Soccer recruiting-what we are up against

[mustangbill67]

One of the top highschool players in the country, Omar Gonzales, a 6-3 MF from Dallas has already committed to Maryland. This article says a lot about where Maryland, Indiana and UCLA are as far as recruits are concerned. We really need an upgrade to our facilities to compete at the highest level.

High-Profile Maryland Is Reaping Recruiting Rewards

By Dan Steinberg
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, December 9, 2005; Page E09

During his summer break, Maryland midfielder A.J. Godbolt conducted an informal question-and-answer session with members of his former club soccer team in Austin. As he talked with the players, who ranged from pre-adolescents to high school seniors, he came to a few surprising realizations.

His audience knew the names of his Maryland teammates. They knew of his head coach, Sasho Cirovski. They knew of his assistant coach, Rob Vartughian. And they were asking Godbolt to put in a good word.

"Tons of 'em were saying that, all of them, 'Talk to Rob about me, talk to Rob about me,' " Godbolt recalled this week. "You should have seen it, 12- and 13-year-olds, 'I want to go to Maryland when I get older, I want to go to Maryland I get older.' These kids were from Austin, Texas!"

With the top-seeded Terrapins (17-4-2) preparing to play in their fourth consecutive College Cup this afternoon in Cary, N.C., such long-distance recognition should perhaps be expected. Strong facilities, national exposure, coaching success and aggressive recruiting have allowed Cirovski to assemble teams filled with elite prospects from across the country. The 13-man rotation that recorded a quarterfinal victory over Akron last weekend included three players from California and two each from Ohio and New Jersey. Player of the year candidate Jason Garey, the Terps' career leading scorer, is from Louisiana. Godbolt, the Texan, leads the team with 12 assists. Freshman Graham Zusi, whose four goals are fourth on the team, is from Florida.

"If you look at anybody else's roster, I think we have the most diverse roster, with people from all around the United States," said freshman forward Robbie Rogers, a Southern California product. "Especially now, I really think that Maryland, Indiana, UCLA -- when [recruits] think of college soccer, that's what they think of."

In fact, ACC powers have traditionally lured players from across the country and beyond. The Clemson team that will face New Mexico in today's second game, for example, has regulars from Ireland, Jamaica, New Mexico, Texas and New Jersey. New Mexico, on the other hand, starts four players from Albuquerque, while Southern Methodist -- Maryland's opponent today -- started eight Texans in its quarterfinal win over North Carolina.

Partly this is a product of geography. New Mexico and Southern Methodist are the only Division I men's soccer programs in their respective states, and thus can monopolize local recruits. In contrast, there are 10 Division I teams in Maryland and the District, and with most of the ACC's other traditional powers also within a four- or five-hour drive, coaches are almost forced to recruit nationally.

And partly this is because Maryland is fourth in NCAA history with 10 final four appearances, and is reaping steadily more television coverage and national recognition as a result. The Terps' four straight final four appearances have taken them to Texas, Ohio, Southern California and North Carolina. Four of their regular season games this season were televised; today's will be broadcast by ESPN2.

"There's an amazing amount of interest from kids from all over the country now: 'Hey, I saw you on TV,' or 'I saw you at the College Cup last year,' or 'I know one of your players from this club,' " Cirovski said. Recruiting is "never easy, but it's a lot easier. Any time we call a kid, we're right in the top one or two immediately, so that's a pretty good place to be."

The California connection, in particular, has helped the Terps strengthen their talent pool. Midfielder Maurice Edu, a Californian who has started 21 games this year, arrived in College Park last fall. This year's recruiting class, which was ranked second in the nation by http://CollegeSoccerNews.com , included starting goalkeeper Chris Seitz and starting forward Rogers, both Southern Californians and veterans of U.S. national youth teams.

When Seitz first heard from Maryland, he dismissed the idea of moving across the country instead of attending UCLA, the national power 200 miles from his home town; "I was pretty focused on the West Coast," he said.

But Cirovski was persistent. He followed up with Seitz's club coach when initial mailings didn't yield a response. He urged Seitz to take an unofficial visit to Maryland. He flew to California on the first day he was allowed to make contact with recruits. He showed Seitz and his parents a highlight film that emphasized Maryland's recent success; Seitz's father, Michael, had in fact watched the Terps' 2003 final four appearance on television. And Cirovski eventually got a verbal commitment before last season even began.

Rogers received the same treatment last winter. He had planned on "pretty much just going to UCLA, because that's what everyone does in California," until Cirovski's recruiting push began.

"He talked to me about the whole program and how they'd been in the final four in the past three years," Rogers said. "That's just what really caught my eye."

