Athletics/Soccer – Obviously you may be interested in playing soccer in college if you are reading this. Do your homework on the programs at the schools. Some key issues you need to solve are:
• The coach – this is the adult you will have the most contact with during your time in school. Does the coach look out for you beyond the soccer field?
• The chances of playing within your first 2 years. I always felt that if a player didn’t have a good chance within the first 2 years, then I wouldn’t recruit him.
• The facilities – type of field (practice and game), locker room, training room, weight room, etc.
• The division, conference, style of play. MANY PLAYERS go for the limelight programs and never get the experience they would have had at a “lower” level. If the coach is not recruiting you (truly recruiting you), then know that your chances are very slim of getting the experience you would like to have out of college soccer.
• What other options are there at the school if you do not make the varsity team (due to funding – hardly any schools have JV programs anymore). They may have club teams and intramurals, however.
• Graduation rates and transfer rates. This is the best indication if players are enjoying their experience).
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
The College Decision Process - part 1
Georgetown – 22 years – Advice for contacting coaches for recruiting..
Part 1
Above all else – the student-athlete must be the one to contact the coach first. There is always a “yellow flag” that goes up when the parent calls or e-mails first. I am sure you can think of some of things a coach may conclude:
The player is not really interested – just the parent.
The parent does everything for the player.
The player does not have good interpersonal habits, so the parent is covering.
A player making the first contact is much more impressive. We will be coaching and mentoring the player, not the parents (or not supposed to mentoring the parents). You only have one chance to make a good first impression. Almost no matter what, that is best done by the player. Common excuses are that “I am calling for my son because he is in school and can’t call you from there. By the time he is home, you probably wouldn’t be in the office.”
Obviously, if the player tries to call after school, then he may find the coach is in the office. We don’t work 9-5s – much more than that. We all have voice mail – even if you just leave a message that I am trying to contact you and will call back is better than the call from someone other than you. If you leave your number and ask the coach to call you back, then you are also finding out how interested they may be in you and/or how professional they are.
Remember NCAA rules prohibit a coach from calling you until after July 1st prior to your senior year of HS. So if you are calling before that and leave a message, then you will not (or should not) receive a call back.
After the initial call it would not be improper for a parent to touch base. However, if it now becomes just the parent, then the same conclusions as above may apply. Parents are an important part of the process and can affect things. Obviously a parent should do all he/she can to allow the process to work for the student-athlete. Too much or none at all could spell out certain cautions in the mind of the coach.
Remember that we recruit players whom we feel will help our programs on and off the field and, obviously, fit into the academic profile of the school.
To find out more information on NCAA rules for the College Bound student-athlete you can go the following site:
http://www.ncaa.org/library/general/cbsa/2006-07/2006-07_cbsa.pdf
Part 1
Above all else – the student-athlete must be the one to contact the coach first. There is always a “yellow flag” that goes up when the parent calls or e-mails first. I am sure you can think of some of things a coach may conclude:
The player is not really interested – just the parent.
The parent does everything for the player.
The player does not have good interpersonal habits, so the parent is covering.
A player making the first contact is much more impressive. We will be coaching and mentoring the player, not the parents (or not supposed to mentoring the parents). You only have one chance to make a good first impression. Almost no matter what, that is best done by the player. Common excuses are that “I am calling for my son because he is in school and can’t call you from there. By the time he is home, you probably wouldn’t be in the office.”
Obviously, if the player tries to call after school, then he may find the coach is in the office. We don’t work 9-5s – much more than that. We all have voice mail – even if you just leave a message that I am trying to contact you and will call back is better than the call from someone other than you. If you leave your number and ask the coach to call you back, then you are also finding out how interested they may be in you and/or how professional they are.
Remember NCAA rules prohibit a coach from calling you until after July 1st prior to your senior year of HS. So if you are calling before that and leave a message, then you will not (or should not) receive a call back.
After the initial call it would not be improper for a parent to touch base. However, if it now becomes just the parent, then the same conclusions as above may apply. Parents are an important part of the process and can affect things. Obviously a parent should do all he/she can to allow the process to work for the student-athlete. Too much or none at all could spell out certain cautions in the mind of the coach.
Remember that we recruit players whom we feel will help our programs on and off the field and, obviously, fit into the academic profile of the school.
To find out more information on NCAA rules for the College Bound student-athlete you can go the following site:
http://www.ncaa.org/library/general/cbsa/2006-07/2006-07_cbsa.pdf
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Leaving MD ODP
A couple of people have posted/e-mailed me about MD ODP this year. Here is an e-mail that was supposed to have been sent to all ODP players from this past year. If you did not receive it, then my apologies.
