April 17th, 2022 by Mike Getman
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.