FC COPA
ACADEMY
A HISTORIC TRADITION OF DEVELOPING PLAYERS OF CHARACTER
HOME OF STATE, REGIONAL AND NATIONAL CHAMPION
College Pathway & Academic Guidance
At FC Copa Academy, we are committed to providing our student-athletes with the resources, guidance, and opportunities needed to achieve their academic and athletic goals—whether that means playing college soccer, securing financial assistance to help fund their education, or making an impact on their high school team. Regardless of the path they choose, we are here to support them every step of the way.
Our Director of Academic Guidance was a former guidance counselor for over 15 years and now works closely with players and their families to help navigate the college recruitment process, offering insight and guidance while ensuring that each player takes an active role in their own journey. Through the relationships our Directors and staff have built with college coaches/ programs, we provide the tools and exposure necessary for our players to maximize their opportunities.
What We Provide
-
Personalized Guidance: Personal meetings with players and parents as requested. Our staff regularly communicates with college coaches, monitors player progress, and advises athletes on the steps needed to reach their goals.
-
College Showcase Exposure: Participation in some of the nation’s most competitive college showcase events, giving players visibility with top programs.
-
SportsRecruits Accounts: Every high school player at FC Copa Academy receives a SportsRecruits account, helping them connect with college coaches and actively manage their recruitment.
-
Copa College Nights: We host annual College Nights, where players hear directly from our President and Vice President, college coaches, and former FC Copa Academy athletes about the recruiting process and how to position themselves for success.
Pathway To Success
CLICK TO TESTIMONIALS FROM OUR ALUMNI & THEIR PARENTS!
Your Path, Your Journey
While we provide unmatched resources and support, the college recruitment process is player-driven. Success in securing a roster spot, a scholarship, or making a high school team depends on a player's dedication, work ethic, and proactive approach. Our role is to guide, educate, and provide opportunities—but ultimately, each athlete must take ownership of their journey.
At FC Copa Academy, we take pride in helping every athlete, regardless of their goals, reach their full potential both on and off the field. No matter where you want to go, we are here to help you get there.
Yearly Action Plans
As you review the information there are four things to keep in mind:
-
The process is very similar to looking for a job.
-
The process operates on two parallel tracks: soccer and academic.
-
Approach the process with a team mentality: player, parents, coach and school guidance counselor.
-
Everyone has certain responsibilities, but, the player, your child needs to lead the team.
-
A positive attitude and persistence will go a long way during your child’s journey to play collegiate soccer.
When To Start
To understand when to get started, you need to work backwards. Coaches build their annual recruiting process around the official signing date, February 1st (of your Senior year).
With the above in mind, it is recommended that your child begin the process during the; BOYS – fall of their sophomore year of high school. GIRLS – spring of their freshman year of high school.
The process starts earlier for female players because schools (DI especially) look to get verbal commitments and their future classes locked in a few years in advance.
Note: NCAA regulations permit coaches to respond to prospective student-athlete inquiries, but the coaches cannot initiate contact until [September 1 of your child’s Junior year.]" rewirte this information into a similar but differently worded breakdown our our yearly action plan
Freshman Year (9th Grade)
You never get a second chance to make a first impression! Make an effort to make a good impression on your teachers as you begin a new phase in your life.
Suggested Timeline
-
-
-
-
Realize that your grades from this year matter! Colleges will see the grades you receive in ALL four years of high school. Start off strong!
-
Be organized- be sure to use your daily planner each day!
-
Get involved in extracurricular activities in and outside of school.
-
Sounds simple, but do all of your homework each night. This includes reading and studying! Every missed assignment is a zero and points you have lost. Those zeros add up and hurt your grade more than you realize.
-
-
-
Looking Ahead
-
-
-
-
Begin to discuss and research colleges with your parents. Start asking yourself questions. How far from home might you want to attend college? Do I want to attend a very large or small school? What area of study might you want to pursue?
-
When selecting classes for sophomore year, select the most challenging classes you will be able to succeed in. You want to take as many honors and AP classes as possible while maintaining a high GPA.
-
Summer before sophomore year – visit some local colleges or colleges near locations you will be on vacation. Do this to get some sense of what a college campus is like.
-
-
-
Resources
Communication with College Coaches:
Guidelines for Your College Emails
Provided below is an email template that you need to send out to any college coaches prior to attending these events. The coaches need to know that you have some interest in their school so they can make an attempt to attend your games while at these tournaments. This list of potential coaches will vary depending on your age. The younger you are, the larger your list will be and also the less likely the coaches will be to attend your games, but you need to make the effort in communication as they will put in their database. As a freshman or sophomore, your list of potential colleges should be very long right now and you should send an email to every coach of any college you might have some interest in attending. These emails should be sent a couple of weeks before each tournament, but can be even earlier as coaches are planning their schedules before each event. It is a lot of work, but it is CRITICAL that you send them.
Remember, what is provided below is only a template and needs to be edited by you to truly reflect who you are and why you might want to attend the school. Make it your own! Be Creative! Add to it! You want to boast your accomplishments as well as those of your team while keeping it relatively brief. If you are a very strong student, make mention of those numbers (GPA and SAT's) early in the email so they continue reading. Every college coach loves to see a strong student who will be a good candidate in the admissions office! If you are young and do not yet have SAT scores, that is fine, just express to them the interest you have in their school and why.
Put yourself in the position of a college coach reading your email. Does it make me want to see you play? Are you helping me understand why the school is a good academic fit for you? Do you know anything about my soccer program? Peek my interest enough to read your email in full and make a point to try to see you play.
Also, please look at the tournament website for a list of college coaches who will be attending as most tournaments have a list posted for you to work from.
These emails you are sending are often your first introduction to a college coach and how you present yourself speaks volumes to who you are. Be sure to have someone (a parent) look at your emails before you hit send! Make sure you check all spelling and use full words - ex. you, not u. It sounds crazy, but with all of the texting you are doing, proper English sometimes suffers.
Address each email to the coach by name with specific content about that school and soccer program if possible. Coaches want to know that you are aware of their program and school - not that they are part of a blast out you are sending to hundreds of coaches (even if that is the case). At this time, the game schedules have not been posted, so you need to wait until that occurs, but please create your email and have it ready to go so you are prepared. Again, this template is at the very end of this email. Be sure to copy (cc) your FC Copa Academy coach on every email you send so we are in the loop.
Template email to be sent to college coaches prior to attending each tournament - Edit to make it your own - make it personal and interesting! Make a college coach want to come see you play and also have them understand that you know something about their school and soccer program! Make sure you spell their name correctly and do not have other spelling or grammar mistakes. Please ask your parents to read your template before you start sending your emails.