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To 2008 MD ODP players and families:
I wanted to let you know that after 4 great years with MD ODP I will be stepping down to put more time into some other ventures that I am involved with. My experience with the ODP has been awesome. This year was such a banner year with over 40 players being selected to call back camp - by far a record and by far the number one goal of the program - to place as many deserving players to the next level as possible. I can honestly say that judging by the quality of players who did not get selected to call back camp, Maryland is in excellent shape talent and depth wise.
I want to thank my staff who has been totally dedicated to the players in our program. The improvement in each team has been noticeable and will benefit the players in many ways outside of ODP with their club and school teams. I want to thank the Team Managers. You have done a wonderful job organizing things and that doesn't go unnoticed. Finally I want to thank Jen Pagliaro who has ultimately run the program from the administrative side of things. You can be sure that the success on the field correlates to the professionalism and organization off the field that Jen directed.
I do not know yet who the next ODP director will be or whom will be on the staff. I do want to say that the benefits of the ODP program are tremendous regardless of who is coaching. For the 91s reading this I thank you for your dedication to ODP. For the other ages, I urge you to try out again this year and continue to represent Maryland as one of the best states in the country. I will remain the Assistant Head coach for Region 1 ODP and will see many of you in the regional events.
Thanks for everything,
Keith
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To 2008 MD ODP players and families:
I wanted to let you know that after 4 great years with MD ODP I will be stepping down to put more time into some other ventures that I am involved with. My experience with the ODP has been awesome. This year was such a banner year with over 40 players being selected to call back camp - by far a record and by far the number one goal of the program - to place as many deserving players to the next level as possible. I can honestly say that judging by the quality of players who did not get selected to call back camp, Maryland is in excellent shape talent and depth wise.
I want to thank my staff who has been totally dedicated to the players in our program. The improvement in each team has been noticeable and will benefit the players in many ways outside of ODP with their club and school teams. I want to thank the Team Managers. You have done a wonderful job organizing things and that doesn't go unnoticed. Finally I want to thank Jen Pagliaro who has ultimately run the program from the administrative side of things. You can be sure that the success on the field correlates to the professionalism and organization off the field that Jen directed.
I do not know yet who the next ODP director will be or whom will be on the staff. I do want to say that the benefits of the ODP program are tremendous regardless of who is coaching. For the 91s reading this I thank you for your dedication to ODP. For the other ages, I urge you to try out again this year and continue to represent Maryland as one of the best states in the country. I will remain the Assistant Head coach for Region 1 ODP and will see many of you in the regional events.
Thanks for everything,
Keith
Friday, August 8, 2008
ODP & OUR OLYMPIC TEAM
Here is an article from US Youth Soccer:
hen U.S. Men's Olympic Team head coach Peter Nowak named the 18 players who will represent the United States at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing the roster features 12 players who have experience at the full national team level, including the three youngest players on the team, Freddy Adu, Jozy Altidore and Michael Bradley, and the most senior member of the team in Brian McBride, as well as a common thread of US Youth Soccer and the US Youth Soccer Olympic Development Program (US Youth Soccer ODP).
Team USA's roster is comprised of 18 players that played their US Youth Soccer ball in various clubs from across the country. Of these, 17 have the common thread of participation in the US Youth Soccer Olympic Development Program (US Youth Soccer ODP). The breakdown of players via their respective US Youth Soccer Region is as follows: Region I (4), Region II (3), Region III (3), Region IV (7). Benny Feilhaber, who was born in Brazil, played his US Youth Soccer ball for the Irvine Strikers where he won the 2002 US Youth Soccer National Championship.
The US Youth Soccer Olympic Development Program was formed in 1977 to identify a pool of players in each age group from which a National Team will be selected for international competition; to provide high-level training to benefit and enhance the development of players at all levels; and, through the use of carefully selected and licensed coaches, develop a mechanism for the exchange of ideas and curriculum to improve all levels of coaching.
