A coach tells an MLS NEXT left back with a 3.7 GPA he can play Division I soccer, but needs to specialize in crossing and set pieces. He should attend 3-4 camps by junior year, aim for top schools like Georgetown, and produce 6-10 videos annually showing defensive matchups against committed D1 players.
I play MLS NEXT, I'm a left back, I have a 3.7 GPA, and I'm a junior. Can I play Division I college soccer? First of all, being left back or right back is fantastic because it's a very sought-after position. Number 2 is video-wise, you're not going to have a bunch of highlights, typically speaking. So we need a lot of crosses. If you can take a free kick as a left back, that would be amazing. Or if you're taking corners, that's really something that's sought after. And if you can whip a ball in attacking-wise, they would love that. There was a left back for UCLA a couple years ago who recently got drafted. He played for Sporting Kansas City, and he wasn't, say, the most clever, but his crosses were just phenomenal. So you need to have really good crosses. Then, logistically speaking, you could play college soccer because you have a 4.0, but here's your problem. Because you have a 4.0, you probably don't want to just go to any school. You're not going to want to go to SIUE, or IUPUI, or Valparaiso. You're going to want to go to a top Division I school, a Georgetown, a Yale, a Harvard, a Brown, And the problem with that is every kid has a 4.0 and frankly are playing MLS Next who are applying to those schools. So the first thing is, if you're a junior, I would've hoped you've already gone to their camp like 3 to 4 times at this point, whether it be through a mass camp or individual. Then after that, they hopefully have already reached out to you and expressed their interest in you and requested some form of your transcripts or certainly asked what classes you're taking and confirmed that they want to see you at another camp and that they're truly looking for your position. If you are a left back, you're probably not going to play any other position. You might play left mid depending on your size. You might play center back. So maybe there's some versatility, but coaches don't want versatility. They want you to be good at one position. And so for you, you're going to need to send about 6 to 10 videos in a given year. So make one main highlight video, then the rest should be every-touch videos. If you are playing games in MLS Next, which you probably are, and you're playing against other players that have committed, or players you know that are already committed, you should circle them in your videos and specify, this is me defending against a Division 1 soccer player or commit. That will then help the coaches recruit you that much more because you're not going to have a bunch of highlights. If you want more help playing college soccer, give me a call. Links in the bio. Talk soon. Bye.
