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CollegeInfo-Soccer ACTION Plan

Posted On October 13, 2010 by PUSC

By Kent & Ramona Barber

Freshman-9th Grade

  1. TRY YOUR BEST IN SCHOOL! Don’t let your grades slide. If you do, it will hurt you later. Don’t be too proud or too busy to attend study sessions or work
    with tutors. Do whatever is you can to get your grades up to the best they can be!
  2. Play on one or more highly competitive club soccer teams. Set high goals for yourself at practice. Work on physical conditioning.
  3. Tryout for the USYSA Oympic Development Program (ODP). Don’t worry if you don’t make the team; but, don’t limit your opportunities by not trying out.
  4. Tryout for your high school team.
  5. Learn about college soccer programs. Make an effort to visit campuses and see college games.
  6. Attend summer soccer camps. A specialized skills camp may be better than a college camp this summer.

Sophomore–10th Grade

  1. KEEP UP YOUR SCHOOL WORK. Take PSAT in October. Don’t prepare for this test this year. You need an idea of how you score without preparation. Get the test analyzed for areas that need improvement. Work to improve those areas.
  2. Continue to play the highest club-level competition available. Get your team to start collecting video footage of competitive games. Start a collection of newspaper clippings clippings detailing your success. Keep a detailed record of your game statistics. Encourage team management to publish a roster that
    you can send to college coaches in areas where the team will be competing.
  3. Keep trying out for ODP. Don’t give up if you weren’t selected the first time.
  4. Play for your high school if your club and ODP events allow.
  5. Identify 20 possible colleges or universities by May. List schools at different
    levels of academic and athletic intensity that give you options to choose from
    later. Don’t narrow your search too much right now.
  6. Make a two-year plan on how/where you can be seen playing by college coaches.
  7. Attend a summer skills camp or college recruiting camp at a school that interests you.

Junior–11th Grade

    1. KEEP UP YOUR SCHOOL WORK. Take PSAT again in October. Study for the test this time.
    2. Continue to play club soccer at the highest lever possible. Roster or guest-play on teams that attend recruiting events. Try out again for ODP. Play for your high school if your club and ODP events allow.
    3. Travel with your team to recruiting events throughout the year. Write college coaches and arrange for them to evaluate your play. Now is the time to showcase yourself!
    4. Make informal campus visits throughout the year. Continue to collect them video footage.
    5. If a college coach sends you a player profile form to complete, return it immediately, even if you can’t answer all the questions. Send updates as you get the additional information.
    6. Take ACT in April or June. Take SAT in May or June. Selective schools will require tests known as SAT II or Achievement Tests. Check the schools that interest you to see if you will need to take them.
    7. File with the NCAA Clearinghouse at the end of May or beginning of June, not before.
    8. Get applications for admission and scholarships during the summer before your senior year. Try to find out if essays and , if so, find out the topic so that you can work on the essays during the summer.
    9. Attend a summer college recruiting camp at a school that interests you. If you had an exceptionally good experience the previous year, then you might want to go back.

      Senior–12th Grade

        1. KEEP UP YOUR SCHOOL WORK. Retake ACT and/or SAT if you can improve.
        2. Keep in contact with coaches from the schools that interest you. Be sure they know you are serious. Prepare a personalized soccer video for coaches who request one.
        3. Prepare admission and scholarship applications by Dec 1. Know application deadlines. Apply early.
        4. Submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) as soon as possible. Delay may keep you from getting financial aid. This form cannot be submitted prior to Jan. 1 because your parent’s income tax information for the past year is required.
        5. Most college coaches finalize their player recruit list by end of December. Most preliminary negotiations for financial aid start in December.
        6. College athletic scholarship offers are usually finalized in February. Most student-athletes complete the college-search process and choose a school by April 1.
        7. Arrange to have your final high school transcript sent to the NCAA Clearinghouse.
        8. Use the summer to get ready for college. Get physically and mentally fit for fall college soccer tryouts.

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