Last year after the high school season drew to a close, BOTN Industries opened a very successful thread dealing with college selection, interfacing with college coaches, and the recruitment process. Many interesting discussions took place related to showcasing and team preparation. As the late fall, winter, and spring showcasing season starts to gear up, we have brought back this thread for a new audience in 2009-2010.

Please feel free to ask questions about the college process as it relates to academics, soccer, or both. For those who would like to reread last year's discussion, please see the 2008-2009 College Recruitment discussion.

Replayed from last year's discussion, this post discussed some of the first steps that any family's preparations should include when choosing schools for either academic or athletic purposes.

Start by constructing two lists : the first list is a purely academic list of schools that have your son/daughter's majors/interests. The list should contain about ten to twelve schools broken into three buckets : stretch schools (100-200 points above your current SAT scores), on-par schools (those that match your GPA or SAT/ACT scores), and safety schools (those which are an obvious acceptance where you would be in the top quartile of the student body). When you do this academic listing, think to yourself "suppose I could never play soccer again - where would I go?" (CollegeBoard.Com is a great resource for these types of searches.)

Now, construct a second list of the ten soccer programs that would interest your child. Be sure to consider all NCAA divisions as the commitment level will vary greatly. Construct this list without any notion of money/scholarships, but give thought to whether your son/daughter would be a bench-sitter or an active player. For some families, a Division III opportunity with a starting role is worth much more than a Division I limited action role until the junior year.

You will have at most 20 schools at this point. Now, figure our where the overlaps might are between the two lists. This overlap list might have between five and eight schools - which is your initial target market!

It is ideal if you already have these lists, but working on these before your junior year Winter Recess or Easter break is critical. Those are the High School vacation periods where you really need to start your campus tours. Try to visit campuses while student activity is active - you get a much better sense of the campus "vibe". Take the tours, eat a meal at the campus, and speak with students.

Importantly, start e-mailing the head coach and assistant coach at each school. Send a copy of your soccer profile along with your e-mail to the coaching staff. Express your interest in their schools and do not hesitate to show some enthusiasm. Fill out any on-line recruitment material. Schedule a visit with the coach to see the athletic facilities.

very helpful

Wouldnt it be helpful for u to list the various collages that one might look in to for such soccer programs. I'm sure you have a lot of insight as to what they are looking for in potential students as well.. Perhaps if you had a tread that gave a brief on what scouts and collages look for in a person, ability, smarts, personality, community involvement. Give a profile these kids would could try to work towards so its not just coming from their parents but rather in directly from the collages them selves. I think so many kids believe ability in a sport out weighs and attitude in the person they are. I have talked with several collage level coaches who said they would rather have a team of quality kids then a few cocky stars. I think the reason most kids are brought in to sports is to keep them busy, make them better people and put them in a position to get an education above where maybe their family could afford.

your right no stars here
NORTH CAROLINA

Burchenal, Elizabeth F Cincinnati, OH Ohio Elite 2008 NSCAA High School All-American
2008-09 Gatorade State Player of the Year
2009 EA Sports HS AA Team
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Dunn, Crystal D Rockville Center, NY Albertson Furries 2007 Region I ODP Costa Rica Trip
2007 Region I ODP
2007 ODP Thanksgiving Interregional
2007 NSCAA High School All-Region
2008 U-17 NT Player Pool
2008 January U-17 NT Camp
2008 U-17 NT Future Stars Tournament - NZL
2008 March U-17 NT Camp
2008 April U-17 NT Camp
2008 May U-17 NT Camp
2008 June U-17 NT Camp
2008 July U-17 NT Camp
2008 Region I ODP
2008 Team USA - U-17 WC Qualifying
2008 August U-17 NT Camp
2008 September U-17 NT Camp
2008 October U-17 NT Camp
Team USA - U-17 World Cup - NZL
2008 NSCAA Youth All-American
2009 U-18 NT Player Pool
2009 U-20/U-18 January Super Camp
2009 April U-20 NT Camp
2009 May U-20 NT Camp
2009 PARADE All-American
2009 U-20 NT June Germany Trip
2009 July U-20 NT Camp
2009 Region I ODP
2009 ODP Christmas Interregional
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McFarlane, Kelly M , CA Marin FC 2009 Region IV ODP Invitational Camp (1992s)
2009 Region IV ODP
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Morris, Meagan D Montclair, NJ Montclair United SC 2007 U-15 NT Player Pool
2007 Region I ODP
2007 August U-15 NT Camp
2007 ODP Thanksgiving Interregional
2008 U-17 NT Player Pool
2008 U-20 NT Player Pool
2008 adidas ESP Camp
2008 adidas ESP Camp All-Star
2008 adidas ESP Camp MVP
2008 March U-17 NT Camp
2008 April U-17 NT Camp
2008 May U-17 NT Camp
2008 July U-17 NT Camp
2008 Region I ODP
2008 NSCAA Youth All-Region
2009 U-18 NT Player Pool
2009 U-20/U-18 January Super Camp
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Ohai, Kealia F Draper, UT Utah Avalanche 2007 U-15 NT Player Pool
2007 U-16 NT Player Pool
2007 May U-15 NT Camp
2007 Region IV ODP Costa Rica Trip
2007 July U-16 NT Camp
2007 Region IV ODP
2007 August U-15 NT Camp
2007 U-15 NT Nike Friendlies
2007 U-16 NT December Brazil Trip
2007 NSCAA Youth All-American
2008 U-17 NT Player Pool
2008 U-17 NT Future Stars Tournament - NZL
2007-08 Gatorade State Player of the Year
2008 NSCAA High School All-American
2008 NSCAA Youth All-American
2009 U-18 NT Player Pool
2008 NSCAA/adidas HS State POY
2009 U-20/U-18 January Super Camp
2008-09 Gatorade State Player of the Year
2009 U-20 NT - La Manga, Spain
2009 May U-18 NT Camp
2009 PARADE All-American
2009 EA Sports HS AA Team
2009 July U-18 NT Camp


