A former pro midfielder explains why most players need ID camps to get recruited, using one player's path from Division III to the U.S. national team as the rare exception. If you're not a prolific scorer or elite athlete, attend multiple camps and highlight passing, communication, and teamwork instead.
Pat didn't go to any ID camps. He went to D3, transferred to D1, now he reps the US country and Darby. So if you guys don't know this, this is a player who played Division 3 soccer, then went to Division 1, then got drafted, then got called up to the national team, and now he's playing, you know, abroad. And he's saying he didn't have to go to any ID camps. If you score as many goals as he does, that is correct, you don't have to go to many ID camps. So Ronaldo Dewey 17, Sui C17, how many goals have you scored? And on top of that, are you as athletic as he is? And are you as well known? Like in my example, I played I played professional soccer and I needed to go to all those ID camps because I wasn't scoring a million goals. This player is amazing and he is the exception to the rule. So if you truly think you're the exception to the rule, you're the diamond in the rough, you're the Messi of the world, congratulations. But for most of us, we're really good, deserve a chance to play college and maybe even pro, but nobody knows who we are. So you can do what this kid is saying, which is don't go to ID camps because, you know, other players who are so frickin' good didn't have to go. Or you can be more realistic and say, look, I'm not gonna be picked 'cause I don't score a million goals and I'm not a 6'3", you know, athletic striker. I am really good at passing, or I'm really good at communicating, or I'm a really good team player. And I was a defensive center mid, so I didn't have a lot of goals, but yet I still had the dream. So then what I had to do was do more than other people. I had to go to more ID camps. And this particular player did not have it easy by any means. He ends up now playing at the highest level in the world, arguably. And he played Division III soccer, which is pretty phenomenal. Which is to say, if you play DIII, you guys think the level sucks, but it does not. And you could go up and up and up. If you want more help, give us a call. Link's in the bio. Talk to you soon. Goodbye.
