D1 college soccer without ever playing on a club team?

As for football it is true that basically no alternatives exist for HS play. However, less and less of the recruiting done in football is based on league HS play and more and more is done through combines, all-star games and recruiting assistance services. The important thing to understand is that football has so few real refined skills that are necessary for success but it is so much about size, speed, strength, quickness and agressivemess. Trust me a 6'6'' 275 pounder who can run a 4.6 40, show solid lateral quickness, enough explosiveness in the broad jump and vertical leap and bench press 225 lbs. 17 times will land a D1 scholarship even if they worked every Friday night at the local A&P and never saw a HS snap.

[Cujo]

As for football it is true that basically no alternatives exist for HS play. However, less and less of the recruiting done in football is based on league HS play and more and more is done through combines, all-star games and recruiting assistance services. The important thing to understand is that football has so few real refined skills that are necessary for success but it is so much about size, speed, strength, quickness and agressivemess. Trust me a 6'6'' 275 pounder who can run a 4.6 40, show solid lateral quickness, enough explosiveness in the broad jump and vertical leap and bench press 225 lbs. 17 times will land a D1 scholarship even if they worked every Friday night at the local A&P and never saw a HS snap.

True but it is also interesting to note that teams like the Patriots put less stock in the combine than other teams do. The smart coaches do not measure athletes with yardsticks and stopwatches. If they did players like Troy Brown and Wes Welker never would have played a down in the NFL. Jack Parker is particularly adamant that coaches need to evaluate players with their eyes. There are some players that just "get it" despite not posssessing the physical attributes that you typically look for. Who would have thought that Kirby Puckett or Dustin Pedroia would excel with their body types. I know there are alot of people that want to sound the death knell for HS sports but I think that is premature. They are far from over.