Recruiting Tips for Parents Just Starting the Process

If the first 2 minutes of a highlight video interests the coach do you think he/she is going to not pursue the player because the highlight video was too long for their taste?
Not likely, but I did get the distinct impression that they get annoyed with long videos, special effects, fancy graphics, music, slow-motion, etc. That same coach that I interviewed said he always turned the volume off because the music kids choose is often terrible and distracting. He was like, "Less is more. Put her best plays right up front at the start, don't put any music. You're not trying to win an academy award. If a coach is interested, they'll ask for more." He did say the resolution/image quality of video matters.
 
My daughter just asked me "I know a 5 minute highlight video is too long but is it tooooo long".

I said yes tooooo long. Thought I'd get your thoughts on here?
I don't think it is too long. They can stop watching it at anytime. If what you put on their is quality, then it is fine. But, if it is a lot of the same stuff over and over, then I would eliminate the redundacy.
 
If you need a video to get a coaches attention you have a bigger problem. If you kid is playing ECNL or some other similar league they should get to play in front of several hundred coaches. Have your kid write these coaches before the event. Get a list of who attended your kids actual game and have your kid write them afterwards again. Getting your kid to play in front of coaches in a real game is the way.
 
Presumably there are parents of boys also reading this thread. Getting recruited as a boy is a different process and often much more difficult and competitive - fewer scholarships, greater number of players, heavy influx of european and latin american players, etc. - and video is a critical component to get the process started. It doesn't have to be much, just a calling card and a conversation starter. The video often precedes the showcase and puts your kid on the coach's radar so he makes time to see him play live. Just take a look at the number of girls recruited as soph/juniors v boys at the same age. Its not just that girls mature faster. The whole process is different.
 
If you need a video to get a coaches attention you have a bigger problem. If you kid is playing ECNL or some other similar league they should get to play in front of several hundred coaches. Have your kid write these coaches before the event. Get a list of who attended your kids actual game and have your kid write them afterwards again. Getting your kid to play in front of coaches in a real game is the way.
What if you already have a relationship with coach or coaches and they have seen you play and tgerebhas
 
For what it’s worth, I would say initial emails early in the process should be traitors….short and sweet showing some dynamics witjjng the highlights.

When you are actively engaging with a coach, they typically ask for highlights showcasing more specific abilities or situations which can and likely should be a bit longer.
 
For what it’s worth, I would say initial emails early in the process should be traitors….short and sweet showing some dynamics witjjng the highlights.

When you are actively engaging with a coach, they typically ask for highlights showcasing more specific abilities or situations which can and likely should be a bit longer.

Traitors?
 
For what it’s worth, I would say initial emails early in the process should be traitors….short and sweet showing some dynamics witjjng the highlights.

When you are actively engaging with a coach, they typically ask for highlights showcasing more specific abilities or situations which can and likely should be a bit longer.
Trailers……
 
Do players have to take the jab in order to play in college still? Honest question my friend is asking. I think video is good if your kid wants to play far away. The most important part of the process is to NEVER challenge the Doc about his mistreatment of females because for some reason, that spreads around faster then gossip.
 
Do players have to take the jab in order to play in college still? Honest question my friend is asking. I think video is good if your kid wants to play far away. The most important part of the process is to NEVER challenge the Doc about his mistreatment of females because for some reason, that spreads around faster then gossip.
Take it to Off Topic
 
Do players have to take the jab in order to play in college still? Honest question my friend is asking. I think video is good if your kid wants to play far away. The most important part of the process is to NEVER challenge the Doc about his mistreatment of females because for some reason, that spreads around faster then gossip.

They need it if they want to go to Spain. I do know that.

Just call the coach yourself and lie that god appeared to you in a dream and told you she should not get vaccinated, so therefore your daughter has a sincere religious belief that prevents her from getting vaccinated. And that she can't wear a mask at practice as a reasonable accommodation either because then god told you in another dream that it's the mark of Cain. Or maybe that she has a secret "medical condition" that is so serious that she can't do what a 5 year old can do without any problem, but not serious enough that it is possible to obtain a legitimate doctor's note explaining the condition, and certainly not serious enough to negatively impact her ability to play sports in any way. And then have her tell the school and IRS that she made herself a sovereign entity so she doesn't need to pay either taxes or tuition. They'll know what to do.
 
