College recruiting

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My daughter plays U16 for a high level academy (Shall remain un-named so no drama is caused) here in NJ. It seems like we get no help or direction whatsoever from the academy with any recruiting feedback or recommendations. Instead when we ask for feedback we (parents and kid) are encouraged to reach out ourselves, do lots of research, create profiles on recruiting sites, make videos (which by the way cost a lot of $$), and attend lots of id camps. We’ve done a lot of this but have gotten very little guidance/response from the club. It’s almost like we are our own recruiting coordinators. Yes we get the benefit of playing in showcase tourneys but it seems like that has not yielded intended results yet. What advice/feedback would you have? Pls no trolls.

[Unregistered]

My daughter plays U16 for a high level academy (Shall remain un-named so no drama is caused) here in NJ. It seems like we get no help or direction whatsoever from the academy with any recruiting feedback or recommendations. Instead when we ask for feedback we (parents and kid) are encouraged to reach out ourselves, do lots of research, create profiles on recruiting sites, make videos (which by the way cost a lot of $$), and attend lots of id camps. We’ve done a lot of this but have gotten very little guidance/response from the club. It’s almost like we are our own recruiting coordinators. Yes we get the benefit of playing in showcase tourneys but it seems like that has not yielded intended results yet. What advice/feedback would you have? Pls no trolls.

At U16 you cant directly reach out to a college coach any more. The only party that can reach out is your coach or your DOC. If they are not doing it on your behalf they are lazy or incompetent, or believe that you have no chance of being recruited.

I would stay away from college recruiting sites or videos.

Best idea is to send emails with a string soccer resume to have college attend a showcase, or even a game - as you indicated. If they do show up, especially to multiple games, at least you have hope, so do attend an ID camp, and do insist that your coach reaches out to the college assistant coach to confirm if there is any interest.

Once you are a junior/U17 you can talk to the coach, or assistant coach directly, which is typically an easier choice since its assistant coaches that end up at showcases.

Im sorry your coach is not doing anything for you. That's horrible.

[Unregistered]

You can probably determine a better fit for your kid then her soccer coach anyway. Coach only really knows the soccer side of your players for the most part. Coach should be able what level of college soccer is appropriate for your player to target, but beyond that, probably does not know if the player wants big school or small, north or south, urban or rural, engineering or history, etc, etc, etc,

[Unregistered]

My daughter plays U16 for a high level academy (Shall remain un-named so no drama is caused) here in NJ. It seems like we get no help or direction whatsoever from the academy with any recruiting feedback or recommendations. Instead when we ask for feedback we (parents and kid) are encouraged to reach out ourselves, do lots of research, create profiles on recruiting sites, make videos (which by the way cost a lot of $$), and attend lots of id camps. We’ve done a lot of this but have gotten very little guidance/response from the club. It’s almost like we are our own recruiting coordinators. Yes we get the benefit of playing in showcase tourneys but it seems like that has not yielded intended results yet. What advice/feedback would you have? Pls no trolls.

When you say "the academy", who are you referring to? The coach? Or someone in the administration?

[Unregistered]

https://www.ncsasports.org/ncaa-elig...cruiting-rules and
https://www.ncsasports.org/blog/2019...ly-recruiting/

While calling is prohibited until June 15 after an athlete’s sophomore year their is no rules on emailing your daughter's athletic resume. Just like non-athletes she should have a list of dream schools, possible schools and safe schools.

[Unregistered]

You can probably determine a better fit for your kid then her soccer coach anyway. Coach only really knows the soccer side of your players for the most part. Coach should be able what level of college soccer is appropriate for your player to target, but beyond that, probably does not know if the player wants big school or small, north or south, urban or rural, engineering or history, etc, etc, etc,

While I agree with what you wrote here in content, I do believe that the club DOC and the coach have to have a very active role in recruiting.
Our daughter and I meet with our coach on this often. To start, upon accepting her position on her current team, we met with the coach to discuss where my daughter was academically and what her hopes were in terms of college. At that meeting my daughter brought her list of dream schools, reach schools, practical schools and fallback schools. She is a sophomore so College Coaches can not contact her, but we have had feedback from certain coaches to our club coach relayed to us after college id sessions and tournaments. After our most recent tournament, my daughters coach met with each player again to discuss where he felt the the players were in terms of their playing level. He was very honest with my daughter on her dreams of playing at Stanford being too high a bar but told her that if that was the path she wanted to choose academically, he would be an advocate for her. He wanted to be honest with her though because soccer-wise she just wasn't there. The honesty was hard to hear but, it actually saved me from having to break her heart ;)

