May 1st, 2022 by Mike Getman
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.