2020 Recruiting classes

The Outlaw said:
If colleges are looking for multisport athletes, they'd better eliminate the DA immediately.
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So many talented, smart athletes out there that colleges really don't need to recruit a lot of multi sport athletes. By the way, dd DA has about 1/4 of the team playing a different sport in high school in addition to their DA soccer (mostly track and golf). It is a choice.
 
The multi sport athlete thing is such a cliche. As young kids, of course. For a football player, sure. But to become a college soccer player id laugh at the idea that the top kids are sitting out 3-4 months to go play another sport. And that college coaches are actually actively looking for that. That’s crazy. I have never ever ever ever ever heard a college coach say on the sideline of a club game “yeah that kid is not quite as good as the other one, but they play field hockey so SIGN HER NOW!”

they want the best player they can get. Period.
You think playing water polo helps your kid be a better soccer player? Go for it. Maybe it is perfect for your kid. But the idea that it is preferred or encouraged by college coaches is untrue
 
I don't disagree with the general sentiments about the value of playing multiple sports. However, I think it is disingenuous for the coaches and even the commentators to make broad statements about multisport athletes unless they add, "so long as the other sports don't interfere with MY sport." Because how many amazing potential recruits does Calhoun see who are not playing the AAU circuit or do not prioritize hoops because they are also working on their breaking pitch or their high jump technique or a proper swim move for an end rusher?

An elite player who takes 3 or 4 months off to play a different sport is one thing SO LONG AS they are doing "enough" in the primary sport but if you are Drew Brees, you are not just "any athlete" - you are a hall of fame athlete who has excelled in the most demanding position in sport. Is your experience representative of any athlete beyond an exceptionally small #? So, yeah, I am a supporter of kids playing multiple sports as long as possible but I am not naïve to think that other than for the true athletic "freak", there are some sacrifices at the high end that may not be balanced out by the benefit of being a multisport athlete.
 
DK, If my dd could make millions playing soccer, hell ya I would encourage her to play soccer all year around. No money at all for 99% of the girls. It's all college. If you want to be #1 on college team and all that, then I guess go all year around. Mike Trout played Football and Baseball. I'm also talking about playing multi-sport team sports. You can;t play two team sports at the same time. You can however take 20 minutes and go run 100 meter or 800 for track and then leave the meet. Track is all day event and that sucks for some folks :)
 
Lambchop said:
So many talented, smart athletes out there that colleges really don't need to recruit a lot of multi sport athletes. By the way, dd DA has about 1/4 of the team playing a different sport in high school in addition to their DA soccer (mostly track and golf). It is a choice.
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So how do you play another sport if you're training 4 days a week (for DA) as it is? I'm starting to see more and more injuries at my DD's level and guess what... 90% of them are happening to DA players. Do the DA clubs honestly take enough time off to play another sport? I don't think we have enough female history to know if these girls are over training, etc.
 
Soccerhelper said:
DK, If my dd could make millions playing soccer, hell ya I would encourage her to play soccer all year around. No money at all for 99% of the girls. It's all college. If you want to be #1 on college team and all that, then I guess go all year around. Mike Trout played Football and Baseball. I'm also talking about playing multi-sport team sports. You can;t play two team sports at the same time. You can however take 20 minutes and go run 100 meter or 800 for track and then leave the meet. Track is all day event and that sucks for some folks :)
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As I wrote, I don't disagree as a general sentiment and my comment is an attempt at calling a bit of BS from coaches'/hall-of-fame athletes' perspectives. Mike Trout is a good example - of an uber elite athlete. There are not that many athletes like Mike Trout but the problem is that those are the athletes we know - the Mike Trouts (football!) or Kobe Bryants (soccer!) or Abby Wambachs (basketball!), etc. Hey, Rickey Henderson was a football superstar at Oakland Tech HS years before Beat Mode was there and Willie Mays wanted to stay with football but his mom did not want him to play - see what multi-sport athletes can achieve!

My point is that these coaches who say they want multisport athletes are bulls*itters if they don't cop to the underlying value of THEIR sport and the hall-of-famers who talk about it are myopic if they don't recognize just how rare they are and they should not be holding themselves out as apples-to-apples comparisons.

