Think for a moment. What is your biggest area to grow as a Soccer/Football player? Is it physical? something technical? Game understanding? Mental strength? What are you doing to work on this?

High school season is here, and most players will play 20 games without a single coach knowing they exist. Not because they aren't good enough. Because nobody told them the process. Do these four things in the next seven days: 1. Build your list. 15 schools, across D1, D2, D3, NAIA and JUCO. Honest ones, not just dream ones. 2. Get your schedule online and ready to send. A coach needs to know where and when, not just that you exist. 3. Film every game. Rough footage you can clip beats no footage, every time. 4. Send one email a day. Not twenty on a Sunday. One a day, each one written for that school. That is the whole first step, and almost nobody does it. Comment your grad year and the one of those four you have not done yet. Seeing how many people are in the same spot as you is the point. - Coach Ernie

Not a finished highlight reel. Not edited. Just film of you playing, that exists right now, that you could put in an email tonight. This is the single most common reason a coach stops reading an email. No film, no answer. If you voted for either of the bottom two, you are not behind. You just found your next job. - Coach Ernie

It has been quiet in here for a while. That changes now. Starting this week, there is a new post in OFA every single morning. No fluff. The things college coaches actually look at, and the questions you are actually stuck on. What is coming: - College Soccer Map: one state a week, and which positions its college rosters are about to lose to graduation - Honest polls on where you are in the process, so the next posts fit you - The real reasons emails to coaches get ignored, from someone who reads them Five courses in the Classroom are free to every member right now. That's 37 lessons, yours to use today. And new this week: if you want to work with me 1-on-1, there are now two paid options in the Classroom. The Recruiting Plan ($500) gets you an honest film review, your 15-school list and a 1-on-1 call. Full Season Support ($1,500) keeps me in your corner all season. Everything free stays free. Come back in, vote in this week's polls, and tell us where you are in the process. - Coach Ernie

Here's how recruiting actually works. A college coach watches you for five minutes. Sometimes less. They're not watching the whole game. They're watching you until they can answer one question: What is this player known for? Fast. Wins every header. Never loses the ball. Organises the back line. First to every second ball. Scores in the box. If the answer is "they're solid" or "they're decent" — that's not a no. But it isn't a yes either, and it's the reason a lot of good players never get the call. So answer it yourself, honestly. Drop below: • Your position • Your grad year • The one thing you'd want a coach to say you're known for And if you don't know yet, say that. In here, that's the most useful answer there is. — Coach Ernie