US Youth Soccer ODP is the original Olympic development program. US Youth Soccer ODP is the only elite player development program that can claim members of Major League Soccer and the former Women's United Soccer Association, as well as a majority of current and past national and youth team members, as alumni. US Youth Soccer ODP exists in every US Youth Soccer State Association and offers collegiate and national team staff coaches the opportunity to see the nation's elite players in the most competitive of environments. In addition to training and tactics, US Youth Soccer ODP also offers competitions such as regional and national championships as well as participation in international tournaments. US Youth Soccer ODP continues to lead the way for elite player development in the United States.
hen U.S. Men's Olympic Team head coach Peter Nowak named the 18 players who will represent the United States at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing the roster features 12 players who have experience at the full national team level, including the three youngest players on the team, Freddy Adu, Jozy Altidore and Michael Bradley, and the most senior member of the team in Brian McBride, as well as a common thread of US Youth Soccer and the US Youth Soccer Olympic Development Program (US Youth Soccer ODP).
Team USA's roster is comprised of 18 players that played their US Youth Soccer ball in various clubs from across the country. Of these, 17 have the common thread of participation in the US Youth Soccer Olympic Development Program (US Youth Soccer ODP). The breakdown of players via their respective US Youth Soccer Region is as follows: Region I (4), Region II (3), Region III (3), Region IV (7). Benny Feilhaber, who was born in Brazil, played his US Youth Soccer ball for the Irvine Strikers where he won the 2002 US Youth Soccer National Championship.
The US Youth Soccer Olympic Development Program was formed in 1977 to identify a pool of players in each age group from which a National Team will be selected for international competition; to provide high-level training to benefit and enhance the development of players at all levels; and, through the use of carefully selected and licensed coaches, develop a mechanism for the exchange of ideas and curriculum to improve all levels of coaching.
US Youth Soccer ODP is the original Olympic development program. US Youth Soccer ODP is the only elite player development program that can claim members of Major League Soccer and the former Women's United Soccer Association, as well as a majority of current and past national and youth team members, as alumni. US Youth Soccer ODP exists in every US Youth Soccer State Association and offers collegiate and national team staff coaches the opportunity to see the nation's elite players in the most competitive of environments. In addition to training and tactics, US Youth Soccer ODP also offers competitions such as regional and national championships as well as participation in international tournaments. US Youth Soccer ODP continues to lead the way for elite player development in the United States.
Monday, June 30, 2008
answering your questions
Following is an edited response to an earlier blog with several questions that I will answer. Sorry for the delay - was in Europe (yes- the Euros).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Regarding recruiting, my son will be a sophomore in high school beginning in September 2008, and he would like to hopefully play soccer in college. We have a few questions in this regard and we would greatly appreciate your insights.
We see that most schools have recuriting web form for interested students to fill out. When during a student's high school years would you recommend that a high school student/player fill out such a web recuriting form for colleges that he is interested in, e.g., during his sophomore year, after his sophomore year, during the Fall of their junior year, etc.?
ANSWER: CERTAINLY NO LATER THAN THE BEGINNING OF THE FALL OF THE JUNIOR YEAR. RECRUITING IS HAPPENING EARLIER AND EARLIER...NOT A GOOD TREND IN MY OPINION, BUT REALITY. LET THE COACHES OF SCHOOLS YOU MAY BE INTERESTED IN KNOW EARLY.
Also, are such web forms a good and appropriate way for a student/player to make first contact with a college coach? ANSWER: BEST WAY IS VIA A PERSONALIZED LETTER AND/OR E-MAIL. PHONE CALLS ARE GOOD (BY THE PLAYER - NOT THE PARENTS) BUT COACHES CANNOT RETURN A CALL UNTIL AFTER JULY 1st BETWEEN THE JR AND SR YEAR. BE SURE YOU GET THE COACH'S NAME IN YOUR E-MAIL - NOT "DEAR COACH".
And, what other types of and frequency of player/student contact with a college coach would your recommend? UPDATES ON UPCOMING TOURNAMENTS ARE USEFUL. THERE IS A LINE BETWEEN OVERLOAD AND NOT ENOUGH CORRESPONDENCE. COACHES ARE SWAMPED WITH E-MAILS NOW A DAYS, SO BRIEF AND TO THE POINT IS BEST.
Finally, what are your thoughts on college camps? If a student/player is interested in a specific school, would it be a good idea to go to this school's soccer camp, and when would the best time be to attend such a camp, e.g., before the student's junior year, or before the student's senior year? ANSWER: I RECOMMEND GOING TO A SPECIFIC COLLEGE CAMP IF THE PLAYER IS VERY INTERESTED IN THAT SCHOOL. OTHERWISE I RECOMMEND GOING TO A CAMP THAT HAS A NUMBER OF COLLEGE COACHES AT IT (SHAMELESS PLUG FOR ELITE300.COM :) ) EITHER WAY THERE IS A BENEFIT. GOING BOTH BEFORE SOPH AND JUNIOR YEAR IS HELPFUL - AGAIN-ESPECIALLY NOW THAT RECRUITING IS HAPPENING EARLIER THAN YEARS BACK. COACHES NEED TO KNOW YOU BY YOUR JUNIOR YEAR WHENEVER POSSIBLE. NOT KNOWING YOU CERTAINLY DOES NOT ELIMINATE YOU, BUT OTHERS GET A HEAD START IF THEY HAVE DONE THEIR DUE DILLIGENCE.
