by Emily Wemhoff

Step 1: Make yourself stand out from other athletes.

Both DeZeeuw and Luallin have been playing soccer from a very young age. Kropf has been playing club volleyball for 6 years.

Kropf said the best way to get noticed is to show that you have the potential to play at a higher level and that you have room for improvement.

“The college coaches want to see that your coaches have taught you good techniques and habits,” Kropf said. “Lastly, they look at how you interact with your teammates on and off the court. A player stands out if they have a good, sportsmanlike attitude and leadership skills.”

Step 2: Join a club team.

According to Kropf, college coaches roam the national volleyball tournaments in masses and that is where she was first seen.

Luallin and DeZeeuw also joined high level club teams and went to different camps. They both traveled around the country playing in national tournaments.

Step 3: Show your interest to college programs.

All three girls had to email the schools interested in them in order to establish relationships with coaches and see if there was any interest.

“I narrowed down the schools [interested in me] into a huge list and sent out emails,” Kropf said. “Over the next few months, all I did was play volleyball, with the occasional call to a coach, which I dreaded every minute of.”

DeZeeuw said she really had to stay on top of the communication or else an opportunity could have slipped away and the schools might lose interest.

Step 4: Trust and use your own coaches for advice.

According to Kropf, Luallin and DeZeeuw, their club coaches did a lot of the communication to college coaches to see if there was any interest.

“[My coach] is constantly talking with the colleges we are interested in–calling them, emailing them, speaking with them, inviting them to our games and practices,” DeZeeuw said. “[My coach] plays a huge role in all of the recruiting. Due to the NCAA rules, the college coaches can’t directly communicate with us. They can email us directly starting Sept. 1 of our junior year, and then they can’t call us until our senior year.”

Step 5: Visit different colleges.

DeZeeuw, Luallin and Kropf visited multiple schools to feel for what they wanted in a college and all three believe they have found the perfect fit for them.

DeZeeuw said it is important to look at all the different colleges you are interested in before committing.

“I think sometimes the pressure becomes a bad thing if someone commits after looking at one school and they don’t give themselves any other options,” DeZeeuw said.

Step 6: As the recruiting process starts younger and younger, be prepared to make a decision.

According to DeZeeuw, the age for soccer recruiting has gotten younger in the past 5 years because one of the biggest women’s soccer programs in the country, North Carolina, started recruiting all the best players during their sophomore and junior years. In order to compete with them, other schools had to start doing the same thing.

According to Kropf, if colleges had the choice, they would want to delay the recruiting process in order to watch the players develop. The nature of the system forces them to take their pick early. Kropf was recruited starting her freshman year, and Luallin and DeZeeuw were recruited at the beginning of sophomore year.

Step 7: Prepare for stress.

All three girls constantly had to be performing at a high level in order to get noticed by college coaches.

“There was a lot of pressure to play well at big events when there were a lot of coaches there,” DeZeeuw said.

Luallin felt overwhelmed by the recruiting process at first because she had no idea what she wanted to do for college.

Kropf was stressed because did not want to miss an opportunity and wanted to make sure she was completely satisfied with her decision before committing.

Step 8: Try to enjoy the process.

According to Kropf, originally she was frustrated that other schools would pressure her to commit so early, but eventually she realized she is glad she will not have to go through the stress of the college application process.

Luallin thinks the process can be good because it is exciting to look at different colleges and find the one that fits you the best. She says it is important to always have fun with what you’re doing.

Step 9: Keep an open relationship with your new college coach.

Kropf still has to call her coach every once in awhile to catch up. She also has to keep her grades up and get the ACT and SAT scores needed to get into Duke.

According to Luallin and DeZeeuw, they also have to continue to do well in both school and soccer and call their coaches periodically and invite them to games.

Step 10: Choose a school where you know you would be happy without the sport.

Luallin chose Oklahoma because it was the best fit for her.

“I wanted a big school that I could play soccer at that also had sororities, a good football team and was not too far from home, “ Luallin said. “Oklahoma has all of these things and I knew right away it was a good fit.”

According to Kropf, she chose Duke because she loved the entire school.

“I loved the coaches, the program, the campus, the facilities and the people,” Kropf said. “I loved it all. It was also the best fit for me because I wanted a great Division I volleyball program, but also great academics. I also have always loved the Blue Devils so its a dream come true.”

DeZeeuw chose Vanderbilt after falling in love with it after she visited.

“It is a great school, the campus is beautiful and it isn’t too far from home,” DeZeeuw said. “They have a good program and are rebuilding, and I really wanted to be a part of it.”