As a continuation of the step by step guide to recruiting, this issue will focus on Academics.

Don’t let your grades limit your choices. Make sure you have the grades necessary to be admitted to the College you want to attend.

Make sure you take the ACT or SAT as soon as you can and take it as often as you can. It won’t hurt to take a practice test or to get help in preparing for the test. The higher your score, the more schools will be interested in you.

One of the first things most college coaches look at is your GPA and your Test Scores. I know you get tired of hearing it, but it is important. Most colleges offer more Academic Scholarships then Soccer Scholarships. The more effort you put in the classroom, the more soccer opportunities you will have.

If a college can help pay your costs thru academic scholarship, the coach doesn’t have to spend as much money out of his scholarship budget to help you.  Most colleges will “stack” academic and athletic money.  This means you might receive more financial help then if you have to rely on Athletic Scholarship money only.

To be eligible to play Division I sports, an athlete must have roughly a 2.30 GPA and an ACT score of 18. The NCAA has a sliding scale so the higher your GPA the lower your ACT or SAT score can be. To be eligible to play NCAA Division I Soccer a student with a 2.3 GPA must have at least a 980 on the SAT. A student with a 3.0 GPA is eligible with a 720 SAT score.

It is important to remember that a student-athlete must be admitted to the University and meet NCAA Standards. Each school will have its own admissions guidelines and you can usually find these posted on their website. The NCAA Standards can be found at www.NCAA.org.

Every few years the NCAA will raise its academic standards. Make sure you know the standards that are expected of you to ensure your eligibility.

Division II and Division III have different standards from NCAA Division I. You need to understand the rules for all the schools and Divisions you might be interested in.

No matter what your current GPA and test scores, there is a college that meets your level. With over a thousand college soccer programs in the country, there is a place for everyone. The harder you work in school, the more options you will have.

If you just finished your High School career, I hope you have found the college that fits you best and offers everything you want in an education and soccer program.

If you are in your Junior or Senior year, now is the time to be making coaches aware of who you are and what you have to offer as a person, student, and player see it here. If you are in your Senior year, you may be playing catch up with some schools, but there are still opportunities out there. Start contacting coaches and making them aware of your interest.

If you are going into your Sophomore year, it wouldn’t hurt to begin the process, as the earlier a coach knows of your interest the more chances he will have to see you play. But it’s early and you may not yet know what schools and/or career path you are interested in. Take this time to explore your options and your interests.

Create a Soccer Resume and Cover Letter

The Cover Letter tells coaches that you are interested in their school and asks them to send you more information about their college and their soccer program. Include information about any upcoming events (tournaments or camps) that you will be playing in. Make sure you personalize your letter. Use the coach’s name, not just “Dear Coach”. Most coaches receive hundreds of emails and letters so make sure they don’t think that this is just a form letter that you are mass mailing. If you have something personal you can say about why you are interested in their program/school then include it. The more personal the better.

In your Resume, include the following:

1. Your Name and Contact Information
2. Your grade point average and SAT or ACT Scores if you have them.
3. The teams you play on, with the Coaches names and contact information.
4. Any outstanding team accomplishments.
5. Any outstanding personal academic or athletic accomplishments.
6. Your height, weight, and what position you play.
7. A list of references; former coaches or other people who can speak well about you. Include phone numbers and email addresses.

The more details you can provide about yourself, the easier it is for coaches to get to know you. The less you provide, the more the coach has to dig and search to learn about you. The more time he must invest, the less likely he will do it. Make his job easy. Provide all the details you can.

Now it’s time to get your resume to the Coaches on your list. You can get their email addresses and regular mail address from the following sources.

Top Drawer Soccer has a list of every soccer team from every division. Their site Topdrawersoccer.com can give you contact information as well as a complete schedule for each team. They also have a link to each teams official website.

www.thesportsource.com also has a complete guide to colleges and their sports programs.