If you need a video to get a coaches attention you have a bigger problem. If you kid is playing ECNL or some other similar league they should get to play in front of several hundred coaches. Have your kid write these coaches before the event. Get a list of who attended your kids actual game and have your kid write them afterwards again. Getting your kid to play in front of coaches in a real game is the way.
This is not true. College coaches often ask for highlight videos if you do not send them outright. They want to get a quick look at you, and then they will come see you play. Sometimes a coach is on the otherside of the country, so they may not see you for awhile. Highlight videos can be very important.
 
Yes for UC & cal state schools. Don’t know about elsewhere

Yes proof of vax and booster (varying deadlines per university) to be on campus in person classes. Masks required

Weekly testing mandatory for all athletes and students who live in campus, optional for all others.
 
This is not true. College coaches often ask for highlight videos if you do not send them outright. They want to get a quick look at you, and then they will come see you play. Sometimes a coach is on the otherside of the country, so they may not see you for awhile. Highlight videos can be very important.

Making a video serves a purpose in the right circumstances, but anyone who relies on video really far behind the eight ball. What simisoccerfan said is the best advice anyone has given yet in this thread. Recruiting can be very easy and straightforward if kid plays at a solid ECNL club for a respected coach. College coaches show up in droves for good teams at showcases and will almost always pay close attention to a kid who has shown interest, at least if the club coach has recommended the player in advance and is respected enough for the college to know they don't oversell players.

Every dollar I paid for soccer was earned back 10x over when her coach sat us down to talk about her future, specifically college. We talked about her interests, grades and test scores, and the colleges we were interested in for and their educational programs. We discussed how he anticipated she would fit in with different college coaches given their respective personalities and styles of play. He knew everything, including the educational programs at every school we were interested in, and each of the college coaches personally including their personalities and style of play. We discussed the schools he thought she might have a hard time getting playing time and the extent to which that even mattered to her if, for example, soccer was just her way to leverage getting admitted to Stanford. He made calls to coaches at the schools we agreed were the best fits, every single one of them watched her team at a showcase a few weeks later and, in fact, 100 college coaches came to her team's games that weekend. Within a month she had unofficial visits to two Ivies, two Pac-12s, and the one WCC that interested us. There were no videos. There were no mass emails to college coaches. This is not how things were done at her club because it was not necessary. All it took was my daughter's hard work, excellent daily training and development, and a phone call.

It is painful seeing dads complain in the other thread that a club deserves to be in ECNL because it has a U14 team that beat a pre-ECNL team at Mustang. They have no idea what ECNL is about. It isn't about 14 year old girls winning as many soccer games as possible. Many of their daughters are 11, 12 or 13 and have the potential to leverage soccer into college opportunity that it beyond their parents' wildest dreams and the path is right there in front of them, but they will squander it. When they claim a club in Modesto should be in ECNL over one like Santa Rosa United that has not won much for a long time, they have no clue. They don't understand that any 13 year old girl with potential who plays at Santa Rosa who is committed will develop into a solid college recruit even if they lose all their games. They don't understand that this club has respected staff with a long history of developing kids who have ability, and who are respected by college coaches who will answer the phone and listen when they call based on mutual respect that has been earned over decades. They fail to understand that there has been a single family connected with that club for so long, and who have contributed to developing and putting so many girls into high level programs that it is ridiculous, so much so that a kid is 75% of the way to an offer just because one of them made a phone call. Whereas college coaches have dealt with unknown yahoo coaches trying to oversell players and waste their time their entire careers, and it is unlikely they will even listen to the voicemail when some unknown phone number pops up.
 
You never know what is going to work for your kid--some get a door opened by a club coach, but others at that same club don't. Some get a door opened by a college coach seeing a video, others don't. Some get discovered at a showcase, others don't. If you want to maximize your kid's opportunities, you need to do all:

Club play, showcases, id camps, emails, AND VIDEO.

If you need a video to get a coaches attention you have a bigger problem.
Things are different now than 5-7 years ago. Social media and video much more influential.
 
Yes proof of vax and booster (varying deadlines per university) to be on campus in person classes. Masks required

Weekly testing mandatory for all athletes and students who live in campus, optional for all others.
exemptions available even at the UC and state schools.
 
exemptions available even at the UC and state schools.

Your mileage my differ but only seen limited exemptions and they had been denials after references are checked. 2x players we know attempted the religious exemptions only to be denied when the organization listed didn't back those up.

Maybe next semester/quarter things will easy up but for now it's a week to week thing where you have to meet all the criteria to participate in athletics including vax, booster, weekly testing. Weekly testing is required even if you manage to get a exemption which are hard to come by.
 
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