Just a few things I forgot to mention! 1. Most DA academies or mls academies are free if you make it. While it can be very difficult to make the team, most will cover your fees. 2. The JUCO route is also a great option, especially if your grades are low. You can use those two years to get your grades up before you transfer, but you will only get two years of playing at the D1 level. Players transfer from JUCO often, so that could also be a possibility!
Juan Bautista when playing in middle school it’s really good to focus on your game and always improve, while this could be said at any time in your overall career. However in middle school it is really the time for you to hone your skills and get prepared for high school or cup level. Make sure to stay or get physically fit and improve your craft throughout the season because no matter what there is one rule that stays consistent throughout your whole time playing soccer, it comes down to how much you want it. There was a kid on my middle school team that got sent straight from my team to an academy and he’s here to this day probably destined for a D1 level playing career. This was because he spent each and every day training, getting faster, and finding ways to shine above everyone he wanted it more than anything so he got picked up early before he even got to high school level.
I moved here to Cali back in 2016 coming from the Middle East I played D1 two years and I quit, soccer culture in American needs to be changed if usant wanna win the World Cup one day, soccer supposed to be for everybody rich and poor
All excellent point from coach Javi. I would also want to remind the young boys and girls none that will matter if you're not focusing on your studies. School is just as important if not more important to play at this level. In my 15 years of coaching, I've seen too many amazing players waste their talents because school wasn't important. I personally preferred a player who does both club and high school because it let me know how complete of a player and young man he is. The club allowed me to assess his ability to compete against tough competition. High school was used to assess his leadership ability and making his teammates better. More importantly, his ability to go to school, train every day and maintain his grades. You must understand that this is hard work. Ask yourself am I willing to get in weight lifting @5am, then go to a couple of classes, practice, study hall, team meeting every day? If yes, I wish you all the best!
Coach, thanks for this. My daughter is a decent club player, but is dominant on her high school team. I have fallen victim to wanting to see her try and dominate in the HS setting. However, she has taken the approach you suggested by making everyone on her team better. She led the team in assists as an 8th and 9th grader, and she is enjoying HS because she is watching her friends and teammates score, as opposed to being selfish.
It's all about connection; if you go junior college route, in some ways the junior college coaches know D1 coaches so just impact the team and have great communication with coach, once you complete your General education in Junior College route you should come in and trasnfer to D1. Not to mention also it's helpful because you mature a lot in case the grades aren't there or the money right off the bat.
Tough when you lived in a rural area... I tried out and got offered to play academy for 2 different teams but struggled financially the first year for both teams and the 3 hour drives for practice was too much
Dude, you have answered the questions I've been looking for answers for. I'm staying college but my college doesn't have a soccer team so I've been trying to figure out a quality team to join. Thank you very much!
Summaya Ahmadi two great ways to do that. Practice - something like 5-a-side is great because there’s constant transition of the ball so it’ll teach you how to keep it. The other would be the environment you play in. If your coach is encouraging towards you passing the ball, but goes mad if you lose it, maybe that’s the wrong environment for you to learn in. Find some coaches who help you learn and improve decision making.
I just paid $1975 for my son to play on the u16 NLC team in Michigan with an MLS affiliated club. Stuff is expensive. I've been paying club soccer fees for 9 years. I think of all the things I could have bought. Although the level of competition is better than some high school teams, it all depends on where you live. In my city the high school teams are made up of mostly players from club teams. It's a shame that club soccer is so expensive. There are many players in our city leagues that are great but can't afford the fees. What are your thoughts on ID camps? I almost signed my son up for one in Schaumburg, IL.
T3FWarrior to think if people in Europe and South America has to pay we wouldn’t be seeing Messi or Ronaldo, the us gotta change this shit if they ever want to challenge for international trophies
Number one road is grades. The greatest players do not go to D1 or D2. Especially with NIA (private) school which players from over seas come and some of them have semi even pro talent. Junior colleges also have a lot of quality because of kids not making grades. I live In Cali and you can make it pro not playing at a D1 or D2. Work on grades people!!!!
Tru Gambit yup! I’ve seen a lot of friends that have a lot of potential, but keeping up with their grades is not their thing so they soon become ineligible to play and then drop out all at once and end up in the sunday league.
