A 7th-8th grader at ECNL/RL level with a 3.8 GPA has a narrowing path to Division I. To improve recruitment odds, attend ID camps, email coaches with specific questions, and make highlight reels plus full-game videos. Playing ECNL/RL is less visible than MLS NEXT for college scouts.
"If I play ECNL/RL and I have a 3.8 GPA, can I play Division I college soccer?" If you're in 7th, 8th grade and you're already at that level, I would say Division I soccer could very well be possible 'cause odds are you're gonna get better, you'll end up on an ECNL team, then maybe even an MLS NEXT team, and you could still play 'cause you have 7th, 8th, and 9th, and some of 10th to make it to that level. If you're in 9th grade, you might still be able to play Division I, but it does depend on how much interest you have and if you're exploring other clubs. Then that comes to sophomore year. If you're still playing ECNL/RL sophomore year, I would strongly consider Division III and Division II. If you're junior, and the same, I would strongly consider Division III, Division II. And if you're a senior, then I would say you cannot play Division I, you should stay there. However, we have had students of my own who have played Division I soccer from Easton RL starting junior year. So it's not black and white that way. What I would say to you is, I'm sure some of you, I'd love your comments, I'm sure you have a friend who's made it despite playing that club level. But logistically speaking, they don't get as much exposure. So what you have to do is not give up. You don't even have to always switch club teams. What you do need to do though is you need to go to more ID camps. You will need to write more emails and you will need to make more video. You'll need one highlight video. You'll need about 3 to 4 every-touch videos, which are full-game videos. When you write the emails, every email should have a question. Do not just send an update and say, hey, I have an update. You have to either say, am I being recruited for your class? Can I come to one of your games? I'll be— can I come to one of your ID camps? Are you looking for my position? There's multiple questions we ask in order to warrant a response. And then finally, you have to know that because you're playing Eastern RL, even if you think you're good enough, you are already behind any other player that's playing MLS Next or ECNL applying to the same schools. And odds are, because you have such good GPA, you want to go to Bowdoin or Babson or any of the NESCAC schools. And so does every MLS kid who doesn't make it to the top Maryland Division I school. So because of that, it's very competitive. My niche tends to be students who are top academic D3 or top academic Division I. So if you want help, give me a call. Links in the bio. Talk to you soon. Bye-bye.
