Bret Simon, Head Coach Stanford Men’s Soccer

How do you make a decision between two or more applicants that are on paper very similar academically and athletically?

We look for three things. We’re looking for people who aspire to do something in the sport. We want people who really love the game, and are passionate about playing. Stanford offers so many wonderful opportunities that it could be easy for someone to come here, and have their athletic experience drop on their list of priorities. We’re looking for the kids who will...

Second, we have to find people who also enjoy academics. Typically, the person who happens to be very bright but isn’t inspired academically either doesn’t get admitted to Stanford or they don’t get the most out of their experience here. We’re surrounded by people at Stanford who are really excited about learning.

Third, we really like competitive people. We want people who really like to win.

How do you know if someone has the competitive edge you’re looking for?

We see it when they play. They live and die by what happens on the field. When a team gets behind, I look for the kids who respond by playing harder and raising their intensity level. I look for how players lead on the field and how they direct others and communicate…

Frank Keefe, Head Coach Yale Swimming & Diving

Approximately how many applicants that you recruited will get accepted this year with the expectation to swim at Yale?

We can support 8 men and 8 women each year. But, we probably have 12 – 17 freshman men and 12 – 17 freshman women each year that want to swim when you include the “walk-ons” that I probably spoke to, but they didn’t receive an official recruiting trip or get any admissions support from me.

What percent of your recruits get accepted early action?

Usually all but one or two of our recruits are accepted early action.

As you review a prospects background, what specifically do you look for?

We enter all the kids who contact us and who respond to the information we send them into a database which is usually about 700 men and 700 women. The first time we look at the database is in June because you don’t have all of the academic information and times that you need to look at until then.

The first cut we make is to look for kids who scored 650 or above on their SAT in Writing, Reading, and Math, a 31 on their ACT’s and a 4.0 or above weighted GPA. Then, I’ll look at my needs and see what strokes we need to recruit and see how fast these kids go in the strokes that we need. At this point, we’re down to about 150 men and 150 women. When we look further into their academic background, we eliminate about 50% because they’re really not academically qualified to get into Yale or they’re not fast enough. At this point, the coaches contact the 75 men and 75 women to see who is really interested in Yale.

The times we consider recruitable are…

Tara Erickson, Head Coach Oregon Women’s Soccer

What advice would you give high school student-athletes in their freshman, sophomore, and junior year?

Overall, I advise kids to be proactive when it comes to college. Not just athletically, but academically, too. Don’t just send a letter, but follow-up on the correspondence that you do send out.

Freshman – cast your net really wide and start thinking about what schools interest you.

Sophomores – Start narrowing your focus on the schools you like? Identify additional schools like those you like and contact those coaches and follow-up on your correspondence. Go watch those teams play if you have the opportunity to see what kind of style they play and if you would be comfortable playing that style of soccer.

Juniors - Ask the tough questions – What positions are the coaches looking for in your recruiting year? If they’ve seen you play, ask them what they think? Are they recruiting for your position? Do you fit into their plans? Will you earn a scholarship? You want to know the answer to all of these questions as soon as possible so that you can…

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