ID Camps & assistant coaches

[Unregistered]

My 17 year old is a junior in HS, and looking to attend some ID camps this spring/summer. I know he should target the camps at schools he is interested in, but the list of schools he is interested in is long and he hasn't yet narrowed it down, nor visited more than 4 or 5 schools. He has some interest from coaches, and he will be attending a few of those smaller camps. He would like to get the attention of a few other coaches/schools and they are attending some of the bigger camps (PPA, etc) , but sending the asst coaches and not the head coaches. I am basically talking Ivies and NESCACs, not top D1 powerhouses which I'm guessing have likely identified their class of 2019 boys already.

Is attending the bigger camps worth it? Do the asst coaches have any power, or they will just say "come to our camp' to get the player in front of the head coach?

[Unregistered]

My 17 year old is a junior in HS, and looking to attend some ID camps this spring/summer. I know he should target the camps at schools he is interested in, but the list of schools he is interested in is long and he hasn't yet narrowed it down, nor visited more than 4 or 5 schools. He has some interest from coaches, and he will be attending a few of those smaller camps. He would like to get the attention of a few other coaches/schools and they are attending some of the bigger camps (PPA, etc) , but sending the asst coaches and not the head coaches. I am basically talking Ivies and NESCACs, not top D1 powerhouses which I'm guessing have likely identified their class of 2019 boys already.

Is attending the bigger camps worth it? Do the asst coaches have any power, or they will just say "come to our camp' to get the player in front of the head coach?

That's exactly what they'll say. Ultimately decisions are made by head coaches, not assistants. The assistants act as filters. The HC will want to see the player in person as well as meet them, get to know them. If attending an on campus event you can use that time to tour the campus (although personally I'm not a fan of going in the summer because campus is dead). There are some local multi-school events that get HC attendance. Your son should contact programs he's interested in and ask them what events they will be attending.

[Unregistered]

My 17 year old is a junior in HS, and looking to attend some ID camps this spring/summer. I know he should target the camps at schools he is interested in, but the list of schools he is interested in is long and he hasn't yet narrowed it down, nor visited more than 4 or 5 schools. He has some interest from coaches, and he will be attending a few of those smaller camps. He would like to get the attention of a few other coaches/schools and they are attending some of the bigger camps (PPA, etc) , but sending the asst coaches and not the head coaches. I am basically talking Ivies and NESCACs, not top D1 powerhouses which I'm guessing have likely identified their class of 2019 boys already.

Is attending the bigger camps worth it? Do the asst coaches have any power, or they will just say "come to our camp' to get the player in front of the head coach?

Isn't junior year little late? I am not being critical...just curious. My son is a freshman...and I had the same question about asst coaches at ID camps. It seems I get an email every other day about a camp with an aggregate of decent schools but it's always the asst coaches. We can't attend all the college summer camps we would like...not enough time in the summer. So the aggregate ID camps seem like a great idea. But I've heard mixed reviews.

Also, what is the GPA range for your son? And, what level is your son playing at (DA? ECNL? NEP?)...again, not being critical...just trying to learn more since my son plays D1 high school and ECNL. He's only a freshman but his GPA is probably going to finish this year in the 3.7-3.8 range. Unless his GPA goes up dramatically we won't be able to look at Ivies but maybe NESCAC and low D1. I'm just trying to figure out the path of the next three years and comparative information is helpful.

[Unregistered]

Isn't junior year little late? I am not being critical...just curious. My son is a freshman...and I had the same question about asst coaches at ID camps. It seems I get an email every other day about a camp with an aggregate of decent schools but it's always the asst coaches. We can't attend all the college summer camps we would like...not enough time in the summer. So the aggregate ID camps seem like a great idea. But I've heard mixed reviews.

Also, what is the GPA range for your son? And, what level is your son playing at (DA? ECNL? NEP?)...again, not being critical...just trying to learn more since my son plays D1 high school and ECNL. He's only a freshman but his GPA is probably going to finish this year in the 3.7-3.8 range. Unless his GPA goes up dramatically we won't be able to look at Ivies but maybe NESCAC and low D1. I'm just trying to figure out the path of the next three years and comparative information is helpful.