As a parent . . . I do want my kids to play as many sports as possible. But I'm comfortable saying that even as an elite player my older daughter's opportunities would not be the same had she not been focusing on one sport and, other than playing middle school hoops to pass the down time, my twins are just not that interested in pursuing other sports beyond just fooling around with their friends. My role as a parent is to guide and encourage and I'd support them if they wanted to play more than one sport. I'm guessing you'd take a similar approach - let their interest be the guide. But having them play multiple sports b/c some comments by a coach that I think are BS or because a USWNT player played something other than soccer does not really help my kids b/c they are not Kobe or Abby. Supporting them b/c that is what they want - even if they are in the position to understand the costs in addition to the obvious benefits - is really easy to do and DOES help them in other ways.
 
dk_b said:
As I wrote, I don't disagree as a general sentiment and my comment is an attempt at calling a bit of BS from coaches'/hall-of-fame athletes' perspectives. Mike Trout is a good example - of an uber elite athlete. There are not that many athletes like Mike Trout but the problem is that those are the athletes we know - the Mike Trouts (football!) or Kobe Bryants (soccer!) or Abby Wambachs (basketball!), etc. Hey, Rickey Henderson was a football superstar at Oakland Tech HS years before Beat Mode was there and Willie Mays wanted to stay with football but his mom did not want him to play - see what multi-sport athletes can achieve!

My point is that these coaches who say they want multisport athletes are bulls*itters if they don't cop to the underlying value of THEIR sport and the hall-of-famers who talk about it are myopic if they don't recognize just how rare they are and they should not be holding themselves out as apples-to-apples comparisons.

As a parent . . . I do want my kids to play as many sports as possible. But I'm comfortable saying that even as an elite player my older daughter's opportunities would not be the same had she not been focusing on one sport and, other than playing middle school hoops to pass the down time, my twins are just not that interested in pursuing other sports beyond just fooling around with their friends. My role as a parent is to guide and encourage and I'd support them if they wanted to play more than one sport. I'm guessing you'd take a similar approach - let their interest be the guide. But having them play multiple sports b/c some comments by a coach that I think are BS or because a USWNT player played something other than soccer does not really help my kids b/c they are not Kobe or Abby. Supporting them b/c that is what they want - even if they are in the position to understand the costs in addition to the obvious benefits - is really easy to do and DOES help them in other ways.
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It's cool. I disagree but no big deal :)
 
Giesbock said:
Can I go back to the comments about multiple sport athletes?

I’ve heard the same thing about college coaches look for multiple sport athletes but wonder why they’re looking for that. Does it have to do with disbursement of scholarships or does it have some other “administrative” basis?

Or do they think that if a recruit can juggle two or three sports, they must be super gifted, well rounded athletes?

I’ve heard that Volleyball does nothing good for soccer players in terms of Its effect on certain muscle groups. Long distance running will wreak havoc on quick acceleration and change of direction. Hurdles pose some danger to hips if trailing foot catches, etc...

Other side of that coin, I’ve heard a well respected coach (not based in the US) say that if soccer players are away from the game focusing on another sport, then they’re loosing their acumen, not learning timing of play, not learning the unique sense of vision, feeling and avoiding pressure etc...

sorry for the long question but any comments would be very helpful. Thanks
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Overall I can not confirm based on any collection of data if volleyball has or has not any advantages that cross over to soccer, but when I played from the ages of 12-26 it certainly impacted what I could do on the field when playing soccer. My vertical was a huge advantage when challenging for head balls, going forward on corners, or dead ball plays around the net.
 
Let's not forget about Lebron playing football and MJ playing some baseball.....lol. When I'm up north for ECNL, let's grab a beer if want. I'm harmless. I'm sure The King shot some hoop when he played TE. The top athletes are usually really good at other sports. My frustration is the professionalization of girls soccer in 6th grade.
 
Soccerhelper said:
My frustration is the professionalization of girls soccer in 6th grade.
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100% agree with this. And parents who are going through this for the first time (whether the first child or the first who looks to be an elite player) are often too dependent on club coaches or other parents who make it seem like anything but a full time commitment is a "waste" for kids as young as 3d grade. (I have a similar reaction when I see young soccer teams with a GK who has the full kit - socks, shorts, jersey - that differs from her/his teammates' kit. As the parent of a GK who greatly benefitted from her time as a field player, I want to shake the parents and channel my inner Moonstruck-Version-Cher, "Snap out of it!". Get them on the field!)
 
dk_b said:
100% agree with this. And parents who are going through this for the first time (whether the first child or the first who looks to be an elite player) are often too dependent on club coaches or other parents who make it seem like anything but a full time commitment is a "waste" for kids as young as 3d grade. (I have a similar reaction when I see young soccer teams with a GK who has the full kit - socks, shorts, jersey - that differs from her/his teammates' kit. As the parent of a GK who greatly benefitted from her time as a field player, I want to shake the parents and channel my inner Moonstruck-Version-Cher, "Snap out of it!". Get them on the field!)
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Excellent take DK :)
 
