It’s really a two step process:  (1) determine the schools and programs you are interested in, (2) contact the coaches to let them know you are interested in their program and let them know where they can see you play.

There are a number of online services, high school counselors and other resources that can help you focus academically on the school you wish to attend. Generally, the decisions turn on your preferences for school size, location, academic strengths, and other factors.  From the soccer side, it’s always a good idea to visit the school and watch the team play.  There are also a number of resources like Sport Source, as well as other online services that you can review the style of play, analyze the roster to determine which seniors are leaving so you have insight on what the coach is looking for and where the coach tends to draw players from (a personal contact is a great way to get information). Generally, what you want to find is a school where you can contribute on the team and fit well academically. Once you have identified three or more schools, it’s time to get the word out.

How do you get a coach to see you play?  Prepare material to send to the coach.  With seasons just wrapping up, this is the perfect time to contact prospective coaches.  Do a little homework to see how the season went, whether the team is in the playo­ffs, and any awards that the team/coach received this year.  This is a great opener.  Next, determine how you think you can help the program and why this school is a good fit for you. A well written letter should reference the school soccer year, explain how you could contribute to the school, why you would like to be at the school, attach a resume with your qualifications and list the showcases that the coach can see you at.  If your grades and background are a good fit for the school, you have a very good chance that the coach will come watch you play.

How does the process work?  Typically, college coaches will attend the showcases where the players they wish to see are at.  Coaches will have a list of prospects from referrals and other sources (many times your club coach can help you with a reference), as well as from players that have sent a letter expressing interest.  From these two groups, the coach will schedule to see players that they have an interest in, players that have expressed interest and then with the remaining time the coach will seek out games that seem to be interesting.  By far the last category provides you with the least chance of being seen.

• Select the schools you would like to consider. It’s important for all prospective players to have some general information on the schools you are interested in. A mid-summer rainy day is a great time to do your research. Some of the factors you want to evaluate of school size (small, medium or large), location (rural, suburban, city), academic strengths, soccer style of play and potential openings from seniors that graduated and so on.

• Make initial contact with the program and submit your player information form. Usually before July, you can contact coaches at programs that you are interested. After that, the college coaches have contact with you via telephone or at college showcases that you attend. • Soccer Resume- Pull together a summary of your soccer, academic and physical attributes. There are numerous online services that can help write the resume.

• Prepare a cover letter. The letter should include how you think you can contribute to the program, why the program is of interest to you, a few key accomplishments, and a listing of events that your team will be attending for the year. Once all of this material is ready, you should periodically follow-up with the coach when something new and interesting occurs. If you win an award, get your schedule at a college showcase or have interest in making a college visit. Take that rainy summer day (hopeful we get one) and turn it into the foundation you need to finish your college search.

Many summer camps are hosted and run by college coaches. This is a great place to improve you game and be seen. While attending soccer camps always expands your game, the summer of the junior year is that camp that will have the biggest impact on your college prospects.

How do I decide where to go? There are numerous strategies to integrate camp into your collegesearch program and it is a great way to see and be seen. You may or may not want to attend a camp in or affiliated with your top pick, we recommend that you pick the camp based on giving you the most exposure to programs that you are interested in. In reality many players select a camp with a set of schools in mind and end the camp with very different ideas.

Obviously the camp is the perfect place for you prove yourself. Go in with the idea that you are going to work hard and project a positive attitude throughout the camp. Typically camps are 4-6 days and are quite intensive. This gives coaches an opportunity to see you in many settings, skills work, small sided play, full matches, social setting, etc. Keep focused throughout and take the steps   necessary to “prove yourself”. Camps give you an opportunity to see the school and various coaches. Be sure to be mindful of the things that you most enjoy in camp. While coaches are looking at you to determine what you can contribute, it is important that you evaluate all of your possibilities to see where you feel that you fit in best. Keep an open mind and a positive attitude as camps are frequently where many players make the connection that results in a great college career.

