Tough road for 2022 class

I think it is safe to say we could easily name this thread tough road for 22-23 classes. Happy for my daughter to be getting some love even if is not from the expected places but what can you do with rosters of 30-40 hungry kids? Appreciate everyone sharing similar experiences here.
 
Justherefortheride said:
I think it is safe to say we could easily name this thread tough road for 22-23 classes. Happy for my daughter to be getting some love even if is not from the expected places but what can you do with rosters of 30-40 hungry kids? Appreciate everyone sharing similar experiences here.
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There's plenty of uncertainty to go around. My oldest is going to a P5 D1, large rostered school. Her cohort is large, redshirts everywhere, and for now, seniors looking for that extra redemption year. Across the landscape there is going to be normal attrition (D1,2,3, etc). I don't know where this will end up. Maybe transfer to a smaller rostered school that previously showed interest? Take another look at campuses, academics of other schools. Prioritize goals in life? Only she will be able to decide. Players can get wrapped up in the draw of D1, P5, etc. Plenty of great schools with really good soccer programs out there.

Starting your collegiate career with a large incoming class can be fun. You grow together, learn together, and succeed/fail together. Unfortunately, rosters this year will be stacked deep, benches deeper than normal. We will see how it all shakes out - for everyone. Selfishly, if she decides on warmer latitudes and close to home and still play, wouldn't hurt our feelings.
 
what-happened said:
There's plenty of uncertainty to go around. My oldest is going to a P5 D1, large rostered school. Her cohort is large, redshirts everywhere, and for now, seniors looking for that extra redemption year. Across the landscape there is going to be normal attrition (D1,2,3, etc). I don't know where this will end up. Maybe transfer to a smaller rostered school that previously showed interest? Take another look at campuses, academics of other schools. Prioritize goals in life? Only she will be able to decide. Players can get wrapped up in the draw of D1, P5, etc. Plenty of great schools with really good soccer programs out there.

Starting your collegiate career with a large incoming class can be fun. You grow together, learn together, and succeed/fail together. Unfortunately, rosters this year will be stacked deep, benches deeper than normal. We will see how it all shakes out - for everyone. Selfishly, if she decides on warmer latitudes and close to home and still play, wouldn't hurt our feelings.
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Look to the patriot league. All solid reputable schools with good streaming and playoffs. Look for a coach that just got there or has some tenure.
 
eastbaysoccer said:
colorado college and Portland traditionally carry short rosters. Cal Poly and UCSB carry football team rosters.
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Other than reducing the probability of playing time, are long rosters flags for programs with higher attrition rates? Or are these programs that like to have a larger pool at their disposal in case their recruits don't pan out as expected talent-wise? I can see the downside for players; just wondering if there is an upside for coaches.
 
Roadrunner said:
Other than reducing the probability of playing time, are long rosters flags for programs with higher attrition rates? Or are these programs that like to have a larger pool at their disposal in case their recruits don't pan out as expected talent-wise? I can see the downside for players; just wondering if there is an upside for coaches.
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What constitutes a "long roster"? Or a "short" one. Low thirties seems fairly typical.
 
Roadrunner said:
Other than reducing the probability of playing time, are long rosters flags for programs with higher attrition rates? Or are these programs that like to have a larger pool at their disposal in case their recruits don't pan out as expected talent-wise? I can see the downside for players; just wondering if there is an upside for coaches.
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When we spoke to college coaches regarding this issue, explanations for large roster is for practicing, injuries and academic accommodations when needed.
 
Emma said:
When we spoke to college coaches regarding this issue, explanations for large roster is for practicing, injuries and academic accommodations when needed.
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Honest question. I'm new at this too so bare with me. My dd does all the talking and asking questions and not her mom or dad? Should I ask some questions too?
 
crush said:
Honest question. I'm new at this too so bare with me. My dd does all the talking and asking questions and not her mom or dad? Should I ask some questions too?
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I didn't ask any personal questions that should be answered and asked by my child. I asked general questions when in general conversations with coaches, except financial questions because that's my territory. The conversation was very casual re roster size, not a question and answer session with the coach. Any serious questions that you want answered, discuss it her first. Let her choose what questions makes it on her list based on her priorities. We discuss it at dinner or in car rides a lot with our kids so they can think about what's important to them. If the kids need help with anything, we help out but we try our best to be advisors and not involved since they will not have us around soon.
 
