{"id":12100,"date":"2021-01-11T10:00:54","date_gmt":"2021-01-11T18:00:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/traceup.com\/?p=12100"},"modified":"2023-06-22T12:50:09","modified_gmt":"2023-06-22T19:50:09","slug":"tips-how-to-get-recruited-college-soccer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/traceup.com\/tips-how-to-get-recruited-college-soccer","title":{"rendered":"Recruiting Tips: The Trace Do&#8217;s and Dont&#8217;s for Playing College Soccer"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;\" class=\"sharethis-inline-share-buttons\" ><\/div>\n<script src=\"https:\/\/chat-assets.frontapp.com\/v1\/chat.bundle.js\"><\/script>\n<script>\n  window.FrontChat('init', {chatId: '67b9b0ca9d72de6afb9f9af85fb2c801', useDefaultLauncher: true});\n<\/script>\n\n\n\n<p>Youth soccer players around the country use Trace iDs for college recruiting, so our team is on the front lines of the recruiting process. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We see what works, and what does not work, when it comes to initiating contact with college coaches, sending coaches game video and highlights, and negotiating scholarships. <\/p>\n\n\n  \n<div style=\"padding-top:60px; padding-bottom:60px;\" class=\"bg-white text-teal-50 full-width\">\n\t<div class=\"container\" > \n\t\t<div class=\"video-player\" >\n\t\t\t<div class=\"js-video-player plyr__video-embed\">\n\t\t\t\t<iframe\n\t\t\t\t\tsrc=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/RfhNnUBIM2w\"\n\t\t\t\t\tstyle=\"z-index: 1000;\"\n\t\t\t\t\tallowfullscreen\n\t\t\t\t\tallowtransparency\n\t\t\t\t\tallow=\"autoplay\"\n\t\t\t\t><\/iframe>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Here are some bite-sized tips for excelling in the recruiting process. We&#8217;ll be updating this page every week with new tips and sending out advice on our social channels (follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram!). <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Play at the highest level<\/strong>, especially when you hit sophomore year in high school. This could mean varsity teams for some players, club soccer for others, or it could mean joining an academy team. Coaches want to see that you\u2019re pushing yourself to compete at the highest level in your city or region. In addition, playing with the best in your area will improve your own skills. College coaches evaluate players at tournaments, showcases, ID camps, and clinics, so it\u2019s important to create a strategy incorporating these events when possible.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Do not waste time during your senior year when going through recruiting. <\/strong>The longer you go into the recruiting season or the longer you attempt to negotiate with schools, the less scholarship money will available, and the higher the risk that schools move on to other recruits to fill your spot. Coaches spend money quickly and early in the recruiting process so they don\u2019t lose players to other schools. Sometimes, players transfer out &amp; money becomes available, but this is not a certainty. Making schools wait while you negotiate with other programs or waiting for your dream school to respond can be very risky.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong><strong>Be open-minded about prospective schools. <\/strong><\/strong>Sometimes, potential recruits focus so hard on the most elite schools that they ignore the other 1300 possible \u201cright fits.\u201d The more open-minded a player is to all the possibilities, the better chance they will find the right fit and be happy. Here\u2019s an example of what not to say to a coach: \u201cThis is _________. She is an ECNL goalkeeper, a 4.0 student, and wishes to go to Stanford, Arizona, Washington or UCLA\u201dBe strategic about what you\u2019re conveying in highlights. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Don&#8217;t neglect your academic work.<\/strong> There are countless examples of stellar athletes who have the athletic ability to play at the best Division I schools, but they do not have the grades to make the cut. In your earliest years in high school, you should get familiar with the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ncaa.org\/student-athletes\/play-division-i-sports#:~:text=Earn%20at%20least%20a%202.3,course%20GPA%20to%20be%20eligible.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Division I academic eligibility requirements<\/a> so you have time to prepare, you take the right courses, and you&#8217;re not blindsided in your junior and senior year of high school. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How to Create Great Soccer Highlight Videos<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Start your highlight video by featuring your best moments first. <\/strong>Players should aim to capture the attention of a college coach within the first 30 seconds of the highlight video to ensure that they stay for the full video to see your full breadth of skills. Most people form an impression within the first 7 seconds of meeting another person, and this applies to coaches watching soccer highlights. Make a strong impression from the beginning. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Do NOT use slow motion<\/strong> when sharing highlights. This is a \u201cno duh\u201d piece of advice, so why do so many players do it? Slow-motion makes you look slower.&nbsp; It makes the play look easier. It allows coaches to tear apart every movement frame by fame. Players, stop with the SLO-MO and the SLO-MO instant replays.