This is a great point/perspective from a parent. Coaches everywhere should freshen up their marketing. Lack of resources or tech knowledge isn’t an excuse. So many creative ways to put out top quality materials.
#CSTruth
The Truth Most Don’t Like to Hear.
DM: My son is a 2024 grad. We’re trying to move through the recruitment process with humility and caution, while trying to enjoy it as best we can. It’s really exciting. However, with all of the “D1 or bust” talk and the “make sure
@ImCollegeSoccer
OR you could be their
#1
recruit at a certain position. Question to ask is “Can you rank your positional needs in this recruiting class?”
If they say your position, then you say “wow, you must want to fill this quickly. Can you outline what the rest of the process looks like?”
DM: Why don’t Recruits return phone calls, texts, or emails from D3 coaches?
-D3 Head Coach
#CSTruth
Because:
-People around them don’t respect D3 athletics
-They don’t want all the college debt
-They need athletic scholarship
-They don’t offer their major
-The size of the
Verbal commitments in college soccer mean everything to 99% of schools/recruits. With offers & commitments happening well before signing day, it’s a major guardrail to keep order & integrity of the recruiting process. Normalizing the choice to decommit is dangerous
@ImCollegeSoccer
ID Camps attended at the correct time can answer final questions for Recruits & Coaches. ID Camps attended at the wrong time is usually a waste of money.
NCAA transfer portal window for fall sports opens in a few weeks (most sports).
People mostly talk about playing time. But, what’s the
#1
reason for female D1 athletes?
👉🏼Conflict with coaches or teammates.
The team environment is a key to retention.
@ImCollegeSoccer
Playing college soccer likely means ur used to making sacrifices in your social life during HS. In college it’s the excitement & quality of the social life experiences that fully tests your ability to sacrifice. ⬆️ Level = ⬆️ Performance standard…How imp is ur performance 2 u
@ImCollegeSoccer
A call like that from a club coach would be received by a college coach as vindictive. That said, college coach would certainly seize the opportunity to have a conversation with the incoming athlete & set standards
With major
#ECNL
showcases already starting these programs without a head coach will be playing catch-up with 2025's, some lost (or didn't honor) 2024's, and as you can see most won less than 4 games. It will be an uphill battle for new coaches so hopefully have patient AD.
Repeat this pattern:
- Create list of schools reflecting values
- Email whole staff separately “I’m interested”
- Email again b4 a showcase
- Play well
- Get list of schools 👀 U 🏃♂️⚽️ from admin
- Follow up a few days after showcase
- Create 2 lists: “Camp Response” “other”
True confidence in your own fitness level & belief that you’re more fit than opposing players is a very very powerful thing as a player
#collegesoccer
#CSTruth
#PCS
#athlete
@ImCollegeSoccer
The truth is…It’s not about you Club Coach!Unless Club Coach is also the family’s financial advisor. Give your honest & thoughtful opinion/advice, let the family make a decision, & don’t take it personally. Kids attend ID Camps for reasons other than solely being recruited.
“I don’t trust you yet, keep working, because we are 1 injury away from me being forced to trust you”
When players get discouraged & stop working, they aren’t ready to be their best when the opportunity comes. Seizing the moment can put you in the XI for the next 3 years
Freshman: Coach can you tell me how I’m doing and what I can do to get better?
Coach: You’re doing well, you’re coming a long and working really hard.
Translation: You’re not ready, there are teammates better than you, but you’re good kid, just not good enough.
#CSTruth
Fact: No matter how good you are, there will be an extended period of time in College Soccer when you’re on the bench, not playing, not traveling because you’re injured or out of favor
Also Fact: The right school aligns w/your values & will help you flourish in these moments
@ImCollegeSoccer
🚨 Men’s Soccer Recruits you absolutely do not need to constantly attend ID Camps starting in the 9th grade. Save your money for later!
Our aim is to provide a place for reliable, good faith info highlighting the current state of College Soccer to inform decisions/raise questions 6 years of Player Retention Rates anchored to the # OF SENIORS & ATTRITION is an imp objective data point in a sea of opinion
#CSTruth
Int’l students are generally older & have already been in a daily competitive environment playing against full grown men fighting for a contract. Add the fact they usually cost less athletic scholarship $ than an American 18yo thru own gov’t loans & grants (1/2) 🧵
It didn’t used to be like this in NCAA D1 on the men’s side. It was always more common in D2 and NAIA.
Now, if you want to be competitive with the elite schools you have to go international.
Just look at the rosters. Most of them are filled with 50% to 70% internationals.
@ErinK_Henderson
Checking player retention rate trends on a particular coach can aid in final decisions & inform questions to ask in the final stages of recruitment.