Emma said:
I didn't ask any personal questions that should be answered and asked by my child. I asked general questions when in general conversations with coaches, except financial questions because that's my territory. The conversation was very casual re roster size, not a question and answer session with the coach. Any serious questions that you want answered, discuss it her first. Let her choose what questions makes it on her list based on her priorities. We discuss it at dinner or in car rides a lot with our kids so they can think about what's important to them. If the kids need help with anything, we help out but we try our best to be advisors and not involved since they will not have us around soon.
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Thanks :)
 
crush said:
Honest question. I'm new at this too so bare with me. My dd does all the talking and asking questions and not her mom or dad? Should I ask some questions too?
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We've had a similar experience as @Emma when conversing with coaches. Majority of conversations have been our DD directly with the various schools she's speaking to. At certain point in conversations as talks have progressed, the coaches have asked to speak to my wife and I. We have asked questions we feel are relevant to our support as parents, i.e. financials, student-athlete support, housing, etc.

We also try to generally support as "advisors" and really stress to our DD the ownership of this process she has to have. Things are definitely challenging for her being C/O 2022 but there have been some silver linings in regards to programs / schools that were not on her radar that have really shined through this process. One step at a time, fingers crossed!
 
crush said:
Honest question. I'm new at this too so bare with me. My dd does all the talking and asking questions and not her mom or dad? Should I ask some questions too?
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Let the player(s) do all the talking and corresponding.

Never once talked or correspondent to any of prospective college coaches including the ones he his now playing for.

He did a bunch of zoom, texting and less in person but one of the deciding factors for him was the personal 1-1's with the head coaches.

When a coach takes the extra steps to come see your player multiple times, follows up with conversations, and makes your player feel really wanted, that can go a long way. My player was kind of not enthusiastic about the blind offers or one time come play offers from a assist coach or scouts without talking with the head coaches.

Team dynamics for new comers and freshmen can be fastly different depending on college and coaches. Starting from basically the bottom and working your way up among 30+ players is not for everyone. With 14+ seniors, bunch of redshirt including seniors-sophomores, etc getting minutes for freshman can be tough.

The season is pretty short and oct is packed with games so some opportunities but making the 20 person traveling team consistently is a big challenge for freshman especially if you can't play multiple positions.

The amount of NCCA paperwork, waivers, hoops you have to jump through is pretty crazy according to my son and took him weeks to read through,sign and get approved
 
lafalafa said:
Let the player(s) do all the talking and corresponding.

Never once talked or correspondent to any of prospective college coaches including the ones he his now playing for.

He did a bunch of zoom, texting and less in person but one of the deciding factors for him was the personal 1-1's with the head coaches.

When a coach takes the extra steps to come see your player multiple times, follows up with conversations, and makes your player feel really wanted, that can go a long way. My player was kind of not enthusiastic about the blind offers or one time come play offers from a assist coach or scouts without talking with the head coaches.

Team dynamics for new comers and freshmen can be fastly different depending on college and coaches. Starting from basically the bottom and working your way up among 30+ players is not for everyone. With 14+ seniors, bunch of redshirt including seniors-sophomores, etc getting minutes for freshman can be tough.

The season is pretty short and oct is packed with games so some opportunities but making the 20 person traveling team consistently is a big challenge for freshman especially if you can't play multiple positions.

The amount of NCCA paperwork, waivers, hoops you have to jump through is pretty crazy according to my son and took him weeks to read through,sign and get approved
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My dd does all the talking and corresponding. I felt it would be weird to get on the call to ask a few questions of my own but that's just me. Of course if they had a questions for me I would 100% answer. However, my dd is almost 18 and she will be 100% all on her own soon. She got a job on first interview. I'm proud of her for asking all the questions with her education and if soccer will be a part of that journey. She was not ready for this at 14 and I'm glad she waited. I keep telling everyone to let this season play out if your not feeling the love yet. This is for sure a time like no other for athletes in high school looking to play collegiately. 2022s are tough kids man and I'm super proud of all of them.
 
crush said:
Honest question. I'm new at this too so bare with me. My dd does all the talking and asking questions and not her mom or dad? Should I ask some questions too?
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In my opinion, the process is too complex to rely on a teen to ask all the right questions to protect him/herself. In general, the player should handle most things, but when it gets serious, if you see that he/she is missing something important, I think that is when a parent should step in. Particularly when it comes to the finances, school policy on scholarship adjustments for injury or performance, team policy on academics, etc. It's easy for teens to see stars and miss something important or god forbid, a red flag. That's what you're there for.
In our case, the coach went out of his way to make sure we were comfortable before he would make the offer.
 
