A coach answers three questions from a parent of an 8th grader interested in college soccer. Start recruiting early only if your kid plays MLS Next or ECNL, or targets Ivy League schools. Video matters most: club footage and home training clips show coaches you're improving. College coaches want to see clear year-by-year progression from 8th through 10th grade to predict your future.
I just got off the phone with an 8th grade parent and these are the 3 things they asked me. Number 1 is, "Why should we start now?" And the answer is, maybe you should not start now. It's not the right time to start unless you are very, very good. If you're playing MLS Next or ECNL already in 8th grade, then the college coaches would like to know who you are. If you are a very committed individual and you want to play at an Ivy League school or a top academic school, You don't have a choice other than to start now because other kids, including my own students, have already begun. Number 2, he was asking about the importance of video when it comes to your club team versus training at home. So training video at home can be really helpful for Instagram and as an excuse to message coaches that you're doing better so they can see your progression. And remember, progression is really important. College coaches want to see that in 8th grade you are here and 9th grade you were here, and 10th grade you were here. That is how they make you an offer in 11th grade. If they meet you in 10th grade and you make a small jump in 11th, that doesn't make them very confident that you're gonna make bigger jumps in 11th, 12th, freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior year of college. They want to see your progression. So even if you feel like you're not good enough in 8th grade, let them see you so they can see the progression and go, oh my gosh, you've improved a lot. You know, they're never gonna make a decision on you in 8th grade and say yes or no, but they will go, oh, wow. And if you're really good 8th grade, then they'll be like, who are you? What's your name? And how do I get to know you more? Which is exactly what you want. If you want more help playing college soccer, give me a call. Links in the bio.
