Daughter would like to go to school in the south but not many of those schools she's interested in go to her events. She plays USYS National League and does Jeff Cup and Bethesda. Due to where we live (not from Mass but this board usually has some good advice), DA is not an option and the only ECNL team even remotely close is terrible, bottom of the league. Her current team is always two or three flights ahead of the that team at the showcases and still gets better results. I know everybody says ECNL will get more college looks, but is that really the case if it's a bad ECNL team? Assuming it is and she stays at the current team, how to get interest from coaches farther away? I know ID clinics are one way, but obviously she can't travel to all the potential schools for those (she's only a freshman so the target list is still pretty big). Any advice?
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Videos of play. -
Ha, you must live west of Springfield and have FSA as your only option! :)Originally posted by Unregistered View PostComment
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ID camps. My kids originally wanted to go south too, but after playing there for various events, realized it was not where she wanted to go (despite having interest). Have her attend a camp or two in the sweltering heat/humidity in the summer. It may change her mind.Originally posted by Unregistered View PostComment
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So your advice on how to get her noticed is instead advice on how to get her to change her mind? So lets assume the OP does that and she still wants to go south? Any advice?Originally posted by Unregistered View PostComment
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Or it's a related anecdote about their experience to contribute to a discussion thread on a discussion board.Originally posted by Unregistered View PostComment
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Putting soccer aside, best advice is to narrow down the schools and figure out why she wants to go down south to begin with. Saying you want to go “down south” is a really broad statement - does she want to study poolside in Miami or in backwoods Mississippi? There are literally hundreds of colleges in the dozen or so southern states so I’d work on a short list before going overboard.
Once you narrow down the schools to your top 20 or so, then you can contact the coaches and express interest. Sending a short video of her playing in a couple games would help.Comment
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Already narrowed to 15 based on school preferences and soccer/school fit and sent emails. Was hoping more of the 15 would be at Jeff cup so I guess next step would be video.Originally posted by Unregistered View PostComment
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Along with that I'd add taking a hard look at the rosters of those schools - do players have a similar resume to hers? Targeting the right programs is just as important as targeting the right academic fit. Send them start a highlight reel, just 2-3 minutes, an introductory email with any accolades, where she plays (and make sure to include her coach contact information) and explain that she's not nearby but is very interested in the program. Also offer to send more footage if they want it. Then have your D do a followup phone call or better have your club coach call to gauge interest. they're more likely to be forthcoming if they know there's a flight involved vs someone a two hour drive awayOriginally posted by Unregistered View Post
One of my kids wanted much further away - it was a challenge and also costly. His tournaments didn't frequently overlap with the schools he wanted. Even if they see you at an event most times they still want you to come to their event. It really forced him to focus on his top schools because there wasn't enough time or $ in our budget to do his entire list. The upside is she can tour the campus while there and the area, saving another trip.Comment
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Make sure she says in her intro email what events her team plays in. Schools further away may not be as familiar with her club or league, so name dropping Jeff Cup or other good events is helpful.Originally posted by Unregistered View PostComment
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In the same situation as you. D wants to play in the south. We targeted FL schools at first and are branching out a little. It's hard when every camp or event near them is a plane ride and multi night hotel stay. ECNL on a bad team is better than National League on a good team if you want to be seen by a lot of schools. Still though, you need to go to ID camps. We are frustrated, but still hopeful.Comment
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College showcases are good, but you just can’t assume because a school/coach is listed as attending that they’ll be able to see your d. Being on an ECNL team doesn’t even guarantee that either. At an event like Jeff Cup, there are usually quite a few potential recruits they are trying to check out. Unless you or your club coach get contacted by the college coach inquiring where they can see her, I wouldn’t bet they’ll be on the sidelines at your d’s game or that one game is all they would want to see before extending an offer. You are definitely going to have to do ID camps.Comment
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