Hello, do any of you know good soccer boarding schools that offer soccer year-round in the states, of Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania? Thank you.
Although not year round, The Pennington School has one of the top teams in the country.
You don’t want to play soccer at a boarding school year round if you’re serious about soccer. Outside of the traditional high school season, the only real way to get high quality training and exposure for college is through MLS Next/ECNL/GA.
Find a school that does well in NEPSAC, and the kids on that team play for top clubs in the area outside of high school season.
But make sure you understand the logistics of this.
Hence why finding a school with kids that already play at those clubs. In our situation we have schools with built in transportation through other soccer players at that school, and another school that committed to provide transportation. Top athletic schools understand top leagues and their showcases are the only way to get exposure to top colleges. If you’re a top level athlete and the school wants you, the school will demonstrate how they can help you long before decision day.
We had soccer coaches put us in touch with local club directors. They also watched highlight reels like schools do. You’ll need to try out, but if you’re top talent, you should be able to find a home.
Playing at schools like Andover that are close to Boston area clubs is much easier than going to a school like Hotchkiss where it’s much further and harder to get to play outside of high school season. It’s possible, but will be a larger time commitment away from school.
I think the OP is asking for schools that are almost exclusively focused on high level, year round soccer, that also happen to have academics, and are boarding. These schools turn out many D1 level players, and are on a par with MLS Next teams. They also have many international players.
OP, you may want to check out the Northwood School in Lake Placid NY, South Kent, in CT, and the Woodstock Academy also in CT. There are other such schools, but in other states.
Prep schools with strong soccer include Berkshire, Millbrook, Taft, NMH, and I think now Salisbury. I am not familiar with the ISL schools, some of them are very strong in soccer too.
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Within the ISL this year, Milton was undefeated for boys. For girls, I think Thayer and BB & N were tied at the top of the standings, but neither of those have boarding.
My neighbor did a PG year at South Kent for soccer and is now playing in college. The longtime South Kent coach left this year and went to Woodstock, I think in part because South Kent was moving away from year round play, but I could be wrong about the reasons why he left.
I believe he left because he broke the NEPSAC rules about out of season practices. As you I’m sure know he is super well connected, and his players really like him. He’s why I am certain Woodstock Academy is/will be a soccer powerhouse, even though I know nothing of the school/program. I did see they had an All American this past season.
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Late reply, but only school that has played and beat all these schools listed is The Phelps School.
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