Planning a College Visit

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The best way to learn about a college or university is to visit. While on campus you can get a feel for the school. Try to visit while school is in session. Most colleges will have limited classes and much smaller volume of students during the summer.

While on campus, why not schedule a little time to visit with the soccer coach?

Meeting with a coach is a great opportunity to ask questions about the school and the soccer program. It may also help you decide if you like the coach. It is also a great time to market yourself to the coach. You should plan to take a copy of your transcript so the coach can see what kind of student you are. Also bring your athletic resume if the coach does not have it on file. Bring a parent — they may ask questions you won’t.

WHAT IS AN OFFICIAL VISIT?

Although you are always welcome to visit college campuses at your own expense (an unofficial visit), you are limited to five official visits in which the college pays for part or all of your expenses. Completion of the SAT and ACT and a high school transcript are required for an official visit, and you may only go on an official visit after August 1 before your junior year in high school. Usually an official visit consists of an overnight stay where you will have a member of the soccer team as your host. You will meet the coach and the team, learn more about the program, attend a class and possibly attend a sporting event. You may also meet other recruited athletes there for a visit. While there, talk to people and learn as much as you can.

Here are some things you should do in advance of a visit:

  • Ask where to meet the coach.
  • Get their cell phone number to avoid a mix-up.
  • Get the time schedule for your visit.
  • Find out who is paying for any tickets or meals.
  • Ask what to bring and take notes regarding your visit.
  • Ask to meet with an academic advisor who can help you learn about requirements and support.
  • Try to see the campus on a regular school day while class is in session.
  • Visit with players. Talk with the freshmen and sophomores to get their perspective on first-year experiences.
  • Always write a thank-you email to the coach after your visit.

HIGHLIGHT VIDEOS

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College coaches are eager to see you in action and a highlight video is an essential tool.

Coaches cannot always get to events or sessions and rely on referrals and video to prioritize who they go evaluate. Video can help showcase your skills, talents, game play and determination on the field and in training.

– No longer than 6 minutes

– An optimal time would be 3 minutes.

– Post online so you can easily send the link to College Coaches

– Highlight clips using game film when possible

Find clips that show the skills you want the college coach to see.  50 clips of passing, is not as good as 5 clips passing, 5 clips finishing, 5 clips receiving the ball, 5 clips tackling or defending.

If you don’t have any video from games, a skills tape for field players, may consist of:

– Passing and receiving, both in the air and on the ground – Shooting, both power and finesse (Include Goals)

– Dribbling, moves, 1v1 defending and attacking

– Speed and agility with and without the ball

For a goalkeeper it should consist of:

– Agility and footwork

– Crosses and shot stopping

– Verbal communication in a game situation

– Participation in different goalie exercises

When your video is finished, watch it to see if it shows who you really are as a player. If you aren’t happy, cut out bad clips or add some new ones.  Make sure your name is in the video title.  Once it is finished, post it to Youtube or some other video service.  Then send the link to any colleges you are interested in.

EMAILING COLLEGE COACHES

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EMAILING COLLEGE COACHES
Sending an email to a college coach is one of the very best ways to start your recruitment process. Don’t wait for coaches to reach out to you. Send an email to any school you might have an interest in. Your emails should contain some or all of the information below:
Introduction, where you are from, High school graduation year.
Academic info – GPA, PSAT, ACT/SAT if taken. Top 2-3 soccer and academic accomplishments. Club team full name and the positions you play. Jersey # along with a link to your highlight video, upcoming schedule, club coach and college liaison contact information.
Emailing College Coach “DO’s”
DO include personalization, so it doesn’t look like a mass email to 20 schools.
DO keep it concise, organized, and easy to read quickly on any device.
DO send your email to all the coaches, not just the head coach; it is common
for an assistant coach to lead recruiting.
DO address the email to the head coach, all the coaches, or the school’s
soccer coaches.
i.e. “Dear Coach Burleigh”, “Dear Coach Burleigh, Coach Campbell, and Coach Kirkup”, or Dear UF Soccer Coaches”
Emailing College Coaches “DON’Ts”
DON’T write a long and wordy email.
DON’T address the email with, “Dear Coach”. Use their name, “Dear Coach Griffin”.

WHEN AND HOW A COLLEGE COACH CAN TALK TO A PROSPECT

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WHEN AND HOW A COLLEGE COACH CAN TALK TO A PROSPECT

Division 1

Division 2

Division 3/NAIA

Phone

June 15 before your Jr. Year

June 15th before Jr. Year

No Restriction

Email/Text

June 15 before your Jr. Year

June 15th before Jr. Year

No Restriction

Off Campus

August 1 before your Jr. Year

June 15th before Jr. Year

June 15th before Jr. Year

Tryout

None allowed

1 on Campus (Sr. Year)

None (D3) Yes (NAIA)

Official Visit

1 visit per school (Total of 5) August 1 before Jr. Year

No Limit Anytime

No Limit

Un-Official

No Limit
August 1 before Jr. Year

No Limit
June 15th before Jr. Year

No Limit

A college coach can only call you after June 15 before your junior year in high school. That means a coach cannot place an outbound call to you specifically to talk to you about playing a sport at their college, until June 15 before your Jr. year. Division III, NAIA and Juco coaches do not have this restriction.  The same dates apply when you call a coach.

