COLLEGE SOCCER
As most can guess, basketball, American football, and baseball are the most popular sports among Americans. However, "soccer" is extremely popular. Soccer has now become the most popular youth sport in the United States (especially among children). A soccer team is almost a must-have at a college as well. More than 1,700 colleges have a soccer team. 42,112 boys and 41,975 girls play soccer for a college team (as of 2020). Although many Americans already have a solid soccer base, the many international players continue to raise the level of college soccer. Accordingly, international students in particular have a good chance of receiving a soccer scholarship.
THE CHARACTERISTICS OF COLLEGE SOCCER
COLLEGE SOCCER
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Physicality: In college soccer, physicality is very important. You have to get used to gym sessions and a few running sessions.
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Professional conditions: As a college athlete, you will be treated much like a professional. This includes: Your own athletic trainer, game broadcast, nutrition before and after games, several coaches, detailed game analyzes, daily training, hotel stays and more.
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TV broadcast: Your games will either be broadcast live on TV or on the website.
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Coaching: The coaching team usually consists of more than four coaches who do the coaching job full-time. Therefore, significantly more time is spent in training and game preparation. This also makes individual communication possible.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
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You can play college soccer for a maximum of 4 years.
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During your college years, you are not allowed to earn any money playing soccer in addition to your scholarship.
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The main college season is very short and only runs from August through early December.
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Daily training and approx. 2 games per week.
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You have to keep a certain GPA in order to remain eligible to play.
PARTICULARITIES
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Unlimited changes: If you are substituted in the first half, you can return to the field in the second half. In the second section you can go back in immediately after being substituted.
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Overtime: If there is a draw after 90 minutes, there is a 2x10 minute overtime, which is decided with a golden goal. If no goal is scored here either, the game ends in a draw.
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The clock ends the game: No, it is not the referee who ends the game, but the clock. When the buzzer sounds, it's game over. So there is no stoppage time.
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Redshirt: If you are not available for the entire fall season due to an injury, bad grades or other reasons, you can keep your eligibility as a Redshirt for this year.
A TYPICAL COLLEGE SEASON
FALL SEASON
The fall season runs from August to around the beginning of December and is the most important part of the year. After about 2 weeks of pre-season, you often have two games a week. It is trained daily, whereby the training is tailored to the intensive rhythm of the games. After the game-day you have one (or more) recovery days where the focus is primarily on yoga, ice baths and other regeneration methods. After the regular season you will take part in the conference finals. A win gives you a place at the National Championships, where the best teams of the season compete for the big title. A cool bonus is that weekly awards are given to the best players and a few more awards are given out at the end of the season. Maybe you will be soon rookie of the year.
THE LEVEL IN COLLEGE SOCCER (Germany only)
The level in college soccer varies widely within one Association. Through our experience we can help you find a college with an ideal level for you, because it is often impossible for outsiders to accurately assess the level of a college team. In contrast to Europe, in the USA more attention is paid to the record, i.e. the number of wins and losses, than to a classic table with points. Roughly speaking, you can estimate the level as follows.
For men:
NJCAA: National League / Group League - Association League
NAIA & NCAA D2: regional league / group league - major league
NCAA D1: Association League - Regional League
For women:
NJCAA: regional league / group league - major league
NAIA: Association League - Regional League
NCAA D2: Oberliga - 2nd Bundesliga
NCAA D1: Regional League - 1st Bundesliga
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A special feature of the college system is that a team can neither be promoted nor relegated. Therefore, it often happens that teams from NCAA D2 or NAIA are stronger than teams from NCAA D1. In order to decide which division a team will play in, it is not necessarily the quality of the team that is decisive, but rather the size of the university. However, the best college teams can be found in the top rankings of the NCAA D1.
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THE DIFFERENT ASSOCIATIONS
In the American college system there are three different associations where you can play as an international student. Here we introduce them to you ...
NCAA
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The NCAA is the largest and best known of the three associations. The NCAA D1 basketball and American football in particular are extremely popular in the USA and often get more attention than the professionals themselves. The NCAA consists of three different divisions: D1, D2 and D3. The top teams in football can be found in D1, but the best teams in D2 are on a similar level as the middle and lower D1 universities. No sports scholarships are awarded in D3, which is why the level here is usually a little lower. However, there are also some good teams and many D3 universities are known for good academic programs. D1 schools on average award the highest scholarships because this is where the study costs are highest.
NAIA
National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics
The NAIA can be compared to the NCAA D2 in terms of performance. Unlike the NCAA, there are no different divisions in the NAIA. Another difference is that fewer sports are offered in the NAIA. Many international students receive good scholarships at NAIA colleges, and the costs are often lower than those at the NCAA. Switching from NAIA to NCAA is possible and not uncommon. So that the change goes without problems, we will be happy to help you here as well.
NJCAA
National Junior College Athletic Association
Die NJCAA ist der Verband für Junior/ Community Colleges. In einem solchen College verbringst du ausschließlich zwei Jahre und kannst im Anschluss an eine NCAA oder NAIA Universität wechseln. Die Kosten sind an einem Junior College durchschnittlich am geringsten, weshalb viele Athleten diese Option für die ersten zwei Jahre wählen. Das Niveau an einem Junior College ist oft hoch und es kommt immer mal wieder vor, dass herausragende Spieler direkt aus einem Junior College in den Profi-Bereich rutschen. Auch wenn das Ansehen der NJCAA nicht so groß ist wie bei NCAA und NAIA, kann ein Junior College durchaus empfehlenswert sein.