The Terps will play this weekend without defender Kenney Bertz, who fractured an orbital bone against Akron and had surgery this week. They have lost in the national semifinals three years in a row. But regardless of whether this is the year they break through, Cirovski said his recruiting message won't change.

"We want to always get the best players from this area, but we're also going to go find the best players nationally," he said. "You're not selling a promise any more; you're not selling something that you hope for. It's here and it's real."

[No Cal Pony]

no doubt it is tough to recruit against the likes of maryland and ucla. In the case of maryland, prior to the arrival of cirovski, they were not a strong program. it reflects the fact that the school decided to enhance the programs, and has the funding. (again, a large state school.) the mid-atlantic zone is also a ripe area for soccer, and long has been. there are number of other factors that SMU cannot compete against. Improving the facilities would help, but it is always about exposure. (around here in nc, that is important to the unc programs. plus, the state inacted a law which allows the schools to consider the "student-athletes" from out of state to be charged in-state tuition. Save the programs, especially non-revenue a ton.)

I am proud of our program and players.

Go Ponies!

[HixsontoLeVias]

...maybe the kid just wanted to go away to school, play for the national champs....our so called "weak facilities" sure have not hurt our talent pool and success over the last 5 - 10 - 15 ++ years...I say, spend $$$ on bball and fball, if we need to expand the soccer complex, what is return, why, and who benefits, not sure we need bigger stands, if tourney games is desire, how can we expand field size, is that ressonable?

[The PonyGrad]

The glass is also half full...

We now have more exposure from our recent College Cup trip and TV and we are the only game in town (state.) Plus we are a young up and coming team.

I do not think you need to feel sorry for what we have to sell.

[EastStang]

We have a built in advantage for kids who want to stay close to home in the DFW area (one of the better areas for soccer). However Coach H seems to find great players from Florida, Ohio, and Hawaii. We have a National reputation, and our local monopoly helps us keep that reputation. The DFW climate is quite similar to the mid-Atlantic climate except slightly warmer, so that is also no hindrance.

The crowd I saw from Maryland was loud and obnoxious. We don't need new facilities to create that atmosphere at our games (only for students to show up). That is an area that we need to address more than facilities. We need to get over our Dallas "cool" and get rowdy.

[PonyPride]

Absolutely -- "The Crew" (Maryland's traveling band of fans) was vocal and loyal, traveling down to College Cup. Would be great to see a group like that develop at SMU.

[mustangbill67]

Granted SMU has a very successful college soccer program with many very good and some great players. Over 30 years we have regularly gone to the NCAA tourney but have only been to the final four twice I believe. We have also regularly had a few players graduate to the professional ranks. This is all good but should we sit back and be satisfied? Whether you recognize it or not, there seems to be a small elite level of college soccer programs above ours, which is discussed in the article. These schools regularly get more than their share of the top national youth players and are recognized as the place to go if you have professional aspirations. My question is simply what tweaks to our program and facilities do we need to compete at this ultra elite level. You may already think we are there but based on many years of following soccer at all levels I do not believe we are.

As to directing the bulk of our resources to FB and BB, this is a question of what value does the soccer program bring to the overall athletic program. I am an ardent SMU FB and BB fan with season tickets to both and want both programs to excel. However, I believe that the exposure generated by a nationally recognized elite soccer program would be very beneficial to our FB and BB programs in terms of athletic program recognition and marketing that would help in FB and BB recruiting. This is especially true in view of the ever increasing popularity of soccer in America. Who knows maybe one day college soccer will be a revenue sport.

[EastStang]

Bill - atmosphere at games is the single most important recruiting element. If we have a few parents and a couple of fans at games, and no real passion, then we are not going to land the top recruits that you yearn.

[mustangbill67]

Bill - atmosphere at games is the single most important recruiting element. If we have a few parents and a couple of fans at games, and no real passion, then we are not going to land the top recruits that you yearn.

Fully agree. How to market this program in the metroplex and to our students was a discussion in a previous thread. How to strengthen our marketing in all our athletic programs seems to be an on-going issue.

[50's PONY]

2006 Commitments



SOUTHERN METHODIST
Leone Cruz (Texas) FC Texas Black (Texas)
Casey Hibbs MF
Brenham (Texas) Texas SC (Texas)
Craig Hill GK
San Antonio Reagan (Texas) Lonestar SC (Texas)

[mustangbill67]

I am sure Hibbs and Hill are excellent players but Cruz is the one we need to be excited about. He is a highly regarded player on the national scene that numerous major programs were interested in. He is currently on the FC Texas Club that is a youth organization affiliated with the MLS FC Dallas. A great start to the recruiting season.