# Brava — Full Site Content > Brava builds professional recruiting profiles for women's soccer athletes. One athlete, one link, one price ($349) — a coach-verified profile plus the recruiting toolkit (benchmarks, program explorer, coach contacts, profile view tracking). Built for Class of 2027–2030 ECNL families. This file concatenates Brava's public marketing pages as markdown, intended for single-fetch ingestion by large language models. Source pages: [/](https://bravamade.com/), [/pricing](https://bravamade.com/pricing), [/contact](https://bravamade.com/contact), [/get-started/](https://bravamade.com/get-started/), [/sample/](https://bravamade.com/sample/), [/recruiting-questions](https://bravamade.com/recruiting-questions), and the [/research/](https://bravamade.com/research/) section. --- ## Home — https://bravamade.com/ **Tagline:** Women's Soccer Recruiting. She did the work. Make sure coaches see it. Elite presentation for the serious recruit. Built to look like the programs you're chasing; engineered to get the second look. ### Key differentiators - **Instant legitimacy.** Coaches decide in seconds. Hers looks like a top program made it — not a template, not a form. - **Coach-backed.** Skip the "parent-reported" eye-roll. Her club coach is named on the profile, signs off on every stat, and gives coaches a real person to call. - **D1-quality design.** A profile that earns its place in a coach's inbox. Pro photo treatment, coach-labeled film, every detail dialed in. ### What coaches see Open it on a phone. The profile loads like a real recruiting site, not a Google Doc or forwarded PDF. Verified stats up top, coach-labeled film below, and her club coach's email. There's nothing to log into and nothing to download. Coaches open the link, find what they need, and reach out to her. ### How it works — three steps 1. **You send.** Game film links, her position's stats, and your club coach's contact info. Ten minutes on your phone. 2. **We build.** We label each of her clips, polish her photos, verify her stats with her club coach, and write her bio in her voice. About a week. 3. **You share.** One link to send any college coach. Tracking shows you when they open it. Plus the tools to find the right programs in the first place. ### The recruiting toolkit When the profile goes live, you get the full toolkit: everything it takes to find the right programs and get in front of them. - **See where you stand.** Benchmark your athlete's stats against other players competing for the same programs. Know which division is realistic and where she has room to target up. - **Find programs that fit.** Browse D1, D2, NAIA, and junior college programs by division and region. Including programs most families overlook — and shouldn't. The JC landscape has changed; full scholarships are available, and most families don't know to look. - **Know who to contact.** Get the name and email of the right coach at each program. Not the general athletics inbox — the person making recruiting decisions at your athlete's level. - **See who's watching.** Track which coaches have opened the profile. Know when to follow up, and when to move on to the next program. --- ## Pricing — https://bravamade.com/pricing **One profile. One price. $349.** Everything she needs for a year of recruiting. ### What's included - **The profile:** polished action photos and a headshot, position-specific stats verified by her club coach, a bio in her voice, and labeled clips so scouts know what they're watching. - **The delivery:** a single link that stays live for 12 months, with a clean preview card when she texts it. Loads on any phone in seconds. - **The process:** ten minutes of questions on your phone, then we handle the rest. You see a review round before anything goes live. - **The toolkit:** benchmarks against D1, D2, D3, and NAIA, programs matched to her level, coach names and emails, and daily view counts. Included the moment her profile goes live. ### Add-ons - **Keep the profile live — $199.** Recruiting rarely wraps in 12 months. Renew so the link stays live and coaches who saved it can still open it. - **Profile refresh — $149.** Add new film and updated stats. Coaches checking back see where she's been and where she's going. - **Rush turnaround — $149.** Profile live in 48 hours. For families with a camp or showcase deadline. - **Sibling set — $299/profile.** For families with more than one daughter playing. Each profile in the set is $299 instead of $349. We work with Class of 2027–2030 ECNL families. About a week from signup to live. --- ## Contact — https://bravamade.com/contact **Talk to Ben.** I built Brava. I read every email and answer most the same day. Most parents who reach out want to know if their athlete is at the right stage, what they actually get for $349, or what realistic recruiting looks like for their daughter's level. Happy to talk through any of it. If you'd rather just start, the form takes about ten minutes on your phone. We take it from there. **Email:** benjaminsiverly@gmail.com --- ## Get Started — https://bravamade.com/get-started/ **Step in.