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So you want proof of one reason why high school players and parents love club soccer more than high school soccer?
Checkout the list of college coaches to attend the Disney Soccer Showcase three weeks ago. I can tell you that in my 12-plus years of covering high school soccer, I haven't seen anywhere close to this many college coaches at all the high school games combined - http://adisneyworldsports.disney.go.com/media/dwws_v0220/en_US/pdf/08SoccerShowcaseCoachesList.pdf.
Honestly, it was hard not to trip over a college recruiter or go blind from the hundreds of college colors and logos.
So are major recruiting events like this a good thing or are there too many? This is the first in a series of comments this week from major Division I coaches from around the country who attended the Disney Soccer Showcase along with yours truly. At the end of the week, I'll tell you where I stand.
Until then, let the debate begin with thoughts from North Carolina women's soccer coach Anson Dorrance:
"Clearly the change in recruiting from 10 years ago is how much earlier the recruitment and commitment process occurs. Coaches are identifying players they think can help them earlier than in the past, and the parents and players are also much more aggressive in initiating contact with phone calls and visit to prospective schools. Today, many of the top players are committed to a school by the time they finish their junior year.
"But the (college) coaches that want a recruiting calendar for this time period want someone else to make their decisions for them. Not only would (a calendar) hurt (an event like) Disney, it would hurt many college coaches who use that event to make serious decisions on players and their progress. It does not make sense to have a recruiting calendar in soccer. There are plenty of events year round where coaches can evaluate talent. I know coaches complain about the proximity to the holidays, but no one is forcing anyone to attend any tournament at any time during the year.
"We at UNC love the Disney tournament and it would be a disservice to coaches and players to arbitrarily eliminate it (because of a recruiting calendar). It is impossible to attend every tournament that is out there, and we all have to prioritize which ones give us the most mileage for our recruiting dollar. There are many coaches who love the availability of the Disney event or any other tournament during that time period since they cannot get away during their seasons when many other tournaments are held.
"Should we eliminate all evaluation periods from the start of the collegiate season through the new year as well? The coaches that don't like the availability of that tournament can a) attend grudgingly b) send their assistants or c) pick another event at a more convenient time of the year for them and go to that one. Most teams have three coaches. I hear that many do a rotation system for some tournaments so every other year, they get to take a break from certain events."
Up Wednesday - Tennessee women's soccer coach Ange Kelly.
- Joe Trost
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wow I've been asked to start helping families with the recruiting process for girls/woman soccer so this is great information for me.
i run a consuling company dedicated to helping families understand and go thru the process