Class of 2021 - Predictions for June 15?

[Unregistered]

It's her first taste of what job hunting is like. Similar principles apply - go for the best fit, not necessarily your dream job/team. You're much more likely to succeed

What’s interesting for us is my dd is late to the game after being out injured all last year and playing at a smaller club. Switched to a bigger club and targeted lower end D1, who mostly ignored her and didn’t come watch her play. However, she’s gotten serious interest from several mid to upper level D1s who she didn’t target but ended up seeing her play when they came to watch other girls play. At this late in the game, it’s harder to get anyone to add you to their list since they already have a full list of 2021s far into the process.

Our 2021 has also had mixed luck at Id camps. Some camps she’s outperformed the players they are recruiting (you can always tell who is in that group) but they don’t/aren’t paying any real attention to anyone else. Then at a few even better school id camps, the coaches have noticed her even though she’s not in the chosen group and contacted her afterwards expressing interest. It’s weird to see a D1 school where she’d likely be a starter completely ignore her but then have a better D1 be very interested. It seems quite random and based on each individual coach so it makes targeting tough.

Also have noticed that some coaches don’t seem to care about anything but previous accolades and will only look at a gda/ecnl player from a top team that looks great on paper over an “unknown” (not just my dd but others we’ve seen at camps) that are consistently outperforming the chosen ones at the multi day individual school camp. It appears to definitely be the case for new coaches and coaches on the hot seat who don’t want to be questioned for taking a player who doesn’t have an impressive bio even if they’re performing better directly against the impressive bio player.

It is an interesting and frustrating process but has also been fun and eye opening as far as politics continuing right on into the college game. Luckily, there are hundreds of decent programs and just as many good schools so I think everyone will end up finding a good fit in the end - it just might be somewhere completely different than you originally thought and it might well be on an even higher ranked college team.

[Unregistered]

The reason why New England coaches should and need to look everywhere not just wholesale clearinghouses .Or they are doing themselves and their schools and some kids a disservice.

[Unregistered]

Huge frustration for us is when my dd writes college coaches, they watch her play, she follows up, they ghost her except to constantly send her generic ID camp invites. Would be more honest if they would remove her from their mailing list or just flat out said they don’t think she would be a good fit.

Its the experience most have with most schools. Keep Head up

[Unregistered]

...
It’s weird to see a D1 school where she’d likely be a starter completely ignore her but then have a better D1 be very interested. It seems quite random and based on each individual coach so it makes targeting tough.

Also have noticed that some coaches don’t seem to care about anything but previous accolades and will only look at a gda/ecnl player from a top team that looks great on paper over an “unknown” (not just my dd but others we’ve seen at camps)
........
.

Is she particularly physical or fast? Higher level teams place premium on athleticism, and may also need players in practice that can simulate size/speed of next opponent.

As to Bio chasing, thats true in many walks of life. Swimming and Track are pure performance. Soccer, lacrosse, basketball are beauty pageants

[Unregistered]

The thing about being ignored by lower level coaches, but having interest from a higher one happened (is happening) with my 2021 son too. Odd, isn't it?

[Unregistered]

The thing about being ignored by lower level coaches, but having interest from a higher one happened (is happening) with my 2021 son too. Odd, isn't it?

Not really. Coaches look for different things. I have seen some kids spend a week bragging about how great they are at camps and pissed off the kids on the team. I’ve wondered if those kids make it through. It’s the same with crazy parents. Is a college coach interested? And to the poster talking about his daughter outperforming others at camp, maybe she did or maybe, just as likely, she didn’t, and very likely the coaches had seen some of the kids play many times. Take it as a good thing that “higher” interest is there, and pursue the programs, if it’s a fit, that are interested in them.

[Unregistered]

^ it's all superficial until serious discussions and an offer come about. You've got no idea who else the coach is looking at/has seen, where you stand on their target list, what needs they have for your recruiting year, and the official visit could scuttle things. Yes doing well* at an event is important but don't assume anything until the offer is in hand.

* also: what is "doing well"? Player or parent perception that they did well? That isn't necessarily what the staff saw.

[Unregistered]

The thing about being ignored by lower level coaches, but having interest from a higher one happened (is happening) with my 2021 son too. Odd, isn't it?

Happened to my daughter as well! Three D1 coaches with teams ranked around 200, basically emailed “Thank you... Good Luck”... but 3 D1 coaches of teams in the top 100 (one in the top 25!) emailed and then called asking for transcripts and arranging for good timing of unofficial and official visits. Obviously a great problem to have but it is very strange! My daughter said the coaches of the lower ranked teams seemed to have more tunnel vision on the girls they were already recruiting. Not sure if it’s laziness or just a desire to get those other girls signed and delivered. The coaches of the better teams seemed more at ease and really evaluating everyone. Maybe the higher ranked teams can’t afford to take lesser players if a better one presents itself because their competition is fierce. It did make us wonder if poor or political recruiting is part of the reason for the tunnel vision team coaches to be ranked 100 places lower than the more open to evaluate everyone coaches.

