When does the recruiting process begin?
The recruiting process can start as early as your sophomore year of high school. Typically this is the time that college coaches begin to get out and see prospective players compete. We strongly urge all prospective athletes to familiarize themselves with all NCAA rules and regulations regarding eligibility and recruiting by visiting the following web site:
http://www.ncaa.org/wps/ncaa?key=/ncaa/ncaa/legislation+and+governance/eligibility+and+recruiting.
Your eligibility is your responsibility.
How do I go about getting recruited by Miami University?
NCAA rules prohibit us from contacting you before your Junior year of high school so it’s important to be proactive and not wait to be contacted by us. The best way to let us know you are interested is to complete our online profile located on this web site. It is also important to keep us up to date on what tournaments you’ll be playing in so we can come see you.
What does Miami Soccer look for in a prospective player?
We assess players in four distinct areas:
Physical(speed, strength, cardio-vascular fitness, power and agility. Can readily pass all fitness tests)
Technical (fundamentally sound in all skill related areas, can play equally with both feet)
Tactical (basic understanding of the principles of play, fits our system)
Psychological (mentally tough, disciplined, good work habits, team first)
Prospective players must be strong in all four areas and possess compelling qualities in at least two of the four areas of assessment. We expect all our players to tackle, play defense and head the ball. If you can’t do these things, you can’t play here.
What’s being a soccer player at Miami University like?
It’s really, really hard. Being a member of our team requires an extraordinary level of commitment. The physical and psychological demands are all consuming, the competition for roster spots and playing time, intense. We expect Miami Soccer to be the most important thing in our players’ lives. If you are not prepared to make that level commitment, don’t come here.
What are the biggest mistakes prospects make in the recruiting process?
The biggest mistakes are usually associated with how a prospective player presents herself as a candidate for our team. We are very interested in getting to know you as an individual so it’s important to present yourself in an honest and open manner. That includes full disclosure of previous injuries or any other pertinent information about your physcial condition.
It’s also important that you be the one doing the presenting. Remember, we are recruiting you, not your mother and not your father. Parents who insist on advocating/presenting/representing their children are doing them a disservice and diminishing their chances to be recruited. We also view scouting/recruiting services as a no-no as the use of these types of services often indicates a degree of laziness or ineptitude that we are not interested in recruiting.
As a Miami Soccer player, what will my schedule be like?
First of all, it is important to note that there is no “Off season.” As a member of our team you will be working out with the team and on your own throughout the entire year.
During the fall season, practices are held Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday afternoons. Typically we practice for between 1.5 – 2.0 hours per day and on Tuesday and Wednesday this is usually followed by an hour with our strength and conditioning coach working on fitness. Fridays and Sundays are game days and Saturday is usually a light 1 hour workout. Monday is our off day. Team practices are supplemented by individual training sessions tailored to meet the specific needs of our players.
Once the fall season is over we enter a conditioning stage where players are working out with our strength and conditioning staff 4-5 days per week. Players remain engaged in individual training sessions with our coaches dedicated to improving specific areas of their game.
During the spring season we resume a normal daily team practice routine (similar to the fall) with games against local university teams scheduled for the weekends. Our spring season typically wraps up 1 week prior to final exams.
What are the fitness requirements like?
We expect our players to make a year round commitment to fitness. We are fortunate to have an outstanding strength and conditioning staff along with a world class fitness facility reserved exclusively for varsity athletes. Our players are required to pass regular, comprehensive fitness tests that are conducted throughout the year. This program includes both cardio-vascular and strength testing. Players, who do not pass, do not play and are placed in a supplemental fitness program designed to help them meet the team’s fitness standards. Ultimatley players who repeatedly fail the teams fitness tests are cut from the team. There are no exceptions to this policy. If you are player who cannot pass regular fitness tests, suffers from fitness test anxiety or are simply too lazy to do the training and hard work required to pass our fitness tests, this team is not for you.
How do you determine who plays and who does not?
Best players play. Performance is everything and those players who have been performing in training during the week will play on the weekend. Strong game performances will lead to more frequent game appearances. It’s really a very simple formula.
Are scholarships available and how are they determined?
Miami University provides a full complement of scholarships for the soccer team. We award some scholarships as part of the recruiting process and some are given out to “Walk on” players who have performed well for us. We are firm believers in the concept of earning and are always prepared to reward success. In order for a player to receive a “Raise” the following criteria must be meet:
- The money must be available. NCAA rules prohibit us from exceeding the defined scholarship limit set forth by the NCAA.
- The team must have achieved a winning record, both overall and in conference play.
- The player under consideration must have been a key component of a successful team. Key component being defined as a player we can’t live without. Undoubtedly this is a subjective interpretation made by the coaching staff.
- The player under consideration must be considered a positive influence on the team and her teammates. This includes a clean disciplinary record, being a good teammate, excellent training habits and a positive attitude.
I’ve heard of walk on prospects being “Guaranteed” roster spots with other programs. Is this a possibility at Miami?
No. We do not guarantee anybody, anything. The only guarantee you’ll receive here is the chance to compete for a spot and earn your keep. We guarantee you’ll have a chance to do this everyday in practice. We view a ”Guaranteed” spot as a guarantee that you don’t have to compete and and that runs against everything we believe in.
What Does Being a “Walk on” Mean?
A walk on is a player who is not receiving any form of athletically related grant in aid. Once here, a walk on is not treated any different than any other player on the team. Walk on’s are afforded the same opportunities in practice as scholarship players, walk on’s received the same consideration for playing time as scholarship players and walk on’s can and often do earn scholarships. Walk on’s do not sign letters of intent and walk on commitments are not publicized on NLI signing Day.