HS or Club for Recruiting?

[Guest]

My kid has big dreams (don’t they all!) but I’m new to the youth soccer industrial complex, hah. I know their club team will get them exposure at showcases, national events, etc. but I’m wondering if HS soccer is helpful, too. They’ll definitely play for the social/community aspect, but is being a big fish in a little pond at a public school beneficial?

[Guest]

I will only say that the school where my D is committed - a D1 school that is 'decent' (made the NCAA's last year but not a consistent participant) stated flatly they pay no attention to HS. They don't watch games, nor watch any videos that are based on HS content. The play is so generally poor that it means nothing to them.

Others I am sure will chime in with their experiences.

[Guest]

My kid has big dreams (don’t they all!) but I’m new to the youth soccer industrial complex, hah. I know their club team will get them exposure at showcases, national events, etc. but I’m wondering if HS soccer is helpful, too. They’ll definitely play for the social/community aspect, but is being a big fish in a little pond at a public school beneficial?

Almost no players are recruited via HS or are HS only players. There may be the occasional walk on player on low level programs who only played HS but also was an outstanding multi sport athlete. A local coach might come watch a local game to check out a player but even that is rare. They pay little attention to HS awards (although early on All State awards makes a strong bullet point on the resume). The level of HS play just isn't the same as the better leagues, and obviously a very short season. All the other players fighting for college spots play Aug-June.

But is it even realistic for your player to make a decently high level team and get a lot of PT? Does your player really want to play in college? Will they put in the hard work? Can you afford the time and $ investment? Because it's unlikely they'd earn any scholarship money.

Lots of bigger schools have club teams - they play other colleges, travel, even have playoffs.

[Guest]

Almost no players are recruited via HS or are HS only players. There may be the occasional walk on player on low level programs who only played HS but also was an outstanding multi sport athlete. A local coach might come watch a local game to check out a player but even that is rare. They pay little attention to HS awards (although early on All State awards makes a strong bullet point on the resume). The level of HS play just isn't the same as the better leagues, and obviously a very short season. All the other players fighting for college spots play Aug-June.

But is it even realistic for your player to make a decently high level team and get a lot of PT? Does your player really want to play in college? Will they put in the hard work? Can you afford the time and $ investment? Because it's unlikely they'd earn any scholarship money.

Lots of bigger schools have club teams - they play other colleges, travel, even have playoffs.

ONLY 1% of HS soccer players go on to play D1. Chew on that….

[Guest]

Only some of the private schools get involved in soccer recruiting. If your kid wants to play in college, get them at PDA, MFA….

[Guest]

The Club team where my kid goes is made up almost entirely of Former ECNL players. It’s an option for kids who still want to play.

[Guest]

My kid has big dreams (don’t they all!) but I’m new to the youth soccer industrial complex, hah. I know their club team will get them exposure at showcases, national events, etc. but I’m wondering if HS soccer is helpful, too. They’ll definitely play for the social/community aspect, but is being a big fish in a little pond at a public school beneficial?

Direct quote from college coach “we cannot come see you play at your HS. There are kids from all over the country and even some internationally. Imagine we went to see every HS during our own fall season?! How would that be possible? So no, I will never see you play in HS. “. It’s logistically impossible.

[Guest]

D’s high school team was pretty good. Had a D2 coach come to one of their state tournament games (Group 2 sectional quarterfinals) and inquired heavily about all the seniors on the team (even the ones who didn’t play club). So recruiting from HS soccer seems possible depending on your objectives.

[Guest]

Direct quote from college coach “we cannot come see you play at your HS. There are kids from all over the country and even some internationally. Imagine we went to see every HS during our own fall season?! How would that be possible? So no, I will never see you play in HS. “. It’s logistically impossible.

Agreed. Plus, remember for the schools that play HS soccer in the fall (not the entire country, but most and almost all on the east coast), it's the same time as the college season so they are a little busy right now.

[Guest]

Agreed. Plus, remember for the schools that play HS soccer in the fall (not the entire country, but most and almost all on the east coast), it's the same time as the college season so they are a little busy right now.

On rare occasion our top HS team gets a local college to send out a lowly assistant to watch half a HS game. Rarely and obviously it has to be very local and convenient for them. But those kids they're watching are also club players and the coaching staff will also see them on their club teams.