** Three fields, no commitment. We build one recruiting profile at a time. Start the conversation. The full intake (where we collect game film, stats, and club coach contact info) comes after we've confirmed fit and you've decided to move forward. --- ## Sample profile — https://bravamade.com/sample/ A full athlete profile rendered for a fictional player so families and coaches can see what a finished Brava profile looks like before signing up. ### Maya Chen — Central Midfielder, #14 - **Club:** SoCal Blues ECNL - **Class of:** 2028 - **Height:** 5'7" ### Coach attestation Verified by Club Coach **Sarah Martinez**, ECNL Head Coach, SoCal Blues. Coaches can email her directly from the profile. ### Stats (ECNL Regular Season 2025–26) | Stat | Value | Verification | |---|---|---| | Goals | 7 | Coach-verified | | Assists | 10 | Coach-verified | | Minutes | 1,240 | Coach-verified | | Starts | 18 | Coach-verified | | Chances Created | 24 | Coach-verified | | Height | 5'7" | Entered by athlete | | GPA | 3.7 | Entered by athlete | | SAT | 1280 | Entered by athlete | ### Footage Coach-labeled clips embedded from YouTube. Each clip is tagged by skill, opponent, and date (e.g., "Goalkeeper Passing · SoCal Blues · March 2026") so college coaches know what they're watching before they press play. ### Photos A polished headshot plus action photos: winning a tackle, celebrating a goal, scanning the field with the ball at her feet. ### Bio (in the athlete's voice) > I play the game two passes ahead. That's what my coaches have told me since I was 12, and it's still what I do best — read the shape of the defense, find the seam, and put the ball where my forward is about to be, not where she is now. > > I've played center mid for SoCal Blues ECNL since U15. This season I finished with 7 goals and 10 assists, mostly because I finally started trusting my right foot on shots from the top of the box. My left is still better. I'm working on it. > > Off the ball, I win tackles I probably shouldn't. I'm 5'7" and not the fastest player on the field, but I read passing lanes early enough that speed doesn't matter as much. My coach calls it "smart pressure." I just call it paying attention. > > I want to play in college. I'm looking at programs where the midfield runs the system — possession-based teams that build from the back and trust their 8 to make decisions. I want to be coached hard by people who expect a lot. > > Academically I carry a 3.7 and I'm interested in Kinesiology. I want to understand how athletes move and why. Feels like a natural fit for someone who spends every game watching how 21 other people move around a field. --- ## Recruiting questions — https://bravamade.com/recruiting-questions **36 questions ECNL families ask, grouped by the job to be done at each step of the recruiting cycle and the obvious anxiety underneath it.** The page is searchable on bravamade.com. Sourced from interviews with a former Cal Poly assistant coach and ten years of D1 recruiting experience. Last reviewed May 21, 2026. ### Stage 01 — Choose the system **The job:** pick the club, league, and pathway she'll play in. **The anxiety:** "What if her club, league, or region is silently capping her ceiling?" **How we help:** A coach-verified profile travels the same across ECNL, GA, DPL, and high school. The league becomes the wrapper, not the asset. #### What is the difference between ECNL, Girls Academy, and DPL? All three are top-tier club platforms for women's soccer. ECNL has the highest density of college coaches at its national events; member clubs are required to attend, which is what concentrates the scouting. Girls Academy is a parallel elite platform with its own national events and a player-voice advisory model. DPL is GA's second tier and is actively scouted by D1 and D2 coaches. The platform name matters less than the visibility it generates. A profile built well travels the same across all three — the league is the wrapper around the athlete, not the asset itself. #### Should we switch clubs to a more visible one mid-cycle? Switching mid-cycle costs more than most families realize. A new club means a new club coach reference, a new season of in-system trust, and usually a year before the new coach will speak about the athlete with conviction on a phone call to a college program. The decision is worth it only when the current club coach is unwilling to verify stats, won't pick up calls from college coaches, or is actively blocking outreach. If the current club delivers the schedule and the verification, switching for "more visibility" usually doesn't pencil out. Visibility is solved by the profile and the schedule, not by the club's name on the jersey. #### Do regional ECNL events matter, or only nationals? Both. National events concentrate the densest scouting, but regional events are where most non-D1 staffs do their work. D2, D3, NAIA, and junior college