ATSC sponsored a special College Night event on June 6, 2006.  Speakers included coaches from Georgetown and George Mason Universities, as well as prominent ATSC coaches.  This was an outstanding presentation with a lot of great information for anyone aiming to play at the college level. 

 

Key points from the presentation are available here.

 

When ATSC teams have high school-age players who are thinking about playing soccer in college, ATSC teams can use their ATSC web pages to host Player Profiles for those players.  Be sure that the player and their parents are aware that a Player Profile will be available on the ATSC web site so they can give the URL to interested college coaches.  The Player Profile is the one area where personally identifying information about the player is not only allowed on the ATSC web site, it is necessary.

 

The Player Profile should be a one-page document in a word processing format (e.g., .doc, or .rtf) or in Adobe Acrobat format (.pdf). 

 

The content should include personal information on the player, including contact information. The contact information can include the player’s family and the coach. Be sure to provide a way to contact your coach so that a "coach to coach" assessment can be given.

 

You also want to include some academic information (school, year of graduation, GPA and PSAT/SAT), team accomplishments and individual player accomplishments.

 

If your team has a scholarship player who needs help with their Player Profile, please contact the ATSC webmaster for assistance.

 

Optional: Player Photograph (.jpg format)

 

Personal Data
 Name:
 Gender:
 Date of Birth:
 Height:          Weight:
 Address (Street, City, State, ZIP):
 Phone:
 Parent’s Names:
 Parent’s Address (Street, City, State, ZIP):
 Parent’s Home/Work Phone:

 

Academic Data
 Class (Soph, Jr., Sr.):
 High School:
 Phone:
 High School Address (Street, City, State, ZIP):
 Graduation Year:
 GPA (Also indicate scale, such as 3.85/4.0):
 Class Rank (Also indicate class size, such as 23/645):
 SAT Scores:   Math:   Verbal:   Composite:
 ACT Scores:   English:   Math:   Reading:   Science:   Composite:
 Possible college major(s):
 Honors: (List any high school academic honors you have received and year(s) received)

 

Soccer Background
 High School Team:
 Coach:
 Coach Phone:
 Coach Email:
 Position(s) Played:

 Club Team:
 Coach:
 Coach Phone:
 Coach Email:
 Position(s) Played:

 ODP/State Select (Give years during which you participated at each level)
 Level (District, State Pool, State Team, Regional Team):
 Years:
 Coach:
 Position(s) Played:

 Honors: (Varsity Letters, All-Area, All-Conference, etc. and year(s) received)

 

 

 

Player Profiles should be loaded to your ATSC team site as documents and then linked to from your team’s page.  We suggest that you have a separate article on your team page titled something like "Player Profiles" or Player Profiles for College Coaches" with the name, year of high school graduation/college entry, and position played as the link name.

 

E.g.
        Jane Smith, 2006, Goal Keeper  (.doc)

        Jane Smith, 2006, Goal Keeper  (.pdf)

 

 

For more information about how to use the ATSC web site, please see the manager resource page.

 

One of the most important decisions a young person will make while in high school is the choice of a college to attend. If the young student is fortunate to be both academically and atheltically qualified, opportunities exist to secure a college scholarship. A number of factors need to be taken into account when selecting a college:

The student who possesses recognized soccer abilities and skills has additional opportunities. College coaches are constantly on the lookout for new prospects. Oftentimes you will find coaches at tournaments viewing any number of players. As a prospective college player, it is of utmost importance that you do a thorough investigation of potential colleges and that you be identified as early as possible. Important vehicles for showcasing your abilities include tournaments, club soccer, high school soccer, and the Olympic Development Program. Many coaches begin identifying potential prospects in a player's junior year of high school.

 

A possible course of action for the prospective college player should include the following:

 

1) Do a thorough review of potential colleges you would like to attend using the factors described above.

 

2) Prepare a letter of introduction to the coach at your colleges of interest; this letter would include such things as a player profile describing:

This letter should be sent during the junior year and again at the beginning of the senior year. You should also include a schedule of tournament and club and high school league games so that a coach can have an opportunity to see you on as many occassions as possible.

 

3) Follow up by personally contacting coaches at the colleges in which you are interested: introduce yourself and listen to their program description.  Visit colleges of interest.

 

4) Continue to improve your grade point average. Coaches would rather not invest in a player who has a marginal grade point average who risks their eligibility once in college.

 

 

And remember: a college coach will have the above type of interchange with you and at least 25 other prospects. Being prepared academically, athletically, and organizationally will enhance your possibilities as a college player prospect.

North Alabama Soccer League College Information - many excellent links and articles

 

 

 

 

College Recruiting and Search Process - from the Southern Illinois Soccer Association