College Soccer Season’s Ending & Recruiting Is About to Begin: How to Prepare Before December Showcases
Intro: The Quiet Before the Storm
As the women’s college soccer regular season winds down and conference tournaments wrap up, a switch flips behind the scenes.
Beginning in the next few weeks, college coaches will shift from managing their own teams to filling next year’s rosters — and that means recruiting is about to heat up.
If your player has big December events on the horizon — Surf Cup, National League, ECNL, or GA showcases — now is the moment to tighten things up.
Coaches will be catching up on film, building travel lists, and finalizing which players they’ll evaluate in person.
Here’s how to make sure your daughter’s name and video land on the right screens before the next wave of recruiting begins.
1️⃣ Update the Highlight Video — Even If It’s Not Perfect
College coaches aren’t looking for Hollywood edits. They want to see progress.
A clean, updated 3–4 minute video filmed in the last 90 days shows current form, game pace, and confidence.
💡 CSC Tip: Start strong — lead with your player’s name, number, grad year, position, and club team on screen for three seconds. End with clear contact info.
If you already have one from the summer, swap in two or three recent clips and re-upload it. You don’t need to start from scratch — you just need to look current.
2️⃣ Email Coaches Now — Not the Week Before the Showcase
Every coach will get 200+ emails the week before a major showcase. The earlier yours hits, the better chance it gets opened and bookmarked.
Send a short, player-led message introducing your daughter, linking her highlight video, and mentioning the upcoming showcase schedule.
📨 CSC Tip:
Subject line: Updated Highlights: Player Name & Number | Grad Year | Position | Club | GPAKeep the email under 150 words. Coaches don’t have time to read novels.
Follow up once the week of the event with your game schedule. That’s it. Two emails, well-timed, are far more effective than ten ignored ones.
3️⃣ Review Your Target School List
This is a good time to prune and refine. Many families carry a “wish list” that’s out of sync with reality — academically, geographically, or athletically.
Focus on schools that actually fit your player:
Programs that have shown prior interest or watched your team
Schools within your preferred academic range
Locations your player would genuinely be happy living in
🎯 CSC Tip: Aim for a balanced list — 5 dream, 10 realistic, 5 safety programs. Colleges in your region are more likely to recruit your player.
4️⃣ Stay Organized During Showcase Season
Between travel, emails, and multiple tournaments, communication can blur.
Keep a simple spreadsheet tracking:
Who you emailed
When
Any coach responses
What they said
That log becomes gold when you start sending updates or re-engaging schools in January.
If you don’t have a system yet, our Recruiting Toolkit includes an easy-to-use Email + Contact Tracker you can download and start using today.
5️⃣ Don’t Panic If You’re Late to the Game
Remember: most coaches are just now turning full attention back to recruiting. Some will wait until they see what’s available in the upcoming transfer portal.
Players who stay proactive from late October through January often make the strongest impressions — because their materials are fresh, their communication is timely, and their momentum carries straight into winter ID camps.
⏰ CSC Tip: Treat this as your “pre-season for recruiting.” Show up ready when coaches start watching again.
Closing:
The next 6–8 weeks are an important stretch of the year for exposure and communication.
If you take two hours this week to clean up your player’s video, draft a few emails, and refine your target list, you’ll be ahead of 90% of families by the time December showcases arrive.
If you need a roadmap, my College Soccer Recruiting Playbook walks you through every stage — from first email to final decision — with ready-made templates and trackers that make the process easier.
👉 Download the Playbook + Recruiting Toolkit here!