Youth Soccer News: Cal South Puts Players First @ College Showcase
US Youth Soccer State Associations help grow the game of soccer and provide key opportunities for players to reach for their dreams.
US Youth Soccer’s State Association in Southern California is Cal South — well known for outstanding player development with more 204,000 registered members and 67 National Championships to their credit, Cal South is dedicated to providing opportunities to showcase their players to top college coaches.
Cal South‘s 10th annual College Showcase Weekend was held this past weekend, May 2-3, 2015, at the phenomenal SoCal Sports Complex in Oceanside, CA.
Men’s and Women’s college coaches from across the country came to evaluate Cal South’s top competitive teams for potential recruits. With 167 US Youth Soccer Far West Regional titles, 71 ODP Region IV Championships and 31 ODP National Championships, college coaches know that Cal South players have talent.
In the past, Cal South has held the College Showcase Weekend during National Cup Olders (U14-U19) Sweet-16 & Quarter-final elimination weekend. For 2015, the College Showcase Weekend was shifted to the final weekend of Round 2 group play to allow college coaches to see more teams, players, and games.
Steve Hoffman, Cal South Director of Coaching Education and Player Development said, “Cal South is one of the most forward thinking states in the country when it comes to promoting the beautiful game.” Hoffman often speaks with college coaches on their roster needs and last year’s Showcase drew over 100 college coaches.
Cal South rolled out the red carpet for college coaches, providing an exclusive hospitality tent with food, drinks and a shaded area with tables & chairs so they could relax when off the pitch. For speedy transport between fields, Sharon Giovanni, College Coaches Coordinator, provided rides in golf carts for college soccer coaches who needed to get between fields quickly in order to evaluate their lists of potential recruits.
What did the College Coaches Think?
Jason Burnett, Brown University – “For us at Brown we typically get guys from California and we’re trying to get more guys from California. We think that it’s a pretty good place for us to recruit and I think we are looking forward to recruiting here more often in the future.”
Joslyn Shoop, Loyola Marymount University – “Cal South, I’d say, is an important place to come and scout players. First, because of the talent level; we find the majority of our college roster is made of players from Southern California. So this is a big weekend, as they get closer to the championship games, to come out and evaluate players.”
Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Men’s Assistant Coach Shaun Harris was also in attendance and appreciated Cal South’s attention to detail over the weekend. “Cal South has done a great job arranging this venue and this weekend,” said Harris. “The college game has evolved quite a bit recently. It’s a very different game than it used to be, and our recruiting has had to change. Soccer has so many different tiers, and it’s great to be able to see games and teams at a bunch of different levels. It’s really convenient to have so many games in one location. This college weekend from Cal South has been great for all of us college coaches. They treat us really well.”
Spotlight on a Cal South Competitive Team:
Paul Dougherty’s RSF Attack Academy B98 team competed in the Boys Under 16 age group in the Cal South College Showcase weekend.
Coach Dougherty’s youth soccer players are all sophomores and juniors in high school, deep in the recruiting process and eager to play in front of college coaches and took full advantage of the showcase by preparing special handouts for the college coaches and a website with additional player information. The successful youth soccer team went undefeated in Round 1, and earned their coveted spot in Round 2 for the College Showcase Weekend. In Round 2, the team went undefeated again, moving onto the round of 16 elimination game this weekend, on May 9th.
Coach Dougherty prepared his players for the Cal South National Cup and the College Showcase Weekend — Here are Dougherty’s insights on his team’s performance and preparation:
SoccerToday: Congratulations on your team’s success through the first two rounds and good luck this weekend. Six wins is very impressive. What were the keys to your team’s success over those two weekends?
Dougherty: The key to weekend starts by getting the level of intensity up after high school, eliminating any bad habits and making higher demands for the boys to put into the practices leading up to National Cup.
SoccerToday: How did you prepare the boys for the college weekend to maximize their exposure to college coaches?
Dougherty: In the weeks leading up to this college showcase, I’ve talked to the boys about who to effectively communicate with college coaches. The boys selected college programs of interest, and they’ve been emailing and calling those coaches. My players then let me know which coaches they have contacted, and I followed up with those specific coaches.
SoccerToday: What impressed you about Cal South’s College Showcase weekend this year?
Dougherty: I was impressed with the amount of college coaches on the sidelines. I think it’s always an extra incentive when someone makes an effort to watch you. The boys have been around it long enough now to play their normal game.
SoccerToday: Cal South provides rosters of every team at college weekend. What sort of recruiting materials does your team use to make sure college coaches know more about the players on your team?
Dougherty: Our team has a recruiting handout that our team manager gives to coaches on the sidelines of tournaments and showcases. The recruiting flyer for college coaches has information for every player on the team as well as the link to our team’s recruiting website.
College coaches have been very receptive and appreciative of this additional information. It is important to go the extra step – this is something I always teach my players — and it makes a difference.
The Cal South National Cup Olders Division will continue next weekend with the “Sweet 16” and quarter-finals back in Oceanside May 9-10. The winning teams then move onto the semi-finals in Ventura, California the following weekend. National Cup champions will be crowned May 17th in Ventura.
