Club soccer in college?

I know that a lot of you on the forum have kids that go on to play collegiate soccer, but does anyone have any experience with college club soccer? We hear a lot of stories about kids on scholarship end up quitting because they don't play enough, don't like all the morning runs, don't like the time commitment etc.

There are club soccer teams at several schools that also compete against other colleges. What kind of time commitment do these girls have? What is the cost? Does the school provide any support to the club teams (uniforms, bus and hotels etc)? Do the kids have to try out or do some schools have mutiple teams? This club system actually sounds like a perfect fit for some girls. We are just wondering if the programs are worth looking into?

It's a great avenue for the girls that decide for whatever reason not to play on the school's competitive team. My oldest daughter decided to major in nursing. One of the first thing every counselor at the big schools told her was that she could not realistically play D1 soccer for more than about a year-and-a-half and keep up with the studies / schedule of the nursing program. They were all correct... and she made the right decision to put her degree first.

But she definitely still wanted to play soccer and joined the Stephen F. Austin University club soccer team. The commitment depends on how big the college's program is. Many of them (A&M, Baylor, Tech, etc.) have coaches for their teams, practice times, and tryouts. I believe the bigger colleges also have multiple teams. Some are player-coached. It is nothing like full blown collegiate soccer in terms of commitment. They do play other club college teams, of course, and also attend weekend tournaments from time to time. The universities cover the uniforms, travel, hotel stays, and some other things if I recall correctly. There is no cost to the athletes; they are representatives of the schools.

My daughter is having a blast with it. Best of all... she's currently in the top 5% of the entire university (a little brag from her proud dad), is easily retaining all of her academic scholarships, has a paying job as a teaching assistant in anatomy and physiology, and is getting the full college experience without having to dedicate her life to the sport. I would recommend the club soccer program.

JustaSport wrote:It's a great avenue for the girls that decide for whatever reason not to play on the school's competitive team.  My oldest daughter decided to major in nursing.  One of the first thing every counselor at the big schools told her was that she could not realistically play D1 soccer for more than about a year-and-a-half and keep up with the studies / schedule of the nursing program.  They were all correct... and she made the right decision to put her degree first.

But she definitely still wanted to play soccer and joined the Stephen F. Austin University club soccer team.  The commitment depends on how big the college's program is.  Many of them (A&M, Baylor, Tech, etc.) have coaches for their teams, practice times, and tryouts.  I believe the bigger colleges also have multiple teams.  Some are player-coached.  It is nothing like full blown collegiate soccer in terms of commitment.  They do play other club college teams, of course, and also attend weekend tournaments from time to time.  The universities cover the uniforms, travel, hotel stays, and some other things if I recall correctly.  There is no cost to the athletes; they are representatives of the schools.

My daughter is having a blast with it.  Best of all... she's currently in the top 5% of the entire university (a little brag from her proud dad), is easily retaining all of her academic scholarships, has a paying job as a teaching assistant in anatomy and physiology, and is getting the full college experience without having to dedicate her life to the sport.  I would recommend the club soccer program.

That sounds like a great option where these girls get to experience all the wonderful things college bring them.

I really had no idea that the colleges had club teams in addition to the "real" team. I knew several had intramural teams, but this sounds like a perfect alternative for some young men and women. I've been looking at a lot of soccer rosters from schools that friends' kids go to and schools my kids are interested in and see that a lot of teams have a lot of FR and SO, but by not nearly as many JR and SR players. There are probably a lot of reasons why, but knowing that a college club team is a good option too might help my kids with their college choices. Thank you Justasport for your input.

** Disclaimer: while I think this is good advice, it is also a shameless plug for my alma mater - the University of Dallas in Irving, TX!! :-)

I would also recommend looking into DIII, DII, or NAIA options. I don't know about DII or NAIA, but I went to a small DIII school and played soccer all 4 years. I appreciated that the UD Athletics Department understood that we were STUDENT-athletes - students first. I got to play at a really competitive level (won multiple USCAA titles and participated in the NCAA Div III tournament 2 years), but I also had the chance to focus on my studies and enjoy the social/emotional/psychological aspects of college life. I absolutely loved my college experience, and made some great friends through my soccer team as well as outside of the team. I finished my degree with good grades, and went on to attend graduate school and have had a good job since. I obviously also coach, and I love that too! I learned a lot from my college coach, and she is a huge influence on my coaching style today.

