June College Recruiting Newsletter 2024

Welcome to the Kings Hammer June 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 help you navigate the craziness that is the college recruiting process. We hope you find value in this newsletter and we are excited to assist in this exciting process for your family!

This month’s College Recruiting Newsletter will dive into ways you can continue your college recruiting efforts during the summer break.

SUMMER RECRUITING ACTION

While the start of summer this past month brings an end to most club soccer activities, there are still things that can be worked on to enhance your college recruiting efforts prior to the kickoff of the high school season. Here are some suggestions for things to complete in the upcoming month.

Update SportsRecruits Profile – perhaps you have changed teams, have a new coach, or got new test scores. Take some time to be sure your profile is correct.

Add or Update Video – create a new highlight reel, add links to full games, or even do a candid intro video

Review Recruiting Guidelines – read up on the rules and regulations for the various levels of play. Here are some articles or sites to explore:

NCAA Recruiting Guidelines and FAQ’s

NCAA Recruiting Rules for Youth Soccer Players: What You Need to Know article from Soccer Wire

KHSC Recruiting Seminar Slide Deck pdf

KHSC Recruiting Seminar Videos – linked below

Attend a SportsRecruits Webinar – Below are some helpful Webinars on the SportsRecruits platform for July. Please click on the image to register for a session.

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT – Forming a Successful Mentality

There is no question that, when recruiting college coaches are absolutely looking for successes, from your team and from you. However, those same coaches also know that mistakes and failure are apart of every player, every team, and every season. How athletes respond to moments of adversity is a critical part of each player’s development, and what ultimately makes them a recruit that may stand out.

Adversity and hardship will happen to every athlete (and it probably has already happened to you) every season, during training sessions and games. Turning the ball over, missing a wide-open net, fumbling an easy save, getting subbed out of a game, or even not starting a game, these are just a few of thousands of scenarios that could happen in a game. What is most important is not that a mistake or failure happened, but how you respond to these moments and how you use them to help you improve in the future.

Here is a clip from a recent college commencement speech given by tennis great Roger Federer. In it he talks about success and failure and the ability to look forward and move ahead, in tennis and in life.

The question to ask yourself in these moments is “what is my immediate response?”

If it is to blame others, hang your head, mentally check out from the game, or have a negative attitude, you may want to keep reading. Below are a few questions athletes can ask themselves prior to games and in moments of adversity to help them develop mental toughness and resiliency.

What do I have direct control over during a game? Attitude, effort, attentiveness, and engagement are all things you can control whether you are the best or the worst player on the field. If you want to play at a high level, controlling and holding yourself to a high standard in these regards is a great place to start.
How do I respond to constructive criticism? Is my first instinct to blame others, take the information negatively, or am I receiving it as feedback to help me improve? There is a clear difference!
What does my body language look like immediately after I make a mistake? Do I stop running, hang my head, and pout? Or do I have a short memory, maintain confidence, and keep playing as hard as I can?

Developing a good mindset, a strong mentality, can improve your ability to maintain focus, deal with adversity, and maximize your athletic potential. Here are a few steps every athlete can take to become mentally stronger.

Establish a Growth Mindset – believe you have the power to improve.
Set Constructive Goals – base your goals for training and games on Process (actions, decisions, tactics, techniques, etc.) and Performance, not on Outcomes (wins, losses, goals, saves,etc.)
Use Positive Self-Talk – “I Can”, “I AM”, “I Will” not “I Can’t”, “I’m Not”, “I Won’t”
Practice Visualization – mental rehearsal of specific actions, moments, or processes the night before, or even directly prior to events is proven to increase successful performance.
Be Persistent – recognize that challenges and failures are a part of the process. No athlete has climbed to the top without a few stumbles.

Here are some additional video resources on the topic.

Geno Auriemma on the character of player he recruits

Sport Psychology – Inside the mind of champion athletes: Martin Hagger at TEDxPerth

Marcus Rashford – Advice for Young Players

Additional Article Resource: Red Bulls-Mental toughness in athletes: what is it and how to develop grit

Kings Hammer College Commitments

Congratulations to the most recent Kings Hammer soccer players to make college commitment decisions! Remember to post your commitment to your Sports Recruits account, send a commitment photo to info@kingshammer.com, and include @kingshammer or tag Kings Hammer on any social media posts so that you can be recognized for your achievements!