Not the poster but he did say his kid isn't top D1 prospect. For lower level D1 and especially D3 then no it isn't too late at all. Top D1 kids will be sophomore into early junior year while kids like your son will be busy later junior year into early senior year, especially D3. Boys are not on the same timetable as girls; they're at least a year later. And with practically no money at stake in men's soccer it can make for a more sane process.

Doing 1-2 ID events with schools he's not necessarily interested in can be helpful to get a sense of where he might fit in. Also, those invites are off mass mailing lists. It means nothing. Unless he gets an email from a coach that has actually seen him play and it's very specific (James I saw you play at X showcase in this game and I liked what you did ...." ). Since college coaches can't technically contact your son at this age those mass emails are all they can send. If a coach is really interested in your kid he'll contact his club coach and say "Tell James to call me when I'm in the office Tuesday between 1 and 5." Since you're son is a freshman most likely he hasn't done any substantive showcases yet and most coaches won't be looking at players that young yet unless they're top porspects

[Unregistered]

Isn't junior year little late? I am not being critical...just curious. My son is a freshman...and I had the same question about asst coaches at ID camps. It seems I get an email every other day about a camp with an aggregate of decent schools but it's always the asst coaches. We can't attend all the college summer camps we would like...not enough time in the summer. So the aggregate ID camps seem like a great idea. But I've heard mixed reviews.

Also, what is the GPA range for your son? And, what level is your son playing at (DA? ECNL? NEP?)...again, not being critical...just trying to learn more since my son plays D1 high school and ECNL. He's only a freshman but his GPA is probably going to finish this year in the 3.7-3.8 range. Unless his GPA goes up dramatically we won't be able to look at Ivies but maybe NESCAC and low D1. I'm just trying to figure out the path of the next three years and comparative information is helpful.

First coaches can't reach out to your son until Sept Junior year. Have your son initiate contact and then they can talk to you. My son is playing Div. 1 this fall. He played DAP and High School. He went to a few ID clinics and that is how he initially got recruited for his college. Then he sent his schedules and kept in constant contact with the coach. Before that, he had sent multiple emails to college coaches with his soccer resume. He got an email response on 3/4's of the email he sent.

I highly recommend that during your search you always respond to coaches even if you are not interested in their school. Coaches move around as well and you never know whom your next coach might be.

Don't get your hopes up for scholarships as soccer is limited in the number they give and foreign students tend to get them as an enticement to come over. All the more reason to keep those grades up and get merit scholarships. On average there is much more money to give than athletic, plus it gives the coach flexibility.

Best of Luck

[Unregistered]

First coaches can't reach out to your son until Sept Junior year. Have your son initiate contact and then they can talk to you. My son is playing Div. 1 this fall. He played DAP and High School. He went to a few ID clinics and that is how he initially got recruited for his college. Then he sent his schedules and kept in constant contact with the coach. Before that, he had sent multiple emails to college coaches with his soccer resume. He got an email response on 3/4's of the email he sent.

I highly recommend that during your search you always respond to coaches even if you are not interested in their school. Coaches move around as well and you never know whom your next coach might be.

Don't get your hopes up for scholarships as soccer is limited in the number they give and foreign students tend to get them as an enticement to come over. All the more reason to keep those grades up and get merit scholarships. On average there is much more money to give than athletic, plus it gives the coach flexibility.

Best of Luck

Both posts 4 and 5...great info...thank you. Quick question...what was included in the resume you mentioned above. Is it more of a list of info/stats or is it highlight video?

Thanks again!

[Unregistered]

OP here. He met several NESCAC coaches over the summer who were still looking at rising seniors. They were not yet looking at rising juniors. The coaches said they can’t get an academic read on players until like June 1 of their junior year, or early summer before their senior year, so they do nothing with them until then. The coaches we met were still trying to fill their rosters and only looking at rising seniors when we met with them over the summer of 2017. The coaches said Ivies are done a bit earlier, and D1 well before that.

