Chances of Walking on to a College Soccer Team

Most players on any college soccer team have been recruited by the coach. The coach will have contacted them in some way, sending them letters, emails, or calling, and/or inviting them to visit the school.

Walk-Ons

"Walk-ons" are players who have not been recruited by the coach in any way. The coach hasn't shown any interest in them nor has he invited the player to join the team prior to pre-season camp. This player "walks on" the field and asks the coach if he can join the team.

Recruited Athletes

On the other hand, a "recruited athlete" is a player with whom the coach has had some contact in the months leading up his freshman year of school. Being a recruited athlete does not mean that the player will receive a scholarship, however.

Preferred Walk-Ons

Coaches do sometimes ask a few players to walk on, and these players are considered "preferred walk-ons." If a player is told he's a "preferred walk-on," he's a step above a walk-on, but below the recruited athletes.

The coach might think these players could be good enough to be a bench player or a practice player and wants to see how he looks during camp. And, he likes his recruited players to have competition for spots on the team. But that doesn't mean the coach expects the preferred walk-on player to make the team and he's unlikely to get much scrimmage time.

Chances of Making the Team

The challenge for walk-on players is that in most cases they aren't as good as the recruited players. Otherwise, the coach would have been recruiting them-or another coach would have. It's tough for a walk-on to catch the coach's attention at tryouts if the coach didn't notice him before the player showed up on his field.

So the coach doesn't expect much from the walk-on, and even worse, he doesn't want to be proven wrong. He's picked his recruits, and if a walk-on is better than them, it calls his judgment into question. This makes the coach disinclined to see a walk-on as a viable member of his team, no matter how well they do.

Should the walk-on make the team it's unlikely he'll see the field in a game. He might not even see the field in practice. It's not even likely that you'll get to play if there are injuries.

Of course, there are times when a player has no opportunity to be seen by a coach, such as if they've had to sit out a season due to injury. In that case, a coach might look at them with a little more interest. But in the end, it's an uphill battle to see the field as a walk-on.

For more information on Walking On, see: Four Considerations if You Want to Walk On to a College Soccer Team.