@ImCollegeSoccer
Question to coaches: What do you think is a turnoff when players are evaluating you and your program during phone calls, emails, campus visits, etc.?? Recruits you aren’t powerless. Be sure to make judgements too
@ImCollegeSoccer
Reserve training sessions are some of the best opportunities to gain confidence & outshine your teammates. Older players aren’t yelling at you & less players for a coach to measure you against. Be the best player on the field & your teammates will also start to believe in you
To better understand what real interest from a program looks like, try this ➡️
Group schools by level you want to play:
⬆️ Higher
➡️ Meets your needs
↘️ Slightly below
⬇️ Below
📧 Email 5 from each, intro yourself/ express interest
See what comes back & compare
#CSTruth
@ImCollegeSoccer
You can’t be too sensitive when talking to an athlete about their weight, C’MON!!! You can discuss their habits & how it might be affecting their performance, help them develop new habits, & set an attainable standard . All of this can be done in a thoughtful & coherent way.
@ImCollegeSoccer
Coaches miss out on a lot of great recruits because of their laziness to do research or approach recruiting in a way that maximizes their resources.
@ImCollegeSoccer
Ugh, 🤮 cmon D1 Coach, You can be great at all 3. The idea is to help shape/redefine “social” to fit your new college lifestyle surrounded by likeminded people that want what’s best for the team.
Playing Time in the ACC for Men's Soccer in Fall 2022:
- 81% of players logged minutes
- 39% of them played OVER 1,000 min
- 20% played 450 - 1,000 min
- 22% played 100 - 450 min
- 19% played less than 100 min
#collegesoccer
#CSTruth
#recruited
@ImCollegeSoccer
College soccer is not about how fast you are… You can be the fastest kid in the world & ruin my practices because of poor technical ability & low soccer IQ. I coached a D1 2x Conference POY who played professionally, slower than molasses, & turned like a Mack truck.
As a coach, being forced to 👀Highlight Videos w/ Fast Playback Speed feels disingenuous
- 🚫 judge level of teams
- 🚫 balance/technical ability/agility
- 🚫 weight of passes/shots
- 🚫speed of play
🤔What are Recruiting Agencies & Athletes trying to hide from me?
#CSTruth
🚨New NCAA Official Visit Rules🚨
⏰ Begins July 1, 2023
- Gives more opportunity for parents/guardians with less financial resources to be a part of the recruiting process
- Schools w/ big budgets can do A LOT with this
- Great opp for small schools to get creative
To the College Coach competing with Pep for players…In your open letter to Defenders I think it would be helpful for recruits to know 1) Which of the traits listed are non-negotiable to join the program 2) Which traits can they expect to develop in your environment?
#CSTruth
Defenders,
If you’re too soft you can’t play for me.
I need a physical defender, one who can play out of the back, pass short & long distances, get in on the attack, yell at their mids & forwards when they’re not working, win headers, defend 1v1, dribble out of tight
@ImCollegeSoccer
It’s a race for schools to find the TOP players….It’s not a race for recruits to find a good program. It’s OK not be 1st & try not to be last
🆕 D1 Men's Soccer Playing Time Dashboard. Filter to see certain teams, conferences, or coaches. See the entire D1 College Soccer playing time landscape in a single view. Gain valuable insight to make smart decisions
#CSData
#CSTruth
#collegesoccer
On average, a D1 Men's College Soccer Roster is made up of 31% International Student Athletes. On average, they account for 40% of the minutes played so far this season
#collegesoccer
#csdata
#CStruth
@ImCollegeSoccer
It should be done in this order:
1) Commit to the school you plan to attend by talking to the coach. Once commitment is confirmed then...
2) Be brave & call the other schools to tell them you have made a decision, thank them for their time, and wish them luck
@ImCollegeSoccer
Men’s D1 is available too. Definitely roster spots…Maybe a verrrry small amount of athletic money to entice kids receiving academic scholarship…
Roster changes are constant & as a result available spots & scholarship money are in flux over winter break
A good tool to learn more about schools, especially public universities. Some private schools hand out academic scholarships like hot cakes to drive enrollment….Those schools will likely have students on smaller amounts of federal aid
Choosing a college or career school can be a huge, life-changing decision.
Our College Scorecard is here to guide you when looking at higher education options.
About finished with Player Retention Rates for
#WSOC
from 2017-Now. Multiple programs have had “Co-Head Coach” titles….Sounds confusing for the players…
💡 Recruiting Life Hack
🚨Problem: Coach won’t return my call/email
✅Think of a question. Call/email the Dir. of Ops/camp contact, tell them u have a quick camp question b4 registering & ask to 🗣️ on ☎️. Ask question & then ask them 2 please have coach call you back
#CSTruth
Playing significant minutes as a freshman at an established program is very difficult. If a coach is promising you playing time you should run the other way. Think about all of the other promises he/she has likely made to 30 other families
@ImCollegeSoccer
The reason being college coaches receive thousands of videos & emails from kids all over the world. They won’t be able to watch every video & respond to every email. Some programs have a larger support staff & efficient workflow that enables them to respond to more people
@ImCollegeSoccer
When coaches see this, they push ID Camps aggressively in return. Kids do it because they think the top team is where they belong. If kid craves a response enough to mislead a coach on basic info, then a well written camp invite reply 1) gets kid to camp 2) gives them a chance
Stop exporting highlight videos with aggressively increased playback speed! It shouldn’t look like the game is being played on a giant automatic walkway commonly used in airports.
