2024 Recruit Help

[SoccerMom6]

Hi All! I'm new to this board and realize this may have been discussed but haven't seen a recent thread about recruiting. My daughter is a 24 recruit, was originally looking at academic D1s - Ivies and Patriot - but has decided she would prefer the balance of a D3. She is interested in some NESCACs, NEWMACs, Liberty - primarily schools in MidAtlantic and NE. However, we live in the South so this makes it difficult. Timeline, suggestions? How important are the ID clinics? Is spring and summer too late to go to them? Can't seem to find consistent information on D3 recruiting as a whole. Thank you in advance. Any help is welcome!

[SimpleCoach]

@SoccerMom6.

I've interviewed a number of coaches who talk about this, and can be found here - https://www.youtube.com/c/AllThingsDivisionIIISoccerwithSimpleCoach/featured

Also, based on those discussions, I made a summary called "So you want to play D3 Soccer."  You can find here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TkxHbterc4&t=3s

Hopefully that helps.

SC.

[PlaySimple]

A lot of the schools she is looking at are what would be considered "tier 1 colleges." In the simplest of terms, tier 1 colleges are those schools that have solid academics and a selective admissions process. Ivies, NESCAC schools, UAA schools, etc.

There is a guy that ran a website a while back and he gave a lot of advice to athletes looking at tier 1 schools. I think that he had some health issues or family matters come up and he has not updated it in some time but it might still be worth looking at. Some of the advice may be outdated but much still applies. There is also a blog section and there may be some helpful advice in some of the entries if you comb through it.

Here is the website: https://www.tier1athletics.org/ On the opening page he has the disclaimer, "This site is no longer being actively maintained. Some of the information may still be relevant, some may not."

As for ID camps and all of that, some are better than others. Some are definitely money grabs. If your kid does decide to attend one, make sure the coach knows her beforehand and that she is going to be coming. She should also introduce herself when arriving.

I'm in Chicago and Amy Reifert of the U of Chicago always has summer camps. She used to just have a 1 day camp with the option to go 2 days in a row. I think now the camps are all 2 days. I know of someone that attended the camp in the summer between junior and senior years. She impressed Reifert and got on her radar. The next year at an ECNL event, Reifert or an assistant came to all of her games. She ended up as Maroon, playing all four years. Without the camp, she may not have been noticed.

Before paying a lot of money for a lot of different camps, do some homework in advance. Don't take the shotgun approach and attend a lot of camps hoping that something pans out. Have your kid be proactive, do her homework, talk to her club coaches, etc.

[VAFury]

My daughter was VERY indecisive and we ran the gamut with everything.  Your daughter might be at a higher level than mine, which can make a difference.  OUR experience was that travel showcase tournaments and camps at the specific school were the most useful.   I'd say a camp with multiple schools attending would be good IF you knew for sure your daughter would be a standout.   We did one of those and my daughter performed well, but still struggled to make an impression.  At single school camps she got more attention and at travel showcases she attracted attention of schools she hadn't been previously aware of. 

It IS best if she has an idea already and can target specific schools. We didn't have that level of decisiveness.

[SoccerMom6]

These are some great leads and very useful tips. Thank you again for taking the time to provide detailed feedback! It is very much appreciated!

[VAFury]

These are some great leads and very useful tips. Thank you again for taking the time to provide detailed feedback! It is very much appreciated!

Don't know why, as I don't know your daughter or exact level, BUT... Take a look at Gettysburg College. Decent D3 program.  We went by the campus (not an official visit or anything). Was in awe of the campus. Has quite a cool history, as you might imagine. 

Admittedly know nothing about the coaches, but my daughter does have a former teammate there, which is why it was on our radar.

[BritbyBlood]

I coached high school and club and currently have players all over, including my daughter who chose D3 over D2, NAIA, JUCO, and possibly a D1.

I have mentored many players as they started their journey into college.

Here are some tips, one creating an online profile can be helpful but also costly. We used CaptainU and got a lot of attention from all levels on this site. It is a pay site, but I believe it still offers a free trial period. You are able to really showcase your player on these sites. GPA, soccer accomplishments, highlight videos etc... The best thing about these sites is you can message coaches directly and try and start a conversation. The downside to these sites is if there has been a change in coaching they are slow to update and sometimes you are emailing a coach who doesn't exist at that school anymore.

If you don't want to attend camps, I would suggest this is the easiest way to go about it. Camps are often a money grab where its really hard to get noticed outside the top 5 or so players. Just something to think about when it comes to the recruiting process.

Next up, this is a more time demanding option but I worked with players on it and it worked for them as well. First, you pick the schools you want and build a list. Second, you go to those schools websites, find the coaches, find their emails, and build that last. Third you create a YouTube page where you can upload your highlight videos. Then once that is ready for coach consumption email the coaches with a strong email expressing your interest in their school, why you would be a good fit, and finally a link to your YouTube page.

If you follow any of these methods chances are you will get some interest. Best of luck!

[PlaySimple]

SoccerMom, I don't know if your daughter still needs any information. Below is a website that I came across a bit ago and just remembered. The link below has a lot of the types of kids your kid is looking at. All of the ones listed are decent academic institutions. There is a lot of good info on the website.

https://recruiting.studentathleteworld.com/recruiting-101-blog/entry/best-academic-d3-schools

[daveyjonez]

My daughter was in the same situation during her recruiting process, initially looked at D1's that expressed interest, made offers, etc. She was very focused on academics and none of the D1 offers were from schools that she felt to be a good academic fit, shifted her focus to competitive D3s with strong academics. She ended up in the Centennial Conference, and has been very happy. BTW, we are also from the south! See the link above w/ tier 1 and tier 2 schools- that looks to be a great list, many were schools my daughter considered. Best of luck to you!

[SimpleCoach]

As promised.  A follow up to "So You Want to Play D3 Soccer?"

You Still Want to Play Division III Soccer?