The number of high school athletes wanting and trying to get recruited for a soccer scholarship has increased over the past 5 years. Soccer is growing in the US, making for larger high school teams and more athletes that want a scholarship to help pay for college. Colleges have also turned more to international students for recruiting but we feel this will slow as soccer in the US continues to strengthen compared to internationally each year.
Over the over 105,000 male high school senior soccer players, only 5.5% will play in the NCAA. The number that are offered a scholarship is much lower. Soccer is classified as an equivalency sport in the NCAA, NAIA and NJCAA. Meaning scholarships can be divided up and distributed to multiple athletes.
NCAA Division 1 Men’s soccer programs have 9.9 scholarships. Women have 12. NCAA Division II offers 9 scholarships for men and 9.9 for women. The NAIA offers 12 scholarships for men and women. And finally the NJCAA offers 18 scholarships for both men and women. These can be and usually are divided up amongst the players by the coach. For instance, if you are offered a .4 or 40% partial in NCAA DII Mens, the coach has 8.6 more scholarships to award. Full rides are a possibility but reserved for the top 1% to 2% of all high school seniors.
Scholarships are also being awarded earlier each year. Some top level college soccer programs make official offers to high school athletes by the end of their Junior season. These are verbal, not official offers, but become official once the recruiting calender allows.
To set yourself apart from the competition and earn a college soccer scholarship you must:
1. Start Early.
2. Have a step by step plan of attack.
3. Be willing to work harder then any other recruit.
4. Market yourself correctly to coaches.
5. Works as a team with your family and current coach.
Do not be scared by the numbers we just showed. Rather, use these to motivate yourself and tell yourself that you can do it. Those soccer players who get out there and treat soccer recruiting aggressively with a game plan, are the ones who get the scholarships.
If you want a college soccer scholarship, don’t wait any longer. You must start today. Learn more about how to avoid costly mistakes that will ruin your scholarship chances. Set yourself apart from the competition and check out our Soccer Scholarship Guide