The Outlaw said:
So how do you play another sport if you're training 4 days a week (for DA) as it is? I'm starting to see more and more injuries at my DD's level and guess what... 90% of them are happening to DA players. Do the DA clubs honestly take enough time off to play another sport? I don't think we have enough female history to know if these girls are over training, etc.
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As a former DA/ECNL, now P5 D1 parent and with a DD who suffered ACL/M tear her Soph year I think they should be weight training/preventive weight training more. My DD was weight training 10 wks out of surgery as soon as her brace was unlocked (we were ultra conservative) above and beyond PT. We were busier during 7 months of rehab weekly than during season and she continues to this day. Find a good football WR trainer, LOL. She literally ran with the boys, cuts, turns, agility. We improvised and she loved it, couldn't wait to get there when she could. We are proud of her All Fresh selection as well.

Another sport? No... Dedication and finding ways to mix it up in the one your in.. Yes!
 
dk_b said:
100% agree with this. And parents who are going through this for the first time (whether the first child or the first who looks to be an elite player) are often too dependent on club coaches or other parents who make it seem like anything but a full time commitment is a "waste" for kids as young as 3d grade. (I have a similar reaction when I see young soccer teams with a GK who has the full kit - socks, shorts, jersey - that differs from her/his teammates' kit. As the parent of a GK who greatly benefitted from her time as a field player, I want to shake the parents and channel my inner Moonstruck-Version-Cher, "Snap out of it!". Get them on the field!)
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This right here. And because there's usually no line of volunteers to don the gloves, it's easy for a coach to find the one kid that's pretty good and stick him/her in there. As a former net minder myself, getting less and less time on the field of play was detrimental. Being able to read the game, by seeing the entire field, is great... but losing the feel is a trade off and you need to be in the coach's ear if that happens. Even if your kid doesn't get much game time out of net, a portion of practice needs to be in the field.
 
RHMF23 said:
As a former DA/ECNL, now P5 D1 parent and with a DD who suffered ACL/M tear her Soph year I think they should be weight training/preventive weight training more. My DD was weight training 10 wks out of surgery as soon as her brace was unlocked (we were ultra conservative) above and beyond PT. We were busier during 7 months of rehab weekly than during season and she continues to this day. Find a good football WR trainer, LOL. She literally ran with the boys, cuts, turns, agility. We improvised and she loved it, couldn't wait to get there when she could. We are proud of her All Fresh selection as well.

Another sport? No... Dedication and finding ways to mix it up in the one your in.. Yes!
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Agree... I'm learning the weight training and certain exercises are huge but again... with a 4-day practice schedule and probably an average of 1 match per weekend, when do they recover? Maybe DA rules means everyone gets some rest but when I look at DA rosters, it tells you who is playing, how many minutes and how often. I'm not seeing many breaks. Not for girls that are 13 and 14 years old.
 
The Outlaw said:
Agree... I'm learning the weight training and certain exercises are huge but again... with a 4-day practice schedule and probably an average of 1 match per weekend, when do they recover? Maybe DA rules means everyone gets some rest but when I look at DA rosters, it tells you who is playing, how many minutes and how often. I'm not seeing many breaks. Not for girls that are 13 and 14 years old.
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One of the best "talks" I attended was at my 2020 kid's club by a pediatric orthopedist (who, incidentally, is the ortho my kids see) on ACLs and soccer players (girls, in particular). One thing that he mentioned that has stuck with me (I have posted this elsewhere on this board): soccer players have overly developed quads and strong but not as developed hammies. Those large muscles have to be "balanced" so they provide proper stability for the knee. Soccer players should not do leg lifts and then neglect their hamstrings. So . . . if nothing else, build up the hamstrings and the risk of ACL tear drops significantly (nothing is 100% preventative, obviously, and I'm not addressing overuse/tired muscles, proper landing on jumps, proper cutting, etc.).
 
Soccerhelper said:
I'm My frustration is the professionalization of girls soccer in 6th grade.
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My player was a very good in hoops as well and her AAU coach and Club soccer coach both gave her an ultimatum at age 13 which to me was shite. I do recall in high school a hoops coach said if she switched high schools he would let her play both, but she didn't want to go to another high school so she was forced to choose. LAME
 
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