You can also do an internet search for any school or soccer team, ie Indiana or Indiana Soccer. Choose the “Official Site” and follow the links to “Staff Directory”. Click on the soccer coach’s name or email address and you are ready to send your information. If you type www.schoolname.edu, you will find the official website for almost any university or college. example: www.Indiana.edu

Now what about sending a video? Video has become a vital part of the recruiting process. If the video is done well it can help the coach get a better idea quickly about whether you would be a good fit for his/her program. If the camera work is not done well and it is difficult for the coach to tell which player is which, then it’s better left out. Ideally you will send a Highligh Video and a whole game video. Highlight videos give the coach a quick (2-3 minute) glipse of how you play. If the coach likes your Highlights, they will want to see a full game. What do you do for 90 minutes? Can you defend? Do you work hard? These things are not in your Highlights.

Coaches are very busy people. If you want them to take the time to watch your video, then it needs to be of reasonable quality. The camera angle should be high enough that at least 1/3 of the field is visible find this. Ground level video is good for highlights but terrible for watching a game. The camera needs to be on a tri-pod so it is steady. If the camera is bouncing up and down, you will give the coach a headache and he will stop watching.

Make sure you choose a game in which you played well. You don’t want to show off lots of mistakes. Ideally the opponent is also good. If your team wins 10-0 the coaches will have a hard time judging if you are that good or if your opponent is that bad.

Video can be a hard item to put together. It takes some time. But a good video is worth a thousand words and it shows the coach you are serious about what you are doing.

How or when to contact college coaches. The rules can be complicated and they change from year to year. This is a basic guide, but you can find all the details at www.ncaa.com. If you have sent out your resume as I spoke about in the Get Soccer Newsletter and made other attempts to let the College Coaches know of your interest, then what are the NCAA rules Coaches must follow about contacting prospects?

Coaches may not call you or return your phone calls until after June 15 leading into your Junior year of High School. After that date, they can call you whenever they wish. Before this time, they can answer your calls and speak with you on the phone, but only if you placed the call.

Coaches can send you a letter or email after June 15 leading into your Junior year. Before that, they can only send you a recruiting questionnaire and information on their camps. They cannot send you any recruiting information before September 1 of your Junior year, even if you sent them something first.

Coaches cannot have direct contact with you off their college campus before August 1 proceeding your Junior year. If you bump in to a coach at one of your games, he can say hello and be polite, but he is not allowed to have any recruiting conversation with you or your parents.

College coaches can speak with your Club or High School coach almost anytime. Most college coaches will call your coaches to learn about your interests and to follow up on any communication you may have sent them. This is typically one of the first steps a college coach will take.

Contact on the college campus is a different thing. Once you step foot on the college campus, the coach is allowed to speak with you or your parents. Full blown recruiting conversations are acceptable once you are on campus. These “unofficial” visits are a great way to get to know the coach and the school. The coaches can show you around campus and answer all of your questions. This is becoming a bigger and bigger part of the recruiting process. These visits are now restricted to your Junior and Senior years in High School.

Participating in a College ID Camp is another great way to get to know college coaches. They can work with you on the field and see how you handle yourself off the field as well. You will also get to know the coaches much better when you are spending that much time together. How do you fit with the personality of the coach? Is this someone you want to spend the next 4 years of your life with? Camp is a great way to find out.

What is the Signing Date and what does it mean for you?

For College Soccer the signing day is now in mid November. This year the Signing Day was Nov. 14.

This is the 1st day that High School Seniors could sign a scholarship acceptance with Division I or II Universities. Seniors can sign from November up until classes begin at their college. While most Seniors will sign on or near this date, sometimes they take longer. There is no real deadline, although coaches may put a deadline on recruits to make a decision.

When signing day comes, some players will sign a “scholarship” or NLI (National Letter of Intent). Others will be walk-ons, which simply means they are not being offered a scholarship.

Signing day in Football tends to be a day with lots of media attention. In Soccer, there isn’t as much attention, but it is just as important. This is the day that players can officially make their commitment to a University. Once they sign, they cannot change their mind without going through a lot of red tape. Once signed, the University can announce which players will be joining their team.