Recruiting is 80% on your child. They need to reach out to colleges they are interested in, and not just once, often. If your child can not be seen in person by the colleges of their choice, you have to send them to ID clinics or send videos. Your child must do the majority of the work, but if you do not have a coach or DOC that will help you out, you are not at an "Academy" you are at a for profit business

[Unregistered]

Different aspect of recruiting process.

Do not trust those college coaches. They play the games, they flip the words. Just like youth clubs coaches, there are many college coaches who just promise your kids roster spots but flip the decision behind your back. Until your kid gets official acceptance letter from admission, he/she should prepare for other options. Admission offices, especially private D3 level schools, flip the words too.

[Unregistered]

When you say "the academy", who are you referring to? The coach? Or someone in the administration?

Both the academy and the coach

[Unregistered]

Both the academy and the coach

Honestly, that sounds pretty odd. Does the club have multiple teams at the age group? And if so, is your daughter on the 1st team?

[Unregistered]

Holy Cross women's coach is gone that goodness!

[Unregistered]

If you’re expecting your kid to be recruited at 15 years old then you’re already completely lost. Unless you are and absolute superstar the chances of a kid being recruited that early are very minimal. That’s probably why at this stage they ask you to do a lot of your own homework.

As the player gets older, if they are any good, coaches will come to them when they are allowed. You do have to do a lot of your own work as every coach can’t actively go out and do the work for every player. Each player/family is also different in what they want (and a majority of the time are unrealistic in their expectations) and needs to decide on their own which route they want to go.

Once a clear direction of a player can be determined (level, goals, grades, finances) and a few colleges show interest only then will a coach get involved in the recruiting process. Clubs should be there to guide you through the first few steps where you do a lot of your own work. If they aren’t helping you, then you’re probably in the wrong place.

[Unregistered]

My daughter plays U16 for a high level academy (Shall remain un-named so no drama is caused) here in NJ. It seems like we get no help or direction whatsoever from the academy with any recruiting feedback or recommendations. Instead when we ask for feedback we (parents and kid) are encouraged to reach out ourselves, do lots of research, create profiles on recruiting sites, make videos (which by the way cost a lot of $$), and attend lots of id camps. We’ve done a lot of this but have gotten very little guidance/response from the club. It’s almost like we are our own recruiting coordinators. Yes we get the benefit of playing in showcase tourneys but it seems like that has not yielded intended results yet. What advice/feedback would you have? Pls no trolls.

Here is some very honest info. If your not on here for honesty, then don't bother reading.

With the new recruiting rules in affect, if your daughter is not in the top 4 or 5 of her team, and I am assuming you are speaking about an ECNL or GDA team, your team coach will not be hearing from college coaches until June. If your daughter is attending ID sessions, your daughter needs to ask her coach to reach out to those colleges to get any feedback they can get. If your daughters coach has not met with her to find out where she is looking as far as colleges go, then you may not really be at a true academy.

Just because clubs call themselves academies, doesn't mean they are.

[Unregistered]

If you’re expecting your kid to be recruited at 15 years old then you’re already completely lost. Unless you are and absolute superstar the chances of a kid being recruited that early are very minimal. That’s probably why at this stage they ask you to do a lot of your own homework.

As the player gets older, if they are any good, coaches will come to them when they are allowed. You do have to do a lot of your own work as every coach can’t actively go out and do the work for every player. Each player/family is also different in what they want (and a majority of the time are unrealistic in their expectations) and needs to decide on their own which route they want to go.

Once a clear direction of a player can be determined (level, goals, grades, finances) and a few colleges show interest only then will a coach get involved in the recruiting process. Clubs should be there to guide you through the first few steps where you do a lot of your own work. If they aren’t helping you, then you’re probably in the wrong place.

Even (especially?) if your kid is not a superstar, I would have expected the club to at least give some guidance...like telling them about the new recruiting rules and what to expect for superstar/non-superstar players, no?