Be sure to do your research. You can approach other folks in your club that are recent graduates to get the perspective on what camps they think are best. With these suggestions, your next step is to get the camp brochures or check online to get complete information on a few camps before you make your final selection. Typically there are a few changes each year and you want to be sure that you have done your homework to be sure which your top two or three camps are. Once you have done your homework, you are now ready to make an informed choice. Good luck on your search and remember while camps are a great proving ground, they can also be very important in helping you decide which program is right for you.

It is important to know where you want to go, academically, athletically and socially. The college coach has a vision of what he/she is looking for, and the types of players needed to achieve that vision. Players also have their goals in choosing a program and a school, and those should incorporate academic goals. Typically, the best matches achieve most of the player’s and the program’s goals. If the soccer and the academics fit, you are at the right place.

Stay on the “White Board”.

Look at recruiting from the coach’s perspective. Generally, coaches progress through a cycle of recruiting. Imagine a dry-erase “White Board” in the coaches office. At the beginning of the process, the coach lists a pool of players that he/she is evaluating. Your job is to get listed, then stay on the White Board. Contact the schools of your choice, and put together a total package: good attitude, professional/effective communications, well-organized demeanor, top play on the field. Conduct an official visit, and demonstrate your sincere interest in attending the school if accepted. Set the stage so the coach ranks you at the top. Then your job is to demonstrate a consistent performance over time. Always keep your composure and try to find multiple opportunities for the coach to see you play. Once you are squarely in the pool, you need to progress up the White Board rankings. The coach will take the topprospects and rank them by number. The higher your rank, the better your chances are. Your job here is to put together a total package, and convince the coach that your participation will be a benefit to the program. While there is no one “right answer”, a few organizing ideas can help.

Know that Coaches are observing the Valleys as much as Peaks.

Obviously, the fastest way to fall out of the pool is with a poor performance. All of the players in the coach’s pool can play. The question is, can you play at a consistently high level faced with the pressure of the college season, the academic workload and a new lifestyle change. There is a big change from Club/High School play to college. In college, there are many more “must win” games. The coach needs to know that the player can “keep his/her cool” at all times and knows how to win a game even on a bad day. Composure and consistency are key. By considering the decision-making from the college coach’s perspective, you can take a big step to being number one on the white board.

Academic success is a vital part of the process, and in far more ways than most players realize! First and most obvious, the soccer athlete has to get through the admissions process. The varsity coach can help at the more stringent schools, as long as the player is at least academically “on the bubble”.

What does “on the bubble” mean? Once Admissions decides which applicants are academically unquestionable, and which are academically impossible, it is left with a large middle group of applicants that are academically viable if admitted. However, that number usually exceeds the remaining spots available in the entering class.

An additional push from some direction can get the player in. A varsity coach can usually provide that push. But players have to show the grades and test scores that land them on the bubble to begin with. The better the grades, the less capital the coach has to spend on a player with his admissions liaison (and save some for a more difficult case). Even better are players that require no prodding at all from a coach to get through the admissions process academically!

Getting in is one thing, staying in school is another. Coaches usually get minimal value from most freshmen, and are investing a roster spot based on a four-year projection. It is very annoying to find a player academically ineligible after just one year! Again, coaches study academic performance in making decisions, as much as they look at the skills on the field. Solid grades, good work habits, a display of maturity — all go a long way in convincing a coach he should bring a player on-board.

One NCAA D1 coach from a mid-level academic school indicated he preferred to see a student who had an uninterrupted string of ʻC+ʼs on his report card, rather than one with nothing but ʻAʼs and ʻDʼs, even if they averaged out to the same overall grade. For him, the C+ student was a “plugger”, a student who steadily plugged away at his grades and made sure he/she got his work done. The student with big highs and lows was suspect, someone with the ability but not the discipline. Put into a college environment where students have to be ever more self-motivated, the student could easily become an early burn-out. In short, academic consistency is a virtue onto itself, regardless of the level. Another concern is funding a college education. Few students can afford college today if required to pay the full costs without financial assistance. Athletic scholarship money only goes so far on a roster, if available at the school at all. But there are other possibilities.

Another NCAA D1 coach advised that he could find academic scholarship funds for his players if they entered with at least a ʻBʼ average and maintained it through college.