When to get started:

To understand when to get started, you need to work backwards. Coaches build their annual recruiting process around the official signing date, February 1st. By February, many coaches have identified and talked with the players they want to be a part of their program. Because college soccer is a fall sport, most, but not all, recruiting takes place over the spring and summer months. However, there also is a flurry of recruiting that does take place after the fall collegiate soccer season is over between November and December.
With the above in mind, it is recommended that your child begin the process during the summer between his sophomore and junior years of high school. He should develop a list of schools that interest him both academically and athletically.

Note: NCAA regulations permit coaches to respond to prospective student-athlete inquiries, but the coaches cannot initiate contact until July 1 of the summer leading to your child's senior year.

Summer before the start of junior year:
• Develop list of schools
• Meet with coach to discuss viability of playing college soccer, appropriate
• Level, list of schools
• Thoroughly research schools and soccer programs
• Draft letter of introduction
• Draft resume
• Finalize letter and resume
• Send letters and resume

How to get started:

Developing your target list (research)
Coaches expect players to have done their research on both the school and the soccer program. Coaches do not want to be in discussions with a player only to find out, for example, that the school doesn't offer what the player wants to study.

When developing the target list, the player will find it helpful to include the following minimum information:
• School name
• School Web site
• Athletic Web site
• Coaches names, mailing address, phone numbers, email addresses

Introduction letter:

Once the target list is complete and the player has met with his club, he is ready to develop his letter of introduction. The letter should be sent before the fall college soccer season begins. When surveyed, the coaches overwhelmingly preferred to receive the letter via email. Some noted that it doesn't hurt to email and send a hard copy. As for the content of the letter, coaches indicated they are looking for a fairly simple, straightforward letter. Players also are encouraged to personalize each letter with the coach's name, e.g., "Dear Coach Le Crom" versus "Dear Coach" and incorporate the name of the school into the body of the letter, e.g., "I am interested in attending XYZ to study accounting."

Coaches are looking for letters to include the following:
• Player's name
• Name of club team
• Name of high school
• GPA
• Graduation date
• Projected major
• Upcoming schedule (tournaments, academy games, etc.)
• Coach references with contact information
• Resume (separate document)

The resume should include:

• Personal information – height, weight, birth date
• Contact information – address, email, phone (home and mobile), IM
• Academic – GPA, class rank, PSAT or SAT/ACT scores, clubs, community service, awards/honors
• Athletics – soccer info for club/academy (include uniform colors, jersey number, position), high school, ODP (if applicable), awards
• Other sports experience
• References – include name, phone (home and mobile), email, mailing address

Note: Photos are not necessary and you want to make sure that the resume can be easily emailed.

Team schedule (academy play and tournaments):
The player will want to develop a separate team schedule document which can be constantly updated and easily emailed. An updated schedule is a good way to stay in contact with coaches.

Follow-up:

Once the letter, resume and team schedule has been sent, now what. The majority of surveyed coaches encourage follow-up while some indicated if they are interested, they will follow-up. When a coach responds with questions, he expects the player to respond within 24 – 48 hours. On the flip-side, it is helpful to understand that some schools will receive upwards of 1,200 – 1,500 letters of introduction. Coaches do their best to respond and most have departmental systems in place to help them manage the communications, but they do not always respond in a timely fashion. Patience and persistence become assets.

Video:

On the question of videos, coaches stressed watching the player live is most important. However, video can be helpful to spark interest for a coach to come watch a player.

Because you want to be in a position to respond promptly to a coach, parents and players have found it is better to have video than to have to scramble to get a video together. It is best to put together 5 – 7 minutes of highlights followed by 20 – 30 minutes of unedited play.

Camps:

The majority of schools host summer camps. The camps serve a couple of purposes for the schools and their soccer programs: source of income for the program, recruiting and awareness building for the school.
Attending the camps of the schools your child might be interested in is not mandatory, but it can be very helpful. For your child, it gives him an opportunity to experience the school and to interact with the coaching staff. For the coaches, it is an opportunity to better assess a player's skills, attitude and team fit.
Something else to keep in mind about attending a camp is that coaches from other schools often work at the camp for their own recruiting purposes. So, your child is exposed to multiple opportunities and if your child attends a camp(s), he needs to make sure that at some point during camp, he introduces himself to the coaches.

Unofficial and official visits:

Correspondence/ Private Messages - 6/15 after sophomore year.
Incoming Telephone Calls - 6/15 after sophomore year.
Outgoing Telephone Calls - 6/15 after sophomore year.
Unofficial Visits - 6/15 after sophomore year.
Official Visits Off-Campus Contact - 8/1 before junior year.
Off-Campus Contact - 8/1 before junior year.
Verbal Offer - Not legislated. 6/15 after sophomore year is first recruiting interaction.
There are more regulations pertaining to an official visit. Briefly, an official visit occurs at the invitation of a coach and is paid for by the school. Please go to the NCAA Web site for the specifics on unofficial and official visits.

Helpful tips for official visits to DI schools:

• keep multiple copies of the player's high school transcript
• have SAT and/or ACT scores handy
• register with NCAA Eligibility Center (formerly known as NCAA Clearinghouse)

The player will be asked to provide the coaches with transcripts and test scores as well as confirm registration with the Eligibility Center.

NCAA Rules:

It is the player's responsibility to understand and abide by the NCAA regulations. It is strongly suggested that you and your child spend time reviewing NCAA regulations. The NCAA Web site is a wealth of information and easy to navigate.

Go to www.ncaa.org. On the left side of the home page, go to Academics & Athletes. Next to access the Guide for the College-Bound Student-Athlete, click on Eligibility & Recruiting. The guide will answer all your questions.

NCAA Eligibility Center (formerly known as NCCA Clearinghouse):
The NCAA Eligibility Center establishes the player's amateur status and eligibility. There is an online form that needs to be filled out by the player. He should complete this online information by the end of his junior year, preferably before summer starts as he might need information from his guidance counselor. CLICK HERE TO GO TO ELIGIBILITY CENTER