College Bound | Commitments & Advice

Here at City SC Temecula we are very proud of the environment we create to encourage ALL of our young players to attend college. We are not only very focused on achieving athletic scholarships for our players but we endeavor to ensure all players that progress through our various programs attend and complete a college degree.

Updated monthly, our ‘College Bound’ feature is the perfect resource for our college prospects to keep up to date and informed with what actions they need to be taking.

MAY TIPS on COLLEGE RECRUITING

• 2020 Class: Reach out to schools, look at their rosters; communicate with coaches and send highlight videos. Especially D2 & D3 schools still looking for players.
• 2021 Class: Narrow your college list. Communicate with coaches, create or edit highlight video, take virtual college tours, study for the SAT or ACT.
• 2022 Class: Review your top 20 college list. Draft emails to college coaches. Start creating a highlight Video. Take virtual tours of colleges. Take SAT practice test.
• 2023 Class: Start doing research on colleges and create a list.

Create a top 20 list

• Financials: Consider tuition, both in-state and out of state, and the % of students receiving financial aid.
• Academic Aspects: Evaluate the SAT, ACT and GPA requirements. Be realistic when evaluating your grades. Academics and college experience should be put before soccer. What major are you interested in and does the school offer it? Can you academically get into this institution?
• Social Atmosphere: Important! If you didn’t play soccer, would you still want to be at this college? Does it offer other interests you have such as clubs or activities outside of soccer?
• Soccer Program: Is it a realistic match? Look at the current team, alumni, style of play, social media handles, coaching staff and current players’ youth playing bios to help determine if you can REALISTICALLY play there.
• Athletic Program: Take the time to research the entire athletic program. What other sports do they offer, how are their facilities, and what type of support do they provide athletes?
• Size of School: Public or Private? Large 4-Year? Small 4-Year? Big city or small town? Are you a small private or big football team kind of person?
• Division: Make sure to consider ALL divisions (Div I, Div II, Div III, NAIA, Junior College) even those that may be outside of your initial thoughts. You will be surprised by the variety of opportunities offered.
• Geographical Location: Beach or mountains? Do you like seasons or unchanging weather? Do you prefer a school close to home or are you looking for a brand new experience in a completely different place?
• Quality of Life: Evaluate the quality of life, scholastic intensity and then soccer.

Create A Highlight Video

• Keep it short (3-5 minutes): Highlight videos should be just that, your highlights. Not entire games, just clips showing your special moments. If they are kept within 3-5 min they will likely watch most of your video. If too lengthy, you will bore them and they will move on. The main intention of your highlight video is to pique an interest. It’s rare a player is offered a scholarship solely off of a video. However, your video gives the coach an idea if you are someone they want to continue tracking and see play live. Or remind them who you are after they have already seen you play.
• Intro to your video: A few must haves at the start: Name, Team, League/Level, Jersey #, Grad Year, & Your Email/Your Coach Email. Something to think about including… a quick 5-10 second intro of you speaking can show personality – and put a face to the player on the video. it’s nice to have a personal touch to help you stand out and give the coach a look at you as a person. This is definitely not a must have, but rather nice add-on. If you do add a verbal intro, keep it to 5-10 seconds.

Make it relevant to your position: It is helpful to have “sections” in the video that are specific to you/your position. For example: if you are a forward you can have sections for:

1. Goals
2. Assists
3. Movement off the ball
4. Set Pieces

• Make yourself visible: Remember, the scout doesn’t know who you are. Add a circle, arrow, light, some indication as to which player they should be watching. Even if you indicate your jersey # at the start, they are not going to scan the field for your jersey # on each clip. Make it very obvious who you are on every clip.
• Music: If you are going to use music, make sure it is tasteful (and definitely without profanity).
• Cost: There are many resources and options to help create a video. Many players create great videos themselves. If you are looking for a video company to help put your clips together feel free to reach out to us for recommendations. Do not feel obligated to spend a lot on this piece of the recruiting journey. You just need clear clips showing your highlights.

Write Emails to College Coaches

• Email is personalized: When coaches receive an email from a recruit, they want to know that it is NOT a copy/paste to every coach across the country. There should be something personal to show genuine interest. Keep it brief, yet informative, authentic AND personal. Tell them why you are interested in attending their college and being a part of their team.
• Player should write the email (not a parent): Coaches want to hear from you; not from your parents or via a database email system. Also, make sure your email address is professional (your name and grad year is the best if possible).
• Include your upcoming tournaments/games: When things return to normal and we all get back on the field, you can include when/where you will be playing next and game details.
• Interested college major: Many schools have very specialized majors so coaches will narrow their player search to those specific majors.
• GPA: Noting your GPA is always important, especially if it is stellar! Most highly academic schools aren’t able to recruit a player lower than their school GPA standard (Ex: 3.6+). If you do have a high GPA, it can be advantageous to the soccer program, because you may qualify for an academic scholarship instead of a soccer scholarship.
• ScoutingZone or College FitFinder profile link: Always include your Player Profile weblink. This your “soccer resume” and will give coaches a quick glance at your total player profile, awards & accolades, academics and highlight video (you can include multiple videos in your profile).

LATEST CITY SC COLLEGE COMMITMENTS

Congratulations to most recent commitments:

• Abigail Colton | Wake Forest University | G03/02 DA
• Andrew Torres | University of Redlands | B01 Elite
• Antonio Chavez | University of St. Katherines | B01 Elite
• Audrey Ketterer | Beloit College | G01/00 DPL
• Bianca Plowman | Radford University | G02 DPL
• Caroline Collier | Adams State University | G01/00 DPL
• Charlize Wolf | University of Saint Katherine | G01/00 DPL
• Chris Echeverria | University of St. Katherines | B01 Elite
• Cloe Frese | Concordia University, Irvine | GU18/19 DA
• Emma Snow | Bob Jones University | G01/00 DPL
• Isbael Sloss | Concordia University Nebraska | G01/00 DPL
• Katie Holcomb | Illinois Institute of Technology | G01/00 DPL
• Lucas Marin | Embry-Riddle Aeronatical University | B01 Elite
• Michelle Diaz | University of Saint Katherine | G01/00 DPL

2023-2024 ACT Test Dates and Deadlines

2023-24 SAT Test Dates and Deadlines

Are you going on a college visit soon? Here are some questions to ask on the visit:

• What is your program’s style of play and how do you see me fitting in?
• How many players have you committed to my recruiting class? And how many are you hoping to commit?
• What is your team dynamic?
• Does your University award academic aid separate from athletic aid?
• What is your graduation rate for your program? Do majority of student-athletes graduate in four years?