Many youth hopefuls always ask themselves at the end of their senior year, why nobody really cared about them.  Put more simply, why didn’t even one college contact me.  To be honest, the local JC or the CC does not count.  I have seen the best of the best get passed over for a number of reasons and here’s why.

Not Enough: Space 

When a College is recruiting they have a limited amount of space unless they have a large senior or graduating class.  So in essence, they want to fill the upcoming void with talented additions.   There is always one guy that stands out on every team.  Whether he is scoring, setting, or stopping the goals, there is one.  Those are the guys that might be able to sit back and let the coach call him or her.

Not Enough: Time 

But for everyone else, you need to get out there and find a college yourself.  Coaches do not have time to come out and find people.  The players that they go out and scout are the ones that have either contacted them or the ones that are on the Youth National Teams.  So there is about 25-30 players on the National Team and maybe 100 who were in the pool.  Unless you are in that 100, start working.

Enough: Talent to Go Around 

I have known a lot of people who were really good players.  Matter of fact, a lot of these players could player college soccer.  All of them could have gotten soccer scholarships to a college.  Whether it would have been there dream college or not, a scholarship could have been “had.”

Enough: Time 

Besides playing soccer, what else is really that much more important than getting out there and calling up some coaches.  It may land you a spot on a really good team.  A top class team for that matter.  It may save you the feeling of being unwanted or worse: The feeling of Rejection.

Personal Note: 

I was a goalkeeper with my sights on college soccer.  I started playing goalkeeper in my Sophomore year and got really into it in my Junior Year.  That is when I knew personally that I HAD to play at the next level.  Unfortunately, a shoulder injury ruined that possibility but the journey shows what can be accomplished.  At the end of my Junior year, I got into finding out what I had to do to play college soccer.  I must have filled out hundreds of “Prospective-Player Questionnaires.”  Now I’m a Senior, currently out of soccer yet the offers have been rolling in pretty nicely.  Twenty Universities and Colleges recruited me, three offered guaranteed spots and the rest were willing to let me come to the campus for individual trials to prove myself.  My depression is not like the aforementioned players who feel rejected, mine is not being able to play when the opportunity is present. 

Many high school teams are very poorly structured and a direct result is losing. The better structured teams are the ones that win. I think it all starts with the coach.

High school sports and soccer is different from organized sports outside of the education system because it is not a business. The players, parents, supporters, and most of the time-coaches, will come and go.

For a high school soccer team to win, be productive, and continue to win, everything starts with the Coach, among many other things. Here is what I think should be in the job description/ participation description for everyone.

The Coach: The coach needs to be among many other things the coach however most coaches only stay at that. This is why teams lose. The coach needs to be the General Manager, team trainer(takes care of everything to sprained ankles to calling 911 in a big emergency), team spokesperson, scout, promotions, and a lot of other things. If you are not willing to do all of this, plus coach, then Prepare To Lose.

I think a big thing with coaches is that they have to be a people person. Nobody is going to come out and help you on their own. Who exactly wants to take part in a 24/7, 6-month commitment for a “share” of your $500-$2000 dollar stipend. So, if you want 10 asst. coaches, many team trainers/ physicians, supportive parents, then you need to get active. But there is one good thing about high school sports. Each player comes with 2 parents, unless they have different beliefs in which case more could be available. On a 22 man team, that’s 44 available people. If you could get half on your staff, wow!

Remaining responsibilities to come!