Last year he did a few of the bigger camps and was identified there by a few NESCACS. He plays NPL and recently scored a 32 on his ACT, and is looking for academic fit over soccer. He is prepared to not play soccer if need be.

I will say that last fall, he played at Loomis ( I think it was Loomis) pre season, and they had more coaches per square foot than any club tournament we have ever been to, and we are hoping the team returns there. (And no, we are not wealthy prep parents). Club has not been what we had hoped for as far as exposure goes.

The hard part of course is narrowing down the 3 or 4 camps he will attend when his list is big with a few big reach schools, and not wasting his time and our money attending camps that aren’t productive

Isn't junior year little late? I am not being critical...just curious. My son is a freshman...and I had the same question about asst coaches at ID camps. It seems I get an email every other day about a camp with an aggregate of decent schools but it's always the asst coaches. We can't attend all the college summer camps we would like...not enough time in the summer. So the aggregate ID camps seem like a great idea. But I've heard mixed reviews.

Also, what is the GPA range for your son? And, what level is your son playing at (DA? ECNL? NEP?)...again, not being critical...just trying to learn more since my son plays D1 high school and ECNL. He's only a freshman but his GPA is probably going to finish this year in the 3.7-3.8 range. Unless his GPA goes up dramatically we won't be able to look at Ivies but maybe NESCAC and low D1. I'm just trying to figure out the path of the next three years and comparative information is helpful.

[Unregistered]

Both posts 4 and 5...great info...thank you. Quick question...what was included in the resume you mentioned above. Is it more of a list of info/stats or is it highlight video?

Thanks again!

The resume listed:

Current and old coach references
Current and old teams he played for
Links to any articles on him
Links to video
Links to known schedules
Grades ACT/SAT/GPA
Soccer awards and achievements
Contact info

[Unregistered]

OP here. He met several NESCAC coaches over the summer who were still looking at rising seniors. They were not yet looking at rising juniors. The coaches said they can’t get an academic read on players until like June 1 of their junior year, or early summer before their senior year, so they do nothing with them until then. The coaches we met were still trying to fill their rosters and only looking at rising seniors when we met with them over the summer of 2017. The coaches said Ivies are done a bit earlier, and D1 well before that.

Last year he did a few of the bigger camps and was identified there by a few NESCACS. He plays NPL and recently scored a 32 on his ACT, and is looking for academic fit over soccer. He is prepared to not play soccer if need be.

I will say that last fall, he played at Loomis ( I think it was Loomis) pre season, and they had more coaches per square foot than any club tournament we have ever been to, and we are hoping the team returns there. (And no, we are not wealthy prep parents). Club has not been what we had hoped for as far as exposure goes.

The hard part of course is narrowing down the 3 or 4 camps he will attend when his list is big with a few big reach schools, and not wasting his time and our money attending camps that aren’t productive

I will say my son got more exposure playing High School and club than he did in DAP. That is not usually the case, but his HS team was excellent and so is his current NPL team. He got lots of exposure from New England colleges because of it.

Coaches want to see you son play and there is no harm in emailing coaches telling them your schedule and where/when you will be playing. Invite them to come watch.

College ID camps are money makers for the soccer teams. Unless you are a standout going to multiple is a waste of time. Focus on the college he is interested in. Like I said unless you stand out you're just giving money to the school. Be realistic about your chances or playing at the school. Afterall you are there to get a degree and soccer is just an added bonus.

[Unregistered]

The resume listed:

Current and old coach references
Current and old teams he played for
Links to any articles on him
Links to video
Links to known schedules
Grades ACT/SAT/GPA
Soccer awards and achievements
Contact info

To OP: have your son send all that information then have your club DOC or coach reach out to the college coaches to see if there is genuine interest. You're right in trying to not waste your time with little to no chance. The more targeted it is the better the chance of success.

[Unregistered]

To OP: have your son send all that information then have your club DOC or coach reach out to the college coaches to see if there is genuine interest. You're right in trying to not waste your time with little to no chance. The more targeted it is the better the chance of success.

This is probably the most helpful and interesting thread i've ever read on TS.

Thanks!!