It’s February and I’ve had 10 Seniors commit to college programs in the last month.
Those 10 seniors are committed to:
- Tulsa (NCAA Division I)
- Bellarmine (NCAA Division I)
- Eastern Illinois (NCAA Division I)
- Western Illinois (NCAA Division I)
- St. Cloud State (NCAA Division II)
- Nebraska-Kearney (NCAA Division II)
- South Dakota School of Mines & Technology (NCAA Division II)
- Rose-Hulman (NCAA Division III)
- Skidmore (NCAA Division III)
In addition, four juniors in the class of 2025 have committed to:
- Loyola Chicago (NCAA Division I)
- Iowa (NCAA Division I)
- UC-Irvine (NCAA Division I)
That’s right! In the last few weeks, TSA Recruiting has had 10 SENIORS commit to programs at all levels! If you listen to certain recruiting services or social media, they may have you believing that recruiting for seniors was over months ago.
I tell you this because recruiting is happening all the time and the social media hype train makes everyone feel like they are falling behind or there is no chance after a certain time period.
Don’t believe the hype. There is so much misinformation out there and fear of missing out about college soccer recruiting, it literally drives me crazy and I spend my days calming people down and telling them the truth.
One of the biggest fears athletes and parents have is that you have to be on top of this at a very young age to get recruited. There can be advantages to starting early. There is a lot of pressure and concern around June 15th. The belief is that is when all of the college recruiting starts to happen. I’m here to tell you that this is not entirely true. While this may apply to the top 1-2% of athletes in the country, for the remaining 98-99%, it still is heavily reliant on timing.
Read more about this in a previous blog I wrote …
Every college coach does things differently and has different timelines. In the era of the Transfer Portal, rosters have a lot of “musical chairs” going on these days. As one player leaves a program, they may fill a roster spot somewhere else, but it opens up a spot at another college.
It’s hard to be patient and the commitment posts on social media make everyone that is uncommitted feel like they are behind or don’t have a chance. The reality is there are opportunities popping up all the time at all levels. I’ve had clients who decided after their high school graduation on where they were going to continue their careers just two months later.
Don’t get me wrong, there can be inherent advantages to starting the process earlier, but starting too early, you might just be wasting time until the timing for you is correct! It is different for every prospect and every coach and finding that match can be just as challenging as finding the schools that meet your priorities and level of play.
In addition to my vast experience as a college soccer coach and recruiter, I use my connections and understanding of timing and how to help prospects land on a coach’s radar, helping them in the process to find great fit opportunities, no matter when they graduate.
You just need to realize everyone is running their own race. Don’t fall prey to the FOMO you hear about and see on social media. Do you, but it might take some help and the right advocate to make things happen. That is where I might fit in.
Dan Rothert, founder of TSA Recruiting, has helped almost 200 prospects and their families land opportunities at right fit colleges at all levels. Each prospect has different priorities in what they are looking for in a college and has different qualities that a coach may or may not be looking for. TSA Recruiting leverages Dan’s almost 30 years of college coaching experience and connections to help those they work with find great opportunities that fit their needs.