The event is not till June. Thank you for the advice! Will follow it for this school.
What about schools like MIT where they have just one camp a year. Any idea when they get serious about recruits that match their initial academic requirements?
Again, I appreciate all your advice! This is an interesting process!
I cannot answer your question, and you probably already know this, but just in case you don’t, MIT coaches have dramatically less pull with admissions than other d3 schools.
I can assure you the MIT coach is already “serious” about the majority of their recruits. Your son should already have established relationships with coaches at schools he interested in academically and athletically at this point and know where he stands, as a rising senior. If he hasn’t heard anything back, hasn’t talked to the coaches on the phone, and hasn’t been told he’s getting a pre-read (or already had a pre-read), it’s less likely he’s going to be recruited at high academic schools such as MIT or a NESCAC. I wouldn’t spend any more time or money on travel to college clinics at this point unless he’s talked with the coaches, they’ve specifically told him he’s on their short list of recruits and they’ll likely be taking him through a pre-read.
Thank you! Got an invite to camp due to academics but that’s it.
when my soccer daughter was being recruited she was explained the pre read process winter/spring of her junior year and then was asked to submit pre read materials in april/may with results starting to come in in june/july. if you son hasn’t had phone calls/zoom calls/text messages with the coach at this point and the coach has gone over the pre read process then I would say it is safe to assume he isn’t in the top group and its time to put his efforts elsewhere. the coach has seen him play 2+ times, no need to spend money on another camp or wait for another showcase to move efforts to other schools
many high academic schools like MIT get serious about recruits the summer before their junior year, finalize their groups throughout junior year and offer pre reads, admissions support, or roster spots summer before senior year
Another thing to keep in mind is the cynical (but realistic) view that the “ID camps” primarily function as fundraisers for the particular team. As other have mentioned here, they can also be part of the evaluation process for recruits, but really only if there have been conversations already and the coach is very interested and has extended a personal invitation.
With my D25’s process, based on geography, timing, and funds she wasn’t able to attend any on-campus ID camps even though some coaches wanted her to. Their evaluation was done though videos and showcase tournaments.
That was a suspicion of mine. In many instances, it was after the coach saw D playing in an ID tournament and the camp seemed like a way to stay in touch and perhaps get to know the kid better. At other times, it seemed like a manic plea for “come to my camp! come to my camp!” That felt like $$.
I remember the Wellesley coach seeing her play in a President’s Day tournament in Phoenix against Elk Grove (CA), one of the top teams in her age bracket (and one of the top clubs nationally), and asked her to come to his camp. I was like, you just watched her juice against several major D1 committed athletes. You’re not going to get a better eval of her ability to play for Wellesley College than that.
We attended few camps. The only ones we attended were those that were convenient to our travel plans (time and place).
For girls and boys? Last Summer, the coach said it was too early to start the process.
“Last summer” meaning the summer before junior year?
The process (assuming you mean recruiting process) can start in 9th grade – slowly, for d3 – and then it picks up the pace over the years, until junior year it’s a runaway train. I am talking about boys.
A player doesn’t have to start in 9th grade, but it’s a good idea to be in communication by 10th grade.
If your son is at almost the end of junior year, if a school is interested the head coach would have called him, probably more than once, the assistant coach would be texting him to check in weekly, he might have already gotten an offer from schools in leagues that allow this, the coach would be telling him exactly what they need for a preread and that he would be submitted for a preread on July 1 (or earlier depending on the league).
If your son isn’t getting this reaction (and he’s emailed coaches and sent highlight videos) then he’s targeting too high from a soccer perspective. What guidance does his club coach have? That coach should be able to say what level your son is.
I may be wrong, but if I am right, there are plenty of highly selective schools that have weak soccer teams (Grinnell, Swarthmore come to mind, I’m sure there are others), and that’s who he should be reaching out to.
I am sorry about my advice, but I don’t want to see your son wasting his time running down dead ends while at the same time missing great opportunities. What league does your son play in? (ECNL, MLS Next etc)
Which coach told you this? If your son was a rising junior last summer, it was definitely not too early to have meaningful recruiting contact.
Different coaches have different timelines.
True, and that’s why I asked which coach told them this. Most high academic schools are getting ready to do pre-reads for their top recruits. It would seem to be late in the game for many of those schools.
I wouldn’t recommend collegecurious6 ID the school, which IDs the coach…and note they were talking about last summer being too early…perhaps the coach just took their job and wasn’t ready to start recruiting, we really have no idea the coach’s circumstances or timeline nor does it matter right now.
While I don’t disagree than many high academic school coaches have identified their top recruits for class of 2025 (and plenty of non-NESCAC D3s have already done some pre-reads), there is still a long way to go in 2025 recruiting land.
Thanks, I think you hit the nail on the head. Surely, they have certain kids that they have already taken through the process. But from the communication we have gotten back and looks like they do want to pursue the next steps. I guess a lot happens in the Summer after Ecnl Play-offs, MLS Next Flex and Cup.