[Unregistered]

Happened to my daughter as well! Three D1 coaches with teams ranked around 200, basically emailed “Thank you... Good Luck”... but 3 D1 coaches of teams in the top 100 (one in the top 25!) emailed and then called asking for transcripts and arranging for good timing of unofficial and official visits. Obviously a great problem to have but it is very strange! My daughter said the coaches of the lower ranked teams seemed to have more tunnel vision on the girls they were already recruiting. Not sure if it’s laziness or just a desire to get those other girls signed and delivered. The coaches of the better teams seemed more at ease and really evaluating everyone. Maybe the higher ranked teams can’t afford to take lesser players if a better one presents itself because their competition is fierce. It did make us wonder if poor or political recruiting is part of the reason for the tunnel vision team coaches to be ranked 100 places lower than the more open to evaluate everyone coaches.

Or perhaps they thought they wouldn't be able to land your kid and didn't want to waste their time.

[Unregistered]

I've got the 2021 son. Yes, the team that's expressed interest in my son won the league, while other schools in the league and ranked much lower nationally are uninterested. I was thinking the same thing -- maybe one reason the top team is better is that they are better at recruiting, keeping a more open mind and casting a wider net?

[Unregistered]

The thing about being ignored by lower level coaches, but having interest from a higher one happened (is happening) with my 2021 son too. Odd, isn't it?

Why shop for something you are not going to be able to land. Coaches know what they are looking at where it projects. They had better or they won’t be employed at the college level for long:

[Unregistered]

Why shop for something you are not going to be able to land. Coaches know what they are looking at where it projects. They had better or they won’t be employed at the college level for long:

Glad you have such faith in coach infallibility! Or, at least the infallibility of the lower performing teams . . . Which, of course makes so much sense. Not.

[Unregistered]

Why shop for something you are not going to be able to land. Coaches know what they are looking at where it projects. They had better or they won’t be employed at the college level for long:

I think coaches typically go after the best they can get. Perhaps a player is targeting a bit lower in order to get more playing time and more scholarship money. Maybe they like the lower soccer’s college better because of location, major, academics, etc. In fact, my dd has lower than expected coaches talking her up all the time with the upsides. She has kept 2 of them on her list because of that.

In my own dd’s case, she definitely got the impression the lower coaches who “ignored” her just didn’t want to bother looking at someone new. Maybe they didn’t want to anger the club’s of the girls they were already recruiting, idk. However, in all cases, it was the coach of a team that was in the bottom of their own league, and I can’t help but wonder if that kind of recruiting tunnel vision is why they are at the bottom.

In another case, we found out later they had been recruiting a different player at the same club so her own club coaches may have wanted the other girl to get that spot - knowing my dd had other good options. Who knows but it is surprising and funny at the same time. Also sad but not surprising that soccer politics don’t end at college.

[Unregistered]

I think coaches typically go after the best they can get. Perhaps a player is targeting a bit lower in order to get more playing time and more scholarship money. Maybe they like the lower soccer’s college better because of location, major, academics, etc. In fact, my dd has lower than expected coaches talking her up all the time with the upsides. She has kept 2 of them on her list because of that.

In my own dd’s case, she definitely got the impression the lower coaches who “ignored” her just didn’t want to bother looking at someone new. Maybe they didn’t want to anger the club’s of the girls they were already recruiting, idk. However, in all cases, it was the coach of a team that was in the bottom of their own league, and I can’t help but wonder if that kind of recruiting tunnel vision is why they are at the bottom.

In another case, we found out later they had been recruiting a different player at the same club so her own club coaches may have wanted the other girl to get that spot - knowing my dd had other good options. Who knows but it is surprising and funny at the same time. Also sad but not surprising that soccer politics don’t end at college.

Just like any other profession, there are coaches who know what they are doing and those that don’t. Pointless to try to figure out what they are all thinking. Only thing to concentrate on is finding the right program for your dd. That’s where she can be a contributor to a team going in the right direction and can get a solid education. Once you find ones that meet that criteria, then you and the coach are likely on the same page. It’s more like you recruiting them than them recruiting you. You need to apply the same scrutiny to a coach’s record that they apply when evaluating recruits.

[Unregistered]

Any updates?
Surely some visits have passed. What offers emerged?