Mens Soccer - Does size matter?

Entering high school @ MLS Next, it’s noticeable how the soccer game has changed to become more physical.

How challenging is it for bio-banded or kids who started growing late to get recruited, given that the recruiting and id camps begins when the size difference can be significant?

Anyone out there with personal success or failure stories at the top academic programs?
Does size matter for recruitment?

It matters, and it matters more for some positions than others. Centerbacks are at least 6’ and many are taller. Wingers can be smaller.

If one is, say, 5’7" it is going to be very difficult to play on a D1 team.

But – talent trumps everything. If you are really good you will be recruited. The best gk in a top program’s history was 5’9", so exceptions are definitely out there.

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Stanford won back-to-back NCAA titles with Andrew Epstein, their GK who was listed as 6’0", but was certainly 1-2" shorter when I stood side-by-side with him.

Yes, size matters, as does speed and talent.

So let’s say you’re a small technical attacker and you’re in 9th grade…
Is it even worthwhile to go to an ID camp?
Won’t you just get manhandled? It’s like playing 3 years up while undersized to boot.
Even if you’re fast, the 6’ defender will just push you over.

Size matters a lot. But it’s not just height, it’s how you’re built and how strong you are.

If you are playing MLS Next, why not ask your coach for guidance?

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It might depend on what you mean by “top academic programs.” If you mean top D1 programs for soccer, very difficult for smaller players to get recruited unless you are amazing. If you mean academically tippy top schools, including D3, then I imagine it isn’t as difficult. And what position you play certainly matters. Exceedingly rare to see goalies, center backs or strikers below 6’. Midfielders can be smaller, however, even as small as 5’6."

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Our friends actually went to Europe for a year to see if their son (8th grade) could progress in that system b/c the opportunities in the US were limited for him given how small he was (both late puberty but probably not going to be big anyway). They said it’s much easier to find a path there than in the US. Jury is still out on how that will end up for them.
We also know someone who is quite small who played for Georgetown and is now in a league in Spain.

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My son’s friend, co-captain for varsity, played with the same club, is about 5’8”, solid, played D1 and started freshman year (which wasn’t entirely great, the majority of the team were international and not that friendly, and he was a little resented by older non starters). College has a 68% acceptance rate in the northeast.

My son’s roommate is 5’3" and 130 lbs. and plays D1 soccer. I just checked, he played in 19 games with 11 starts.

Shorter guys can get recruited if they’re both fast and technically sound. How tall are you?

My son played against Taig Healey since they were both 12 years old, first in the DA, which then transitioned to MLS Next. Taig was always tiny, but man was he a pest, always moving and always injecting himself into the game. He plays at NC State now. They lost to Marshall this year in the Sweet 16 by one goal. Taig started in every game of the season and logged 1554 minutes. He’s 5’7" and weighs 145 lbs.

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I agree with cinnamon1212, I would ask your coach whether ID camps make sense for you now, and if so, which ones.

How tall are you projected to be in adulthood? Coaches may directly ask you that, and they will look at how tall your parents are as well.

After reading your post it seems like you’re a freshman in high school. You really don’t need to attend an ID camp until at least next summer, if not later.

The advice about speaking to your actual club coach is most important right now. He’ll give you an indication of where you project as a player.

This summer chose a local college camp(a single college, not a college cattle call) at a school you don’t necessarily want to attend. Go get a feel for the format in a low pressure environment. After that you can assess how you did and proceed from there.

What you want to do now is start communicating with coaches by email. Start with your top 50 schools across all divisions. Create highlight reels. Check back in with them every few months with updates about school, soccer and your extracurriculars. It seems like busy work, but in the end it could make the difference. My son started early, then the Covid pandemic hit. Other players didn’t have film. My son had a couple of years worth. You never know what twist in the road could pop up.

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I agree with cinnamon1212, I would ask your coach whether ID camps make sense for you now, and if so, which ones.

It’s a great thought, but clubs mostly just care about winning now-- anything after the club is very secondary at best. Also, most MLS clubs don’t want you to do ANYTHING except go to their practices and games. You’ve probably heard that most can’t play high school ball either-- that’s the culture. This year, some teams just cut the entire team and brought in a completely new (big) team. The idea that the club is your personal guidance/career counselor is a bit naive-- you’re on your own.

