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 College Bound Athlete Guide |
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PLAN FOR PLAYING SOCCER IN COLLEGE
Freshman Year in High School
*Set a goal for your high school grades to try to be in the top 10% of your class academically. A GPA between a 2.5 and 3.5 will get you into most colleges.
*Work on developing good study habits and time management skills.
*Review NCAA Athletic Eligibility guidelines and understand what the course and grade requirements are so that youre sure that you are on track with your course selections and grades.
*Become involved in non-soccer activities and clubs both in and out of school where you have an interest, as colleges look for well-rounded, committed people.
*Sit down with your guidance counselor to develop a course plan that meets your goals as a college bound student athlete.
*Tryout for ODP (Olympic Development Program), but dont worry if you dont make it.
*Try out for High School Varsity Soccer team.
*Find a good personal trainer.
*Look for a good summer soccer camp program to attend.
Sophomore Year in High School
*Review NCAA Athletic Eligibility guidelines to make sure that you are on track with your course selections and grades.
*Select Academic and some AP level courses.
*Select some junior year courses that further the completion of the NCAA Clearinghouse requirements.
*Continue striving to be in the top 10% of your class academically. A GPA between a 2.5 and 3.5 will get you into most colleges.
*Take the PSAT and SAT for the experience and to evaluate areas where you need extra help/tutoring to better prepare you for taking them in your Junior year of High School.
*Tryout for ODP (Olympic Development Program) and strive to make state team pool.
*Try out for High School Varsity Soccer team. If you dont make the varsity team or if you are on the varsity team and arent starting, ask the coach what you need to work on and do it.
*Put together a profile of the type of college you may be interested in attending by informally visiting different types of colleges/universities. This will help prepare you for investigating specific colleges in the summer prior to your Junior year of High School. Some things to consider as you put together your profile include:
--Location, i.e. city, suburban, rural
--Size of college/university and class size
--Distance from home
--The type of student population you see yourself fitting into; things to consider:
-Student Affluence (types of clothes worn and cars driven)
-Diversity of Student Population
-Male to Female Ratio
-Atmosphere of campus (studious vs. casual)
-Liberal vs. conservative
-Religious vs. non-religious
*Prepare your soccer resume/player profile.
*Get somebody to shoot video footage of you in games. This will go in your packages you send out to coaches during the summer.
*Look for an overnight college soccer camp to attend at a college where you may want to play or that has a number of other college coaches on the camp staff.
Summer Prior to Junior Year in High School
*Search for colleges/universities that fit the profile of the type of college you want to attend based upon your informal college visits and considerations completed in your Sophomore year of high school. This is the time when youll want to look at the academic and soccer programs for those colleges that fit your profile.
*Put together the list of colleges in which you are interested, and send your player portfolio (includes player profile and soccer video) to the soccer coaches at each of those colleges expressing an interest in their program. Follow up with the mailing with an e-mail confirming they received your package.
*Tryout for ODP (Olympic Development Program) and strive to make state team pool or if a state team player to make regional pool.
Junior Year in High School
*Review NCAA Athletic Eligibility guidelines and select courses that further the completion of the NCAA Clearinghouse requirements.
*Register with the NCAA Clearinghouse
*Select Academic and AP level courses.
*Continue striving to be in the top 10% of your class academically. A GPA between a 2.5 and 3.5 will get you into most colleges.
*Take the PSAT for national Merit Scholarship.
*Take the SAT in the fall and spring to strive for the highest scores possible. When you sign up for the SAT use code 9999 to have your scores sent directly to the NCAA Clearinghouse.
*Try out for High School Varsity Soccer team. If you dont make the varsity team or if you are on the varsity team and arent starting, ask the coach what you need to work on and do it.
*Put together a ranked list of the top 10 colleges you want to attend.
*Keep a list of all the college soccer coaches who respond to your package. If any of the colleges in your top 10 list have not responded to your package. Send it again.
*E-mail your fall tournament match schedules, as they become available, to the coaches in your top 10 list with the request that come see you play.
*Make sure your player profile is available for college coaches at each of your tournamentseither as part of a club team profile book and/or through tournament services that include college bound athlete profiles to all registered college coaches.
*Attend all recruiting seminars offered at tournaments.
*Contact coaches by phone or e-mail to determine good times to visit the campus for an unofficial visit.
*Make unofficial visits to your top 10 schools. Visit and talk with students and school officials. Schedule time to meet with the coach and watch the soccer team play. Analyze the style of play of the college teams and decide if the coach is someone you like or dont like.
*Obtain college financial aid (FASA) form.
*Research scholarships.
Summer Prior to Senior Year in High School
*Check status with NCAA Clearinghouse.
*Update player profile and send it to the top 10 schools in which you are interested.
*Complete unofficial visits to your top 10 schools.
*Narrow your search to the 5 colleges you are most interested in attending.
*Send for college applications and begin preparing your essay topics and obtain letters of recommendation.
*Attend the soccer camp offered by the top 3 colleges where you want to play. Note some colleges have camps where the staff includes other college coaches. See if there is a camp where more than one of your top 5 colleges coaches will be on staff.
*Complete FASA form (if applying for federal aid/grants/loans) for an estimate of available aid.
*Evaluate opportunities during recruiting calls from coaches.
*Advise coaches when they call if you are no longer interested in their program.
*Tryout for ODP (Olympic Development Program) and strive to make state team pool or if a state team player to make regional pool.
Senior Year in High School
*Review NCAA Athletic Eligibility guidelines and select courses that complete the NCAA Clearinghouse requirements.
*Select Academic and AP level courses.
*Continue striving to be in the top 10% of your class academically. A GPA between a 2.5 and 3.5 will get you into most colleges.
*Take the SAT a final time, if needed, to improve score sufficient to gain admittance into the college of your choice. When you sign up for the SAT use code 9999 to have your scores sent directly to the NCAA Clearinghouse.
*Send early admission application to the top 5 colleges that you are interested in attending. Let your guidance counselor know so that he/she can make arrangements to send transcripts, letters of recommendation and test scores to the schools where you have applied.
*Work on being a varsity impact player on your high school, i.e. team captain, all-conference, all-state, etc.
*Complete your 5 official visits.
*Complete FAFSA form again with recent year tax information.
*Keep in touch with admissions departments, college soccer coaches and financial offices until decisions are made.
*MAKE A DECISION on the best college that is the best combination of education, financial aid and best soccer program for you, and sign National Letter of Intent.
*Follow up with admissions to make sure they have all required documentation.
*Make sure your high school sends your final transcripts to the college of you will be attending.
*Enjoy your senior year!
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