Many young players grow up with a dream of playing in college. An almost mystical belief evolves that someday, somewhere on a soccer field, some college recruiter will see them play and give them a chance to compete on their nationally ranked soccer team as well as offer them a sizeable athletic scholarship. Unfortunately, soccer recruiting in the real world does not happen that way. Dreams alone are not enough. Making the right choices during the recruiting process can maximize the recruiting opportunities for all the players on your team.  Making inappropriate choices can severely limit or even eliminate players’ opportunities to play college soccer.

Most players on a team spend similar amounts of time and money on training, league and tournament travel.  However, recruiting opportunities are not equally distributed among the players on a team.  That is because all players are not created equal. “Blue Chip” impact players are identified as high school freshmen or sophomores through club competitions, the Olympic Development Program (ODP) and high-profile national events such as the US Youth Soccer National Championship Series.

Playing for a top competitive team, even a US Youth Soccer Regional or National Champion, will not guarantee that your playing ability will be recognized.  The NCAA Division I college coaches that line the fields at high-profile tournaments are often watching and trying to recruit the same one or two players on each team. Sadly, these “ultra-visible” players can overshadow other highly talented team players. 

Understanding how college coaches do their recruiting is the key to making valid tournament choices.  Realize that no matter where you live, recruiting is a REGIONAL process. Several factors dictate this.  First, coaches know from experience that a majority of players choose to attend college within a reasonable distance of their homes.  Second, despite all the wishful thinking on the sidelines of youth soccer games, full athletic scholarships or even half-scholarships are seldom available. Coaches have found that without large scholarships, families often can’t afford the extra cost of attending distant colleges. So, they end up choosing the more affordable in-state tuition colleges or regional colleges that have reciprocal tuition agreements with neighboring states. Third, college coaches’ recruiting budgets are limited and many do not have the funds to travel extensively outside their region. They like to see potential recruits multiple times before offering money or a spot on their team. So, it does not make sense to concentrate on a recruit they may only have the opportunity to see once. Finally, coaches build mostly regional networks of evaluators whose input they trust and develop pipeline relationships with youth clubs that have a track record of producing quality soccer players.Once coaches have established these personal relationships and pipelines, they build up a loyalty and will recruit the players from these sources over random players whose references they don’t know.

If maximizing recruiting exposure is the goal, where your team chooses to compete throughout the junior year and the early part of the senior year will have the strongest impact (positive or negative) on the recruiting opportunities for the players on your team. Midwestern teams composed mostly of juniors and seniors that concentrate their travel on East Coast, West Coast or Gulf Coast competitions often conclude after the fact that the return on their time and money invested was minimal. While a small number of players on a few Midwestern teams might get some benefit from out-of-region events, those are usually the same players who are already being recruited through ODP or National Cup exposure.  What about the OTHER PLAYERS on the team? For players who have not already been identified by colleges during their freshman/sophomore years, REGIONAL showcase events are by far the most desirable. The bulk of the out-of-region events should be scheduled during the first two years of high school and a huge push should be made during the last two years to be seen and evaluated within region.

By making smart choices, the dream of playing soccer in college can come true for a number of players on your team. No Midwestern showcase event offers exposure to more colleges and coaches than College Search Kickoff (CSK). Over 300 college soccer coaches attend CSK each year. These coaches represent a cross-section of programs from NCAA I, II and III plus NAIA, NJCAA and Independents.  Midwestern players or teams outside the Midwest who want Midwest options can’t go wrong by making CSK one of their choices.

CSK provides detailed college coach contact information to participating teams making it easier for players to communicate with colleges of their choice.  The teams competing are composed mostly of juniors and seniors in high school. A liberal CSK guest-player policy provides opportunities for players who might have limited options to be seen and recruited. Teams are matched with opponents at their own competitive level.  CSK is held the week before NCAA coaches are allowed to work with their college teams. It is one of the last and best chances that high school seniors have to establish contact with Midwestern coaches.

CSK with its great fields and “ultra-visible” college coaches is a unique Midwestern event. It is a place where your players can be seen and appreciated. Over a decade of CSK participants have found it to be their Field of Dreams. CSK is where motivated players can identify college opportunities on the BEST soccer fields in the US and compete to make their dreams come true.

BAADASSSSSgrass is where preparation meets opportunity.

College Search Kickoff is BAADASSSSSgrass.