Myths

“My coach will handle my recruiting.”

Club coaches usually have full time jobs besides the team they coach. Handling a team is a job in itself. In addition, coaches who played in college usually have limited knowledge of NCAA recruiting guidelines. Lastly, with a full roster of players, there just isn’t enough time for them to make calls for everyone with any regularity.

“Grades don’t matter.”

By far, this is one of the biggest myths in soccer recruiting. If a coach is interested in a prospect but sees that they do not qualify for their admissions, they will look for the next player of equal talent that does. Grades make up a majority portion of the scholarship package and helps coaches use their athletic scholarships to recruit a solid team from top to bottom.

“If I am good enough, they will find me.”

It may be true if you are good enough someone may find you, but without promoting yourself it’s a huge gamble. The recruiting process is the last major piece for a player who has spent their life working to play at the next level. Why would you leave this to chance? There are several factors involved here. First is the strength of your own team. If your team isn’t a premier team, or doesn’t qualify for top showcases and tournaments, who is going to see you play? Local tournaments will only attract local schools. There are endless stories of families who were loyal to their team but never left town for showcases. College coaches want to evaluate players who compete against quality opponents. Next, where are you playing? A quality team that plays all their games on satellite fields is going to greatly limit the exposure you receive over that weekend. Lastly is simply the number of players who are involved. College coaches usually have a list of players they are there to evaluate. Unless you happen to have a strong showing in front of a coach who is scouting, they may never know who you are.

“I am on full scholarship!”

Simply put, this is a loaded statement. Since coaches do not disclose this information, this is usually up to the families to discuss. Soccer is an equivalency sport (read under recruiting tips) so full athletic scholarships are few and far between.

“I only want to play Division I soccer!”

If you read under the NCAA facts information you will see that the majority of athletes in collegiate sports play Division III. The number of prospects that actually play for top 25 programs is such a small percentage compared to the overall number of student-athletes. If you are not a starter, play for a B team, or only qualify for local tournaments, there is a pretty good chance that playing Division I soccer is a reach. I have seen many prospects put in the training, sacrifice and improve greatly from year to year to move from a Division II or III prospect to Division I.

“We will just do ID camps.”

If you want to attend a camp and be a camper, that is great. You have the opportunity to learn from the best and might land on the radar of coaches/schools. But unless you have spoken to a coach prior to attending a camp, you are just a camper.