Does anybody have any insights on how colleges recruiting goaltenders? My daughter has made it to National Camp, Nationals twice and beat the number 7 team in the nation in U19AAA when we were the severe underdogs. She also scrimmages against AAA boys, ACHA D1 and ECHL pros. Coaches don’t even give my kid the time of day. I’m extremely frustrated by the process. It’s just seems tremendously unfair.
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Have you reached out to coaches with highlight reels? Has she let coaches know when she’s playing in tournaments? Attended any recruiting camps?
Where are you in the process after initiating contact? (They don’t come to you…)
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Is your daughter reaching out to coaches via email, with film and academic stats? Is she reaching out to coaches before tourneys, introducing herself, and asking them to stop by and watch her play?
Can her coaches help with connections?
Is she open to many schools or just set on a few?
What year is your D?
ETA cross post with gardenstategal
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We’ve done it all: college camps, NAE, NCD, instagram, Youtube, emails, big tournaments (NAHA, NIT, Calgary Fire), etc…
It’s not clear from your post what’s going on. In addition to the other replies, I’d add that if your daughter is reaching out to coaches and not getting a response, then she’s shooting too high, and should drop down a level. So, reach out to D3 schools instead of only D1, e.g. Or weaker teams instead of national powerhouses.
The recruiting process is no more unfair than any other aspect of youth sports. Which is to say, it can be unfair, but basically “cream rises to the top”. Coaches want to win, they aren’t going to overlook a really talented player.
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What does her club coach say? What level do they project her playing at?
Goalies are tough because some teams that would be a good fit might not need a goalkeeper this recruiting cycle, and if there’s no spot there’s not much your daughter can do about that.
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We’ve given up on D1 as there are only a few schools that would fit her academically. So we concentrated on D3. I know D3 women are not as good as the AAA/AA players on her high school team.
AAA/AA U18 boys, I want to add.
Are you following the coach Renee FB page? It’s a very good resource. The other thing I can think of is making sure she is reaching out to all the coaches, not just the head coaches. More often than not they are not the ones dealing with these emails. Also, relevant info should go on the subject line.
Lastly, I don’t know about Hockey, but women’s recruiting for most sports typically runs on an earlier timeline. I imagine that can be even worse for a niche position, like goalie. We are basically against EA/ED deadlines, so it’s plausible that teams are done recruiting.
She could reach out to schools she is interested in to feel the waters for next year. I don’t know that is the case but if she didn’t get on the recruiting bandwagon early enough, a gap year may be the answer. That window is quickly closing too though, so it’s something that needs to be done in parallel, not after this application cycle.
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Or a PG year at a good hockey school (if the budget allows.)
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Yes. I had that in mind too. I think for a lot of athletes a PG year is a better approach than a traditional gap year. I know it would have been for my son because socially, training locally and not attending school, would not have been a great option where we live.
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Agreed. And if a PG option could possibly be attractive to OP’s D, time is ticking for that too, unfortunately.
ETA: OP’s D might also consider club hockey or trying to walk-on to the varsity team the college they end up attending (if recruiting doesn’t work out.)
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I think there is a little flexibility there. PGs are not always on the traditional application timeline since so many don’t plan for that and it’s something they look at after the college situation didn’t work out how they wanted.
Still, I think OP should be looking at all these options in parallel with the college app process. If they do that they can make an educated choice once acceptances are in hand. It never hurts to have options.
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Has the OP said what year her daughter graduates?
Title says 2025
My God, I am not paying attention!!!
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You are late in the process for a 2025 but that doesn’t mean you cannot have success. Women’s hockey is challenging because there are only about 120 teams nationwide for D1 and D3 combined.
I am familiar with a couple of women’s hockey recruits and both started early, with relatively serious if informal conversations in their sophomore year about interest and potential. One will announce later this fall but the other one (a goalie) dropped off and took a spot in her other sport because she could not get good traction at schools matching her academic goals.
The high academic programs for both D1 and D3 are probably done for 2025 by this point since support typically requires an ED application.
I would continue to reach out regarding walk on and possible soft support opportunities or consider a PG year as others have mentioned.
Coach Renee’s FB page can help with developing a system and approach.
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There is some really good advice here in this thread, including a PG year/PG @ a good hockey school.
A positive frame of mind is really important, and I have seen numerous families endure unsuccessful recruiting cycles when adopting an “it’s unfair” attitude. In general, it’s pretty fair, but not efficient. Coaches may not have a proper chance to evaluate candidate talent, or have limited time so they go with who they already know, and a myriad of other reasons why they may not be able to choose or see the most “talented” kids. It’s really important to remain positive, resilient, and be creative in how best to communicate with coaches.
Another thing to consider is college in Canada. The academics are almost uniformly very good, and some of the best college-age hockey talent heads to the U.S., so yours may be able to be recruited, or walk-on/tryout after being admitted.
Admissions are often relatively easy in contrast to the U.S., as Canadian universities tend to weed kids out after they are admitted, but not before.
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Her club coach says that she should have no problem playing Men’s ACHA D2.
Anyway, we’ve emailed all of the coaches for each college since her junior year. We have followed the script. Just disappointed with the entire process.
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Is she trying to play men’s hockey in college?
Have any coaches engaged with her? If so, what was the feedback?
What are her academic stats?