A coach tells junior soccer players three mistakes that kill their D1 recruitment: thinking coaches will find you at league games, skipping ID camps, and not following up enough. He earned a full ride by attending camps and sending video, and recommends 4 to 6 follow-ups that actually give coaches something useful.
If you are a junior playing MLS NEXT2 or Easton RL, please never do these 3 things if you want to play Division I college soccer. Number 1, do not assume that any Division I team will come to your league games. They're not coming. I know some of them might tell you they're coming, they may even ask for a schedule, but you just have to think logistically speaking, you cannot depend on them to come to your league games. Showcases, that's realistic. Now they're not just going to come to your showcase, you're going to have to message them of course with your video and emailing beforehand. And to increase your chances, I strongly recommend you watch their games this fall and compliment them. You can watch them online via ESPN or you can go to their game in person, which would be double the points. Number 2, don't think to yourself, I don't need to go to an ID camp because I'm just so great. You probably are really that great, but you have to remember you're competing with the MLS Next and the ECNL players, which technically on paper might be seen before you. So if you want to get ahead of them like I did, I was playing JV soccer until I was a junior in high school. I went to more camps, I sent more video, and therefore I got a full ride to play Division I soccer. Number 3: don't underestimate the importance of following up multiple times. I'm talking 4 to 6 times. If after that you find that they're not responding, you should definitely move on with your life and find a new school and say to yourself, this school is not realistic, or this school doesn't like me, or I have to go to a camp if I really want to gain their attention. But when I say follow up, don't just say follow up like an email, like following up, coach, following up. Instead, you have to give them some value, some information. You can ask them a question, or you need to give them video, or frankly, we like to do both. If you would like more help playing college soccer, give me a call. Links in the bio. Talk to you soon. Goodbye.
