The College Soccer Guy breaks down what coaches actually look for during games and halftime. Play like you're being watched, film every touch, and remember that body language matters as much as skill. He went unsigned by D1 schools but signed pro anyway, proving recruiting rankings don't determine talent.
Scouting current college soccer players so you can learn what you need to do in order to play college soccer. I'm the College Soccer Guy. I help you play college soccer. Let's do it. If you want more help, give me a call. Links in the bio. This is UCLA against CSUN at UCLA Stadium. It is currently halftime. When I was playing college soccer and pro soccer, one of the things they always would tell us is you never know who's watching. I've been to games at this field where the U-20 national team coach has been there. And so for those of you that are playing MLS NEXT or ECNL, you never know who's watching you. So whenever you go out and play, you definitely not only want to do your best, but you wanted to play as if you're being recruited. Not to mention, whatever you do play game, you can put that into an Every Touch video and send that out to a coach. So you should be doing that anyways. Sometimes these moments when the game is not happening is when coaches are watching the most. It seems like small, but just little things like, see how number 4 has his hands behind his back? It's a— it to me, when I'm looking at players, I go, look, he is not— doesn't probably have a cocky attitude. He's here to work hard. It's not to say if you don't have your hands behind your back, like number 12 here is a really good soccer player. He's jumping, getting ready. There's a sense that you can really get when the game is not being played and college coaches are watching. There's also a sense of calmness amongst them all. Yes, it's a spring game, so the games are basically just scrimmages. But, you know, there's also an attentiveness to wanting to win the game. And coaches, of course, you'll hear it all the time, want winners. Most of the time during your club games, you guys don't really kick or do anything at halftime. You go talk to your coach. But at this level, they do do things at halftime. So like here, I get an opportunity to look at the goalkeeper like over and over again because I'm going to watch this game and he's only going to be involved so many times. So it can tell you a lot about a player. See how he decided to use his feet there instead of his hands initially. Okay, that means he probably likes his feet or his coach is telling him to work on his feet. Let's watch his ping. Good technique. Hits the player in the air. He decided to use his hands. Let's see if he's got a side volley on him. Very good side volley and he's not a goalkeeper. This is the assistant coach at UCLA. He's also a really good soccer player. This is the head coach of CSUN, Mr. Terry. He's been in the game for a a very long time, extraordinarily smart coach. He's got nephews that play at the pro level. He's a very good coach. And if you're playing in the Big West Conference or you're playing in California for a Division 1 school, you get to play against some really big schools, even if you're not playing UCLA. If you're playing at CSUN, Sacramento State, these are very good programs that play against, you know, some of the best programs in the country. I often ask myself, like, why does a player get recruited to, say, UCLA instead of CSUN? Are the players at UCLA way better? The score right now is 1-0 to CSUN. Usually comes down to a number of different factors, including grades, how many times you're able to be seen, and of course your ability. Theoretically, the UCLA players are supposed to be better, but there are plenty of players that go through the recruiting process and slip through the cracks. And I can guarantee you, in this game, there's going to be players on CSUN that are going to maybe outperform players at UCLA. So just because the Division 1 school doesn't pick you, or just because UCLA doesn't pick you, doesn't mean you don't necessarily maybe deserve to be UCLA. I remember I wasn't picked by pretty much any Division 1 school. I ended up signing a pro contract, and In my first scrimmage as a professional player, we played against a college team and I was really good and I got assists and scored goals, etc. And that college team said no to me like a dozen times in the recruiting process. Doesn't mean you're not the level. I'm gonna actually show you the game right now, but I'm gonna make a second video for that, so tune in for part 2. If you want help playing college soccer, give me a call. Links in the bio.