CALLING A COLLEGE COACH

When you call a coach, one of two things will happen:
1. The coach will answer the phone 2. You will get coach’s voicemail
You need to be prepared for both. How you prepare for a phone call will vary based on how many times you’ve talked to the coach. Assuming you have never connected with the coach before, or the coach has asked you to call them for the first time, you need to do your homework! Prior to the call:

  • Go on the team’s website to read the recent news, look at recent results, etc
  • Go on the school’s website to get a feel for and basic information on the school
  •  Prepare for questions the coach may ask you (common questions include, where you’re at in your recruiting process, how your grades are, what your goals are, what positions you play, etc.)
  • Write down any questions you haveCoaches are very busy people, so it is common to get their voicemail. You definitely want to have a few notes written down so that you leave a well-spoken voicemail. It wouldn’t hurt to even write out what you would say. Something like this is standard:

Hi Coach ___________, hope you are doing well! This is ____________, I play for ________ Soccer Club in ________. I have a 3.9 GPA and 1310 PSAT score. I’m really interested in playing at _______________. I will follow up this voicemail with an email with more information. It would be great if we could arrange to meet in the near future or if you could come see me play. Thanks for your time!

Remember, coaches understand how difficult it can be for a youth player to call a college coach. Their main advice is typically “don’t be nervous, just be yourself”. That’s it, just be yourself and you will do great!

The Recruiting Timeline

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WHAT IS THE RECRUITING TIMELINE?
Many players commit in their junior year of high school. However, we urge players to focus on doing their due diligence rather than worrying about what year in school they commit. Everyone’s recruiting process is different. Make the recruiting process a priority; focus on completing the above items, and everything else will fall into place!

All divisions are on a slightly different recruiting timetable. The majority of Division I colleges and universities will fill their recruiting class needs by spring of that class’s Junior year. This means that if you are a Division I soccer player, you have already visited that campus, sat down with the coach and know where you stand on their recruiting list by your first day of class senior year. The early commitment trend is becoming increasingly prevalent at the Division I level. This only increases the amount of time and research that must be put into recruiting on the student-athlete’s end.

Division II colleges and universities are typically the next to finish up their recruiting classes. Some Division II colleges and universities will have prospects verbally commit during the summer, but most will finish during the fall of their senior class. Division III, NAIA and Junior Colleges recruiting typically continues into the winter and spring of a student-athlete’s senior year of high school. If you are not on track with this timeline, do not panic, these are general guidelines and every college and university has a different situation.

MAKE A LIST OF COLLEGES
Draft a tentative list of colleges that interest you. Your list may include schools in your area, schools that have a particular major of interest to you, or schools you know very little about. Your list may be long but in the early stages you don’t want to eliminate any school you are curious about. It is very important that you look at the school for its academic programs as well as its athletic programs. Your academic experience in college is what will provide an important foundation for your chosen career path after college.

Here are some questions that may aid you in your college selection:
• Would I choose this college even if I am not playing on the team?
• Would I be happy sitting on the bench and not playing much?
• Would I still select this college if there is a different coach?
• Was I comfortable there both academically and athletically?
• Did the staff and team seem to get along and care about each other?
• How does the coach motivate the team?
• Were the coaching staff and team friendly? Enthusiastic? Honest? Supportive? Sincere?

Educate yourself about the Colleges on your List and after you have created your list of schools, research the schools. Read everything you can find on the school. Look at their school web page, athletics page, specifically the team page as well as their social media.

Common Recruiting Questions

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Here are the most common recruiting questions and their answers:

1. How do I make college coaches aware of me? How do I market myself?

A) Become the best player you can be. What type of player you are is more important than how you market yourself.
B) Don’t wait for coaches to contact you. Start the process by sending an email to colleges you might be interested in attending.

C) Send your resume or profile along with a Highlight Video. If you have video of a full match you can include that too. (Make sure to indicate your jersey color and number!)
D) You can call a coach after sending an email to follow up. Be prepared to leave a voicemail.

2. When does the recruiting process begin?

A) This varies by school and by division. Division I colleges start to look at Boys during their Sophomore year of HS. Girls often start in the Freshman year. The summer after Sophomore year through the summer after Junior year is the biggest recruiting window for most colleges.

3. What is the difference between NCAA Division I or Division II etc.?

A) Division I schools have a bigger athletic department and usually offer more scholarships. Division II schools may offer athletic scholarships, but they are more limited in how many. Division III schools do not offer athletic scholarships.
NAIA schools follow different rules and may offer more scholarships than Division I. They tend to be smaller schools, but this varies.

4. How do I get a scholarship and how many are available?

  1. A)  Divison I men’s soccer teams are allowed up to 9.9 soccer scholarships. These are based on performance.
    Division II men’s soccer teams are allowed up to 9.0 scholarships.
    NAIA men’s soccer teams are allowed up to 14 scholarships.
  2. B)  Most colleges provide much more money for Academic or Need based scholarships. Most colleges will also bundle Academic, Need, and Athletic scholarships together.

