Everton America is a premier youth soccer club based in Norwalk CT. Our club offers expert soccer coaching for boys and girls from 6 to 18 years. Everton America is the exclusive U.S. affiliate of Everton Football Club of the English Premier League.
Aim: To inform parents and players on college structure, application procedure, when and how players should be looking at post HS, to assist in the creation ′Team cards′ and player resumes for U15-18 for game day and tournament handout and to set up a point of contact for any future questions and a support framework for players and parents throughout the college selection and application process where soccer is involved.
To give clear overview of EACT college support program and its aims
Breaking down the numbers – how many players play college soccer and who recruits – division by division
What should you be doing when considering combining studying and playing at college – school year by school year
Picking a college – breaking down the process
To show examples and provide a template for Player Resumes, to be used by individual players and College Player Cards to be carried by one designated person at tournaments for U15-18 Players from March 2013
Our role as an EACT Support Network includes but is not limited to
Provide Help to parents and players
Give knowledge and firm facts about the number of players playing collegiately
Able to answer questions and provide support throughout the recruitment process
To give handouts and set a framework for use throughout high school
What are the different levels?
NCAA I - Maximum 14 scholarships, year round programs. Phone calls and off campus contact in senior year only and e-mail in junior and senior year only from coach to player. Eligibility: Sliding scale for GPA & SAT (Example: 820 SAT = 2.55 GPA) 16 core courses of study.
NCAA II - Maximum 9.9 scholarships, 45 day spring season, try outs allowed in recruiting process. Eligibility: Minimum 2.0 GPA, 820 SAT. 14 core courses of study.
NCAA III - No athletic scholarships, though there are forms of academic aid/scholarships, limited spring season, unlimited contact in recruiting process. Higher volume of schools, athletic programs varied in ability
NAIA – As NCAA III, thought independent conference, different recruiting rules.
Discussed the amount of teams and players playing college soccer at the moment (refer to handout)
15140 players recruited annually
6949 men, 8191 women, but 182526 High school players graduate a year
1 in 12 high school players play college (more like 1 in 16 once other factors taken into account)
1 in 103 high school players get scholarships
We can improve these numbers – these are just for HS players, not a premier club by educating about the process, marketing yourselves as players through the tools given.
Year by year we then gave a breakdown of what players should be doing when combining school and soccer
Freshman Year : Spend time with your parents and guidance counselor, decide how can your school and goals be best met, be sure to cover a diverse range of activities within your school and the community? What do you enjoy most? Put maximal effort into your school grades. Begin a college folder with EACT College Liaison support as required.
Sophomore Year: Talk with parents and college guidance counselor – are there any institutions that stand out in your mind right now, ensure you are making your mark in extracurricular activities, club officership, maintain high Focus on coursework, aiming for the highest possible grades, Play in tournaments, leagues for EACT, complete your small section of your player card (you will be emailed in due course), collect college information and any emailed/passed out help sheets into your college folder for future information – map out 15/20 colleges you might like to attend, rank them according to best case and ′worst case′. Meet with Coach/EACT College Liaison together with parents to discuss plan moving forwards at end of spring season.
Junior Year - Play in tournaments and Leagues for EACT. More frequent meetings with your college guidance counselor at school – every 2-3 months minimum. Use their advice to help towards deciding what senior classes to take. Take relevant school tests and prep tests – be prepared! Check out some college applications, discuss with parents about your college financing, if they haven′t already initiated conversation. Identify a few of your favorite teachers along with a representative that can act as references.
Senior Year -Fall - Narrow college choices to handful – list application deadlines, Take appropriate school tests, ensure essays are only submitted after reviewing and proof reading by at least 2 others, approach teachers about filling evaluation forms. Maintain regular phone and email contact with schools of interest. Continue to meet with EACT Coach about playing at next level. Find out as much as you can about schools soccer program – players, coaches, roster sizes.
Senior Year -Winter - Launch applications if not sent, stay in touch with school counselor, get financial forms – including FAFSA in mail, keep tracking down scholarships, check in with local civic groups, businesses. Keep playing and training! Visit any schools and overnight schools and continue to Find out as much as you can about schools soccer program – players, coaches, roster sizes, preseason invites etc.
Senior Year -Spring Be patient – schools have many applications to sort through, If placed on a wait list, discuss what to do next. Decide which college is right for you from your selections – consult as many people as possible – from your parents, coaches, teachers, to the schools current players, Notify schools of decision ….Keep playing, training and working hard This is vital!
Our second handout discussed how then you would select an appropriate program, step by step. (for more see www.collegeview.com to practice finding schools that meet your needs.
2 Things to work on post meeting
Player Cards - Excellent resource for college coaches, gives all info needed, all players to fill out info and send to managers who will compile – all on 1 A4 Sheet, Coaches if interested have name to put to face and number and can follow up with players/coaches as required. We will allocate a person (likely not coach) to pass out to college during games at selected tournaments. (Commence this once specific player card email is sent by EACT).
Player Resumes – See To attach to initial coach email correspondence. Begin with Name, Address, contact details, list school details, list current and past clubs, list position, jersey number, describe playing characteristics, back this up with video links, List leagues played in and upcoming tournaments, list honors won as a player, Talk about personal soccer awards and experience, List other Scholar athlete awards, Volunteer/Extracurricular activities and other sports, Mention GPA – use our handout as a guide, commence this in immediately, keep building, altering, one you believe it is complete you may send an email to EACT college support for review.
Would go that extra mile for people that work hard on and off the field
Attention to detail
Be confident and assertive
Be sure that you really want to do this – love the game
Remember, these are top D1 Coaches….. aspiring to be the best
What Else will EACT do for you?
Looking to work with players over a sustained period of time to develop their game and create a pathway ′from 8 to 18′
We will act with both honesty and integrity when dealing with coaches and yourselves as and when we speak with coaches, players and parents throughout the recruitment process.
Be proactive in reaching out to coaches, not wait for them to approach our coaches - remember college coaches are often on opposite sideline and coach is focused on practice.
Organize team to play in appropriately-leveled tournaments and entering leagues that will aid playing at a higher level.
Develop other links -collegiate players involved with older teams, past EACT alumni, future college visits, good working relationships with college coaches.
