Recruiting Tips for Parents Just Starting the Process

All seniors on our team are committed and most Juniors are now committed. Things stayed positive throughout the process and I did not see any girls take a backseat at anytime based upon whether they were committed. I think it helps the team to have girls start to be committed. It shows coaches that that the team has the type of players that can play at the next level.
 
My player was the first to commit on her club team and it actually was good for the other players on the team because when the team manager handed out the recruiting profiles of the team to coaches on the sideline it showed who was committed and made it clear where a player was committed to. This made the coaches aware of who was available on the field so they didn't waste time trying to get in touch with players that were already committed. When the other highly regarded player on her team committed a month later her coach told us that it was a big weight off his shoulders that the two of them were committed so that he could stop fielding calls about them and could focus on the other girls.

I have heard stories both ways but that was my player's experience. For reference she is a '98 and was a 2016 grad (committed in 2014 as a sophomore during her high school soccer season).
My daughters experience was similar with her committing in April of her freshman year. Our manager did the same with the brochures/profiles of the team. I do think it can be a bad thing for the rest of the players that aren't committed do to the fact that not nearly the number of coaches came to watch our games once those top players committed. When our top players weren't committed we had huge numbers of coaches watching, once they committed early our coach numbers dropped. Obviously they were there to watch those top players but others could benefit if they did the things needed to stand out. The club coaches really weren't involved except for passing on the initial interest, the players took over after that.
 
My daughters experience was similar with her committing in April of her freshman year. Our manager did the same with the brochures/profiles of the team. I do think it can be a bad thing for the rest of the players that aren't committed do to the fact that not nearly the number of coaches came to watch our games once those top players committed. When our top players weren't committed we had huge numbers of coaches watching, once they committed early our coach numbers dropped. Obviously they were there to watch those top players but others could benefit if they did the things needed to stand out. The club coaches really weren't involved except for passing on the initial interest, the players took over after that.

Interesting. I think that my daughters team got a commitment in April from a freshman from your daughter’s team . I believe that it was the earliest that they have ever committed a player. They are done recruiting for that year (other than potential international players).
 
As a parent of a freshman whose recruiting was just warming up, this rule change is a bit of bummer. Since the fall, DD had quite a few D1 schools communicating to her through her coach, coming to watch games, and inviting her to their camps. Some of those schools have followed up after watching her play or seeing her at a camp to reiterate their interest, providing positive feedback on her play, and indicating they'd be out to more games this spring to get another look. Not that my DD was going to commit early, but she was feeling like she had great momentum going in her recruiting journey, so she's disappointed that the momentum she had built for herself is coming to a screeching halt and that she may not hear back from any of these coaches for another 2 years.
 
IMO the brochures should not list who is committed. It keeps the coaches coming. It’s a benefit to the club and the teams. Verbals are non-binding.
 
With this pending change on communication--and in general--what are the general thoughts on the use of third-party recruiting services? are they helpful? things like NCSA or NSR or probably others. And, what will the role of third parties be in light of changes for younger recruits?
 
With this pending change on communication--and in general--what are the general thoughts on the use of third-party recruiting services? are they helpful? things like NCSA or NSR or probably others. And, what will the role of third parties be in light of changes for younger recruits?

How much money do you have?
 
With this pending change on communication--and in general--what are the general thoughts on the use of third-party recruiting services? are they helpful? things like NCSA or NSR or probably others. And, what will the role of third parties be in light of changes for younger recruits?
Have your player email and call the coaches of colleges they are interested in. It is not complicated, it just takes some time. This is work they will need to do with or without the third-party recruiting services, so in my opinion, no need to spend the money.
 
With this pending change on communication--and in general--what are the general thoughts on the use of third-party recruiting services? are they helpful? things like NCSA or NSR or probably others. And, what will the role of third parties be in light of changes for younger recruits?
This has also been mentioned previously in this thread, but I'll mention it again. When your DD attends showcase events (assuming ECNL, DA, NPL), the events themselves are ususally linked with some of these services. My DD has both Total Global Sports, Scouting Zone and one other where you can create a profile and put your DD's relevant info/grades/accolades, as part of the particular event. The college coaches leverage these sites during the event and so as long as you create the profile, they will have access to it and it's free (basic profile). I agree you don't need to spend any money on things like this specifically for this reason. However, some folks do spend the cash have good feelings about a number of platforms so it's really up to you, but just know that your DD can do the same thing just by actively sending out communication to the coaches where she has interest. Main thing is to make sure you're on a team that gets looks and goes to some marquee events where coaches flock. Much easier to make the connections.
 
