Be YOU.

No matter where you are in the college soccer recruiting process, there is always time to access and re-access and ask yourself, who am I? what do I want? what work am I willing to put in?

Be YOU, because YOU are enough.

That phrase is engrained in my head from a sports psychologist (and good friend) I had in college. It applies to so many things in life, but is absolutely a grounding phrase while going through the college recruiting process.

As an athlete, you have so many influences in your life. Your family, your friends, your peers and the millions of people (whether real or not) that you come across on social media. A countless number of general accounts are posting about the latest and greatest Instagram worthy women’s college soccer commitments. The friends you have are posting about where they are off to next, and what amazing opportunity they have in front of them (which may very much be true) but that is not your journey.

I am here to remind you to be YOU. Your timeline, your process, what you experience, is specific to you and you only. If you find yourself getting lost on social and constantly comparing yourself to others, take a break. If your parents are wanting to talk about the college recruiting process 24/7, set some boundaries and ask them to write down their opinions and share them with you 1-2 times a week, and not all day every day.

Look inwards. What type of experience do you want in college? Do you see yourself as someone who would only be happy if you were playing every minute of every game? Or do you know that you would be able and willing to start off at the bottom and work your way up to the top? Do you want soccer to help you get into the best academic school possible? Do you do well being far away from home (over 4 hour drive, or a flight) or being around the corner where you can go home for dinner… or bring your laundry home?! Would you thrive in larger classrooms (think auditoriums) and campuses or smaller (think seminars, small tables) and campuses?

These are all questions, and many others, that only you can answer. Yes, you can ask your family and friends for advice, and what they think, but it really comes down to the initiative you take. A helpful tip, that you may have heard before, is making a list. Not a pros and cons list, a list that includes the above questions and your written answers to those questions. Seeing this on paper helps make it real and helps you understand what you want.

If you are really lost in the recruiting process and don’t know what you want, as a third party, I can help. I can help guide you and help you figure out what is good fit for you, but also where you’d be valued at a school.

Thanks for the read, please feel free to reach out.