Getting on the radar of a College Soccer coach can be difficult. There are literally thousands if not tens of thousands of players from all over the world, vying for their attention. So, the most important part of your college recruitment process is deciding how you are going to get seen.
Look at this like applying for a job…
So, let’s step back a moment and think about this like applying for a job. Which method would you imagine leads to success more often?
A) Post my resume on online platforms
B) Cold call businesses, hoping they are hiring for my skill sets.
C) Randomly email businesses my resume.
D) A trusted friend knows someone or hears of someone in the industry that needs your skill sets. They recommend you and you follow up.
What option we’d choose…
All have their positives and place in the process, but if we had to choose one option, the obvious answer for us is ‘D’. As it is the best and most efficient option.
Why we’d choose this option…
Network and trust is key in all parts of life.
Let’s use Sports Recruiting USA (SRUSA) for an example. We are an invitation only college placement service.
When a trusted contact or scout of ours calls us to say they have a quality soccer player who is looking to play in College, we listen.
Why?
Because we trust that person from previous experiences we’ve had with them.
They have our trust because we have previous positive dealings with them.
So because of that, we are then willing to invest time and energy investigating the player they’ve recommended.
We’ll look at the players background, playing abilities, academics, etc. and because our contact has put their name to them, we’ll more than likely invite them onto our service.
At this point, we are putting our reputation on the line, all because of trust in our network.
We will then sign the player, market the player to relevant colleges across the country, and put the SRUSA stamp on them.
Remember this is all coming from trust in someone from our network.
Then the dynamic changes, it then all becomes about OUR reputation and the trust the coaches have in US.
Because we put a player forward to a coach, if they have positive dealings with us, they will listen.
IF we ever sent a bad player to a school, that coach, and everyone he speaks to, will never deal with us again.
So we’ve put trust in our contact, and the coaches have put their trust in us.
This whole recruiting game is based upon trust, networking and sometimes a little bit of luck.
We may be biased, because it’s what we do, but to truly get the opportunities you deserve, you need someone who has the reputation to get you in front of relevant college soccer coaches.
Whoever that trusted person/company is, do you research, find out who’s respected, and have them fight your battle. College Soccer is a competitive world and trying to get a college roster spot is as difficult as ever.
You have once chance at it.
So, do it properly.
About the Authors
Chris Cousins has been helping players pursue their dream of playing in the American college system for over 10 years. Chris founded SRUSA back in 2010 and since then has helped thousands of players earn millions of dollars in scholarships. Chris was also a former collegiate player himself.
Don Williams is a USSF A Licensed coach who has spent 22 years coaching in the collegiate ranks in America, as well as having coached professionally. Don has helped thousands of players over his career navigate the college system in America and has had players win the NCAA D1 National Championship and play professionally in Europe.
