August College Recruiting Newsletter 2023

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Welcome to the Kings Hammer August College Recruiting Newsletter! The club is excited to work with you to accomplish all of your player’s goals for this upcoming soccer year, on and off of the soccer field. Each month, we will be providing this resource to not only help you navigate the craziness that is the college recruiting process, but also provide personal development materials and resources to assist in growing individually while living a more purpose and value driven lifestyle. We hope you find value in this newsletter and we are excited to assist in this exciting process for your family!

College Visits

Fall is officially here, which means college soccer season has hit the ground running. With college coaches time being consumed on the weekends with their own matches, the ability of a lot of staffs to watch players in the Fall is a bit more limited. What this means is the Fall is a great opportunity for you to get on the campus of schools you are interested in for a visit to campus. Getting the chance to step foot on campus, interact with the players and coaches, see academic and athletic facilities, as well as the general feel of campus can go a long way in solidifying your interest in a program as well as lessen the desire you have to go to a specific school. When taking these visits, it is important to be prepared and have a plan to get the most out of the experience. Below are 5 things to consider when going on a college visit:

Investigate the school’s academic requirements. It’s important to ensure that you are qualified academically to play at the school. The best way to determine academic qualification is to check with the coach. Send them your transcripts, test scores and other key academic information to them. You can also usually find average test scores and the average GPA of accepted students online.

Coordinate your calendar of unofficial visits and college meetings. To be more efficient with your time, try to visit a few different schools in one trip, rather than making multiple one-off visits.

Ensure the coach has reviewed your athletic information and is interested in recruiting you. Send them your highlight video, academic information, resume and key stats. Depending on your age and the NCAA recruiting calendar, the coach may not be able to reach out to you, but you can always reach out to them. Call the coach, and if you don’t get an answer, try again.

Schedule your visit with the coach. The last thing you want is to take the time to visit a school and find out the coach can’t meet with you. If your club or high school coach is highly involved in your recruiting, they can also contact the college coach for you and help set up a meeting.

Determine what else you need to get done during your visit. The coach may request that you sit down and have a meeting with the admissions office. You may want to set aside time to check out the dorms and get an official campus tour. Don’t forget to factor all of this in as you’re planning your weekend.

Links to Additional College Visit Resources

8 Tips on Preparing your Athletes for a College Visit
Sports Recruits-Recruiting Guide Pt 4-College Preparations (scroll down to the College Visits section)

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT: What Does it Mean to be a Leader?

The season is finally underway again, and what this means is players all over the country (of all ages and levels) are slowly but surely finding out where they fit in to their team. Some players are recognizing that they are the star of the team, whereas others are finding that playing time may be hard to come by. Wherever you fit in within this puzzle for your current team, each one of you has the power to control how you interact, communicate, and lead others. While college coaches are always evaluating a player’s technical, tactical, and physical attributes, an incredibly high emphasis is also placed on leadership qualities. What does this mean? Take a look below at how you can be a leader on the field.

Learn From Your Mistakes – To be a good leader you have to take calculated risks and you will certainly make some mistakes along the way. Admit them. Learn from them. Don’t repeat them! These mistakes can be in the classroom or on the field.

Lead by Example – The old adage “do as I say, not as I do” doesn’t fly in today’s world. If you expect it from the people you are leading, you must expect it from yourself. You must hold yourself accountable before you can hold anyone else. If you expect your players or teammates to be on time, then you need to be on time. If you expect them to know every play in your playbook, then you need to know them too. If you want to be a leader, people notice.

Put Others’ Needs First – Compassion and empathy are extremely important to quality leadership. It is impossible to be selfish and be an effective leader. If you are a player, are you playing for the scoreboard or the scorebook? Are you playing for the name on the front of the jersey or the back? If you are a coach, do you listen to your players’ feedback and thoughts? Treat your teammates and players right and genuinely care about them.

Have Confidence – Your attitude is something you have complete control of and will influence everything you do in life. A positive attitude helps build confidence. You must have a strong self-worth and be confident in your abilities, without being arrogant or cocky. It sounds corny, but you have to feel good about yourself to be a good leader. No one is going to follow someone who doesn’t believe in themselves. Confidence comes from a sound work ethic and from being prepared. If you are going into a game and aren’t confident you can win; it’s because you know you didn’t do what was necessary to prepare!

Set a High Standard – If you do everything to the best of your ability, then you can expect it from those you lead. If you are always on time, always work hard, and always put your heart and soul into every practice, workout, and game–then you can expect your teammates and players to do the same. But you have to believe your teammates and players can meet this standard. A good leader will motivate those they are leading to do so. You want to be the type of leader who raises the level of everyone around you. Set the bar high and then lead them to it!

Links to Additional Resources

Monthly Help Links from Sports Recruits

Personalizing Your Favorites List & Narrowing Down Target Schools

College Commitments

Rylie Niemeyer – Western Carolina University
Lauren Link – Eastern Kentucky University
Claire Cress – Morehead State University
Piper Farris – East Carolina University
McKenzie Carle – Bellarmine University
Sarah Deaton – Wittenburg University
Maggie Molnar – Taylor University
Maria Dilts – Johns Hopkins University
Ivy Hoffman – Thomas More University
Maddy Ehrhardt – Wilmington College
Anna Taylor – Cedarville University
Claire Cavacini – Centre College
Ella Mann – Centre College

Remember to post your commitment to your Sports Recruits account and send commitment photos to info@kingshammer.com so that you can be recognized for your achievements.