best and worst states to play soccer in

[Beadling19]

Well the whole of REgion 1 and probably all the other regions also use gotsoccer. If you take a look you can tell that the ranking are accurate because of the teams results at tournaments around the country.

[arsenalfc08]

http://www.topdrawersoccer.com/club-soccer/teamrank

You can also narrow down age groups by region.

http://www.socceramerica.com/index.cfm? ... id=51633&p soccer america's top 30 boys clubs as of January 09.

[Soccer4Life]

http://www.topdrawersoccer.com/club-soccer/teamrank

You can also narrow down age groups by region.

http://www.socceramerica.com/index.cfm? ... id=51633&p soccer america's top 30 boys clubs as of January 09.

That first list is completely inaccurate. So I wouldn't go by that. Second looks reasonably good.

[Beadling19]

http://www.gotsport.com/rankings/result ... ender=Boys

first 25 teams in the country for U14 as of today. My teams 17th.

[dream_on_go_pro]

ok, so heres the question then... if i am in an area which is nt very good at soccer how am I supposed to get recruited by colleges without them thinking: hmm well this kid is from kentucky even if he does score a lot or has good skill its only because the competiton is horrid. I live right on the border of tennessee but i go to school in kentucky, therefore i cannot play on a tennessee club because their club season is our high school... so basically even if i do practice my individual skills daily i feel that it will be very hard to get into a good college... any advice on what i should do?

[soccer11]

ok, so heres the question then... if i am in an area which is nt very good at soccer how am I supposed to get recruited by colleges without them thinking: hmm well this kid is from kentucky even if he does score a lot or has good skill its only because the competiton is horrid. I live right on the border of tennessee but i go to school in kentucky, therefore i cannot play on a tennessee club because their club season is our high school... so basically even if i do practice my individual skills daily i feel that it will be very hard to get into a good college... any advice on what i should do?

well if you play on a club team then you'll be traveling and stuff and going to tournaments. try to convince your coach to get you guys into well known tournaments if you think you're good enough. that's where you'll really be seen by college scouts.

[dream_on_go_pro]

yeah we go to tournaments in cincinatti and tennessee and the like and a couple large college showcases, but will i really stand out to a college coach in one of those if my team is not likely to win it?

[arsenalfc08]

College recruiting isn't as easy and glamerous as it seems. A lot of the work has to be done by the player. Go to every college's website that you would like to go to for soccer AND academics. Be realistic when doing this. Fill out recruit questionare forms that are on every college soccer page.

Just because your team isn't likely to win doesn't mean coaches won't watch your team's games. Don't try and put added pressure on yourself by trying to stand out, just play like its a regular game.

What grade are you in? You can't be recruited by colleges until Junior year. You can fill out recruit forms and things but colleges can't send you letters or email, or have any recruiting type contact until your a Junior.

[soccer11]

for example, here's Louisville's recruiting form. I don't know if you're up to that level, but oh well.
http://www.uoflsports.com/sports/m-socc ... -form.html

Asbury
http://www.asbury.edu/athletics/mens-soccer/recruit

But i'm sure you know the Universities in Kentucky better than me.

[arsenalfc08]

for example, here's Louisville's recruiting form. I don't know if you're up to that level, but oh well.
http://www.uoflsports.com/sports/m-socc ... -form.html

Asbury
http://www.asbury.edu/athletics/mens-soccer/recruit

But i'm sure you know the Universities in Kentucky better than me.

Thanks for examples. I forgot to add some. Fill out as many as you can to as many different schools in NCAA and NAIA. Be realistic though. Lets face it, D1 is nice but you really have to think of the odds of making the team AND playing reguarly. I'm not saying it couldnt happen at some of the lesser known D1 schools, but again options are good. Fill out forms for NCAA d1,d2 and even Naia schools.

I'm a firm believer in it doesn't matter what college you go to. If you play well someone will notice. But remember if your goal is to go pro, it doesn't happen often. There are a lot of guys who play college soccer and don't make it whether in the USA or Europe. Academics should be the main focus, soccer should be a nice bonus.

[AmericanFutballer]

for example, here's Louisville's recruiting form. I don't know if you're up to that level, but oh well.
http://www.uoflsports.com/sports/m-socc ... -form.html

Asbury
http://www.asbury.edu/athletics/mens-soccer/recruit

But i'm sure you know the Universities in Kentucky better than me.

Thanks for examples. I forgot to add some. Fill out as many as you can to as many different schools in NCAA and NAIA. Be realistic though. Lets face it, D1 is nice but you really have to think of the odds of making the team AND playing reguarly. I'm not saying it couldnt happen at some of the lesser known D1 schools, but again options are good. Fill out forms for NCAA d1,d2 and even Naia schools.

I'm a firm believer in it doesn't matter what college you go to. If you play well someone will notice. But remember if your goal is to go pro, it doesn't happen often. There are a lot of guys who play college soccer and don't make it whether in the USA or Europe. Academics should be the main focus, soccer should be a nice bonus.

