College Recruiting - Tournaments v "Clinics"

[Unregistered]

What age should one be to attend a clinic? My son received an invite a few days ago but he is only a Freshman and figure he might be a bit young. Thoughts appreciated from those who have done this.

According to some of the gurus here you are already way behind. Helps if he knows his future major too and has an eye for assessing the science facilities.

[Unregistered]

What age should one be to attend a clinic? My son received an invite a few days ago but he is only a Freshman and figure he might be a bit young. Thoughts appreciated from those who have done this.

Now!!! Freshman year is great. Sophomore year is perfect. If you have the time and money and you think he will have a good time, then he should take any opportunity, especially if it is local.

[Unregistered]

The point that is often made in support of clinics is that it's only ~$100 vs the cost of a tournament. While that is true, it only applies if 1) you are able to judge that the school is the proper soccer level for you and 2) you fill a need that the coach has.

Compare it to a tournament where you can send invitiations to 20+ coaches who are attending and they can come by your game and quickly judge your fit for their school. Think about the time for each tournament where you can be seen by numerous schools compared to the number of camps you would have to travel to the get seen by a similar number of schools.

Camps are great if you know where you fit. I think they are a great way to get to know a coach, a program and a school better AFTER you KNOW you have a possibility of being a fit.

But, going to camps cold, with the intention of being recruited is sort of like cold calling potential employers and hoping to find a job. It can happen, but I wouldn't count on it.

[Unregistered]

The point that is often made in support of clinics is that it's only ~$100 vs the cost of a tournament. While that is true, it only applies if 1) you are able to judge that the school is the proper soccer level for you and 2) you fill a need that the coach has.

Compare it to a tournament where you can send invitiations to 20+ coaches who are attending and they can come by your game and quickly judge your fit for their school. Think about the time for each tournament where you can be seen by numerous schools compared to the number of camps you would have to travel to the get seen by a similar number of schools.

Camps are great if you know where you fit. I think they are a great way to get to know a coach, a program and a school better AFTER you KNOW you have a possibility of being a fit.

But, going to camps cold, with the intention of being recruited is sort of like cold calling potential employers and hoping to find a job. It can happen, but I wouldn't count on it.

I completely disagree if it is a local clinic. I would not fly my child to a college if I they weren't already interested in her and if the college was top on her list. But that doesn't mean that it wouldn't be beneficial. Clinics are a perfect way to get noticed. It is hard to get a coach to come watch your game at a tournament. If you have been to their clinic, then you can reference that, talk about how much you enjoyed the experience, and ask them to come see you at your next game. At the clinic, work your ass off to get noticed. Coaches pull players aside all the time. My daughter is still being hounded by a coach from a clinic she did as a Freshman. She hasn't done one at that college since or asked them to come watch her play and she is still on their mind. You can really get noticed.

[Unregistered]

I completely disagree if it is a local clinic. I would not fly my child to a college if I they weren't already interested in her and if the college was top on her list. But that doesn't mean that it wouldn't be beneficial. Clinics are a perfect way to get noticed. It is hard to get a coach to come watch your game at a tournament. If you have been to their clinic, then you can reference that, talk about how much you enjoyed the experience, and ask them to come see you at your next game. At the clinic, work your ass off to get noticed. Coaches pull players aside all the time. My daughter is still being hounded by a coach from a clinic she did as a Freshman. She hasn't done one at that college since or asked them to come watch her play and she is still on their mind. You can really get noticed.

As I said before:
clinics are good for getting noticed if:
1) you are able to judge that the school is the proper soccer level for you and
2) you fill a need that the coach has.

It is easier to take a shot with a local school. Not much lost if it doesn't work out.

If your player is still being pursued from a clinic more than a year ago without showing any further interest then it's pretty obvious that she meets #2 above. As for #1 I'd say she is probably above the average skill level of the school and thus the school isn't a good fit for her.

[Unregistered]

Tournaments are often hit or miss. Weather, the teams performance, as well as the uncertainty and timing of when specific coaches show, all make them less than ideal. ( I know why the soccer industrial complex sell$ them though! )

Clinics are an intense, extended opportunity to perform and meet a specific coach and program. If can be tough for many teens to target the proper academic and athletic level. But when they can, clinics are the absolute best way to know quickly whether a specific school is a fit.

[Unregistered]

Does anyone have any insight to how a college coach whether at d1, d2 or d3 comprises their recruiting list? It's fairly obvious that they have top players they will pursue but what happens to the others they are interested in and what happens as they realize they will actually get their top picks or not.

[Unregistered]

Does anyone have any insight to how a college coach whether at d1, d2 or d3 comprises their recruiting list? It's fairly obvious that they have top players they will pursue but what happens to the others they are interested in and what happens as they realize they will actually get their top picks or not.

