Especially with the evolution of pay-to-play soccer in our nation, I have often wondered about the increasing numbers of international players on the rosters at all levels, NCAA Divisions 1, 2, 3 as well as NAIA programs. It’s like asking a question about the elephant in the room. But not many people in the soccer community care to comment.
With the onset of the transfer portal, I have found that the pot of gold (playing soccer in college, perhaps with an athletic scholarship) has become more and more difficult. Boys in high school seem to be the most affected by the challenges of foreign players and transfer portal players. High school girls still make up the majority on rosters at the collegiate level but this could change.
I recently helped a female player who wanted to transfer from a D-1 school, she entered the portal and, within 72 hours, had four offers from D-1 schools for a full scholarship with stipend. She was a defender, good speed, size, and a B+ student. She brought to her new program two years of solid collegiate playing experience, could a high school senior compete with her?
My friend played American football in the UK, but there was a cap on American players for each team, no more than three. When I search rosters for the student-athletes I work with, I see foreign players outnumbering American players and this is not just for D-1 programs. Should the NCAA and NAIA think about some type of caps on the international players and the transfer portal recruits? In actuality, a college coach could fill his entire roster by just recruiting foreign players and topping it off with some from the transfer portal without taking one high school player. I really hope this is not the future!
Parents are spending thousands of dollars each year in pay-to-play programs, many kids are giving up playing high school soccer but what is the outcome? Not always what they expected. I recently wrote an article on the decision to play college club soccer after not being recruited to play at the Varsity level.
I researched the current NCAA D-1 Men’s Soccer National Champion, the University of Vermont, and congratulations to them on their success. Their roster revealed players from the following countries: Germany, Canada, Spain, Israel, Hong Kong, Hungary and Gibraltar. Plus six on the roster from the transfer portal who played at D-1 colleges.
I encourage the student-athletes that I work with to have very strong academics, GPA and SAT/ACT. D-3 programs can only offer academic scholarships to a recruited player as there are no athletic scholarships from D-3 programs. I also encourage players to look at private D-3 schools known to have generous endowments.
Final thoughts: Parents, ask questions when engaging pay-to-play clubs, evaluate the driving time, perhaps having to give up playing at the Varsity high school level plus time taken away from studies. Ask the pay-to-play club what is the outcome for their high school seniors, where are they headed for college and what percentage will be playing soccer at the collegiate level. Keep eyes wide open, ask questions and be pro-active for your student-athlete.
