D 1 prospects?

[dins8]

I recently read a post in which a kid (or maybe a parent) labeled themself (or their child) as a "prospect." This player's coach quickly asked for this topic to be changed and rightfully so. But this topic again fueled what always seems to be one of the most tedious aspects of coaching--a good high school player gets some preposterous idea that they are collegiate material, and even worse, a D 1 prospect.

 

As a coach, I get thoroughly annoyed with the club coaches/parents/trainers or whoever it may be that feeds these kids this nonsense. Let's be honest...not many high school kids are going to be collegiate athletes, and even fewer will be D 1 athletes. Sure, sure, some of them will ride pine on a D 3 team that allows pretty much anyone to come out, but I don't consider this person a true college athlete.

 

I always ask my players to fill out a survey at the beginning of the season, and one of the questions inquires about their plans after graduation. Almost all of them plan to pursue soccer at the next level, and most list big time schools such as Duke, Furman, Virgina, Wake Forest and Maryland as their college of choice. I have written countless glowing letters to coaches with ridiculous rhetoric, and I have made frequent phone calls to coaches on account of my players, but deep down I know that my efforts are futile. I am still relatively close with my old college coach, and he often asks if I have anyone who has caught my eye. Despite the fact that I feel like I am betraying my kids, I do not want to compromise my own integrity by fabricating or exaggerating a player's abilities and severing the trust that my old coach has in me to shoot him straight. The answer is almost always "no, coach, I don't have anyone on my team that is good enough to play D 1."

 

So I am always caught in a big pickle. Do you break a kid's heart and finally be the one to tell him that he is just not good enough to play D 1, or do you waste a collegiate coach's time (and your own time) by trying to force your kids upon him? It seems like a winless situation and a situation that always ends up upsetting someone. As I have gotten older and bolder, I have tried suggesting D 3 colleges or D 2 colleges to some of my players, but they want nothing to do with them. This irritates me even more. There are some outstanding D 3 programs out there, and some D 3 programs even produce professional athletes.

 

Thanks to those who have read this far. I guess what I am trying to get at is...how do other coaches handle this problem? Moreover, how do you break a kid's heart?

 

Here are my thoughts on the D 1 soccer player, and here are some players in East TN who I think might make it.

 

The D 1 player should be naturally gifted. He looks like a man amongst boys on the field. He makes an immediate impact on the VARSITY level as a freshman. He has the uncanny ability to take over the game and make all of his teammates better. More specifically, he has outstanding balls skills AND he has great peripheral vision and passing abilities. He is a savvy athlete and makes mature decisions on the pitch. He is extremely versatile, being able to play almost any position. Sounds like your kid, doesn't it? Well, not so fast...a D 3 player can have all of the forementioned qualities, but the main trait that I think separates a D 3 player from a true D 1 prospect is his overall athletic ability. I am talking about speed and physicality. D 1 players can fly, and they are physical specimens.

 

Some players that I think might make it on a D 1 level from East TN:

 

1.) Brandon Tarr--I think he sometimes gets bored with the competition in East TN and often comes across as lackadaiscial, but he should be a big prospect.

2.) #10 from Farragut...I think his name is Ben. I did not think he was Farragut's best, but he might be small D 1 material. If by chance, he has signed with a big D 1 school, I think he will not play much. No offense to this kid; he is a good player.

3.) #8 from Farragut (Jake something)...I think this kid is small D 1 material IF he is not yet a senior and can still develop. He has good size and he has great on ball skills, but he lacks straight line speed for an outside mid.

 

I assume that a lot of people might post and say how wrong I am and give me examples of kids that are going on to the next level. My response...post one year after their freshman season at a D 1 level; then tell me whether or not your kid was TRULY a D 1 player.

 

Example--Kyle Franklin (Maryville HS)...signed with South Carolina, rode pine his freshman year, transferred to Memphis, is currently riding pine at Memphis. Didn't everyone think this kid was going all the way?

 

Sorry if I sound like I am pontificating, and sorry if I have offended anyone. Anyone have thoughts on this?

[BigG]

Brandon Tarr has committed to the University of South Carolina. He also received an offer from Southern Methodist University in Texas, but chose the former.

 

Dins, I ran into the same problem when I was recruiting players for a small division 2 school (Tusculum) back some 10 years ago. All of the players I would approach that I thought could play, just laughed when I said I was from a school in TN. They said that they were pushing for North Carolina, or Duke etc. OR they wanted a guarantee of a full ride. I would shrug and say thank you and walk away, knowing that offers weren't going to get too much better for them than a small school in Greeneville.

 

TN is not a hotbed for college soccer, sadly. Now, I will say it is getting better, with 2 or 3 on the National team (either presently or formerly) but to say that a team has multiple D1 talent is an overstatement to say the least. I have seen very few true D1 players in my years of coaching highschool soccer.

