Zev Taublieb breaks down three recruiting mistakes for MLS NEXT players: being rude to coaches from schools you don't want, carelessly naming other offers early in conversations, and sending low-quality game footage. Coaches talk to each other, and disrespecting them costs you later.
What are 3 things I would never do if I'm playing MLS NEXT? Number 1, if a school reaches out to you that's not your top choice, do not be rude to them. These coaches all know each other. It's a very small world. Coaches change jobs 30% of the time, and you never know if you can run into them later. Or often, even if they're not your top choice, they will still try and help you because it could help them in their own career. For example, if they were to recommend you to a school you're trying to get in touch with, that coach could then say, wow, you're a good call coach, because you recognize talent, maybe you should come work for me one day. Number 2 is when you're leveraging schools against each other because you have so many offers, don't do it in a way where you bring up the school's names at the very beginning of the conversation. So don't write emails going, I have an offer from so-and-so and so-and-so, and you know, but I really want to hear from you. It's not polite to do that at the beginning. At the beginning, you want to just be more like, hey, I have other interest from other schools that I am very grateful for, but you're the school I'm trying to get a hold of. Now if the coach responds with, "What schools are those?" and you're willing to lose those schools and/or have those schools find out, then you can give their names. You're also allowed to say, "Look, they asked me not to share their names, but I want you to know that despite those other interests, I am really genuinely interested in your school." Something that's usually better to do on a phone call than it is over email, but it can still be done. And number 3 is don't underestimate video. Because you're playing at such a high level against really good competition, every-touch videos go a really long way to get seen in person. If you If you want to know where you should be in the recruiting process based off your club level, comment the word club and I'll send you a list of steps you should be at given your club level.