supercell said:
In my opinion, the process is too complex to rely on a teen to ask all the right questions to protect him/herself. In general, the player should handle most things, but when it gets serious, if you see that he/she is missing something important, I think that is when a parent should step in. Particularly when it comes to the finances, school policy on scholarship adjustments for injury or performance, team policy on academics, etc. It's easy for teens to see stars and miss something important or god forbid, a red flag. That's what you're there for.
In our case, the coach went out of his way to make sure we were comfortable before he would make the offer.
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I'm assuming if the two are a match, they would want to chat about this and that with me. I'm talking about the courtship so to speak. Thanks btw :)
 
It’s great to have the players talk with coaches, but there is nothing wrong with parents taking proactive approach with coaches. This is a serious life decision, that involves education, money, living, social issues, and athletics. In any negotiation which is what recruiting is, both parties should have as much support and guidance in order to achieve the most value for the player as possible. A 16-18 is outmatched when it comes to the recruiting process. Coaches specialize in this arena and often times use their advantage to the programs benefit. Which is fine, however families should use any and all means to get the best for their player as well. When these same coaches negotiate their contracts they seek outside counsel, pro players use attorneys and agents as well. Doesn’t mean the players aren’t smart or responsible and independent, just that there is a reason why the transfer portal is huge. The first deal you sign is the key. Make it the best you can.
 
suzysoccer1 said:
It’s great to have the players talk with coaches, but there is nothing wrong with parents taking proactive approach with coaches. This is a serious life decision, that involves education, money, living, social issues, and athletics. In any negotiation which is what recruiting is, both parties should have as much support and guidance in order to achieve the most value for the player as possible. A 16-18 is outmatched when it comes to the recruiting process. Coaches specialize in this arena and often times use their advantage to the programs benefit. Which is fine, however families should use any and all means to get the best for their player as well. When these same coaches negotiate their contracts they seek outside counsel, pro players use attorneys and agents as well. Doesn’t mean the players aren’t smart or responsible and independent, just that there is a reason why the transfer portal is huge. The first deal you sign is the key. Make it the best you can.
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Totally agree. I’m thinking about bringing my best friend along and interacting with the coaches like this:
 
Technician72 said:
We've had a similar experience as @Emma when conversing with coaches. Majority of conversations have been our DD directly with the various schools she's speaking to. At certain point in conversations as talks have progressed, the coaches have asked to speak to my wife and I. We have asked questions we feel are relevant to our support as parents, i.e. financials, student-athlete support, housing, etc.

We also try to generally support as "advisors" and really stress to our DD the ownership of this process she has to have. Things are definitely challenging for her being C/O 2022 but there have been some silver linings in regards to programs / schools that were not on her radar that have really shined through this process. One step at a time, fingers crossed!
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I’m definitely cheering for her!!!!
 
The transition for parents from club soccer to college is difficult. You are use to having control, talking to coaches, and moving your kid from teams to find the right fit. Your kid is the stud of the team or one of the better players. They get a ton of playing time.

Scrap all of that when you are talking about college ball. It is the coach that decides if you kid gets an invite to the team. You believe your kid is great but the coach is getting paid to win and likely thinks differently than you. The roster is usually 30 to 40 players and maybe 15 to 18 get any minutes. Heck only 22 kids travel so its just a fight to make the travel team to sit on the bench. Every kid was a stud but usually 20% plus of the Freshmen drop soccer after their 1st year. Outside the P5 if you are lucky to get a partial scholarship it renews every year and the coaches will drop their scholarship if they not making an impact. Maybe you are lucky that you kid goes to a school close to home otherwise you are hoping they stream the game and that the service does not lag too bad.

The bottom line is that if your kid is good enough, there will be opportunities. If your kid is not getting looks that is telling. You can help steer them and will always provide them guidance and support but let them take the lead since once they get to college, you won't be talking with the coaches. Listen to your kid and help them enjoy their college experience but both of you need to be realistic going into it else it likely won't go well.
 
We’ve let our daughter do all the talking and navigating with the coaches. She’ll come and recap with us after the call and then we’ll help her problem solved next steps, future questions to ask, etc. Finances are parent territory, but the overall relationship is between the student and the coach. Helicopter or controlling parents are going to have a tough time letting their kiddos take the lead here, but coaches are pretty put off by overbearing parents.

crush said:
Honest question. I'm new at this too so bare with me. My dd does all the talking and asking questions and not her mom or dad? Should I ask some questions too?
Click to expand...
 
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