By Randy Vogt, Director of Public Relations, Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association
September 10, 2024-Every travel team player in the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA), from the East End of Long Island to the Canadian border, has the skills to play college soccer. Yet most of our families believe only the most-skilled can play college soccer. While it is true that Division 1 programs are looking for the best and sometimes the tallest players, Eastern New York and Long Island Junior Soccer League (LIJSL) Hall of Famer Pat Grecco, CEO of the College-Bound Athlete Scholarship Service, says there is a college soccer program for you!
“I have been placing student-athletes, mostly soccer players, into colleges for the past 30 years. There are multiple options regarding college soccer programs at various levels, many of which would be a good fit for travel team players,” Pat explained. “Sometimes ego gets in the way of players and parents who feel they have devoted lots of time and money into soccer and they should be playing at the highest level, D1. Do not have tunnel vision! There are many outstanding colleges in the various conferences. Not everyone goes to college at Harvard, Princeton or Yale but that does not mean you can’t go to college and receive a degree.”
For men and women in Division 1, there are 500 plus programs, there are over 400 D2 programs and Division 3, almost 1,000 programs, all which are NCAA-affiliated. Junior college includes over 400 soccer programs. There are other affiliations outside the NCAA including the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) with over 400 member schools, United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) with nearly 100 schools and, lastly, National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) with 100+ programs and growing.
Pat says that she places colleges and universities based on the following in importance:
1) Intended major
2) Soccer level
3) Academic standing
4) Distance from home, climate and other factors
5) Available athletic and academic scholarship opportunities
“Maybe you play competitive club soccer and you’re a very good student, then you should be looking at highly competitive academic schools like Emory University, Johns Hopkins University, the University of Chicago where your soccer can help open that heavy door to Admissions,” Pat stated. “Another situation might be that you struggle a bit in school, then perhaps your best opportunities lie with two-year junior college programs and then after two years with improved grades, you could transfer to a four-year school with an athletic or academic scholarship. Either way, there is a college soccer program for you!”
For more information, please log on to www.collegeboundathlete.com or contact Pat directly at soccervol@aol.com
With over 100,000 youth soccer players––both boys and girls––and more than 25,000 volunteers, the non-profit Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) stretches from Montauk Point, Long Island to the Canadian border. Members are affiliated with 10 leagues throughout the association, which covers the entire state of New York east of Route 81. ENYYSA exists to promote and enhance the game of soccer for children and teenagers between the ages of 5 and 19 years old, and to encourage the healthy development of youth players, coaches, referees and administrators. All levels of soccer are offered––from intramural, travel team and premier players as well as Children With Special Needs. No child who wants to play soccer is turned away. ENYYSA is a proud member of the United States Soccer Federation and US Youth Soccer. For more information, please log on to http://www.enysoccer.com/