If anyone is really serious about going to play professionally, you need to go to europe. Don't play college soccer it will kill your hopes and development and will prevent you from reaching the next level to play at the highest tier of soccer in Europe. Really college soccer is a good way to get a great education and will allow you to be succesful in something other than soccer.

Just curious, is there anyone on the USA National Team now who played college soccer?

[arsenalfc08]

for example, here's Louisville's recruiting form. I don't know if you're up to that level, but oh well.
http://www.uoflsports.com/sports/m-socc ... -form.html

Asbury
http://www.asbury.edu/athletics/mens-soccer/recruit

But i'm sure you know the Universities in Kentucky better than me.

Thanks for examples. I forgot to add some. Fill out as many as you can to as many different schools in NCAA and NAIA. Be realistic though. Lets face it, D1 is nice but you really have to think of the odds of making the team AND playing reguarly. I'm not saying it couldnt happen at some of the lesser known D1 schools, but again options are good. Fill out forms for NCAA d1,d2 and even Naia schools.

I'm a firm believer in it doesn't matter what college you go to. If you play well someone will notice. But remember if your goal is to go pro, it doesn't happen often. There are a lot of guys who play college soccer and don't make it whether in the USA or Europe. Academics should be the main focus, soccer should be a nice bonus.

If anyone is really serious about going to play professionally, you need to go to europe. Don't play college soccer it will kill your hopes and development and will prevent you from reaching the next level to play at the highest tier of soccer in Europe. Really college soccer is a good way to get a great education and will allow you to be succesful in something other than soccer.

Just curious, is there anyone on the USA National Team now who played college soccer?

Dempsey,Clark,Ching,Guzan,Davies,Stevie C,Bocanegra,Edu,Gooch,DeMerit,Hejduk.

Not all the guys played all 4 years but they went. Europe would be a better option but it isn't that easy. But Scandinavian countries (no work permit restrictions) have been welcoming to Americans. Sweden is becoming a hotbed.

If you want to go to college and play soccer skip college soccer and get on a PDL team in the summer.

Unless MLS gets serious about these "academies" we will never grow as a soccer nation. College soccer is putting our guys wayyy behind other countries. Kids in Europe are in academies or playing reserve/first team football while our guys are stuck in classrooms.

But be careful. If you try Europe don't hire an agent or be leary. If you fail to get on a team college soccer may be your only option. Especially if you can't latch onto a team in USL. If you sign with an agent or pro team (get paid) you are ineligiable for college soccer. Its a risk but if you are truly good enough and not just saying you are, it should happen.

[dream_on_go_pro]

well if i am going to have to work really hard to get into a good d1 school is it really possible for me to get onto any european team, much less that i could just go over to europe at 18 to play unpaid soccer and lose my education... either way it would be nice to get a little bit of info on some of those teams (100th post!!!!!!!!!!)

[arsenalfc08]

well if i am going to have to work really hard to get into a good d1 school is it really possible for me to get onto any european team, much less that i could just go over to europe at 18 to play unpaid soccer and lose my education... either way it would be nice to get a little bit of info on some of those teams (100th post!!!!!!!!!!)

Then go to college, get an education, and play on a PDL team in the summer. PDL is amatur so you could still play college soccer if you really wanted to and not worry about eligiability.

d1 isn't easy. Just because a school isn't d1 doesn't mean it isn't good. Academics should be your main focus, not just how good the school is at soccer. D1 and a good soccer school don't quarantee you'll go pro. If anything it will be harder to get playing time.

Plus it also depends on your grades. You won't get into college with low grades and bad test scores. Where would you like to go to school? Stay in Kentucky?

Example: Northern Kentucky, D2. http://athletics.nku.edu/MSoccer/index.html NCAA regional champs in 2006,2007,2008 and Regional Semifinalists in 2008. 16-3-4, 9-1-1 GLVC

University of the Cumberlands NAIA http://www.ucumberlands.edu/athletics/s ... ens/stats/ 14-4-2 overall
5-0-1 in conference. Averaged 2.9 goals per game. Was ranked #2 in their conference at the end of the year by the NAIA.

Here is a guy who played NAIA and signed with a team in the Candian league. He played college in Kentucky http://naia.cstv.com/sports/m-soccer/sp ... 09aaa.html

Lindsey Wilson, NAIA. Ranked #1 in their conference. Had a player just sign with a USL team. Previous alums include Tyrone Marshall who plays for Seattle. 5-0-1 last season. Kehli Dube also played with them for a year. http://www.lindseyathletics.com/sport/13/2.php

[AmericanFutballer]

I don't know if this is the topic to start college discussions, but I'm going to ask anyway lol.

What is the best combo for an athlete to stand out to college recruiters? I have a 4.6 weighted going into my Junior Year and play Varsity on a pretty big school. We are in the division for the biggest school like population wise and will be challenging for state next year. I also am trying to play up with the U18 age group at my club so I can go to the Disney Tournament which is apparently really big for college recruitment over the summer.

Anyways, do you basically need to show you can handle the workload of college while maintaining a high level of play at the college level?

I know my level of play can compete at college level, or atleast I can keep up with college players I can't change the game though, not now atleast.