For coaches, this is the day that they know in which direction their program is moving. If their top choices have “signed”, they know that the future looks good and they can start working on the following years recruiting class.

If signing day didn’t go well, coaches know they will be back on the road recruiting, looking for another player to help their team this coming fall, which can give uncommitted players another chance to be recruited.

There are several ways to visit colleges when you are trying to find the college with the right fit for you.

The most comprehensive way to visit a college is during an “Official Visit”. But Official Visits must be set up through the soccer program and coaches will only bring in their top recruits. An official visit may occur anytime after August 1 of your Junior year. During an official visit, the college or soccer program may cover some or all of your expenses. You can only take 5 “official visits” and no more than one per college. Official Visits must last no more than 48 hours.

During an Official Visit you will spend time with some of the players, meet with the coaches, tour campus, and usually meet with some of the academic support staff. There is no better way to learn about the college and soccer program.

You can also arrange for an “Unofficial Visit” with the soccer coach. This type of visit will allow you to learn about the Soccer Program and will give insight into how you might fit into the team. You will need to contact the coach and ask if you can arrange a visit. This type of visit can be done any time after August 1 of your Junior year but the college cannot cover any of your expenses. These visits can last 10 minutes or all day.

You can always call Admissions and arrange a campus tour. Almost every admissions office hosts prospective students, gives tours of campus, and answers general academic questions. While this type of visit will not give you much info about the soccer program, it will allow you to see the campus and figure out if it is a good fit for you outside of soccer.

Visiting a college campus is an important part of figuring out what school is the best fit for you. Most players will start to make visits during their Junior year so they can have plenty of time to see and learn about all of their potential choices. Start by visiting schools that are close by and as you learn more about what colleges have to offer, you can also figure out more about what is important to you. Once you have this base knowledge, you can really start to research different Universities and expand your search.

While most people think of the summer as a time for Vacation, college soccer players know that summer is a key time leading up to the fall season. The college preseason is only 2 weeks long. Much of preseason is spent preparing the team tactically for matches. What formation, starting lineup and style of play must all be organized during this two week window.

This doesn’t leave much time for fitness training. Coaches expect their players to arrive on campus fully fit and ready to begin rigorous training. For incoming Freshmen, the difference in fitness expectations can be intimidating.

Coaches typically send players a summer workout program. This program begins with distance running in May and part of June. By the middle of June the running is mixed with shuttle runs and other change of direction activities. The month of July is spent with high intensity shuttles and other activities that force the body to handle the rigors of a soccer game.

By spreading the work over several months we can reduce the number of injuries and gradually prepare the body for the demands of the college game.

The transition to college soccer can be difficult. We are asking 18 year old Freshmen to compete with 23-25 year old Seniors. Add in the school-work, living in a new environment and other changes that come with College, and the fall can be a stressful time. If Freshmen are fit when they arrive, they will have a better chance of doing well, not being injured, and enjoying their college experience.

This seems like a simple question, but there are more than 1000 college soccer programs and each school may be looking for something different.

My advice is simple: 1.Be a good student that I can count on to get your school work done. 2. Be the best player you can be. 3. Be the kind of person I want to spend the next 4 years with.

1. I need to know that I can count on each player for 4 years. If students can’t or wont do the school-work, I have no choice but to look for someone who can or will.
2. Not every player has to be a star. Only 11 players will start a match. Every team needs players who will work hard each day and develop their talents over time. If you have been hard working in High School or Club soccer, then I know this habit will continue in college.
3. I want to be your soccer coach, not your baby-sitter. Can I count on you to represent our University in a first class manner? Will I have to explain to the media or my Athletic Director why one of our athletes has gotten in trouble? With thousands of student/athletes to choose from, most coaches will choose the ones who make a habit out of doing the right thing.

Every college coach has different needs. But if you work on these three areas, you will improve your chances of finding a school that wants what you have to offer.