A soccer player describes how coach Zev Taublieb's mentorship took them from AYSO to a college commitment, using strategies like targeted highlight videos and leveraging early offers to reach dream schools. The approach worked so well they now apply it to internships and networking.
Here's how I went from playing NPL to getting offers that MLS, NEXT, and ECNL players were competing for. From a young age, I was in and out of AYSO soccer. Soon after, in the 3rd grade, I moved to the club environment. This is where I began to surround myself with more dedicated players, passionate coaches, and learned to enjoy the game even in the hours of my free time. Soon enough, it was my sophomore year and I was playing in one of the top clubs in my area, rostered on both the 2nd team and the ECNL team. It was around this time that college soccer began to become a topic of discussion. Meanwhile, there were many contradicting online resources like NCSA and ScoutingZone that I felt I couldn't trust. Naturally, I was lost with many unanswered questions. This is when I turned to Zev in hopes of finding guidance. He gave me that and much, much more. We began with the decision to leave my club so that I could get more playing time on an NPL team instead. Next, we decided to have me attend my first ID camp hosted by XACT. At this camp, there were hundreds of kids and many college coaches, showing me the sheer volume of competition. Yet, with the help of Zev, I was able to stand out in the crowd. The hours playing in the sweltering Delaware heat paid off, and I was able to secure two of my first offers from that ID camp alone. While these schools were not a fit for me academically, Zev Taublieb taught me the particular way to leverage them, serving them as a gateway of interest from schools that I truly wanted to attend, accumulating many genuine ID Camp invites from these reach and target schools. We not only sustained but even progressed interest by continually sending perfectly crafted EveryTouch videos and timestamped videos from prominent games. Most importantly, it included an EveryTouch video that Zev had me create which showcased my defending against a D1 UCLA commit. This video, along with many emails, ID Camps, and showcases that I attended, allowed me to beat the odds of not playing ECNL or MLS NEXT, as I committed to my dream school. Today, I apply the lessons that Zev Taublieb taught me in all walks of life while searching for internships, talking to teachers, and even communicating with classmates. All in all, I'm beyond blessed to have embarked on this once-in-a-lifetime college soccer journey.