Great video for up and coming players Javi. One thing I will say about high school coaches, at least here in the bigger cities of Alabama (Birmingham, Montgomery, Huntsville, Mobile) is that a lot of your high school coaches are also coaching club during the fall or are college coaches as well so the idea of high school coaches being lesser really depends on a lot of factors.
@Alexander DeMarrais It depends on what region you r in in the northeast there is 2 rly rly good ecnl team boston bolts ecnl and fsa ecnl and several NPL teams beat both those teams NPL,ECNL teams beat da teams in my region and what ecnl team u play for?
You can do both high school and club, the high school soccer season starts in like winter and ends around spring, and you have the rest of the year to play club, you just gotta be dedicated
YYYEEESSSS I play with/against all DA players, but I play NPL. I was listening to this and hanging my head when he was only talking about DA and how slim those chances even are
Do your research, coaches from "ECNL" "NPL" DA like players who been there for a while in the club. By knowing you they pay more attention to you and reccomend you. Also make sure where those coaches have connections. Many of them are actually coaches for collges already or have connection towards other colleges so they reccomend you to other coaches. Reccomondation from a coach is better than going to a combine or a camp without one. Trust me. All 3 levels and league play in college showcase so you will still be scouted in some way.
Some great points. I agree club is much better quality the higher the team. I coach for a club not in DEA or ecnl. And have had players go to Stanford and Notre Dame. But those schools are not the right fit for all kinds. Love your videos
This is why I love this channel, you always give us good advice and it helps us in many ways either you get us motivated or you give everyone who watches your video a good speech that makes them realize that they can have fun while playing soccer in many ways and that there is many paths to have chances in many teams either good or bad teams but there is always a way. Also keep doing what your doing we love and will always support your channel I hope you will reach more milestones along the way and could become a huge RU-vidr maybe even more then that who knows but I hope you keep uploading videos about soccer and training and just videos like this because it really does help people and will make people get motivated like me you’ve helped me a lot Thank You keep up the good workkk!!!👏🏽⚽️💯
I live in Peoria, Illinois and go to Peoria Notre Dame High School and luckily we are a top #20 team in the nation year in and year out. This past season we rose to as high as #1 in the country! I was the backup keeper, but most likely will be the starting keeper next year! Thanks for the great advice tho!
If anything, if you can’t play club, you can play high school and get recruited to a second division college or NAIA division then work harder and gain credibility from playing at those lower division college and hopefully become a transfer into a division 1 college there’s always gonna be another way don’t give up!
Came across a trainer that said if u want to play professionally to not waste time on playing for hs soccer team to use ur time profecting ur skills. Said stick to travel league cuz itll give u the exposure u need since theres really no recruiting thats done at hs soccer games.
I ref'd a few games for the GPS tournament here in MA. I'm not sure if they're high level soccer but compared to what I was playing against in highschool, these kids were ridiculous. Their foot skills, touch, and passing were insane. It's a shame that these kids have to pay thousands of dollars a year to play and train with good competition. I wish my parents had put me into good clubs because I think I had a lot of potential. I was crazy fast and super strong but i was only put into our city youth leagues and the competition wasnt great which never really forced me to get any better. The only thing that I developed in was speed and strength, but my skill never got any better. I cant blame them though, they would've never been able to afford those club prices. It'll be different for my kids.
Just so you know, you are correct that playing at a DA club or a top state club can be expensive, but almost every DA team offers financial assistance, and MLS academies are free other than Minnesota United now I believe.
My high school is d1 for soccer, I made the JV Team as a freshman which is kinda rare in my school, hopefully I'll make it again this year. Tomorrow is when tryouts end and we find out who got in
Coach Javi, first time watching. Maybe let's talk or debate the foreign player's impact on the college game. Raising the level, or taking away scholarships and opportunities from American players?
