Come back every Tuesday for Recruiting Horror Stories™, athletes' first-hand stories on what can go wrong during the recruiting process.

I have played soccer since I was three years old, and I have always wanted to play in college. I started my recruiting process my sophomore year of high school where I emailed many different coaches and invited them to watch me in multiple showcases and tournaments. I was also approached at a few tournaments by other coaches who I didn't email. So now in my head I'm thinking: there is no way I don't find a school to play on. 

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Junior year I attended a variety of camps hosted by multiple different schools and drew interest from a good number of them. After narrowing down my list I decided to commit to Dickinson College. This was a school that could provide a great education and I would have the chance to play soccer throughout college…or so I thought.

However, midway through my senior year, Covid hit and we were all sent home which made me miss the fall semester of my freshmen year (aka: soccer season). We were able to go back in the spring but there were obviously only spring sports going on. But after that semester, I thought I could look forward to a normal sophomore year with a soccer season. 

This didn't happen either.

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My sophomore year of college, the original coach who recruited me ended up leaving so there was a new coach who had everyone tryout again, which unfortunately was the reason I didn't end up making the team. He was looking for a very specific build that I did not fit. So, I went through all of this to not be on the team. I made the best of it and joined the club soccer team and honestly, I think it worked out for the best because I'm having a great time playing with them. But it just goes to show that nothing is guaranteed in the recruiting process. Hope for the best but prepare for anything!

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* Originally published on September 27, 2022, by Chris Russo