This article will attempt to describe everything you need to consider and understand about football scholarships and successfully getting recruited for college football.
Football scholarships still remain one of the most competitive industries in the world of sports scholarships, however, full scholarships are much more common in football than in any other sport. These scholarships a regulated by the NCAA, which means there is a large emphasis placed on academia and sport.
The majority of prospective footballers find the process of selecting the correct football college and getting noticed by a world-class coach very intimidating. The initial process of attaining a football scholarship to the USA begins with performing well during the recruitment process. The majority of prospective athletes and families perceive that recruiting does not begin until their senior or junior year; however, this is not that case. To get the best players from each recruiting class, football coaches are consistently scouting athletes during their freshman and sophomore years in high school and often much earlier.
As a general rule, football coaches are restricted by law in contacting prospective footballers during early high school. However, they can view online profiles of athletes and watch video of them if this material is available. That is why it is recommended that anyone wishing to develop a footballer career should create an online profile and get there information noticed so that coaches can view early and involve the potential candidate in their decision making process.
Getting involved in the recruitment process
It is generally accepted that high-school student athletes in the USA are at a perceived advantage in comparison to international students for football scholarships. These students will have had a certain degree of exposure to professional coaches before the recruitment process begins.
US-based professional coaches generally have contacts within University programmes and scouts may be able to track up-coming talent easier though news or competitions.
On the other hand, each year, very talented international prospective footballers receive football scholarships to the USA. Whichever avenue students choose to take to engage in the recruitment process, the earlier you begin and the more effort and time which you put in, the more likely you are to achieve success with a football scholarship to USA.
International student athletes have a few options available to them once they decide that they would like to be considered for a sport scholarship to study in the US:
The first option is the “do-it-yourself” approach, contacting university coaches directly to inform them of your interest in their programme and of your talent. For suggested steps for this approach, please see our handout on Sports Scholarships.
The second option is to work with a sport scholarship agency or placement service to connect with US universities actively seeking international student athletes and offering scholarships. These organisations will charge a fee for their assistance, but generally offer a comprehensive service that can make navigating the often complicated recruitment process clearer and offer student access to their network of coaches.
In conclusion, a football scholarship to USA is a dream of many and with the right state of mind, determination and commitment anyone can make it happen. These particular scholarships are very competitive, require training every day and often produce world class players. The best advice is to take advantage of a football scholarship to USA if you can. You’ll improve as a soccer player in an incredibly short period of time and as a person.