Elite Academy players should target Division III and II coaches first, since the program has less national visibility than MLS NEXT or ECNL. Girls at Elite Academy may have better Division I prospects than boys. Email coaches directly rather than waiting for showcases to generate interest.
What do you think about Elite Academy? So Elite Academy is really good. If you're playing Elite Academy, you should definitely be emailing D3s and D2s, 100%. You can totally email D1s as well, but if you're trying to go to the top 25 schools, it's very difficult. It is possible. There's a player on UCLA right now who played Elite Academy and did end up being recruited by UCLA, but it is harder. The main reason it's harder is traditionally speaking, there are higher level players at the MLS NEXT levels and arguably ECNL. However, the main reason is Elite Academy just doesn't have as many showcases that the college coaches go to, and if you want to play at a high level Division in addition to camps. So if you're open as an elite academy player to Division III and Division II, which are really high levels, remember most kids don't even get to play college soccer and then their career as a soccer player is over once they turn 17, 18, then I would strongly encourage you to focus on DIII, DII. If you get a lot of interest from DIII, DII and you get feedback that says, hey, I think you're a potential Division I player, frankly you should consider potentially leaving teams depending on your coach and the club. It can vary. And it's different if you're a girls elite academy that's slightly higher level than on the boys' side, which is then to say you maybe should stay and be the big fish in small pond. Like, if you go into playoffs, if you're a kid who's doing really well locally, the local schools probably know who you are. But nationally speaking, the schools don't know Elite Academy as well. But it's still very good. If you want more help playing college, give me a call. Links in the bio. Talk to you soon. Goodbye.
