A college soccer recruit demands to play only at Ivy League or NESCAC schools and threatens to quit if that doesn't happen. The coach tells her that's unrealistic and will leave her with no options. She needs to choose: broaden her list or give up soccer.
Hey coach, I only want to play at a top academic school. Like, if I'm not playing at a top academic school, then I don't want to play college soccer. What should I do? Just to be clear, can I clarify, like, what you mean by top academic? What are you, stupid? Obviously I mean the Ivy League schools, the NESCAC schools. Like, if it's not one of those, then you may as well shoot me in the head. I'm not going. Okay, I like your headspace actually, because it means you know exactly what you want. You probably want to study something in STEM, maybe business. You could be more open-minded than that. But typically, if you're a top academic kid, you kind of know what you already want to study. And you can have those limitations as you describe, but you also have to agree that you may not get to play college soccer. No, no, no, no, no. That's not the deal. The deal is I get to play college soccer at a top academic school and period. Well, while I appreciate that that is your determination and that is what you want, it is not that simple. College soccer is a privilege. So if you say to me, I only will talk to and email the NESCAC and the Ivy League schools and nobody else, and they don't respond to you, what do you do next? You have nothing to do. You're stuck in the water. You are screwed. Okay, so you're saying that the best chance for me to go to a top academic school is I should be open-minded to some other schools, or I should be willing to quit soccer. That is correct. And if you're willing to quit soccer, if only go to those top academics, then I may not be able to help you. But if you say, you know what, I am potentially open-minded to other programs, but I want to aim for top academic, then I can probably help you. If you want more help, call my call and we can schedule a call with you and your parents.
