Recruiting Series - Part 1, ID Camps

By Jessica Donaldson, 02/01/23, 5:30PM EST

Thinking About Playing Soccer in College?

Beginning in February, we will start a recruiting series for those players that are interested in playing soccer at the collegiate level. The information shared is based off of experiences gathered from coaches, TCSC players that have gone on to play college soccer, parents, and feedback shared at ID camps from college soccer coaches.

Recruiting Series – Part 1

ID Camps – We are starting this series off with ID camps since many colleges are starting to announce their upcoming ID camps. One of the best ways to get noticed is by attending ID/prospect camps. Not all ID/prospect camps are the same. Some ID camps give you little exposure compared to the camp cost. Since most ID camps have a cost associated with attending, you should look to attend ID camps that the colleges you are interested in are either hosting or will be attending.

Before ID camp – Make sure that you have emailed the coach of the college that you are interested in. If this is an introduction email, make sure that the email is addressed to the correct coach and that the email is personalized to that coach and their program and college. If you have highlight reels, you can include links in the email as well. We will touch on emails and highlight reels later in this series. Another important thing to remember is to get enough rest and hydrate the day before, especially if you are attending a full-day ID camp or if the ID camp is held during warmer months. If the ID camp is out of town and requires a hotel stay, a good idea would be to drive to the ID camp site from your hotel to make sure you are aware of any possible construction/detours and know where to find the field.

Day of ID camp – Make sure that you are well-rested and well-nourished. For half-day camps, you may get a few breaks for water/restroom, but will not have any time to eat. When thinking about what to wear, you can consider wearing something that might make you standout from other campers. Stay away from wearing your full high school or club kit. Wearing either the shorts or jersey is ok. Sometimes campers will be given camp t-shirts or a training bib/pinny to wear. Make sure you are prepared with the right cleats (indoor v outdoor), a ball, and beverages. Not all ID camps will have water coolers readily available.

During the ID camp – One of the most important things to remember during camp is to listen and pay attention. Campers are usually broken into small groups to run through different drills with the different coaches that will be there. This allows the coaches an opportunity to get to know the campers a little better as well as observe your technical abilities up close. Sometimes campers will move to different drill stations run by a coach and sometimes the group will stay with one coach. One of the great things is that TCSC drills are very similar to what you will see at these ID camps. But don’t get too comfortable thinking that you know how the drill will be run. Coaches will have their own way to run a drill so make sure to pay attention. Most camps end the day with 11v11 scrimmages so that they can observe campers’ tactical abilities. An important thing to remember is to play soccer. While you want to stand out in the camp, you need to remember that soccer is a team sport. Coaches will see individual talent but want to see how you would fit into their team and their culture. Before leaving the camp, make sure to personally introduce yourself to the coaches.

After the ID camp – Within a day or two of attending the ID camp, make sure to send a thank you email. The email does not need to be long. You should email all the coaches that were in attendance.

Stay tuned for Part 2 of the Recruiting Series.

This is a list of upcoming ID camps that are in the area. Make sure to do your homework on these schools and these teams.

Hiram College Men’s Soccer – Winter ID Camp, Saturday, 02/18

https://www.hiramsoccer.com/camps.html

Cleveland State Men’s Soccer – Winter ID Camp, Saturday, 01/14

https://www.clevelandsoccercamps.com/

Cleveland State Women’s Soccer – Winter ID Camp, Sunday, 02/05

https://www.csuwomenssoccercamps.com/

Kent State Women’s Soccer – Winter ID Camp, Saturday, 03/18

https://www.kentstatesoccercamps.com/winter-id-camp.cfm

University of Mount Union Women’s Soccer – ID Camp, Saturday, 03/11

https://athletics.mountunion.edu/news/2023/1/9/mount-union-to-host-womens-soccer-id-camp-march-11.aspx