HOPE THAT HELPS AND GOOD LUCK. PLEASE FEEL FREE TO THROW OUT OTHER QUESTIONS IN REPLY TO THIS BLOG.
Thanks very much for all the great information and guidance you are providing on this blog! And congrats again on the MD ODP boys successes.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Regarding recruiting, my son will be a sophomore in high school beginning in September 2008, and he would like to hopefully play soccer in college. We have a few questions in this regard and we would greatly appreciate your insights.
We see that most schools have recuriting web form for interested students to fill out. When during a student's high school years would you recommend that a high school student/player fill out such a web recuriting form for colleges that he is interested in, e.g., during his sophomore year, after his sophomore year, during the Fall of their junior year, etc.?
ANSWER: CERTAINLY NO LATER THAN THE BEGINNING OF THE FALL OF THE JUNIOR YEAR. RECRUITING IS HAPPENING EARLIER AND EARLIER...NOT A GOOD TREND IN MY OPINION, BUT REALITY. LET THE COACHES OF SCHOOLS YOU MAY BE INTERESTED IN KNOW EARLY.
Also, are such web forms a good and appropriate way for a student/player to make first contact with a college coach? ANSWER: BEST WAY IS VIA A PERSONALIZED LETTER AND/OR E-MAIL. PHONE CALLS ARE GOOD (BY THE PLAYER - NOT THE PARENTS) BUT COACHES CANNOT RETURN A CALL UNTIL AFTER JULY 1st BETWEEN THE JR AND SR YEAR. BE SURE YOU GET THE COACH'S NAME IN YOUR E-MAIL - NOT "DEAR COACH".
And, what other types of and frequency of player/student contact with a college coach would your recommend? UPDATES ON UPCOMING TOURNAMENTS ARE USEFUL. THERE IS A LINE BETWEEN OVERLOAD AND NOT ENOUGH CORRESPONDENCE. COACHES ARE SWAMPED WITH E-MAILS NOW A DAYS, SO BRIEF AND TO THE POINT IS BEST.
Finally, what are your thoughts on college camps? If a student/player is interested in a specific school, would it be a good idea to go to this school's soccer camp, and when would the best time be to attend such a camp, e.g., before the student's junior year, or before the student's senior year? ANSWER: I RECOMMEND GOING TO A SPECIFIC COLLEGE CAMP IF THE PLAYER IS VERY INTERESTED IN THAT SCHOOL. OTHERWISE I RECOMMEND GOING TO A CAMP THAT HAS A NUMBER OF COLLEGE COACHES AT IT (SHAMELESS PLUG FOR ELITE300.COM :) ) EITHER WAY THERE IS A BENEFIT. GOING BOTH BEFORE SOPH AND JUNIOR YEAR IS HELPFUL - AGAIN-ESPECIALLY NOW THAT RECRUITING IS HAPPENING EARLIER THAN YEARS BACK. COACHES NEED TO KNOW YOU BY YOUR JUNIOR YEAR WHENEVER POSSIBLE. NOT KNOWING YOU CERTAINLY DOES NOT ELIMINATE YOU, BUT OTHERS GET A HEAD START IF THEY HAVE DONE THEIR DUE DILLIGENCE.
HOPE THAT HELPS AND GOOD LUCK. PLEASE FEEL FREE TO THROW OUT OTHER QUESTIONS IN REPLY TO THIS BLOG.
Thanks very much for all the great information and guidance you are providing on this blog! And congrats again on the MD ODP boys successes.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
ODP TRAINING ITEMS
Training has been going excellent. Last nights was one of the best with the oldest 3 teams training and playing each other. A couple of observations for the players to attend to:
1) Bring and wear shinguards
2) Bring to the field a properly inflated ball
3) BE WARMED UP/STRETCHED ON YOUR OWN BY 6:30. We do not want to spend 15-20 minutes of our valuable time doing warm-up.
4) If you are arriving late then be sure YOU ARE FULLY DRESSED BEFORE YOU GET OUT OF THE CAR. Too many people come late and then are putting socks on at the field - something that can be done on the car!