[Guest]

D’s high school team was pretty good. Had a D2 coach come to one of their state tournament games (Group 2 sectional quarterfinals) and inquired heavily about all the seniors on the team (even the ones who didn’t play club). So recruiting from HS soccer seems possible depending on your objectives.

and how many of those resulted in getting recruited? Sure some local colleges will come watch playoffs, but it will rarely turn into something. The better club players area already in the network and may not even ben interested in those schools. Other players may standout on the "HS field but really don't have what it takes for college soccer or are even interested. If they're not playing club soccer there's usually reasons for it

There are some kids who are exceptional multi sport athletes that get added on as walk ons. Tends to be very low D2 and D3. But obviously that isn't a plan. If you're at a school you love and want to tryout then go for it. You'll never know without trying. Club soccer is another good option. Occasionally at some schools a good club player gets noticed by the varsity staff.

[Guest]

The Club team where my kid goes is made up almost entirely of Former ECNL players. It’s an option for kids who still want to play.

Varies a lot by school but the better club teams have lots of good club players who either didn't want to play in college or weren't quite good enough to play at that school. My son's club team had several who got cut/pushed off the varsity team. Very good players that just didn't have what was needed to play varsity, despite being recruited (the odds a recruited player plays all four years is not good)

[Guest]

and how many of those resulted in getting recruited? Sure some local colleges will come watch playoffs, but it will rarely turn into something. The better club players area already in the network and may not even ben interested in those schools. Other players may standout on the "HS field but really don't have what it takes for college soccer or are even interested. If they're not playing club soccer there's usually reasons for it

There are some kids who are exceptional multi sport athletes that get added on as walk ons. Tends to be very low D2 and D3. But obviously that isn't a plan. If you're at a school you love and want to tryout then go for it. You'll never know without trying. Club soccer is another good option. Occasionally at some schools a good club player gets noticed by the varsity staff.

Of the 3 club players, 2 were already committed to strong D3 programs and the 3rd was aiming high academically (ie. MIT, Carnegie Mellon). And the 3 non-Club players were also aiming higher academically without sports (one was a D1-recruitable sprinter in track, another (the GK) was a D1-recruitable shot-putter, but both wanted to go to college without sports). So to all 6 players, a local small D2 college was not of any interest to any of them. Out of curiosity, I looked into that D2 program and I have no doubt that all 6 of these players could have been recruited to that D2 program.

[Guest]

It's a strictly cost-benefit analysis: Colleges have pretty strict recruiting budgets and they need to be efficient. So they go where the quality, or number of players they can recruit, is high vs. the cost to attend (time and money). Unless the coach is local, and the quality of the HS is good and they have a specific player, it's highly unlikely they would attend a HS match. They probably would be more likely to see a club match because, at least, they may see other players. The problem is the overall quality of HS soccer is very, very low (a different discussion for another day).

My recommendation: as a parent with a kid playing D1 (mid level) and D3 would be to skip HS soccer completely and consider additional, or cross training in another sport that has some transferability. As a club coach, getting players back from HS is a 3 month process to help players get back to their prior level (generally speed/type of decisions)

[Guest]

It's a strictly cost-benefit analysis: Colleges have pretty strict recruiting budgets and they need to be efficient. So they go where the quality, or number of players they can recruit, is high vs. the cost to attend (time and money). Unless the coach is local, and the quality of the HS is good and they have a specific player, it's highly unlikely they would attend a HS match. They probably would be more likely to see a club match because, at least, they may see other players. The problem is the overall quality of HS soccer is very, very low (a different discussion for another day).

My recommendation: as a parent with a kid playing D1 (mid level) and D3 would be to skip HS soccer completely and consider additional, or cross training in another sport that has some transferability. As a club coach, getting players back from HS is a 3 month process to help players get back to their prior level (generally speed/type of decisions)

As a parent of a kid playing at a strong D3 program, my recommendation would be to leave it to the kid whether or not they want to play HS soccer. If the HS program is good (ie. has legit shot at going deep in County and State tournaments), they'll have fun participating in HS rivalries and experience school spirit as well as gain valuable experience as a team leader. If the HS program is bad, then yeah, probably a good idea to skip and focus on other training in the fall unless they for some reason really want to play with their friends and be a star at their school.