A youth soccer player shares how they got college offers without playing elite club soccer. They credit Zev Taublieb's coaching on recruitment strategy, highlight videos, and ID camps for standing out to college coaches. The tactics worked so well they now apply them to internships and everyday life.
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 that, 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 for 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 became a topic of discussion. There were many contradicting online resources that I felt like I couldn't trust. Like NCSA and Scouting Zone. Naturally, I was lost with many unanswered questions. This is when I turned to the College Soccer Guy, aka 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 had me attend my first ID camp the summer before junior year, hosted by Zach. 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 my first 2 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 as a gateway of interest for schools that I truly wanted to attend. Accumulating many genuine ID camp invites from these reach and target schools, we not only sustained but progressed interest for these schools by continually sending them perfectly crafted EveryTouch and Timestamp videos from prominent games. Most importantly, it included an EveryTouch video that Zev had me create, which showcased my defending against a D1 commit for UCLA. This video, along with many other 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 Zev taught me in all walks of life, while searching for internships, talking to teachers, and even communicating with classmates. Without Zev, aka The College Soccer Guy, I would not be where I am today. This video is dedicated to you as a thank you.
