HS 2 College

College Soccer and Recruiting Guide

Applications, SAT’s, College Essays, Interviews. The list goes on and on. Furthermore, what if you intend to be a student-athlete in college? Well, then, you have even more to think about, and the list continues. Soccer Resumes, Videotapes, Official Visits, Sleepovers and Pre-College Camps. The entire college admissions process seems nothing less than daunting, especially when you incorporate the complications of athletic recruitment.



Does the word ‘recruitment’ make your heart begin to race? If it does, don’t worry because you are not alone. Every year, high school seniors, juniors and sophomores across the country confront the college recruitment process with fear. How do you begin? When should you get in touch with college coaches? What is an official visit?



First of all, it is important to recognize that there is no specific path or direction you must take. The college recruitment process is different for every student-athlete. Each school is unique in its own way, and therefore, your experiences with different coaches and schools will vary.

What You Need to Know about College Soccer

The Recruiting Process

Many college bound students actually believe that colleges are actively searching for talented soccer players……. That's far from the truth. 

A small percentage is recruited without needing to promote themselves. That means you really need to play well in order to get recruited automatically. The rest, need to put a big effort in promoting themselves in order to get the chance.

Soccer Scholarships:

Looking for scholarships money? Look into a Division I or Division II college.

Most schools stay away from offering full scholarships because it is a huge investment. Instead, many schools like to increase the individual player scholarship year by year, based on your performance.

National, or High Division Team:

If you make it to the national team, or a high division club you will have a bigger chance to pass the college recruiting process without needing to promote yourself. Playing in a National or High Divisional team will give you a big advantage on other players. However, it’s still in your best interest to call coaches and tell them when and where you will be playing.

Watch Their Games:

Watching at least one game of the college team that you want to join will help you answer a lot of questions. You could then compare the players of the college team with your own skills. If the team already has 5 good strikers then chances for playing regularly may not be as big as compared to choosing a team with only 1 good striker. Look up the schools stats. How did they do last season? How many upperclassmen are graduating? Are there a lot of freshmen on the team?

Will I break Any Rules?

Rules regarding recruiting can vary. You don't have to worry about these because the rules only pertain to the coaches and not for the players. So, if you were thinking about calling the coach then feel free to do so.

Talented Player in High School:

If you think that you will be a star in college because you were a star in your high school then you need to think again. This is one of the biggest mistakes high school players do when they arrive to a major college. The level of play is pretty steep and the step between high school and college is huge. Don't think that just because you where a star in high school, the road will be easy in college. You will need to practice a lot more and every practice will be equal to a cup final.

Conclusion:

Hard work and focus will bring you results.