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Sieloff, Anna GK Troy, MI Vardar 2007 U-15 NT Player Pool
2007 Region II ODP
2007 August U-15 NT Camp
2008 adidas ESP Camp
2008 Region II ODP
2008 ODP Thanksgiving Interregional
2008 NSCAA Youth All-American
2009 U-18 NT Player Pool
2009 U-20/U-18 January Super Camp
2009 April U-18 NT Camp
2009 May U-18 NT Camp
2009 July U-18 NT Camp
2009 Region II ODP
2009 ODP Christmas Interregional
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2011
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Murray, Satara D Austin, TX Lonestar SC 2008 Region III ODP
2008 ODP Thanksgiving Interregional
2009 adidas ESP Camp
2009 adidas ESP Camp All-Star
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NORTH CAROLINA STATE

I would like to believe that soccer skills alone is not enough, and I am sure in many cases that is the truth but if you look at the top 20 Womens soccer teams in the country and then go to their web pages and pull up their 2009 freshman recruits and even go to the infamous list of incoming 2010 freshman the accomplishment list of girls found under the top 20 schools clearly show the pedigreed of girls they seek that is not to say they don't consider good personalities and attitudes and even grades but clearly they only look for women with national and odp experience who have good atitudes and maybe grades though that info is usually a gloss over, But fear not the Patriot league, MACC, Atlantic 10 American East leagues still have teams that appear to still be recruiting the girls with good attitudes
this is not a swipe at the system it clearly works in Schools like ND, NC, Stamford, and these young ladies do leave these schools with championships and degrees in hand.

Families should be choosing colleges and universities based on both academics and sports (if desired) as the previous postings here on BOTN suggested. Without knowing the desired academic pursuits for a student, how can anyone suggest potential colleges? Just about every college and university affiliated with the NCAA (Division I, II, or III) will have a men's and women's soccer program.

Your question boils down to "tell me a good school with good soccer" for my son or daughter. This requires details on your child's GPA, board scores, high school activities, awards, academic course work, and a host of other issues, not to mention soccer. Choosing a college or university that fits all your needs is a family endeavor, not something answered on a message board.
Just like there are a myriad of different personalities, there are a myriad of different attributes sought by college coaches in constructing their programs. Some coaches prefer collecting players of top talent exclusively and then only playing fourteen in the regular season despite having a bench of another dozen or more players. Others will take the approach of more broadly involving their players to create more of a team atmosphere. When you visit your target colleges, you are interviewing the coach and the school's program as much as the coach might be passing an opinion on your child.

An important point here is to never allow your child to choose their school strictly because they "liked the coach". Remember, these folks have their coaching positions as a job, just like everyone else. Coaches come, coaches go - they move to bigger schools, more visible roles, move closer to their own family, pursue other dreams. When they decide to move, your son or daughter is not going to be be consulted. Remember this at all costs.

In general, it is safe to say that a college coach is looking for students who academically are at the midpoint of the college as a minimum (based on HS GPA and board scores). Typically, these students are able to handle the rigors of the full time commitment to college soccer more easily than those who are academically marginal.

As for a profile template, our thread last year discussed the details and we can bring those forward again for this year's class.
Involving children in sports strictly for the chance to obtain an education at a reduced cost seems myopic. The amount of money available (not to mention the likelihood of getting to that point in a sport) is small relative to the volume of work required to receive it. The money some receive is an outcome which should be secondary to the experience in the end.

This year's thread will be off to an awful start if Top 20 Soccer Schools become the only learning point for everyone in the recruitment process. Schools that ignore academics in order to achieve soccer greatness at all costs should be questioned based on their motives. Are they really improving the whole student-athlete or is the coach just guaranteeing a winning record to hold onto their job? Academics form the core material in recruitment, particularly in non-revenue generating sports, and as we go forward over the coming weeks and months, this will become more clear as it did last year for many parents.

Some aspects you might want to have included in your profiles and resumes when applying for college or showcasing :

In the header at the top of the page, include the player's name, uniform number, address, GPA/SAT/ACT scores, height, weight, birthdate, telephone contact numbers and e-mail addresses. Think about having an e-mail address dedicated to soccer recruiting so that e-mails are centralized and responses are tracked. Also, include a profile picture that allows a coach to identify you from 30 yards away on the field. A head shot is valuable; an action shot on the profile that is 10 pixels square on a printed page does not help anyone.

Include some information about your athletics, including High School, and academics (AP, Awards and such). Include important activities and if space exists, some information about upcoming appearances (tournaments) or references. Make sure that the profile fits on one single printed page.

Can you share a "dummy" 1 page profile link? like the