SENIOR YEAR

1. Continue High Level of Play

2. Keep Grades Up

3. Consider Additional Training/Conditioning

College soccer as compared to club or high school soccer is a complete different game. In order to get youth athletes prepared for the next level, it may be in a prospect’s best interest to look into extra technical, tactical, conditioning, or strength training. Improving your skills increases your chances of making an impact and vying for playing time right away.

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4. Attend Official Visit

Once committed, most colleges bring their entire recruiting class in for an official visit. At this time, all expenses are paid for by the program and recruits have a chance to visit the school and meet the other recruits who will be their teammates for the next four years. This is a great time to have some fun and get excited for college and all that it offers.

5. Sign National Letter of Intent (NLI)

A National Letter of Intent is a signed document that certifies that an athlete has officially committed to a school and must attend for the next academic year. This letter is a binding document between the school and the prospect. National Signing Day for soccer athletes usually falls around the first week of February.

JUNIOR YEAR

1. Verbally Commit/Narrow College List

As junior year rolls around, if a recruit has not already committed, now is the time to do so if you want to play at a top program. All of your behind the scenes work should have presented you a few offers and options for schools. Work to narrow your school list down to a final two or three schools and weigh your options from there.

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2. Take the SAT/ACT

Whether committed or not, all students with college aspirations must take the SAT or ACT as a required entrance exam. Report your scores to your counselor and inform them that you are registered through the NCAA Clearinghouse. The NCAA will need your scores as a part of the eligibility records. Your high school counselor has the ability to report your score.

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3. Keep Grades Up

Junior year is often regarded as the most challenging year academically in high school. Considering most DI level athletes will be committed by this time, it is very important that prospects keep their grades up. Many verbally committed student-athletes often become too comfortable, complacent, and lazy once committed to a school. Keep in mind that though verbally committed, you have not yet been accepted to the school. Keep your grades up to ensure your scholarship and/or spot on the team is secure.

4. Continue High Level of Play

Development on the field does not stop once you have committed. Often coaches love to watch players that they have already committed to track their progress and improvement.

What is your guiding philosophy that makes you who you are or the overall principles that guide your team? Add a photo or two! Putting your face to your story allows your readers to connect to you. And here’s a little tip from the pros - write in the first person so your readers can relate to you on a more personal level.

SOPHOMORE YEAR

1. Continue to Correspond with College Coaches

Continue to send out those emails and call those coaches on your list. Sophomore year is a prime recruiting time. Keep college coaches up to date with your upcoming game, tournament, and showcase schedules. Really start to try and develop relationships with these coaches so you can hopefully narrow your list of potential schools.

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2.  Take Unofficial Visits

An integral part of the recruiting process is visiting the school itself. Through email correspondence and phone calls, prospects’ can set up unofficial visits with coaches to visit the campus, meet in person, and learn more about the school and program. These visits can be make or break for recruits so it is imperative to schedule unofficial trips to schools that are on the top of your college list.

3. Begin to Narrow School List

Having sent many emails, made many calls, and taken a few official visits by this time, hopefully recruits can begin to see which colleges are more tailored towards their abilities, interests, and needs. Now could be a great time to cross some schools off your list that you may have lost interest in, and really focus your efforts on the remaining schools.

4. Continue to Play in Showcases and Tournaments

The only true way a coach is able to recruit a player is through watching them perform on the field. You must be continually playing in games in order to showcase your talent to these coaches.

5. Take the PSAT

Aside from the athletic side of things, prospect’s must keep up their academics. While maintaining good grades and a high GPA is important, student-athletes should also consider taking the PSAT in preparation for the SAT or ACT which is required for college admission. Sophomore year is a great time to take the PSAT and get a gauge of where you’re at in order to improve your score when you take the SAT your junior year.

6. Register for the NCAA Clearinghouse

All DI student-athletes must register with the NCAA Clearinghouse the summer after the conclusion of their sophomore year and before the start of their junior year at the latest. The Clearinghouse is an eligibility platform that the NCAA uses to ensure that prospects are on course to graduate from high school and will be eligible to compete in college. A link to the NCAA Eligibility Center can be found here.

