Recruiting Tips & Blog

How to Prepare for an ID Camp: What to Do Before, During, and After

Most players show up to an ID camp, play hard, and hope for the best. The players who leave with real recruiting conversations started do a bit more than that. They arrive prepared, they know how to make the most of the time they have in front of coaches, and they know what to do after the weekend ends. Here is a practical guide to getting the most out of an ID camp. Get Evaluated by 50+ College Coaches This July Before Camp: Set Yourself Up Email the colleges you are interested in — before you arrive.

The summer months are one of the most underutilized stretches of the recruiting calendar. Coaches have more bandwidth than during the fall season, communication restrictions for most divisions are at their most open, and live evaluation opportunities are at their peak. Most players treat summer as a waiting period. The ones who get recruited treat it as a working period. Here are five specific moves worth making between now and August. Get Evaluated by 50+ College Coaches This July

1. Update Your Highlight Video and Send It to Every Program on Your Target List

If you have not updated your highlight video since last fall, coaches are evaluating an older version of you.

You sent an email to a college coach two weeks ago. No response. Now what? Do you email again? Wait longer? Give up and move on? Most players stop after one email. That’s a mistake. College coaches are busy, emails get buried, and timing matters. A systematic follow-up approach keeps you on coaches’ radars without being annoying. This guide breaks down the exact email follow-up cadence that works, including templates you can adapt for your own outreach. Get Evaluated by 50+ College Coaches This July

Why Coaches Don’t Respond (It’s Not What You Think)

Before we dive into follow-up strategy, understand why coaches don’t always respond: 1.

What the NCAA Just Announced

On May 13, 2026, the NCAA Division I Men’s Soccer Oversight Committee adopted legislation splitting the men’s soccer playing season across two semesters — a significant departure from the sport’s traditional fall-only model. Pending final review by the Division I Cabinet in late June, here’s how the new structure breaks down: Fall segment: Up to 18 contests, beginning in late August and running through the Saturday before Thanksgiving Spring segment: Up to 10 contests, beginning in mid-February National Championship: Moved from December to the spring The change is effective August 1, 2027, meaning it applies to the 2027–28 season.

You’re talking to a coach who’s recruiting you hard. They say all the right things: “We love your game,” “You’d be a great fit here,” “We see you contributing right away.” But have you actually looked at their roster? Reading a college soccer roster is one of the most important research skills you can develop during recruiting. It reveals playing time opportunities, coaching patterns, and red flags that coaches won’t tell you about in recruiting conversations. This guide breaks down how to analyze a college roster so you can make smarter recruiting decisions.

Where to Find College Rosters

Every college soccer program posts their roster on the team’s athletics website.

If you’re like most soccer families navigating the recruiting process for the first time, you’ve probably asked yourself: “When should we start emailing coaches?” “Can college coaches contact freshmen or sophomores?” “What even IS a dead period?” You’re not alone. The NCAA recruiting calendar is one of the most confusing aspects of college soccer recruiting, and getting it wrong can cost you valuable opportunities—or worse, put your eligibility at risk. Here’s the good news: Once you understand the recruiting calendar and what’s allowed at each grade level, you can strategically plan your recruiting timeline to maximize exposure while staying completely within NCAA rules.