See if this would be a common d3 scenario: working backward, coach wants to have 6-8 kids make the team as freshmen. Coach therefore wants 10-15 new recruits to be trying out each year, arriving on campus in August. Of those 10-15, maybe 3-4 are the ones coach considered solid enough that coach communicated to admissions office that these applicants could contribute to the success of the team. The other 10 recruits could also make the team and become contributors, but coach feels less certainty about them. Coach communicates to admissions office that these applicants are varsity-caliber soccer players. To get this number of players matriculating, coach is actually communicating this about even more applicants, perhaps twice as many, to account for those who choose to attend another college or are not accepted by admissions. This is why you hear that coaches highly encourage students to apply Early Decision. That process makes these numbers far more manageable for the coach. For the coach to get to that point, coach would like to see as many potential applicants as possible in an August-tryout type of environment. Hence the summer camps for prospective applicants in which campers who have finished junior year of high school are being most closely evaluated. Coach would probably desire 50 or more such kids at camp. To get the kids in camp, coach typically uses some combination of referrals from admissions office and attending club league and tournament games to watch players who contacted coach directly.

[Unregistered]

See if this would be a common d3 scenario: working backward, coach wants to have 6-8 kids make the team as freshmen. Coach therefore wants 10-15 new recruits to be trying out each year, arriving on campus in August. Of those 10-15, maybe 3-4 are the ones coach considered solid enough that coach communicated to admissions office that these applicants could contribute to the success of the team. The other 10 recruits could also make the team and become contributors, but coach feels less certainty about them. Coach communicates to admissions office that these applicants are varsity-caliber soccer players. To get this number of players matriculating, coach is actually communicating this about even more applicants, perhaps twice as many, to account for those who choose to attend another college or are not accepted by admissions. This is why you hear that coaches highly encourage students to apply Early Decision. That process makes these numbers far more manageable for the coach. For the coach to get to that point, coach would like to see as many potential applicants as possible in an August-tryout type of environment. Hence the summer camps for prospective applicants in which campers who have finished junior year of high school are being most closely evaluated. Coach would probably desire 50 or more such kids at camp. To get the kids in camp, coach typically uses some combination of referrals from admissions office and attending club league and tournament games to watch players who contacted coach directly.

In most cases recruited athletes are expected to make the roster.

If a school holds a tryout it is 1) to see if the recruited athetes showed up in shape or 2) to see if there is an amazing walkon shows up that he missed.

[Unregistered]

I have been told that D3 coaches start the earliest and track the largest number of players. One NEWMAC coach told me that he starts with a pool of about 300 prospects with a hope of getting 10 of those to actually come to his school and 4-5 to actually play for him more than 1 year.

[Unregistered]

In most cases recruited athletes are expected to make the roster.

If a school holds a tryout it is 1) to see if the recruited athetes showed up in shape or 2) to see if there is an amazing walkon shows up that he missed.

Keep in mind the roster will consist of 24 - 28 players. Most of the freshmen will make unless they clearly show they cannot play at the collegiate level.

Tryouts are used to weed out the sophs and juniors who longer have the potential to help the program. No coach likes to cut or senior or have a senior on the roster who will not play.

[Unregistered]

I have been told that D3 coaches start the earliest and track the largest number of players. One NEWMAC coach told me that he starts with a pool of about 300 prospects with a hope of getting 10 of those to actually come to his school and 4-5 to actually play for him more than 1 year.

I highly doubt the typical d3 coach starts before the typical d1 coach.

Their process from first recruiting contact to last recruiting contact is probably longer because their commitments will typically be later but top d1 coaches start their scouting with 8th graders looking to get commitments late freshman year or later that summer. Very few, if any, d3 coaches start that early.

[Unregistered]

D1 and d2 coaches will go hard for their top recruits anywhere from freshman year until they hear the choice is otherwise. It is typical around Jan of junior year for coaches to have a sense who they are getting from their top picks. after that it could be any body's guess and I have seen senior commit in Dec to D1 and D2 programs.

[Unregistered]

Keep in mind the roster will consist of 24 - 28 players. Most of the freshmen will make unless they clearly show they cannot play at the collegiate level.

Tryouts are used to weed out the sophs and juniors who longer have the potential to help the program. No coach likes to cut or senior or have a senior on the roster who will not play.

Since NESCAC is popular here, let's use those schools as a d3 example. Looking at a handful for fall 2012, on average their rosters had: 9 First, 7 Soph, 5 Jr and 6 Sr.

[Unregistered]

Keep in mind the roster will consist of 24 - 28 players. Most of the freshmen will make unless they clearly show they cannot play at the collegiate level.

Tryouts are used to weed out the sophs and juniors who longer have the potential to help the program. No coach likes to cut or senior or have a senior on the roster who will not play.

Last poster wanted to look at it from the D3 NESCAC experience. The above poster is spot on. Most recruited incoming players (frosh) are guaranteed a roster spot for the first year only (unless they show up woefully out of shape and not ready to play). You may get 1 or 2 max walk on (non recruited) frosh who may make the roster--usually because they are decent players but probably because they outperform the rest of the recruited team in pre-season fitness (they can really run--fast and distance--likely track athletes who play soccer). Most of the cuts are to the soph and jr class who haven't really played or are very unlikely to play going forward. Seniors are rarely cut and they may hang on to 1 or 2 who won't play senior year (and are told so) because underclassmen are better. After freshman year there are no guaranteed roster spots in the NESCAC teams I am familiar with, nor is there any guaranteed playing time just because you played a significant starter or reserve role the previous year. Every year is a new year and new team, and typically the best players play--doesn't matter what year, however the NESCAC is a very physical D3 league, thus injuries are very prevelant, thus in most years most of the roster will see some playing time due to injuries and the NESCAC's condensed schedule over a short period of time. Hope that helps.