7. Potential Verbal Commitment

With the expedited recruiting trend of the past five years, verbal commitment to a college at this age is not uncommon. Depending on the amount of work a prospect has dedicated to this process, their sophomore year could be a prime time to commit to a college to secure a scholarship or spot on the team. Many different factors go into the timeline of this verbal commitment, but today’s recruiting landscape proves a sophomore year verbal is not uncommon.

FRESHMAN YEAR OF HIGH SCHOOL AND PRIOR

1. Meet with club Director of Coaching (DOC) and Coach

Meeting with your club’s DOC and team Coach is an important first step when beginning the recruiting process. For both players and parents, it is important to understand what the prospect’s collegiate goals are in congruence with their current playing level. In meeting with the DOC or Coach, the prospect can gain a better understanding of which level of collegiate soccer they are able to make the most impact in whether that be DI, DII, DIII, of NAIA. It’s also important to let the DOC and Coach know a player’s goals so they can begin to market and tailor the student-athlete to college coaches and programs.

2. Develop a Realistic List of Schools

After meeting with the club DOC and Coach, it’s now time to develop a list of schools that the prospect is interested in. The list of schools can be determined based on factors such as the level of play, program success, conference, academic prestige, size of the school, majors offered, location, etc.

3. Research Schools on Interest List

It’s important to research all information about a school’s athletic and academic programs. This is the time for a prospect to be realistic about their athletic talent as compared to the program’s history. The same principle is applicable for academics. Researching schools that the prospect is interested in can really help the student-athlete to become more familiarized with each school and begin to narrow their college list down. When researching, be sure to gather the coach’s name and any contact information available.

4. Draft an Introduction Letter to Send to College Coaches

This letter is the prospect’s gateway to the recruiting process. Drafting a letter to college coaches expressing your interest in their program along with a bit of personal information about yourself is a great way to get on a coach’s recruiting radar. This letter should be personalized to the coach and school and should be concise. College coaches are looking for your letter to include the following: your name, club team’s name, high school name, graduation year, GPA, upcoming game/tournament/showcase schedule, jersey number, position, coach contact information, and playing experience/awards. An example introduction letter can be found under the References tab. (Include sample letter)

5. Draft Athletic Resume

To supplement the introduction letter sent to college coaches, it’s also important to include an ‘athletic resume’ with all of a prospect’s personal and team accomplishments. This is a chance to showcase your abilities, success, and level of play to a college coach. List the name of the award, team accomplishment, etc. along with the year it occurred. Possible items to include on an athletic resume could include individual player recognitions/awards for club or high school, tournament championship/finalist titles, league titles, and showcase experience.

6. Begin to Contact College Coaches

Now that a prospect has drafted their introduction letter and athletic resume, it’s time to begin emailing and calling coaches. In having already collected the coaches email and contact information through researching the schools, the introduction letter and resume can now be sent via email to each school on the list. As a follow up to your email, it’s also important that you try to reach out to the coach over the phone. Though it may seem intimidating at the time, speaking to a college coach firsthand is a great way to express your interest and get on their radar. You can also express your interest in visiting the school on an unofficial visit. Remember, at this age, prospects have to reach out to coaches first per NCAA rules. This is your chance to begin marketing yourself in order to fulfill your dream of playing college soccer.

7. Follow Up with College Coaches

Having now sent the letters and made some phone calls, the college coach knows about you. Right? Wrong! Some coaches receive hundreds of emails and calls a day, meaning your email could be buried in other junk. This is where your club coach can help. Because of NCAA rules, coaches cannot reply to prospects of this age. Instead, let your club coach know that you have emailed and/or called the coach so they can then use that information to speak to the college coach directly. As a loophole to the NCAA rule, your club coach can speak to the college coach and perhaps set up a time for you to call the college coach, schedule an unofficial visit, or ensure that they will be scouting at your next game. Follow up to emails and calls is a crucial part of the recruiting process. Be relentless!

8. Attend ID/Summer Soccer Camps

Depending on a recruit’s accessibility to do so, college ID and summer camps are a great way to get exposure in front of college coaches. Look at your list of schools and look into their soccer camps to see if you can attend one. It doesn’t hurt to get in front of the coaches first hand on their own turf.