5. How can I tell if a school is a good fit for me?

A) Do some research online. Read about the school and the soccer program. Then contact the coach and ask questions. Visiting a college campus is the best way to see if it feels good for you. Every campus looks beautiful in their pictures. Walking around campus and walking in the main buildings will give you a much better perspective.

Recruiting Rules – Stay up to Date

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There have been changes to the NCAA rules concerning contact between Coaches and potential recruits over the past few years.

Here are the basic differences.
Juniors and Seniors are allowed to contact coaches by email, text, Facebook, phone or almost any other format and coaches can reply or respond in any private format. They cannot make public posts to social media.  There is no limit to how often a college coach can write, post, text, or call you.  In the past, coaches were restricted to phone calls, emails and letters, and were only allowed to call once a week.
As before, coaches may not reply to Freshmen and Sophomores with any recruiting information but they can speak to you on the phone if you call them.  They cannot return phone calls, texts or other forms of messaging.  But Coaches may send you a recruiting questionnaire and camp information at any time.
Coaches may not be able to contact Freshman and Sophomores but you can send any information to the school or coach at any time. If you have a video, send a link to the coaches so they can watch you play.  Sending your academic details and other information can be done at any time. In general, the sooner the better.

Make Your List

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Now that you know that you need to be thinking about college in your Sophomore and Junior year (if you read the last Issue of “Get Soccer”), here is a list of what your next steps should be.

1) Decide what schools you are interested in. You may have no idea yet or you may have a school you have wanted to attend since before you can remember. Either way, keep in mind that this will be a work in progress. You may change your mind. You may be contacted by a coach from a school that you never considered. You may visit your desired school and decide you aren’t comfortable there. At this point you are just trying to narrow down your choices and start a list. You may need to do some research. You can find College Soccer Programs listed at www.thesportsource.com or at many other websites. You can also find most University websites by typing the name of the school plus “.edu” For instance, www.Indiana.edu.

Check out College Soccer websites for helpful information. Ask your High School and Club Coaches if there are colleges they would recommend.

In your next step you are going to want to create a soccer resume and email your resume to the Soccer Coaches on your list. In the next issues of “Get Soccer”, I will talk about what to include in your resume and cover letter.

2) Sign up for ID camps that have coaches from schools on the top of your list. This is a great way to get to know several college coaches at once and to showcase your talent to them. Going to camp will allow you to work with college coaches and to see if you like their style and demeanor. Spending time with a coach on and off the field, is the best way to see if you are a good fit with each other. If you check out the “Director & Camp Staff” page of our website, you will see that the Mike Getman Soccer Camp has coaches from 12-15 different colleges. Other soccer camps may do the same.

Divisions / Differences

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I firmly believe there is a place in college soccer for anyone who wants it badly enough. There are over 1,000 college soccer programs. But the key is to find the right one for you. Luckily even if you are not the next Messi, there are all levels of soccer out there. Division I, II, III, NAIA & Junior College.

I get asked often about the different divisions in the NCAA and what that means to a soccer player. First, it is important to know that the different Divisions only tell you about the size of the Athletic Department. Div. I gives more scholarships than Div. II  and Div. III gives no Athletic Scholarships. That doesn’t mean a better team, just more money within the entire Athletic Dept. There tend to be more good teams in Div. I but that is only a generalization. There are many teams in Div. II that can beat teams in Div. I. That’s why each student should research schools at all levels before making their final choice.

The NAIA has completely different rules from the NCAA but are mostly smaller colleges. Some have great soccer teams. Junior Colleges offer a second chance to students who were not so successful academically. Again there are all levels of play so you have to check each school out individually. Most of the top teams in Division I have some players that started their college career at the Junior College level.

Google is a great way to find Colleges in your area. All soccer programs have websites that will give you useful information. Soccer America and TopDrawerSoccer  provide some good insights into college soccer.

Once you have identified what you are looking for, send an email to the Coaches and give them some information about yourself and ask for information on their program. The more detail you give on yourself the more detail you are likely to get back. Academic, Soccer, and family are all important details to give to the college coaches. (more information on this in a later blog)

Talk to your Coaches

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Now that you know that you need to be thinking about college in your Sophomore and Junior year (in an earlier Issue of “Get Soccer”), and you have created your list of colleges to contact, and you know what to put in your resume, here is another step. This should be one of the first steps you should take.

Ask your High School and Club Coaches whether or not they think you are College material and what level team they think you could make. There is a level for almost every High School player that wants to play in College. There are levels by Division and levels by how seriously the College pursues a winning Soccer Team.

Then ask your Coach if he would contact the College Coaches at the Colleges you are interested in. They can send a quick email to those Coaches, letting them know of your interest and describing your talents. And of course making themselves available to answer any questions about you. If they personally know any College Coaches, that can make the contact even more effective.

Your High School and Club Coaches are a great resource, use them.