scorpions and even Select go D1 or Ivy (percentage varies by club). Very few of those will be P5 (maybe 1-3 per club per year). On the boys side, the number of kids going D1 from New England is significantly less. Revs will have the majority of those kids. The majority of boys that do commit from non-MLS clubs will see very little money (10-25% is more common because the pool of cash is much smaller (9 scholarships with typical roster size of 25+). The truth is that some parents and kids get so caught up on “D1 or bust”, that their kids probably miss out on great opportunities at D2 schools (probably more athletic $$) and/or D3 schools (some top tier academic opportunities and more merit $$).

If your kid is playing at the higher levels and is working toward playing in college, you already know this. No parent should be looking at club soccer for a “return on investment”. However, a strong player can certainly use athletics to gain admission to a top school (if you have a talented soccer player that is a fantastic student, they will have some nice options—coaches love quality players that bump up the team AI). If your kid can get 40%+ in athletic money (common for girls, not for boys), that’s probably a win. Obviously, Ivys can’t give athletic money.

Bottom line—parents of younger kids often don’t realize how limited the amount of D1 athletic money is out there for non-revenue sports (anything that isn’t football, men’s and women’s basketball, or men’s hockey). Youth sports should not be looked at as an investment.

[Unregistered]

I think we are saying basically the same thing and I agree parents with younger kids are often surprised at the amount of or lack thereof of scholarship money available. The Ally Sentnor’s of the world get full rides, everyone else gets 40 to 50 percent, which is still around 100k at most schools. Which I think we all agree is crazy.
I think where We depart is on girls club soccer being an investment during the later middle school and high school years. The reality is you can be a phenomenal soccer player and dynamite student but will not sniff a scholarship offer if a coach hasn’t watched you play at least 5 or 6 times. The old adage that if you are good enough they will find you is simply not the case any longer. Clubs that play in the ENCL and DA get their players scene and also give you a good idea which colleges are truly interested. They also do a very good job in helping you navigate the college recruiting scene/rules. Which is very hard and a lot to digest as a parent. The recruiting rules changed at least twice as I remember.
A college coach can do a season’s worth of recruiting at 2 or 3 showcases. I just don’t believe they are going to RI high school games or mid level club matches any longer.
But as stated and I think we can all agree that elite clubs are expensive and travel adds up quickly. Not to mention the ID clinics and camps. It seems silly to pay that if your kid isn’t division 1 caliber or Ivy League. I think as a parent you have to decide if the club fees, time, travel and effort are worth it. It’s a massive investment.