Omar Colon semi! Bc in college in the us its bs bc you have to be in the very first percent to go pro which is dumb bc if not the US would have great futbol which they don’t buuut Anyways MLS or DA academy’s is the best way
I got invented to train with the NC FC ecnl, so I might join an ecnl team but also I’m going to highschool next year and playing there too soo ig that’s rlly great playing both club and school
Coach Javi what are your thoughts on college ID camps? My daughter is only going into the 7th grade however, she’s been playing at the ECNL, NPL, DA level for a couple years now. She’s absolutely determined to play at the D1 level and I believe she definitely has a shot if she continues down the path she is on. If her dream is to play at UCLA or USC or say any college for that matter. Would it make sense to attend that colleges ID camps and continue to visit them year after year? Would that help to have the coaches see her? It would certainly get you familiar with the school and the surroundings. Love your videos!! Keep it up. Thank You, Marc
Rigth Now i don't have the Money for play on a club, i was a playing at the state level when i was in Venezuela (were i come from) so i think my BEST option now is play on the high school team, but i'm not really sure if can grow on that team
Typically they’re at State Finals, Semi-Finals, and sometimes quarter finals. If there’s a match between 2 teams who are known to have really good players sometimes they will go to those games. I.e 2 schools in my county are almost always ranked as top 10 schools in my state and although they play in different classifications it is tradition for them to play against each other and there are always a few college coaches there
@@firstlast7584 I played on one of the best high school teams in my state and I can say their are scouts that watch especially playoff games and a few of teammates got scholarships
Great explanation Coach Javi! I would like to hear more about how and when to start approaching the D1 school coaches. Also, does ODP fit anywhere into the recruiting process?
Thank you for your videos I'm a stepfather trying to sort this all out for my oldest stepdaughter I will be reading the comments and watching your videos a little background info she is 15 4.0 student small high school varsity player a goalie .
I got recruited to play d1 soccer from mainly high school highlights, although i did play club at a pretty high level and d1 coaches may have heard of my name from club.
Just saying something on the experience of high school soccer some schools are bias to friends and family friends but even with club I’ve spent a lot of time with my club teammates and club is the best thing I’ve done
Think about this though. If as a parent you know your kid is good enough and you can afford the DA clubs then I would I consider spending the money. My parents payed big money to let me play in the DA and now I have a scholarship that will cover those costs. It’s almost an investment into your kid if you know they are going to get a scholarship.
Hey Javi, I don't know if you've done a video of this already but I would really want a guide on how to get recruited from abroad, because typically I can send in my cv and highlight tape but they would never travel to Europe to see me, it's also very hard to compare the level that I'm playing in to the American system, and lastly I'm lost in how I know I would be eligible academically because the Swedish and American schools have literally nothing alike. It would be really appreciated if you made a video about this, and to everyone who reads it I would appreciate if you would know aswell!
Can’t think of a good Name well for me I’m in Chicago Fire academy and we have a scout that goes and watching regular club games I would say try out for the closest MLS academy
Coach Javi, my son is a freshman and made Varsity soccer for a 4A high school. He isnt a starter at the moment but usually plays about 25-30 min a game. He has had 3 scrimmages so far and scored 2 goals and 2 assists..he has the skills but doesnt believe in himself like he should. What can we do to help him believe in himself more? We have paid for individual training, trained him myself and always give him positive feedback but just seems like nothing is helping his mental aspect yet.
I play club soccer (I'm in middle school) and my coach is also the soccer coach at the college in my town so if I want a scholarship for soccer I know who I have to impress
hey coach javi , I’m from Scotland in the Uk and was just wondering if you would ever talk about , different ways that people from different countries could get scouted and possibly play college soccer if we didn’t come through high-school or club or club soccer , thanks!
I'll be in a college scouting tournament and I was wondering what the best way to reach out to them to let them know I'll be there or how do I tell them?
Can you make a video and talk about your time when you were a Graduate assistant? i would really like to hear about that. I want to become one after i graduate next year. Thanks!
Here in America it’s all about money and business, you start as a player in a club paying thousands each year but in other countries you wouldn’t have to pay as much and would be easier to get pro
Justin Galindo DA is above ECNL & USYS National League. ECNL and The USYS National League are both at a similar level but ECNL is more known because it’s been around longer. I live in Georgia so I’m not sure exactly how it might be where you live but both ECNL and USYS National League are at a really high level I currently play in the USYS National League and have played some ECNL teams and beat them or in my team’s case we’re ranked above some ECNL and even some DA teams in the state of Georgia so really it depends on the team you play for because ECNL and USYS NL are really similar.
Both very good competitions but DA is much better , I’m in sporting kc butt I’m soon going to Mexico for either santos , Club America ( fav team before Barca ) or pachuca
Emmanuel Vela that’s a DA team soo your at academy level so you play vs MLS and other academy’s and if u make it to the first team then your pretty much bro ( 2nd division ) but still pro
Can you please tell me if 'EXACT Soccer' is a good soccer camp to get recognized by college coaches? This was a super helpful video by the way. Thank you.