Most clubs and many leagues offer the basic version of TGS, College Fitfinder or other recruiting software/registration services for free. If you do not have a club coach nor a club that provides some level of guidance and assistance in the recruiting process, you want to play in college, and you are older than 13, time to change teams/clubs. There is no legitimate need to use third parties outside of your player, your coach, your club, and you as a parent. Remember it is up to the player to talk to their own coach and contact college coaches. If they are not ready to do that, they are not ready to commit.

As for verbal commits on brochures, I would include those for transparency reasons. I have not seen it impact coach attendance, as they rarely go to random games to see who is available, but instead go to watch specific players who contacted them. I see as much upside as downside.
 
As my kiddo is wrapping up her 1st year in college as a "student-athlete" playing women's soccer, i've learned a lot as a parent. But of all the learnings, the one that stood out (by a LARGE margin) that I highly encourage all parents to discuss with their recruited player is this ....

**Choose the college your player loves FIRST, soccer program SECOND** (in that specific order)

For example: My kiddo had a great rookie year and played/started 75% of the pre and regular season. Once season ended, all hell broke loose as her coaching staff resigned/got fired, subsequently arrested by the FED's, and her school/soccer program became ground zero to the largest college scandal in decades..... My player also endured a late season concussion, and just recently another concussion in a spring game. At this point, given the long term affects of recurring concussions and her future goals/objectives, she's decided to sit out next year and will likely become the team manager until she graduates in 2022.

But at the end of the day, regardless of the injuries she's endured .....regardless of the $hitstorm within her soccer program..... she's stoked to be where she is, and doing what she's doing. Why?......she chose her dream school 1st, soccer program 2nd - and it's made all the difference.

Best of luck to all of parents of players in the process. Soccer can be a "golden ticket" of opportunity.....encourage/guide your player to use it wisely ;)
 
Most girls aren’t able to get their dream academic school and preferred dream soccer school all in one. Awesome for the few that do!
 
As my kiddo is wrapping up her 1st year in college as a "student-athlete" playing women's soccer, i've learned a lot as a parent. But of all the learnings, the one that stood out (by a LARGE margin) that I highly encourage all parents to discuss with their recruited player is this ....

**Choose the college your player loves FIRST, soccer program SECOND** (in that specific order)

For example: My kiddo had a great rookie year and played/started 75% of the pre and regular season. Once season ended, all hell broke loose as her coaching staff resigned/got fired, subsequently arrested by the FED's, and her school/soccer program became ground zero to the largest college scandal in decades..... My player also endured a late season concussion, and just recently another concussion in a spring game. At this point, given the long term affects of recurring concussions and her future goals/objectives, she's decided to sit out next year and will likely become the team manager until she graduates in 2022.

But at the end of the day, regardless of the injuries she's endured .....regardless of the $hitstorm within her soccer program..... she's stoked to be where she is, and doing what she's doing. Why?......she chose her dream school 1st, soccer program 2nd - and it's made all the difference.

Best of luck to all of parents of players in the process. Soccer can be a "golden ticket" of opportunity.....encourage/guide your player to use it wisely ;)
Great post. I agree. My kid just finished and went through some big time challenges but wouldn’t have traded it for anything. Loved where she was and got the most out of both academics and athletics
 
IMO the brochures should not list who is committed. It keeps the coaches coming. It’s a benefit to the club and the teams. Verbals are non-binding.
I've always felt it best to be honest and up front. Since I was the one making the brochure, I made sure to list the player's that had committed. Btw, the ones listed still received emails and offers after listing them as COMMITTED in bold red letters, that's on the coach and player in my book after that point
 
As my kiddo is wrapping up her 1st year in college as a "student-athlete" playing women's soccer, i've learned a lot as a parent. But of all the learnings, the one that stood out (by a LARGE margin) that I highly encourage all parents to discuss with their recruited player is this ....

