The College Recruiting Process

College soccer recruiting can be a process. Recruiting can start as early as Freshman year in high school but where do you start?  Here is a basic guide to get recruited to play college soccer:

1. Train hard and try to improve every single day. You must love the game and be a dedicated player to play in college. You need to be at your best between the ages of U15 - U18 as those are the ages you can be recruited in. No college coach cares about your Veo or what you did U9 - U14, so stay focused on your development!

2. Always focus on your GPA and test scores. Make sure to have a training and school schedule so you plan enough time to do both. Start becoming a "student athlete." Fail to plan, plan to fail!

3. At U14, start to create a profile on NCSA, HUDL, Sports Recruits and Max Prep sports platforms to have an on-line presence and colleges can search for you. These platforms have free and paid recruiting services if you need more help promoting yourself. 

4. Around U14, create club and high school highlight videos specific to your strengths and overall skills. Coaches love to see quality goals, passes, dribbles, tackles but make sure you also add details like your first touch and "off the ball" movement during your teams transitions. If you are specifically great at headers, make sure to showcase that specific skill. Your best should fit within the first minute and 30 seconds of your highlight reel with your entire video being max 4 minutes.

5. Decide what level is best for you: D1, D2, D3, NAIA, or NJCAA. Start by watching a couple of matches of the level you are interested in playing in. Try to notice the technical and physical ability needed to play. Ask your coaches and mentors for advice.
                                        
6. Make a list of 10 schools that fit your needs. If you want to play, there is a school out there for you. Make sure to do your research on what type of school, location, opportunities etc. 

7. Start to contact schools by the end of your 9th grade year of high school. Send college coaches an introduction email with highlight video. Email coaches your college showcases and tournament schedule. Make sure to include if you attended their ID camp or plan to. Always start with something specific of that school like, "good luck in your playoff match," to make your email more personal.

8. At U14, start to attend several high level ID camps. Make sure you are not going to a generic summer camp but an ID camp. Try to attend a broad range of ID camps to get an idea of the level you could play. Make sure you introduce yourself personally,  email them before and follow up email after camp. 

9. Keep training hard and watch your match video to continue to improve. Don't forget to update your video highlight reel and keep sending emails! 

10. If you have little to no offers by 12th grade, have your current coaches and mentors follow up on some emails. Start to consider playing NJCAA to continue to play and possibly transfer to another school the following season.

11. If you want to play and don't need financial help, there is a college out there for you. If you need financial help, consider grants and other scholarships you can apply for. 

12. Your last option is to walk-on and tryout when you arrive to that college.