Picking the right club team can make or break your soccer experience and potential opportunities to play soccer in college. Club soccer is a very important part of the college recruiting process because the exposure and connections your club team has can help you reach your goals. There are many important factors that go into picking the right club:
1. Money
Club soccer can be quite expensive when you add everything up: tuition, tournament fees, uniform, travel, etc. When choosing a club, it is important to consider how much you and your family are willing to pay for you to play. There are clubs who will offer financial support if need be, but aid isn't available for everyone and will likely not cover all the expenses of playing.
Related: Do You Need to Join a Club Team for Women's Soccer?
2. Time Commitment
Depending on the team and club, there will be different levels of commitment. When joining a club team, it is important to recognize that they should become one of your top priorities. There are many sacrifices that go into playing soccer at a high level, and if you don't want to give up certain things, finding a club that will offer more flexibility is necessary.
Related: How to Optimize Your Time as a Student-Athlete
3. Level of Play
Level of play is one of the most important factors when determining a club. The club will hold tryouts for the age group team and you will be offered a position if they think you are good enough. If you are offered a position on a team that is better than your abilities, it could allow for growth or could hinder the amount of exposure and play time you get. So, although you may be good enough to be on the roster, not everybody plays. Consider this and talk to the coaches about play time and level of play when picking a team.
4. Location
Finding a club that is close to your home is essential, especially when you are in high school and need your parents/guardians to drive you to and from. This could also be helped by carpooling with people in the area who are also on the club team. Depending on geographical limitations, you may find yourself driving a decent amount to get to practice, so it's important to consider your overall goals when determining if it is worth it.
5. Reputation of Club/Coaches
The exposure the club can offer you is very important if you want to play in college. The reputation of the club and coach can connect you to high-level tournaments and college coaches. For example, a club near my home has a coach who is also a college coach and recruits a lot of his college players from this club.
6. Culture and Values of Club
One final factor to consider is the overall culture and values of the club. If the club is solely based on winning games and isn't about the development of the player in the classroom, on the field, or as a person, you may find yourself not meeting your personal goals. It's important to consider what exactly the club can offer you not only as a player, but a student as well. At my club at home, they put a heavy emphasis on getting good grades; after every marking period we had to give our coach our report cards to ensure that we were staying on top of our school work before coming to soccer.
* Originally published on December 8, 2021, by Andrea Leitner