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Pay attention to what you are telling coaches about your mentality and tactical understanding when sharing your game video.<\/strong> For example, if 60% of a midfielder\u2019s passes are negative or square, coaches will have questions about whether that player is creative and can create opportunities on the field.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How to Communicate with College Coaches<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Initiate communication with college coaches, and don\u2019t give up if they don\u2019t respond to your first message.<\/strong> Think of yourself as a salesman. You\u2019re product: your soccer skills. The buyer: a college coach who needs these skills. The goal: make the coach aware of your skills. You want to pitch your skills and make sure coaches remember who you are and why you\u2019re awesome. If a coach doesn\u2019t respond to an email, find their social media handle, add them on LinkedIn, email other coaches or assistants at that college to get on their radar. The more they hear your name, the more likely they\u2019ll take the time to watch your highlights.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Show coaches that you care when emailing them.<\/strong> Avoid generic messages that look like you are sending a mass email to every NCAA coach<strong>. <\/strong>A considerable percentage of emails coaches get are spammy in nature. \u201cDear Coach, I would love to attend your school and play soccer for you. Blah, blah, blah\u2026\u201d The most basic email mistakes players make include no video or bad video, no transcripts, and no specifics showcasing your knowledge of the school or program. To stand out from the crowd,&nbsp; you have to be different from everyone else.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Respond quickly to coaches. <\/strong>Try to make a habit of responding to coaches contacting you ASAP. A lot of players don\u2019t check email regularly and wait a day or two or more. One way to stand out is to answer them fast! College coaches are always pleasantly surprised when players respond immediately.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Show your personality in interviews with coaches. <\/strong>When interviewing with college coaches, players need to be the ones doing the talking and asking questions. Most coaches will be nice and accommodate parents, but they really prefer to hear from the player to get to know them better and get a sense of how the player thinks.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Be memorable from the start.<\/strong> What\u2019s one way to be sure a person never forgets you? Walk up and punch them in the nose! Take that concept and use it in your highlight video. Open with clips that make you unforgettable by metaphorically punching coaches in the nose with clips that WOW them!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-css-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\">\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@traceup\">\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Recruiting Tips: Do\u2019s and Dont\u2019s for Playing College Soccer\">\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"Strategies for getting recruited to college soccer teams and communicating with college coaches.\">\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/traceup.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Trace-Academy-Blog-Post-Recruiting-College-Soccer.png\">\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-social-links is-layout-flex wp-block-social-links-is-layout-flex\"><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Tips and strategies for college soccer recruiting, creating highlight videos, and more.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":155722381,"featured_media":27986,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[703414512],"tags":[703414554],"table_tags":[],"class_list":["post-12100","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-recruiting","tag-recruiting"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/traceup.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/mens-soccer-d1.jpeg?fit=3000%2C1687&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/traceup.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12100","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/traceup.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/traceup.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/traceup.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/155722381"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/traceup.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12100"}],"version-history":[{"count":23,"href":"https:\/\/traceup.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12100\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33597,"href":"https:\/\/traceup.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12100\/revisions\/33597"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/traceup.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27986"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/traceup.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12100"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/traceup.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12100"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/traceup.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12100"},{"taxonomy":"table_tags","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/traceup.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/table_tags?post=12100"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}