2015 College Bound Players

Arkansas United would like to CONGRATULATE this year's 2015 graduates and those who are going on to play soccer in college. AU is proud to have contributed in developing these players' and preparing them for the game at the next level. "The hard work and dedication this outstanding group of young men and women has shown at the club level will undoubtedly help them succeed at the college level" says Director of Coaching, Justin Hawkins. 

97 Boys:
James Eldred - Lyon College
Peyton Duffield - Lyon College
Mateo Johnson - Central Baptist College
Brendan Huie - Rhodes College
Stephen Enderlin - University of West Florida
Ethan Brass - Hendrix College

97 Girls:
Victoria Neblett - University of Central Oklahoma
Amanda Hamilton - Hendrix College
Melissa Miller - Hendrix College
Grayston Barron - Millsaps College
Shelby Hammett - Williams Baptist College


COLLEGE PREPARATORY GUIDE

GETTING STARTED

There are over 1100 women’s college soccer programs and over 900 men’s college soccer programs in the United States so the first step to finding the right college for you is narrowing down your selection.  This can be done in a number of ways, but the best way is to ask yourself a few simple questions.

-Question #1

How far away can I be from home and still be comfortable?

This is the quickest way to narrow down your search.  There’s no right answer.  It may be two hours or twelve hours.  The important thing is you have now narrowed down your search to include only a certain number of cities/states.  From here you need to determine the number of schools in your comfort radius.  All institutions (NCAA, NAIA, and JUCO) can be found by going to www.gocollegesoccer.com and using the search engine on the right hand side of the screen.  Once your search is narrowed you can then move on to the next questions.

-Question #2

What size fits me best?

Big city or small city?  This may or may not be a factor for you.  The majority of you have grown up in central Arkansas so the questions you need to ask yourself are would you feel comfortable living in someplace bigger than Little Rock, would you feel comfortable living in someplace smaller than Little Rock, or are you looking for someplace that is comparable in size to Little Rock?

Big school or small school?  There are schools with enrollments as small as 500 students and some as big as 30,000 students and everything in between.  What do you want?  Do you want a smaller school where the student to teacher ratio is low and you feel like you know the majority of people on campus? Do you like the idea of a big campus where you may meet someone new each day?  Do you want something in between that’s not too big or too small?

-Question #3

Does the school offer a degree in my academic interest(s)?

At the end of the day you are attending college to receive a degree so it’s important to make sure the schools you are recruiting offer a degree in you area of academic interest.  Many young student athletes may be undecided on a degree at this point and that’s okay.  If you are completely undecided make sure you are looking at schools that offer a wide array or degree programs so you can have good selection when the time comes for you to declare a major.

-Question #4

Cost?

Because the NCAA (DI & DII) and NAIA have limitations on the number of scholarships that can be given out, there are very few student athletes that receive athletic scholarships that cover their full cost.  Most student athletes receive a partial scholarship and try to combine it with an academic scholarship and financial aid.  Depending on the amount of aid that is received, the remaining cost for college falls on the student athlete and his/her family.  It’s important that you pick an institution that is financially realistic for you.

-Question #5

What are my expectations for playing time and success?

Is it important that you play right away or are you willing to sit for one or more years and play as an upperclassman?  You may have desires to just continue to play in college and the amount of success the team has isn’t as important.  If that is the case it’s important that you are looking at colleges that can possibly meet those expectations.  If it’s more important to you to attend a school that has been very successful in the past and you are willing to take the time to acclimate yourself to the college game and the team’s style of play then you can look at a different set of schools.  The important thing is that you communicate your expectations to the coach of the college you are recruiting so he/she can give you his/her expectations for you as a player.

-Question #6

Which level is right for you (Division I, II, III, NAIA)?

This question ties in directly to Question #4.  At each level, there are some higher-level programs, some lower-level programs, and many programs that fall in the middle.  For the most part, the programs that fall in the middle of each division are comparable with each other.  The important thing is to not get caught up in playing a certain division, but rather look at each school and how it fits you and your expectations as a soccer player and student.

RECRUITING THE SCHOOL(S) OF YOUR CHOICE

Now that you have narrowed your possibilities and made a list of schools you are interested in, it’s time for YOU to start recruiting a school.  Don’t sit back and wait for schools to contact you.  You need to take a proactive approach to your future and actively pursue and learn about the schools on your list.  The majority of student-athletes who get recruited and receive athletic scholarships have made the first contact with the school, not the other way around.  There are several ways to begin the recruiting process.

College Tracking Form

-Online Questionnaire

Many schools have an athlete questionnaire on their team website.  This is a good way to start the communication process and also receive some more information about the school and soccer program

-Email

There are no limitations on the number of emails you can send to or receive from a college coach.  Email is a very convenient way to start the recruiting process.  It lets the coach know how your season may be going and which showcases you are planning on attending.  Remember to be persistent.  Even if you don’t hear from the coach right away, continue to update him/her on your progress throughout the season and upcoming tournaments. Below you will find a form letter and a form email to send to college coaches.  You can change it or use any format you choose.

-Player Profile

Sending a player profile to a coach is a great way for him/her to get to know a little more about you and also gives him/her a chance to look at your academic resume to determine how much academic aid you may receive.  Remember to try and keep it current (no coach wants to hear about how many goals you scored when you were 11) and updated.  For an example of a player profile click here.  The profile is only a very simple example, but it contains all the information a college coach will want.  You can change it or use any format you choose.  You will also find a link for a player resume below.

 

-Summer Camps

Almost every college across the country offers some type of summer camp whether it is a day camp or residential camp.  Attending a college summer camp is a great way to not only learn more about a particular college, but also get noticed from other college coaches who are working the camp.  The important thing here is that you attend a camp hosted by a school that you are possibly interested in attending.  For the most part, all college residential summer camps offer quality instruction from licensed, professional, college coaches.  Don’t attend a big name camp just for the name.  Attend a camp from a school that you are recruiting.  You will find that the instruction is quality, plus you will get to check out the campus, get to know the coach, get to meet many of the current players, and ask questions about college life and the life of a student athlete.

-Highlight Video

A highlight video is a great way to spark the interest of a coach.  Very few coaches will recruit a player purely from watching a highlight video because it’s hard to tell if you are just that good or the level of competition is average.  It’s recommended that a highlight video include 10-15 minute of highlights along with 15-20 minutes of game footage.  This video may be enough to catch a coach’s eye so he/she will watch you at the next showcase.

NCAA GUIDE FOR THE COLLEGE BOUND STUDENT ATHLETE

This guide for prospective student athletes should answer all your questions regarding NCAA rules, academic eligibility, and the differences between Divisions I, II, and III.  More importantly, however, it walks you through the process of the NCAA Clearinghouse.  The NCAA Clearinghouse is an organization that performs academic evaluations for the NCAA to determine if you are academically eligible.  This is only used for Division I and II institutions so if you feel you may attend and NCAA Division I or II institution, you must fill out the NCAA Clearinghouse form.  You can find the NCAA Guide by going here

FAFSA

FAFSA is the Free Application for Federal Student Aid.  This is need-based aid and is used to become eligible for federal pell grants, student loans, and federal work-study.  Many student athletes use this to help with some or all of their college costs.  You can find information on FAFSA here.

OTHER HELPFUL LINKS

www.ncaa.org

www.ncaa.com

www.naia.org

www.gocollegesoccer.com

www.ncaastudent.org