Smithtown School district had an outstanding meeting back in the spring where they brought in the Baseball head coach of Sacred Heart in CT (a D1 school). He gave a great understanding of what really goes on in the recruiting/scholarship area for all sports. which is not much. these coaches already have their 2013 recruits in mind. maybe you can ask your athletic director to do the same. The bottom line is that most kids don't get any money (D1 and D2) for their first year and only their work rate and performance on the field will get them money for the remaining years. many times people think that when seniors graduate that the money that loosens up goes right to freshman but most times it goes to capping off the upper classman that have been waiting for money. only the nationally ranked players/teams attract full-ride type of money. most of the time when people say they get full rides it's a combination of athletic money, academic money and finacial aid (strictly income based). D3's are your best bet for academic/financial based money and most of the time have the best academic programs. The college board is where you should start off because that will give you an understanding of how your child "stacks up" based on the gpa and the testing scores. plus you can search by geography and many other criterias like majors your child is interested in. once you have a list from there, you should begin contacting coaches via email and phone calls. college and academics first, then see if your child wants to "work" at the sport. because it is work that your child most likely won't be paid for. they may be better off working part-time or getting more studies/internships in or volunteering and playing the club/intramural teams for the school. your child has to love, love, love it (not you loving it...them loving it) and want to really play as an adult and not matter if no money comes to them in order to be successful and worthwhile to them. good luck.

Thank you for your contribution which we are going to take in several pieces as you raise several points for thought and consideration.

First and foremost, while many High Schools and their athletic departments will often state that "they" are the source of recruitment, that view is fundamentally flawed with the exception of Men's Football (the area in which most ADs engage). Next, since you were speaking with a men's coach outsde of football, you will find that the number of athletic scholarships are rapidly scaled downwards in other sports which will skew his view towards "not much". Remember, football is typically a revenue generator for colleges and universities; other sports are not.

Let's begin with the number of scholarships which can be offered by division, sport, and gender for a fully funded program. This is the total number available across an entire team at any one time. This is precisely why you hear about 0.25 and 0.50 scholarships being offered. Once you read these numbers, particularly for soccer, you will quickly understand that it is very unlikely that a freshman player on a team of 25-30 players will get a "full ride" in their first year on the back of sports.

Remember, academic scholarships are typically more valuable, easier to get, and they are not reversed if you cannot play or decide to quit your collegiate team.

NCAA D1 Sport ...... Men's Women's
Baseball/Softball .. 11.7 / 12.0
Basketball ......... 13.0 / 15.0
Track & Field ...... 12.6 / 18.0
Football ........... 85.0 / 0.0
Golf ............... 4.5 / 6.0
Gymnastics ......... 6.3 / 12.0
Field Hockey ....... 0.0 / 12.0
Ice Hockey ......... 18.0 / 18.0
Lacrosse ........... 12.6 / 12.0
Rowing ............. 0.0 / 20.0
Soccer ............. 9.9 / 12.0
Swimming/Diving .... 9.9 / 8.1
Tennis ............. 4.5 / 8.0
Volleyball ......... 4.5 / 12.0
Water Polo ......... 4.5 / 8.0
Wrestling .......... 9.9 / 0.0

NCAA D2 Sport ...... Men's Women's
Baseball/Softball .. 9.0 / 7.2
Badmitton .......... 0.0 / 10.0
Basketball ......... 10.0 / 10.0
Bowling ............ 0.0 / 5.0
Track & Field ...... 12.7 / 12.7
Fencing ............ 4.5 / 4.5
Football ........... 36.0 / 0.0
Golf ............... 3.6 / 4.5
Gymnastics ......... 5.4 / 6.0
Field Hockey ....... 0.0 / 6.3
Ice Hockey ......... 13.5 / 18.0
Lacrosse ........... 10.8 / 9.9
Rifle .............. 3.6 / 7.2
Rowing ............. 0.0 / 20.0
Skiing ............. 6.3 / 6.3
Soccer ............. 9.0 / 9.9
Squash ............. 9.0 / 7.2
Swimming/Diving .... 0.0 / 9.0
Syncronize Swim .... 0.0 / 5.0
Tennis ............. 4.5 / 6.0
Volleyball ......... 4.5 / 12.0
Water Polo ......... 4.5 / 8.0
Wrestling .......... 9.0 / 0.0

Excellent point here and one worth repeating : as seniors leave the team, that available scholarship money is not allocated strictly to the incoming freshmen. Our rule of thumb last year remains the same this year. If your son or daughter is getting between 0.25 and 0.50 in athletic money in their freshman year in soccer as a recruited player, they have done quite well and will work quite hard for that financial relief. Academic money and financial aid are often confused as part of the scholarship when discussing a "full ride" so it is important to educate one's self as to what the athletic scholarship limits per sport actually are by NCAA divisions and genders.

Again, great advice and worth bringing to the forefront of everyone's thinking in this thread. Thanks very much for your thoughts, sharing the details, and contributing.

just google "soccer resume" and you'll find many examples.

Well I'm glad to see that this topic has recieved alot of info on both sides.... I was really just hoping that people that might have inside as to what schools offer the most for their soccer of softball players and what other ways you could recieve incentive from that school. Well it would be nice to know... As for the kids.. I coached for five years and was every bit as hard as a D.I from Paris Island. I believe as I was taught from a former Marine (my dad) that you get things you earn... I pushed them hard on a physical level and as well as a mental level... But I made sure they helped the weaker player at all costs and never took the aggression off the field. I taught that it meant more (at 10,11,13) yrs of age to help others to catch up now or we might lose some one that in another year could be a star. I always ended up with the best group of kids and we always played well no matter the sport and we always smiled afterwords. Intensity in all sports can win every time. The hard part is to separate the intensity on the field and turn in to consideration off the field... That was the trick. and 2 and 3 years later to have a few kids from the team and even some parents approach you to thank you for what u did years earlier meant the world. After this I may have to come coach another team. Maybe soccer, but would want to jump in and win the first year so Ill just take some more pictures... My daughters have been fortunate to have had great coaches for the past 6 years and a great Karate teacher taking her to her Black Belt at 11 years old. So u coaches have alot on ur shoulders, u alone can change a path of a childs life... use that power wisely... please.... Thank all

The Bethesda Tournament (girls) is this weekend in Maryland followed by Thanksgiving and December tournaments. Hopefully, parents and players have been contacting coaches at their target schools and getting confirmation that the coaches will be attending their games.

Boardlord - I hope you can clarify a question. Newsday lists 3 LI boys selected for D1 schools. Can that be accurate? Are they only listing boys with the full ride? If accurate, this has to be a huge eye opener for all players aspiring to play D1 ball in college. Thanks.

If we are talking about soccer, no scholarships can be offered and or accepted before February 1st of each year.

If that is the case, why is Newsday reporting the list of players that will be playing in college?