#CSTruth
#recruited
#Highlights
Committing to programs with years of poor win/loss records AND consistently high athlete turnover is a hard choice to make outside of the top academic institutions. Be prepared to prove yourself to more than 1 Head Coach during your college career.
#collegesoccer
#cstruth
FWIW…Notre Dame has a ridiculously experienced & accomplished coaching staff….Sprinkle in some Chris Rolfe as your Director Of Ops & it’s easy for anyone to get excited about that environment.
#collegesoccer
#MCollegeCup
If adopted, the new sub rules will sadly take a little bit of College Soccer out of College Soccer. If moving forward games can continue to end in a draw + use of subs is limited, will we see the frantic exciting mess that is College Soccer begin to slow down?
#collegeSoccer
@ImCollegeSoccer
Worth noting that Club & HS coaches sometimes put players in a “box” & responsible college coaches will rely on their own relationship building skills during the recruiting process to validate or invalidate what a coach says about a player.
@ImCollegeSoccer
Dear College Coach: If watching an unfit PSA forces you to rant on Twitter via proxy…Perhaps leave the talented kids struggling with fitness to someone else & stop spending time asking club coaches about the unfit kids?
@ImCollegeSoccer
To Coaches Talking to Current/Incoming Players: If you don’t know & have to ask “what are your plans for summer?” & receive an answer “I don’t know” It doesn’t look good for you either
Players get your job is busy…as coach!
Connect them to the countless resources you have
NCAA Division 2 Men's Soccer: Fouls & Bookings from the 2022 season. 👀 Wingate is running away with it & Barry seems to collect a ton of Yellow Cards.
#CSTruth
#CSData
#collegesoccer
#recruited
@chrislemley
Roster size is a slight factor among many. These #’s reflect HC philosophy, recruiting, player management, &, the type of churn ok’d by the AD.
High turnover doesn’t always mean bad coach…It just means different environment & should mandate A LOT of questions from recruits
There are 641 D1 verbal commitments for the 2025 class here is the current breakdown by platform.
#ECNL
- 475 (74.1%)
#GirlsAcademy
- 137 (21.4%)
#International
- 16 (2.5) 🇨🇦
All Others - 13 (2%)
Lots of misinformation on where a majority of D1 players come from.
Understanding the amount of year to year turnover a College Coach has in his/her program could lead to poignant questions & better outcomes for recruits
@ImCollegeSoccer
I love the idea of this & can confidently say everyone is not held accountable in the sports world. More of a reason why kids/families need to make values based decisions
🚨 Absurd fitness levels, Strength, Athleticism, & unique officiating crammed into a 4 month schedule makes College Soccer especially intense. Here’s a closer look at Fouls & yellow cards on the Men’s Side
#CSTruth
#Collegesoccerdata
@ImCollegeSoccer
Bad character or parent reccomendations will sink you faster than a bad soccer reference because college coaches can see your ability with their own eyes over long periods of time…IMO
@FutbolDad10
@ImCollegeSoccer
1) You don’t want someone talking on your behalf who has 5 other similar clients.
2)You don’t know their relationship history w/different coaches. If a coach/scout has placed a kid…they have history
3) Can do it yourself…Apply your own skills
4) Find Resources to work smart
@ImCollegeSoccer
🚨 Athletes Everywhere: Please remember that it’s impossible for a single person to tell you the truth about yourself. You are far too complex & unique. Being receptive to unfiltered feedback/OPINIONS from people you trust can help you grow.
#CSTruth
#growthmindset
🗣️Jr/Sr Choosing b/w 2 ID Camps? Talk with the coach!📞 Emphasize your commitment - mention the financial investment in the camp. Ask about their interest and the post-camp recruiting process. Pay attention to their response. Detailed answers = ⬆️ interest
#CSTruth
#collegesoccer
Bayern are close to signing 17-year-old winger Nestory Irankunda from Adelaide United, reports
@FabrizioRomano
He has a ridiculous right foot ☄️🇦🇺
(via
@aleaguemen
)
@NW79indy
@ImCollegeSoccer
Good call, too narrow. I’ll anchor to your NBA point & zoom way out this time: Speed is less important in Men’s Soccer at a high level than height is in Men’s Basketball at a high level.
Technical ability, work rate, & soccer IQ are all more important than speed.
@ImCollegeSoccer
🚨 Just because it didn’t work out DOES NOT mean the athlete transferring was being unrealistic the first time!
Sometimes things just don’t pan out for any number of reasons.