Purdue only has club soccer.
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Purdue doesn’t have men’s soccer. I think studying engineering at these level schools and playing a sport would be a very tough road. Some coaches will dissuade recruits from majoring in Engineering or similarly time consuming majors.
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I would look at Rose-Hulman. Highly ranked for engineering. It is D3, but every athlete is also majoring in either engineering, math, or science. So all the athletes are in the same boat, so to speak.
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WPI (D3) was one of only 2 schools where S23 could see continuing his sport. And not just one sport, but two. It is not uncommon at WPI and they “specialize” in engineers. I don’t know if it’s because of where they are located, or because they have gone out of their way to plan for it, but all of the schools in their conference are very close which cuts down on a lot of travel time.
If engineering is the sure thing, I’d highly recommend attending an engineering camp at WPI if you can swing it. About 9th grade is when my son started seeing himself as a STUDENT athlete and thinking about his future. One of the reasons he ended up not playing a sport in college was that because of all of the time spent on games/training/travel, he had a very difficult time fitting things in that didn’t have to do with his sport(s), but when he did, he really enjoyed them. By the time he was being recruited, he realized how much time was spent playing/traveling/practicing and that he didn’t want that to be his college experience vs. experiencing all of the other things that college had to offer.
While I know the coach thinks he’s helping, I’ve seen way too many kids fall in love with a school because they were flattered by the idea of being recruited even though it’s not necessarily the “right” school for the kid. (There is even a current CC post about this written by a student who is currently questioning that decision). I’d hold off until sophomore year when he can put more thought into what type of school he’d like to go to, what kind of commitment he wants to make to soccer, and what level he is projected to play at.
Yes
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This might be helpful. Cross reference it with ABET ME programs from the ABET search bar.
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Sure, its possible anywhere. If hes good enough and smart enough, he will have to have the self motivation to keep up.
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What was the other school?
While, I am very skeptical that my kid sending emails the summer after 8th will be the thing that makes or breaks his NCAA career, I actually think that his team’s approach kind of makes sense. We are in an area that is very very status obsessed when it comes to college, and I think a lot of families push sports as a way to get into one of the small number of schools they think is acceptable. The coaches are really emphasizing having a long and varied list, which is I think the message they need.
If your son is a super high level d1 player then all bets are off.
However if he is a mid/low level d1 player, then – for now!! It’s early – it sounds like d3 might be the perfect fit for him. He would get the fun of lots of playing time, with a demanding, but less demanding than d1, schedule, allowing more scope for engineering.
What about just not giving the coach a college list at this point? Or, asking them where they recommend reaching out, given your son’s playing level.
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Im curious what coaches responses have been in the past and what the success rate of this assignment has been. Where have kids on this team gone to in the past?
That doesn’t mean you have to participate in the groupthink.
Just know that your kid can send emails to coaches, but they can’t email him back. How will that action help your son? Some not insignificant proportion of those coaches won’t even be around when it does come time for your S to be recruited, assuming that’s still something he wants.
I do agree casting a wide net is important. Many of the best soccer teams are not at ‘prestigious’ schools. He can major in engineering at any school (that offers it). Assuming the coach allows engineering majors to be on the team.
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I do agree with this. Adding that would be in the context of the world, not the US. Some of the top D1 soccer teams have a large proportion of internationals on their teams.
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Yes, the OP’s son would have to be clearly the best player on his very high level team, playing up a year or two, to think this might be a possibility.
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Agree with this (and it’s what I meant by saying you could just not give the coach a list). Because if the player is “all that” coaches will know (and your club will talk him up – it’s in their interest). And if he’s not quite “all that”, then it is way too early.
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This is a very easy task then. Look up which schools have men’s soccer and then cross reference with those schools that have ABET accreditation for engineering. Now you have a very large list of possibilities. Done. Revisit the list in a year and start filtering out schools.
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My son emailed 50+ schools the summer before his freshman year of high school. You have no way of knowing which schools have interest until they can officially contact you. Casting a wide net is a very good idea, but it’s a lot of work. We had to create school/coach email groups to make updating that many schools realistic. To @Mwfan1921 's point, those email groups occasionally had to be updated to reflect coach movement. It’s not a small task to keep track of the coaching staff at that many schools. Because he emailed so early, when COVID hit, he was already in their email system with highlight video, AND, they’d already seen him in person during his freshman and sophomore years, both locally and at showcase tournaments. That made things easier for him than it was for most other players.
Luckily his club made a point of approaching every coach on the sidelines with a folio of player information to leave with them. They would catalog the name of the coaches, and their schools, and email everyone on the team a list of who was at each game. It gave you an inkling of who “might” be there to see you. On June 14th we stayed up until midnight to see which schools had interest. At 12:01 his phone started binging with texts. It was a lot of fun, but I’ll tell you, in the end, he eventually committed to a school that didn’t text that night at midnight.
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I’m not a soccer parent, but I am close to several who are.
My takeaway after watching a decade plus of all of this-
All the time that you might devote to outreach, research, etc. could be spent making sure your kid has a balanced and happy teenage experience. If the entire family spends the next few years living, breathing, talking soccer and college and soccer/college, the likelihood that your son will have the strength to “go his own way” when the time comes? Not high. Only an injury would derail him and you wouldn’t wish that on anyone.
Kids with high level athletics still need to rake leaves, shovel snow, make their bed, learn to put a simple dinner on the table, make their own dentist appointments. Kids with high level athletics still need to visit grandma on her birthday, visit a museum or historical site if that’s the family’s plan for a free Sunday, babysit for a young cousin while the parents have a rare night out.
The kids who grow up in bubble wrap because training, sleep, travel, competition, PLUS schoolwork consumes every moment… it doesn’t always end the way you want it to end with a glorious college playing career AND a fantastic academic experience. Those kids are the minority. And when college is over- you still want your kid to be an actual, high functioning, kind and generous human being.
Can he play soccer and study engineering? Yes. Does that mean the only two things that are important in his life are soccer and schoolwork? I’d vote emphatically no.
I’ve posted before about my sophomore year roommate who had to choose between crew and medicine. She was brilliant and hard-working and had the most exceptional time management skills I’ve ever seen. But I think her patients (now that she’s close to retiring) would be happy that someone so kind and ethical and empathic chose to leave the team and focus on becoming a full human being, a skilled physician, and wonderful community member/volunteer.
Let your kid be a kid for another two years or so before you enter the athletic rat race. That’s my vote. Advice from a stranger? Take it or leave it…
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These would be great questions to ask a club when a kid is deciding where to play.
I am not doubting this could have helped, but the coaches seeing him was far more important.
Not all programs/coaches are organized re: incoming emails/film organization. Many coaches have told me they don’t even know where the recruiting questionnaire replies go…they/their staff literally never see them. I stopped recommending kids do those and email directly as you did. But until coaches can contact the kid, you just really don’t know where that email is in the ether. And yes, I know there are phone/facetime conversations set up between the kid and coach prior to Jun 15th of 10th grade in some cases, but that’s not all that common.
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Another way to say it is that it’s a marathon, not a sprint. Burnout is not uncommon. Play the long game.
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I agree that I dont think this assignment is hard. Go to the NCAA d1 d2 d3 soccer rankings. Pick some at the top, the middle, and bottom from each division.
I get it that its fun for a parent to think about their kid being a big sports star. Most parents feel good when their kid does well. But I urge you to not put this insane pressure on your kid. Pick some schools nobody ever talks about. Pick some at the bottom of the list.
Do your kid a favor and dont jump into the pressure cooker of elite college admissions in 8th grade based on athletic ability.
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