Generally if you’ve been bio-banded (and you’re actually small :eyes:), it means they think you’re pretty technical/skilled and have potential (otherwise they’d just cut you).

How tall are you projected to be in adulthood? Coaches may directly ask you that, and they will look at how tall your parents are as well.

My mom is very short (5’1) and my dad is just under 6’. I’m almost my mom’s height now. Doctors refuse to project my height due to the wide gap and my late growth.

Doctors should not refuse to project your height. You can get a bone age scan done and an endocrinologist will read it and tell you your projected height. It can be off by a few inches but it will be a good guide.

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Well, I spent 6 years of my life flying all over the country, and internationally, to get my son to U.S. Soccer Development Academy and MLS Next games. I’m still friendly with several coaches, some of which have gone on to coach at Ivies and top D1 programs across the U.S. My son never set foot on a high school field.

You need to do 85%+ of the work, but if you can’t trust your coach to give you a no B.S. assessment of your potential trajectory, stop paying the club and find a new E.C. to put on your application.

Many of us here have been there, done that when it comes to soccer, from town leagues all they way up to college soccer. You shouldn’t assume you are communicating with neophytes that are regurgitating things they’ve heard on the sidelines.

You know what the clubs want just as much as wins? College commitments. They have a vested interest in shipping players off to college. Most club websites have a college commitment page, I can’t think of one that posts wins and losses.

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I just wanted to echo this.

At our feederish private HS, the top soccer players are usually not D1 recruitable, but they can end up recruited at D3s. And in fact, recently it is like we have specialized in sending kids specifically to UAA colleges (aka the Egghead Eight):

That’s a pretty nice collection of colleges, and I know some kids/parents who were thrilled to get recruited by them.

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Oh my, sorry. That comment wasn’t directed at you specifically or as a dig!
The landscape has also changed a lot from the DA days with NIL, shrinking college rosters, seemingly more emphasis on size now. Even MLS Next has changed in the past few years. Teams using their best player as a bio-band to win, etc. ID camps were not a thing but are they now?

I guess this was a hail mary for any specific advice/tips, ideally from someone who knows the current recruiting landscape or a recently recruited small player. Advice and encouragement from the past is also of course very appreciated.

I, of course, plan to speak with the club more directly about this soon, but I can anticipate what they will say, “Wait and do nothing”. Meanwhile, all these recruiting events and camps and opportunities pass me by, which is why I’m posting here.

Ok, ID camps are not really changed from years past, nor has size suddenly become an issue – it has always been an issue.

The advice you’ve been given is excellent. Start reaching out to coaches this Spring. I always recommend the book “The Athletic Scholarship Playbook” because it very concisely sets out the recruiting process.

My son was at a boarding school, and it was impossible for him to manage the process all by himself. I created a spreadsheet of all the schools and kept track of communication, at least early on. (As one gets older and the recruiting ramps up communication happens mostly by text and phone call; keeping rrack of that was my son’s job). So you may want to enlist a parent’s help with this.

The schools on your list should be academic reach, target and safeties, and also reach, target and safeties from a soccer viewpoint.

Given the roster limits, it will be even more challenging to play D1 (and, actually, d3 as well, since top d3 programs are hoping for some d1 players to fall into their laps). So cast a wide net. Target all division levels. I agree with @GKUnion to go to some school specific camps, at schools you are not really interested in, to get a feel for the process and see how you compare. Keep in mind that at a camp with, say, 100 kids, only the top 5 or so will get serious recruiting interest.

While size is important, it certainly isn’t disqualifying.

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I took a quick look at the ACC men’s teams. Here are the shorter players on the top 4 teams in the standings.

Pitt has a 5’6" player, 2 at 5’7" and 2 at 5’9".

Clemson has a 5’4" player, 1 at 5’7", 2 at 5’8" and 2 at 5’9".

Duke has 2 players at 5’8"(one of which I’m familiar with) and 2 at 5’9".

Wake Forest has 1 player at 5’7", 2 at 5’8" and 4 at 5’9"

I’d worry more about international players than tall ones.

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Thanks so much, are there other top academic programs or coaches that have liked smaller technical players?