College Soccer Recruiting Process

1. College Soccer Recruiting Process Presented by Leslie Wray UMBC Women’s Soccer Coach

2. The Right Fit • Academics • Athletics / Soccer • Social • Financial

3. Academics • You need to get good grades and good SAT/ACT scores • The better your grades & scores = more options • Focus needs to be there as a HS Freshman continuing through HS graduation • Coaches want players who can balance both school and soccer. • Research schools with your major or academic interests

4. Women’s College Soccer • Division I • 322 DI Women’s College Programs • Recruiting time-table – when do players verbally commit? • It’s never too early to start the process and never too late to be recruited • Every player’s process is different • The key is finding the right fit and balance between academics, soccer and the social environment • Scholarship • Fully funded versus non-fully funded • Partial scholarships • Combined Athletic and Academic • Academic

5. Soccer • Play on the highest level club team possible for a club program geared toward college recruitment with staff experienced in the recruiting process • Must attend college showcase events, ID Clinics and Camps • If time permits visit colleges prior or after showcase events when out-of-state • Fully commit yourself to the sport and continuous improvement as a player • Work hard to strengthen the skillset that separates you from others. What is your special quality and identity as a player? • Work hard to improve your weak areas so not a liability. • Demonstrate outstanding intangibles as a player in your work rate, coachability, fitness levels, competitive fire and being a great teammate. • Understand your club coaches and club directors will be your highest level reference college coaches contact. Maintain a good coach-player-parent relationship and ask for an ongoing honest assessment of your ability. Work together to create a realistic list of schools you will be interested in.

6. Recruiting Terms • Unofficial Visit - Any visit by you and your parents to a college campus paid for by you or your parents. The only expense you may receive from the college is three complimentary admissions to a home athletics contest. You may make as many unofficial visits as you like and may take those visits at any time. The only time you cannot talk with a coach during an unofficial visit is during a dead period. • Verbal Commitment - This phrase is used to describe a college bound student-athlete's commitment to a school before she signs (or is able to sign) a National Letter of Intent. A college bound student-athlete can announce a verbal commitment at any time. While verbal commitments have become very popular for both college-bound student-athletes and coaches, this "commitment" is NOT binding on either the college-bound student-athlete or the institution. Only the signing of the National Letter of Intent accompanied by a financial aid agreement is binding on both parties. • Official Visit - Any visit to a college campus by you and your parents paid for by the college. The college may pay all or some of the following expense: • Your transportation to and from the college; • Room and meals (three per day) while you are visiting the college; • And Reasonable entertainment expenses, including three complimentary admissions to a home athletics contest. • Before a college may invite you on an official visit, you will have to provide the college with a copy of your high school transcript (Division I only) and SAT, ACT or PLAN score and register with he Eligibility Center.

7. Recruiting Rules for Soccer, Div. 1 • Freshman & Sophomore Year • Telephone calls: Players can make calls to the coach. College coach cannot call you back. • Official visit: None Allowed • Unofficial visit: Players may make unlimited amount of unofficial visits • Junior Year • Recruiting materials: Players may begin receiving as of September 1 of junior year. • Telephone calls: Players make calls to the coach. College coach can call once per week starting July 1 AFTER junior year. • Off-campus contact: Allowed starting July 1 AFTER Junior year • Official visit: None Allowed • Unofficial visit: Players may make unlimited amount of unofficial visits

8. RecruitingRules for Soccer, Div. 1 • Senior Year • Recruiting materials: Allowed • Telephone calls: Players may make calls to the coach. Coach can call once per week starting July 1 AFTER junior year. • Off-campus contact: Allowed starting July 1 AFTER Junior year • Official visit: Allowed beginning opening day of classes of senior year. Limited to five official visits to Divisions I and II colleges. • Unofficial visit: Players may make unlimited amount of unofficial visits

9. Social • Teammate Personality / Chemistry • Size of school • Location • Climate • Class size • Dorms - Quality of living space • Extracurricular Activities • Urban / Rural

10. Financial • Athletic based aid • Merit based aid • Needs based aid • Other

11. Freshman Year Checklist • Get good grades! • Set a four year Academic Plan with your high school counselor • Start a college folder with Freestatestaff members • Set academic goals with family • Set soccer achievements for yourself • Wish List of colleges you would like to attend • Attend college games in the area • Attend Camps • Attend ID Clinics

12. Sophomore Year • Focus on getting good grades! • Take PSAT • Develop a cover letter and player profile to email coaches. • Do your research! Correct name of institution and coach • Communication free of grammatical and typographical errors (its not a text). • List references – club coach, high school coach, individual trainer • From the player and not the parent • Write coaches at least 2 weeks prior to Showcase events • Attend ID Clinics • Attend Camps • Start listing 20 schools you are interested in • Meet with guidance counselor to clarify you are on track for NCAA Eligibility • Meet with your FreestateCoach with your parents to go over a plan • Continue to visit college campuses and set up unofficial visits to meet with coaches

