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Are major recruiting events a good thing or are there too many? This is the second 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.
North Carolina women's soccer coach Anson Dorrance spoke yesterday.
Today, you'll hear from Tennessee women's soccer coach Ange Kelly:
"The recruiting process has changed drastically over the past 12 years since I have been coaching and apart of the process at the Univ. of Tennessee. The climate is NO longer conducive to building relationship with the future student athlete, but now rather building relationships with their club coaches. That is established you then talk directly with the parents and have very little interaction with the young lady whom you will be coaching and interacting with daily, over a four-to-five year period.
"We are now recruiting U-15 and U-16 club teams, which most of the the players will commit no later than their junior year of high school. Instead of committing in their senior year and taking at their five official visits allocated by the NCAA. The process now entails a handful of unofficial visits to places that the families themselves can afford to send their child. This is causing a lot of regionalization due to the basic equation of finances. For example, California players will visit all local schools because that is readily available and affordable for them and their family.
"The chance to get a player on your campus out of your region depends on the financial status of their family and usually before they do plan the visit, they expect the financial offer up front to assure it is worth their time to visit. If they do decide to commit early, their decision is based on the favor of their club coaches, on a coach they hope will be there in two-to-three years and an on campus interaction with current student-athletes that will never be their teammates.
"All in all, the trend to commit early has detracted college coaches and players from utilizing the advantages of what was established by the NCAA from the very beginning. The rules have been put in place to benefit the experience of the student-athlete, not detract from them. But the constant desire to pursue that elusive National Championship has caused many in the profession to sell their souls and do what's best for themselves and their programs with a total disregard for the welfare of the student-athlete.
"Which in most cases is a 15-16 year-old teenage young girl, who doesn't even know what they want for dinner tonight let alone what they want three years from now. As you can sense I am not for this trend, but am forced to partake in the acceptance.
"As for the Disney Showcase, I do thoroughly enjoy that event but recently they have gotten away from the 'Elite Status' where it was an intimate event with only the BEST teams in the country accepted to now allowing an enormous amount of teams and having to even add a two and three sites to hold the games 30 miles apart from one another. The reason in my opinion is that necessary evil that we all have to deal with - MONEY.
"And yes I think the players are playing too much. By the time they get college, they are burnt out and have less of a desire to play for the joy of the game. They play in CLUB to get the SCHOLARSHIP. Once that has been achieved, their desire to excel, develop and simply play has been lost."
Up Thursday - Notre Dame women's soccer coach Randy Waldrum.
- Joe Trost
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I am in agreement with Ange Kelly that the recruiting process has seen a tremendous change in past years, however, I disagree that players are looking at schools on a Regional basis. Yes, club coaches help their players find the "right fit". However, what talented club soccer player and their parents wouldn't spend the $$$ to visit a college that they are interested in, no matter the distance? I'm sure these parents have plenty of frequent flyer miles built from all the tournaments they have gone to!! If you look at the rosters from the top soccer schools, they are diverse; top players are traveling across the country for the "best fit". Some players prefer to stay close to home, others look at schools which provide academic excellence and others look for good soccer, a coach that can continue to develop their abilities, where they can play, etc. There are over 310 Division 1 colleges that offer soocer for women. In the end, there is a place for everyone who has the desire and ability to continue with the sport. You just need to have your decision made at a younger age.
Is it written in stone that the best players are on the best teams? Do aspiring players know that they must contact college coaches? The coaches cannot even return a call as I understand it. Must you plan when the players are 12?
I believe a huge point has been missed as to why kids are staying in "their region". Why ? Parents. Sports have unfortunately for some become their lives, ---> work and drive to soccer. Parents don't want it to end (eventhough they say they can't wait :) )Parents want Susie or Bobby close enough to home so they can continue to watch them play and keep their weekends filled. Too bad for the kids who finally want to have a life outside of their parents eyes. How many kids can't wait for college so they don't have to hear their parents expert opinions after every game ?