As far as the play goes:
DEFENSIVE:
POSITIONING, POSITIONING, POSITIONING ! This is such an iimportant area. Read the game ahead of time and get into good positions early. It was one of the most common shouts from the coaches last night: "If you had been in position earlier then they wouldn't have played the ball."
In defending - positioning is everything. Get into good, early position and contiually adjust relative to the ball, opponents and your teammates.
OFFENSIVE:
SPEED OF PLAY !
Each step up the ladder of play in soccer require one thing above anything else - faster tactical decisions, faster technical executions and faster transition from offensive to defense and defense to offense. Your focus in every training session must be to play faster. This is the number one issue that came out of the international trips as well. The lack of time and space that opponents gave us created difficulties for us. Remember - there is a difference between playing faster and rushing your play. Playing faster can be as simple as taking 2 touches instead of 3 to make the same pass or to play that same pass at a faster speed. It also means getting into supporting positions earlier - this allows your teammates a better chance of playing faster.
Keep up the good work as we enter the final weeks of preparation for the ODP tournament.
1) Bring and wear shinguards
2) Bring to the field a properly inflated ball
3) BE WARMED UP/STRETCHED ON YOUR OWN BY 6:30. We do not want to spend 15-20 minutes of our valuable time doing warm-up.
4) If you are arriving late then be sure YOU ARE FULLY DRESSED BEFORE YOU GET OUT OF THE CAR. Too many people come late and then are putting socks on at the field - something that can be done on the car!
As far as the play goes:
DEFENSIVE:
POSITIONING, POSITIONING, POSITIONING ! This is such an iimportant area. Read the game ahead of time and get into good positions early. It was one of the most common shouts from the coaches last night: "If you had been in position earlier then they wouldn't have played the ball."
In defending - positioning is everything. Get into good, early position and contiually adjust relative to the ball, opponents and your teammates.
OFFENSIVE:
SPEED OF PLAY !
Each step up the ladder of play in soccer require one thing above anything else - faster tactical decisions, faster technical executions and faster transition from offensive to defense and defense to offense. Your focus in every training session must be to play faster. This is the number one issue that came out of the international trips as well. The lack of time and space that opponents gave us created difficulties for us. Remember - there is a difference between playing faster and rushing your play. Playing faster can be as simple as taking 2 touches instead of 3 to make the same pass or to play that same pass at a faster speed. It also means getting into supporting positions earlier - this allows your teammates a better chance of playing faster.
Keep up the good work as we enter the final weeks of preparation for the ODP tournament.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Players, parents, coaches - Here is a look into how professional teams train
One and a half years of work is finally complete and available online. The program "Learn From the Pros" has truly come out as a unique study of the ways the pros do things on the training field. The differences between the MLS teams and Brazilian approach is noticeable and something I found extremely interesting. The feedback to date has been outstanding, and regardless of your involvement in soccer I know you will find it both interesting and educational.
This project is a very inexpensive way to see 8 pro teams with all their training sessions, diagrams and outlines of practices as well as video clips to bring to life the sessions for ONLY A $40 - one time fee. With that you can come and go as much as you want. It takes a while to see it all and I am sure it something you will go to a lot.
Go to www.ktsoccerworld.com and look at the sample session. Or go directly to the registration page you can click on the following:
https://www2382.ssldomain.com/ktsoccerworld/ktregister.asp
Here is what you get:
3 days of Training with New England!
4 days of Training with Fluminense!
2 days of Training with Columbus!
3 days of Training with Palmeiras!
3 days of Training with Chicago!
4 days of Training with Sao Paolo!
2 days of Training with Colorado!
3 days of Training with Corinthians!
ENJOY!
This project is a very inexpensive way to see 8 pro teams with all their training sessions, diagrams and outlines of practices as well as video clips to bring to life the sessions for ONLY A $40 - one time fee. With that you can come and go as much as you want. It takes a while to see it all and I am sure it something you will go to a lot.
Go to www.ktsoccerworld.com and look at the sample session. Or go directly to the registration page you can click on the following:
https://www2382.ssldomain.com/ktsoccerworld/ktregister.asp
Here is what you get:
3 days of Training with New England!
4 days of Training with Fluminense!
2 days of Training with Columbus!
3 days of Training with Palmeiras!
3 days of Training with Chicago!
4 days of Training with Sao Paolo!
2 days of Training with Colorado!
3 days of Training with Corinthians!
ENJOY!
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