Former coach helps future college players find best spot for school, soccer success
Top Student-Athlete Recruiting offers free webinar Nov. 7
By Chris Walker
Nothing is more expensive than a missed opportunity.
For prep soccer players who want to continue their careers in college, whether they be seniors who have completed their final high school soccer season or freshmen still getting accustomed to life after middle school, planning is of the essence.
To explain the process, Top Student-Athlete Recruiting will offer a free webinar at 7:30 p.m. Sunday (Nov. 7).
Click here to link to the webinar
About 18 months ago, former college coach Dan Rothert made the transition from highly successful and respected college soccer coach to helming Top Student-Athlete Recruiting. He helps prospects find their college sweet spot.
Rothert coached the men's and women's programs at Loras College in Dubuque, Ia., where he engineered 23 NCAA tournament appearances, 22 conference championships, 11 NCAA Division III Sweet 16s and five Final Four appearances. He taps into his vast knowledge to help prospective college student-athletes target the best place to study and play.
“I’ll be discussing the myths and mistakes of college soccer recruiting,” Rothert said. “The reason I started my company is to try to educate people so they can have a plan of attack if they want to continue to play in college.”
“Our goal is to help each student-athlete find an opportunity that is the best experience of their life, provide them with everything they want in a college and to propel them on the career and life path they desire,” he said. “We do this by taking an honest and personal approach that few recruiting companies do.
“We understand that so many factors go into picking a college to attend and adding a desire to play college athletics can complicate things even more. We want to help student-athletes find the educational opportunity, where they will make the impact they desire on and off field, and get the best education possible at a cost that is also the right fit.”
The webinars provide an understanding of the recruiting process.
“It’s from helping kids getting highlight videos to send to coaches, to knowing what to say to a coach and how to let them know about who they are in the right way, as well as how to target the right schools,” Rothert said. “Everyone would love to play at Ohio State, but … what’s a good school versus what’s a good school for them? Everyone sees the bright lights, which might not be as bright in soccer as they are in football, but many don’t know that.”
The online chat will explain the landscape, even for those just starting to explore the option of playing in college. It’s not hard to get lost in what can be a challenging and time-consuming process.
“You have to put in the work if you really want this and you’re not one of the top players in the country or on a club team with all kinds of exposure,” Rothert said. “You need to put in the work so that college coaches know about you, and that’s something that sometimes gets lost.
“Maybe kids don’t want to put in that work or think they’re just going to be found because they’re the leading scorer at their high school. Or maybe they’re playing against competition that’s not as good and they never will be found -- they’re still good enough to play in college, but no one knows.”
That’s where Top Student-Athlete Recruiting can help.
“I’ve landed 75 to 80 kids at different levels throughout the Chicagoland area and Midwest and we really have kids at schools from DI to NAIA and junior college. We help them throughout the process,” he said. “Everyone is different. Every kid has a different need: academically, financially, socially, and we help find the right fit for them.”
Rothert knows the kind of talent produced in the Chicagoland area and has seen many thrive in their new college homes.
At Loras, he experienced it firsthand. His last Division III Final Four men's team in 2013 had players from more than 10 Chicagoland high schools. The roster included: Kevin Cavers and Troy Wheeler, Saint Viator; Sean Elvert, Waubonsie Valley; Dan Figura, St. Charles North; Bryan Irwin, South Elgin; Pat Langan, Wheaton North; Dylan Milkent, Glenbard South; Dillon Olson, Marist; Mike Pizzello, Timothy; Jimmy Ralph, Lincoln-Way East; and Jojo Schmidt, Metea Valley.
Top Student-Athlete Recruiting works with players from all different kinds of soccer backgrounds: those who solely play soccer in high school; multi-sport prep athletes; and club players.
“I certainly think there are opportunities to play,” he said. “Without club exposure you might have to find different ways to get in front of college coaches through ID camps, go into guest play on a club team somewhere or let coaches know … they need to see you play in high school.”
Having also worked as the associate athletic director at Loras for several years, Rothert gained knowledge of scholarships, financial aid and other related subjects. That understanding has developed into another resource that can help athletes pursue college opportunities in soccer.
“I lived that world of scholarships and financial aid, so I’ve helped people save a great deal of money,” he said. “And there are little things that the kids don’t think about. You have to ask the right questions to make sure you’re going to find the right fit.”
For example, Rothert said a high school student may be sitting around watching an Ohio State football game on a Saturday and be enthralled by the huge crowd and want to be a part of that atmosphere and community. They reason that experience will require them to end their career because they don’t fit at the Division I level.
But there is an option that is only about a 10-minute drive away.
“Capital University might not be DI, but it’s a good DIII school that’s down the street from OSU,” he said. “You need to ask a lot of the right questions to make them (student-athletes) think, because a lot of times they haven’t thought of that.”
Rothert can go on and on about the times he’s gone to a game to recruit one player and a different player stands out. The first thing that comes to mind is: where is that player playing next?
Often times the response is along the lines of they decided not to play for one reason or another.
Often times the choice comes from not knowing the options.
“So many kids decide DI or bust, because they don’t know what levels there and where they fit,” he said. “There’s a place for almost everybody to play, but just playing high school or club is not going to get them there. You want to see the kids maximize their potential. If they want to play or have some inkling of playing, they have to do the (recruiting) work too.”