[pseudophobia]

Dins8- What a great topic!! I thank you for putting this info out there for everyone to read!! I think you have a great handle on the way things are. The notion that there are a lot of "D1" players in this area is unrealistic. Yes, there are some great players in the area and the state, but to play at the speed that "good" D1 schools do is simply amazing! Most players in this area have never seen that type of speed!! I don't mean how fast a person can run- by speed I mean the whole package. Moving, trapping, passing- making runs. The state simply doesn't have that yet. Also, you touched on the other types of schools, D2, D3, etc. I think the quality and type of team is more important than if they are a D1 school. What good does a player get out of going to a school that is out of the ability. You use Kyle Franklin as an example. That, is a great example to use. I watched him play over the years...yes, he was a great player, all the skills, he was fast....the problem is the game gets WAY, WAY faster. Going to D1 was not a good idea! Imagine if he went to a smaller school with a quality program. He would be playing and enjoying soccer just like he always had before. I think that players that truely love soccer, want to be able to play. After high-school there is no one else to impress with the whole "D1" status. At a truely competative D1 school, your local reputation means absolutely nothing! If you are a young player and want to play at the next level- be honest with yourself- you are all that matters!! As far as your impressions of those players you mentioned--I think only Tarr has a chance at the D1 level. I wonder if he is strong enough and has the physical size to compete? He was always so much faster than everyone else- but now the others are catching up to him!! I think he is bored at the speed of play, it is less than his competative team and I think that is a problem! Watching high-school after seeing college games takes adjustment for me....I can imagine what it does to a great player!!

Also, don't think that smaller schools do not offer great programs! There are players from all areas- NAIA to D1 that make it to the pro level!

[akula21]

I have to admit as still being new to the recruiting side of things as we have had very few players capable of being successful collegiate soccer players, most of our top players do fit the mold of NAIA or Lower Division, which I still think is awesome b/c they can go into school knowing the pros are not in their future and focus on education while still getting to play and learn, which I think will help them come back into our community and coach and advance the sport further. Just for the record, the prospect comment was made as a joke so I hope no one will bash the young man for trying to have some fun, but it does shed a light on the recruiting problem with the parents or coaches filling kids heads with lots of nonsense. I think we have a few players with great potential b/c of their lack of focus on just one sport, as they continue to get more serious, their athletic ability helps them improve drastically, I plan to get them to some big camps this year for the sole reason of some of the smaller schools that send coaches to the big camps and maybe get a look from them. Lets face it, The MLS is not in the future for many of our kids and even for the ones that make it (I played with one, and against a few, but they are all almost back in the community trying to find out what to do with themselves. The best players are not always the best coaches.) I know I kind of went on a tangent but that is my view on it. Just a personal note, I get extremely frustrated about hearing stories from Club coaches telling players how they only get recruited in club, I know some college coaches around the area and they'll listen to the High School coach if you are extremely straight forward. Sometimes just asking for the kid to be invited to an open tryout is enough to get the kid a shot at some of the schools in the area. No shame in playing NAIA, I got to play with and against some amazing internationals who couldn't get past the NCAA clearinghouse, even a couple guys with time playing on their national teams. So I say be honest to the kids from the beginning, let the kids aim high, but inform them of reality and don't allow them to have false hope, the really are student athletes so I always ask if they would still go to a school if they weren't playing soccer there. Plus, wouldn't you rather be actually playing at a school rather than be a practice player and have lots of free gear and never set foot on the pitch.

 

ps: Dins8 I am now making it my quest to discover your identity. /rolleyes.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":rolleyes:" border="0" alt="rolleyes.gif" />

[Heelsfan247]

They said that they were pushing for North Carolina, or Duke etc.

 

That's right BigG, I have trained you well...haha but you know which team is truly the greatest

[PinballWizard]

Dins- about Ben Backstrom(West Kentucky) and Jake Russell(Richmond), I think that Jake is the only one from Farragut that has the potential to play at the D1 level, when i watch him play it looks like he is annoyed at how slow the game is played. I think he is ready to take on the D1 soccer, Backstrom will have to tbeef up to attain some playing time

[R.U.R.]

i think aaron doyle of farragut couple of years ago was capable...but he went to small college to punt and play soccer i think. also, radcliffe of bearden went to UAB awhile back.

[Me.]

there were a lot of players from the TNFC 88 team that play D1 -- Lousiville, Memphis, Richmond, Western Kentucky. I forget the rest. some players off the TNFC 90 team can play d1 too like Tarr, Morrisey and Darsinos.

[soccerfan13]

chase nieri from catholic is playing d1 at lipscomb

[CCHSKEEPER]

Ryan Zeek from father ryan will be playing for Columbia next year.. thats D-1, not to mention an ivy league school

[sports89]

QUOTE(PinballWizard @ Apr 6 2007 - 09:05 PM) 826431696[/snapback]Dins- about Ben Backstrom(West Kentucky) and Jake Russell(Richmond), I think that Jake is the only one from Farragut that has the potential to play at the D1 level, when i watch him play it looks like he is annoyed at how slow the game is played. I think he is ready to take on the D1 soccer, Backstrom will have to tbeef up to attain some playing time

 

Very interesting topic. Baylor was loaded with talent last year but only one was given a D1 ride.....Fynn Glover. Fynn was amazing in the midfield and if Jake is going to Richmond he will be joining Fynn there. Fynn was named to the All-Freshman team for whatever Richmond's conference is called.

[hhsmustangs]

do you know where chris bach is now? he was a pretty good player, i figured he'd be playing college ball somewhere