While DIII universities do not offer athletic scholarships, the academic scholarships are often very accessible. (For example, my parents paid more out of pocket for my high-achieving sister to attend UNT than they did for me to attend UD.) Also, I know that coaches at these types of schools often communicate with the admissions and financial aid offices...

Although there is a lot of talk out there about soccer scholarships, your DD is much more likely to earn academic scholarships. Be sure she focuses on her grades and schoolwork throughout junior high and high school, and she'll be set up to go to/play at any college. I remember attending a NCAA seminar during a tournament in high school, and the presenter mentioned that anyone could play college soccer - it just depended on finding the right type of program at the right type of university.


Good luck to all you parents of college-seeking DDs out there!


Becca Moreno
Dallas Texans Academy

Friend's daughter was all-world and went to a very prestigious West Coast school. Blew out her ACL for the second time and went 'club'. It was very competitive/high-level - most likely higher than anything club or ECNL here could provide here given the players involved.

They traveled to all the Pac-10 schools and it was a great alternative to Varsity.

As mentioned above, academics first! For 99% of the people - they should find a school that fits the academic or career (if known) aspirations and then see if they have a soccer team. I know that's sacrilegious on this site, but I'd bet fits the bill for most.

My son was thinking that route given his academic prowess, but, even Ivy's have stellar club situations so I don't know that you can just jump in based upon a NTX resume.

I recall my school having a rugby and rowing club - traveling to various schools and events - everyone involved had a blast.

Most all of the larger TX public colleges have club soccer. Club TX A&M women typically are one of the stronger club teams (large pool strong women soccer players).

Flatback4 wrote:Most all of the larger TX public colleges have club soccer.  Club TX A&M women typically are one of the stronger club teams (large pool strong women soccer players).

Indeed. I made the drive to Texas A&M last season to watch some of the club tournament games in which SFA was playing and spend some time with my daughter. Texas A&M and Baylor stood out as having good teams. Sam Houston was pretty good, too, for a medium size D1 college.

DTexansMoreno wrote:** Disclaimer: while I think this is good advice, it is also a shameless plug for my alma mater - the University of Dallas in Irving, TX!!  :-)

I would also recommend looking into DIII, DII, or NAIA options. I don't know about DII or NAIA, but I went to a small DIII school and played soccer all 4 years. I appreciated that the UD Athletics Department understood that we were STUDENT-athletes - students first. I got to play at a really competitive level (won multiple USCAA titles and participated in the NCAA Div III tournament 2 years), but I also had the chance to focus on my studies and enjoy the social/emotional/psychological aspects of college life. I absolutely loved my college experience, and made some great friends through my soccer team as well as outside of the team. I finished my degree with good grades, and went on to attend graduate school and have had a good job since. I obviously also coach, and I love that too! I learned a lot from my college coach, and she is a huge influence on my coaching style today.

While DIII universities do not offer athletic scholarships, the academic scholarships are often very accessible. (For example, my parents paid more out of pocket for my high-achieving sister to attend UNT than they did for me to attend UD.) Also, I know that coaches at these types of schools often communicate with the admissions and financial aid offices...

Although there is a lot of talk out there about soccer scholarships, your DD is much more likely to earn academic scholarships. Be sure she focuses on her grades and schoolwork throughout junior high and high school, and she'll be set up to go to/play at any college. I remember attending a NCAA seminar during a tournament in high school, and the presenter mentioned that anyone could play college soccer - it just depended on finding the right type of program at the right type of university.


Good luck to all you parents of college-seeking DDs out there!


Becca Moreno
Dallas Texans Academy

Great advice, Becca. With good grades and a high SAT, we found it VERY EASY to get scholarship money for our daughter. And then adding into it some of the lesser scholarships for things like leadership and specific areas of study, paying for college has become almost an afterthought. Then once a kid gets her footing in the university and shows her ongoing academic abilities, there are even more financial incentives. Most of these renew each year as long as grades remain good.

I greatly admire the relative few that can retain very good sports scholarships throughout their entire 4 years of school. Heck, I played my fair share of college soccer and certainly enjoyed it. But in the end, the odds are not so great for getting and keeping a soccer scholarship compared to academic funding. And most of these girls will come out of college and get jobs related to their majors anyway... not play for the WNT.