Click here to link to the webinar
Top Student-Athlete Recruiting offers free webinar Nov. 7
By Chris Walker
Nothing is more expensive than a missed opportunity.
For prep soccer players who want to continue their careers in college, whether they be seniors who have completed their final high school soccer season or freshmen still getting accustomed to life after middle school, planning is of the essence.
To explain the process, Top Student-Athlete Recruiting will offer a free webinar at 7:30 p.m. Sunday (Nov. 7).
Click here to link to the webinar
About 18 months ago, former college coach Dan Rothert made the transition from highly successful and respected college soccer coach to helming Top Student-Athlete Recruiting. He helps prospects find their college sweet spot.
Rothert coached the men's and women's programs at Loras College in Dubuque, Ia., where he engineered 23 NCAA tournament appearances, 22 conference championships, 11 NCAA Division III Sweet 16s and five Final Four appearances. He taps into his vast knowledge to help prospective college student-athletes target the best place to study and play.
“I’ll be discussing the myths and mistakes of college soccer recruiting,” Rothert said. “The reason I started my company is to try to educate people so they can have a plan of attack if they want to continue to play in college.”
“Our goal is to help each student-athlete find an opportunity that is the best experience of their life, provide them with everything they want in a college and to propel them on the career and life path they desire,” he said. “We do this by taking an honest and personal approach that few recruiting companies do.
“We understand that so many factors go into picking a college to attend and adding a desire to play college athletics can complicate things even more. We want to help student-athletes find the educational opportunity, where they will make the impact they desire on and off field, and get the best education possible at a cost that is also the right fit.”
The webinars provide an understanding of the recruiting process.
“It’s from helping kids getting highlight videos to send to coaches, to knowing what to say to a coach and how to let them know about who they are in the right way, as well as how to target the right schools,” Rothert said. “Everyone would love to play at Ohio State, but … what’s a good school versus what’s a good school for them? Everyone sees the bright lights, which might not be as bright in soccer as they are in football, but many don’t know that.”
The online chat will explain the landscape, even for those just starting to explore the option of playing in college. It’s not hard to get lost in what can be a challenging and time-consuming process.
“You have to put in the work if you really want this and you’re not one of the top players in the country or on a club team with all kinds of exposure,” Rothert said. “You need to put in the work so that college coaches know about you, and that’s something that sometimes gets lost.
“Maybe kids don’t want to put in that work or think they’re just going to be found because they’re the leading scorer at their high school. Or maybe they’re playing against competition that’s not as good and they never will be found -- they’re still good enough to play in college, but no one knows.”
That’s where Top Student-Athlete Recruiting can help.
“I’ve landed 75 to 80 kids at different levels throughout the Chicagoland area and Midwest and we really have kids at schools from DI to NAIA and junior college. We help them throughout the process,” he said. “Everyone is different. Every kid has a different need: academically, financially, socially, and we help find the right fit for them.”
Rothert knows the kind of talent produced in the Chicagoland area and has seen many thrive in their new college homes.
At Loras, he experienced it firsthand. His last Division III Final Four men's team in 2013 had players from more than 10 Chicagoland high schools. The roster included: Kevin Cavers and Troy Wheeler, Saint Viator; Sean Elvert, Waubonsie Valley; Dan Figura, St. Charles North; Bryan Irwin, South Elgin; Pat Langan, Wheaton North; Dylan Milkent, Glenbard South; Dillon Olson, Marist; Mike Pizzello, Timothy; Jimmy Ralph, Lincoln-Way East; and Jojo Schmidt, Metea Valley.
Top Student-Athlete Recruiting works with players from all different kinds of soccer backgrounds: those who solely play soccer in high school; multi-sport prep athletes; and club players.
“I certainly think there are opportunities to play,” he said. “Without club exposure you might have to find different ways to get in front of college coaches through ID camps, go into guest play on a club team somewhere or let coaches know … they need to see you play in high school.”
Having also worked as the associate athletic director at Loras for several years, Rothert gained knowledge of scholarships, financial aid and other related subjects. That understanding has developed into another resource that can help athletes pursue college opportunities in soccer.
“I lived that world of scholarships and financial aid, so I’ve helped people save a great deal of money,” he said. “And there are little things that the kids don’t think about. You have to ask the right questions to make sure you’re going to find the right fit.”
For example, Rothert said a high school student may be sitting around watching an Ohio State football game on a Saturday and be enthralled by the huge crowd and want to be a part of that atmosphere and community. They reason that experience will require them to end their career because they don’t fit at the Division I level.
But there is an option that is only about a 10-minute drive away.
“Capital University might not be DI, but it’s a good DIII school that’s down the street from OSU,” he said. “You need to ask a lot of the right questions to make them (student-athletes) think, because a lot of times they haven’t thought of that.”
Rothert can go on and on about the times he’s gone to a game to recruit one player and a different player stands out. The first thing that comes to mind is: where is that player playing next?
Often times the response is along the lines of they decided not to play for one reason or another.
Often times the choice comes from not knowing the options.
“So many kids decide DI or bust, because they don’t know what levels there and where they fit,” he said. “There’s a place for almost everybody to play, but just playing high school or club is not going to get them there. You want to see the kids maximize their potential. If they want to play or have some inkling of playing, they have to do the (recruiting) work too.”
Click here to link to the webinar