**Choose the college your player loves FIRST, soccer program SECOND** (in that specific order)

For example: My kiddo had a great rookie year and played/started 75% of the pre and regular season. Once season ended, all hell broke loose as her coaching staff resigned/got fired, subsequently arrested by the FED's, and her school/soccer program became ground zero to the largest college scandal in decades..... My player also endured a late season concussion, and just recently another concussion in a spring game. At this point, given the long term affects of recurring concussions and her future goals/objectives, she's decided to sit out next year and will likely become the team manager until she graduates in 2022.

But at the end of the day, regardless of the injuries she's endured .....regardless of the $hitstorm within her soccer program..... she's stoked to be where she is, and doing what she's doing. Why?......she chose her dream school 1st, soccer program 2nd - and it's made all the difference.

Best of luck to all of parents of players in the process. Soccer can be a "golden ticket" of opportunity.....encourage/guide your player to use it wisely ;)

Great point Zerodenero, (btw - so sorry to hear about your DD's concussion), we had almost the same issue, we kept bringing up in discussions prior, "Would you want to attend school XYZ if you weren't playing soccer?", keep in mind something could happen to the coaching staff...(I'm sure it went in one ear and out the other), I received a panic text early August before our oldest had to report, "Coach XYZ has just been fired for something a player did during a recruiting visit!" while it all worked out, those things happen more than we know...hope your kiddo has a speedy recovery
 
With this pending change on communication--and in general--what are the general thoughts on the use of third-party recruiting services? are they helpful? things like NCSA or NSR or probably others. And, what will the role of third parties be in light of changes for younger recruits?
ONLY if you have no clue, no time, no interest and about $3K to spend. I had signed up with NCSA way back in the early start of the process ($750 for a basic package back then which included several phone sessions and 1 Highlight video), lol, (that's how I learned how to do the video's myself), also keep in mind, they will constantly try to "up sell" you however, I used the website for kind of a road map early on since I had no clue. I also did research on the NCAA website to get a better understanding, trust me, it's really not that hard or time consuming. The only reason I ended up using someone at the end was, it was putting a major strain on my relationship with my kid, she got tired of me asking, did you send that email, did you reply to coach xyz, I just wanted a normal relationship with my kid before she left and I'm really glad I did it that way. Plus, it also made it easier for me to work through the mentor for the final negotiations.
 
ONLY if you have no clue, no time, no interest and about $3K to spend. I had signed up with NCSA way back in the early start of the process ($750 for a basic package back then which included several phone sessions and 1 Highlight video), lol, (that's how I learned how to do the video's myself), also keep in mind, they will constantly try to "up sell" you however, I used the website for kind of a road map early on since I had no clue. I also did research on the NCAA website to get a better understanding, trust me, it's really not that hard or time consuming. The only reason I ended up using someone at the end was, it was putting a major strain on my relationship with my kid, she got tired of me asking, did you send that email, did you reply to coach xyz, I just wanted a normal relationship with my kid before she left and I'm really glad I did it that way. Plus, it also made it easier for me to work through the mentor for the final negotiations.

Like I have repeatedly said, “there are many roads to Rome.” Thank you for sharing. Enjoy the journey. Good luck to you and your player.
 
Have your player email and call the coaches of colleges they are interested in. It is not complicated, it just takes some time. This is work they will need to do with or without the third-party recruiting services, so in my opinion, no need to spend the money.
Only after June 15 of their sophomore year.
 
ONLY if you have no clue, no time, no interest and about $3K to spend. I had signed up with NCSA way back in the early start of the process ($750 for a basic package back then which included several phone sessions and 1 Highlight video), lol, (that's how I learned how to do the video's myself), also keep in mind, they will constantly try to "up sell" you however, I used the website for kind of a road map early on since I had no clue. I also did research on the NCAA website to get a better understanding, trust me, it's really not that hard or time consuming. The only reason I ended up using someone at the end was, it was putting a major strain on my relationship with my kid, she got tired of me asking, did you send that email, did you reply to coach xyz, I just wanted a normal relationship with my kid before she left and I'm really glad I did it that way. Plus, it also made it easier for me to work through the mentor for the final negotiations.
interesting. I can see the part about keeping a normal relationship with your kid! What do you mean by a mentor? was this in addition to NCSA's platform?
 
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