13. Junior Year • Continue to focus on grades! • Register to take SAT or ACT in the Fall • Recommend to take an SAT/ACT prep. Course • Send scores to NCAA clearinghouse • Revise your cover letter and player profile with FreestateCoach • Visit colleges to find the “Right Fit” environment you prefer • Register for NCAA Clearinghouse • Take AP Classes or Honor Classes if possible • Have your top 10 preferred college list • Review college applications for admittance with your counselor • Be prepared to make a verbal commitment

14. Senior Year • Apply to the University of Choice (Sept., Oct., Nov.) • Take official visits • If non-committed attend ID Clinics and Fall/Winter showcase tournaments • Meet all application/ scholarship/ housing deadlines • Parents and student meet with school counselor to finalize transcripts • If necessary re-take SAT and ACT (last date in Dec.) • Send Mid-Year & Final Transcripts for Clearinghouse • Send final transcripts to the University you have accepted

15. Making a decision • It must feel right for you! • Academics, Soccer, Social & Financial • If you were to get a career ending injury would you be happy just going to school? • Thank you and good luck!

17. Questions to Ask • 1.Will the coach waive the college's application fee for you? Some coaches will do this. If you're applying to a lot of colleges, this can save your parents a fair piece of change. It doesn’t hurt to ask. • 2.When does pre-season start? (Generally the date is set by the NCAA but you might have to show up anywhere from one to 3 or 4 days early for in-processing.) • 3.Describe the summer conditioning program. • 4.What is the team’s style of play? • 5.How many players does he/she generally carry on the roster? How many players does he/she usually try to bring into a freshman class? How many does he/she project might be in your class should you elect to go there?

18. Questions to Ask • When is practice? What happens if there’s an unavoidable academic conflict between practice and classes? Between a weekday game and classes? You need to get a real good idea about how strict a coach is going to be about missed practices. In almost all instances, you will be required to make up the missed event in some way. Many programs will require a player to engage in extra fitness activities either before or after the next practice she attends. In some instances when there are both men's and women's teams, especially if the coach for both is the same, if you miss a practice with your team, you can make that up by practicing with the men's team. • What kind of activities does the team engage in off-season? Most teams, especially DI schools, will at least have required off-season conditioning activities. They might also have required indoor play that’s run by team captains, not coaches. • Describe the team’s spring practice/play activities. • Do all team members live in a specific dorm on campus?

19. Questions to Ask • Do athletes get preferential course scheduling? This happens at nearly all DI and DII schools and many DIII schools. The preferential scheduling will help you schedule your classes around practices but probably not games. Assume that you WILL miss some classes for away games. • 11.Do team members have a required nightly “study hall”? Most DI/DII programs and some DIII programs have this kind of academic support for their athletes, particularly for freshmen. It will seem like a pain to you to always have to go to the study hall every night but it's worth it. NCAA statistics that compare colleges with such programs with those that don't show a much higher success rate for their athletes, especially freshmen. • 12.Do team members have access to mentoring/tutoring support for specific classes/disciplines? • 13.Does the coach track players’ academic performance during the semester? How often do they get reports?

20. Questions to Ask • ow many FTE athletic scholarships does the women’s soccer program have? NCAA DI schools are authorized 14.0FTE scholarships IF they are fully funded. Not all are. And some DI school offer no athletic scholarships at all (e.g., Ivy League schools don’t). The coach is free to split up these scholarships any way he/she pleases. Thus, some players might be getting a full ride tho they will be in the minority and there might not be any at all. Most players will have a fractional scholarship, e.g., 1⁄4 ride. As a freshman, unless you’re a real “blue chipper”, do not expect a full ride or even close to one. As you mature in a program and prove your worth, you would likely see an increase in your athletic scholarship. That’s why it’s important to do well academically in high school and to get as a high a score on the SATs as possible. • 15.If you are considering a DI or DII school, freshmen are typically at the end of the line for athletic financial aid and get the smallest piece of the pie if they get any at all. Ask the coach how you go about “earning” more scholarship money. Is getting additional athletic financial aid based on whether or not you start, the number of minutes you play, something else? What are the criteria? • 16.If you are considering a DI or DII school, ask what types of aid, other than athletic financial aid, might affect the amount of athletic aid you get? Some types of aid will affect the amount and some won’t. If the coach does not have the answer (he should but might not), either ask him to get the answer from the school’s Financial Aid Office or you get the answer from that office.

21. Be Prepared to Answer Some Questions From the Coach About Yourself • . Why are you interested in this school?2. What do you think you want to major in?3. What kind of a student are you?4. How are you doing academically?5. Why do you think you want to play soccer in college? Why here?6. Positions you’ve played/like to play.7. Level of play of your club and high school teams.8. Systems of play you’ve experienced (e.g., 4-4-2 flat-back-4; 3-5-2, etc.) 9. Strengths/weaknesses.10.What can you bring to the women’s soccer program at this school. 11.What other schools are you considering?