Our S26 has indicated that he only wants to go to college to play soccer. To provide some context, his older brother is graduating from a college ranked #9 on USNW. His sister will likely be qualified to attend a top-tier school. Our S26 is probably more academically capable than his siblings.
We are not seeking input on the pros and cons of pushing an academically gifted child to go to college. Our goal is to find a college that would give our son a spot on the soccer team. We have zero experience with college recruiting. Does it make sense to explain our specific situation when contacting coaches? Would there be coaches who are sympathetic to our situation? Assume that he is academically qualified and full pay for the schools we will be contacting.
Not sure what situation you are wanting the coach to be sympathetic towards? Coaches will care first about his soccer ability (even at highly selective schools), then move into academic qualifications.
Your S should be contacting coaches now via email with his academic and soccer stats, as well as attach a highlight video or link to video (2 min max, best plays at beginning of video.)
Assuming he is playing tourneys this summer, he should reach out beforehand via email to the coaches who will be at the tourneys and introduce himself.
What club level is your S playing at right now? Does his club have a history of sending players to selective schools? What is your best estimate of his college level/potential?
Is he a strong enough soccer player that he is recruitable? That is the only way a coach would be interested. Otherwise, some colleges have club teams â would that level of soccer suffice?
There is probably a school out there for everyone, but itâs an important question.
Itâs extremely important that he gives fair consideration to any school where he can play without the soccer. You never know if there will be an injury or some other reason playing is no longer possible.
Thanks. We understand the process of contacting coaches, videos, ID camps, etc⊠We are not looking at soccer as a path to get into a highly selective school. We want him to go to a school and not miss the experience. His club team has put a couple of kids into college soccer, but itâs inconsistent. His two current club coaches think he has the potential to play small school D3.
Several of the players I coached played in college. What level does your son play? Are you or is he expecting money?
Money is the crux for most. First, you have to be good enough to play D1, but just as importantly, they only get 9.9 scholarships to spread around. I visited Santa Clara with a player. The coach straight up said âWeâd love to have you. Can you afford it?â
If heâs academically strong and ok with not playing D1, D3 is the way to go. Thatâs where my guys ended up. D3 doesnât give athletic scholarships, but recruited athletes can get an admissions boost and a boost to their academic and need based financial packages. Both of my guys were full rides.
I appreciate all the input. Right now, he needs a carat. If he knew he could play soccer in college, if he kept a 95 average for the rest of high school, he would. Right now, he keeps about an 85 because he needs that to continue to allow him to play. He is very strategic.
[quote=âMwfan1921, post:8, topic:3667628â]
Is he interested in liberal arts schools (not that all D3s are LACs)?
[/quote] I know this may sound crazy, but he is interested in playing college soccer; what type of college is secondary?
To give an idea of his academic aptitude, he was selected to an honors robotics program at his high school. The program has three kids per grade, and the kids in the program almost all end up in top-tier schools. He turned it down.
Further to @Mwfan1921 's post above, there are schools like Bard and Earlham that arenât super competitive in soccer (ie, NESCAC) and might welcome a player like your son. Youâd have to look for the right academic fit and know that there wonât be $ for him, but there are sweet spots out there.
Both those schools, in different fields, are excellent.
It seems he is not realizing his academic potential from your perspective, which is separate from playing college soccer (at least in my mind.) There are many good players in community college/NJCAAâŠwould that be of interest to him?
There is a long list of D3 schools that would admit a student with an 85 average and I expect your S could play soccer at some. The coach will be the gatekeeper though, so your S will still need to reach out to them.
St Olaf would likely love to have him - and the academics are solid if he ever âwakes upâ and realizes thereâs more to life than soccer. Itâs in MN so itâs not as competitive as NESCAC for the academic level&graduate placement though lots of Bs would make it a reach -coach support would help.
Less academically challenging and a match for a B student, Ohio Wesleyan has a reputation for sporty kids.
Trinity CT would be a good reach, perhaps Franklin&Marshall?
Whitman if the PNW is of interest.
You can look at the Massey rankings ( Massey Ratings - College Soccer : NCAA D3 Ratings ) to gauge the strength of various soccer programs, and target those way down the list. What level is your son playing at? ECNL?
You might also take a look at the Oxford campus of Emory, they have a soccer team; although on the academic side it might be a reach. (They arenât on the Massey site because, as a 2 year campus, they compete against other 2 year schools.)
There are a bazillion schools that would fit. We can spitball all of them out there, but none of it means anything unless you expand on whatâs important to him or you in a school beyond simply having a soccer program.
If your child is strategic, to the point that he targets the minimum to continue playing soccer, have you taken into account the actual commitment playing college soccer can entail? What level of club soccer does he play? He may be completely unprepared for the coachâs expectations during the season.
I suppose it depends on the athletic level. I assumed this was a boy who spent all his time&energy on soccer thus was quite good. Obviously until the parent comes back youâre right, I may have overestimated the boyâs ability!
IF he is recruitable at that level though, StO would likely be a good college to consider for s.o whoâd love a champion team and may be a late-bloomer academically.
If the soccer isnât there, Bs wouldnât cut it foe admission though⊠though it may be the motivation he needs to improve his grades
If has the ability to play D3, consider NAIA and JUCO schools that offer athletic scholarship money. D3 is going to weigh grades more for scholarship money, since they donât offer athletic money. There are also some smaller D2âs that might be a fit, and also offer athletic money.
All OP said is that the current coaches said âsmall D3â for level, which doesnât tell us much. It would be hlepful to know what level of club soccer this student is playing! Full pay will be an advantage for this student too.