coaches scout events within driving distance of their campus and rarely justify a flight to a national showcase. The implication: a regional event is the place to make sure her profile is already in those coaches' inboxes the week beforehand. National events are where she gets evaluated against the top of her age group. Regional events are where the offers actually get made. #### Is "playing up" an age group actually worth it for recruiting? Sometimes, and only for two specific reasons. The first is that the older age group plays at a higher league tier (the U17s play ECNL National while the U16s play ECRL). The second is that the older age group plays in front of more college coaches because the older birth year is the current recruiting class. Playing up purely as a development experience can backfire if it means starting fewer minutes — coaches discount stats from a player who isn't getting consistent minutes, and they discount the player who isn't on the field when they show up to evaluate. #### What if her club coach won't help with recruiting? First, understand whether "won't help" means won't write a letter (common, low-stakes), won't pick up calls from college coaches (serious), or won't verify stats (deal-breaker). College staffs call club coaches. If yours doesn't answer the phone, the profile loses most of its value before it gets opened. The fix is either to escalate to the club director or technical director, who usually has a stake in college placement and will pick up, or to name the high school varsity coach as the reference instead if she has standing minutes there. The worst path is to leave the parent's email as the only contact — that profile gets read as unverified by default. ### Stage 02 — Timing **The job:** figure out when this actually starts. **The anxiety:** "Are we already behind?" **How we help:** A finished profile is the move you can make at any age. It's what a coach asks for the first day she's legally allowed to talk to them — and what they review long before that. #### How early do D1 women's soccer coaches actually recruit? D1 women's soccer coaches start identifying players in 9th and 10th grade. By the end of sophomore year, the top programs have a working short list. NCAA rules block formal contact before June 15 after sophomore year, but that just shifts the work earlier — coaches scout, take notes, and call club coaches long before they are allowed to call the athlete. The implication for late physical or technical developers: the standard "she will get seen" timeline does not work. She needs verified measurables and film in front of coaches the moment they can engage. #### When can my daughter legally talk to a college coach? The standard NCAA D1 rule for women's soccer is that coaches cannot initiate phone, text, or in-person contact with a recruit before June 15 after her sophomore year. Athletes can email coaches earlier; coaches just cannot reply with anything personalized. They can send camp invitations and generic recruiting questionnaires before that date, and those are not signals of real interest. D2 and D3 rules are looser — most contact restrictions are gone by junior year. The practical implication: a finished profile sent in March of sophomore year sits in a coach's inbox until June 15, when a personalized reply becomes legal. That delay is not a problem — that's the recruiting cycle working as designed. #### Is freshman year too early to email coaches? No. But the goal of a freshman-year email is different from a junior-year email. As a freshman, the realistic outcome is a coach acknowledging the athlete, marking the profile to revisit, and adding her to a list they'll watch at upcoming events. The email should still be specific, still include film and a club coach reference, and still name a reason she wants that program. A generic "I'm interested in your school" sent at fourteen looks worse than nothing — it tells the coach the family doesn't yet understand the process. A specific freshman email tells the coach the opposite. #### What does a realistic recruiting timeline look like, month by month? Roughly: freshman fall and spring, build the profile and identify a long list of 50–60 programs by division and region. Sophomore year, narrow the list to about 20 and start sending coach-specific emails after major events. The June 15 window opens at the end of sophomore year — that is when the work compounds. Junior year is when most verbal offers happen, with campus visits in the fall and spring. NLI signing for D1 women's soccer is November of senior year. For JUCO and many D2 programs the timeline shifts later by a year. Plan for the work to peak the summer between sophomore and junior year, not senior year. ### Stage 03 — Visibility **The job:** get on a coach's radar at all. **The anxiety:** "What if she's invisible to the coaches who matter?" **How we help:** One link, sent before the showcase, that gives a coach a reason to pick her game out of the seven they could watch in that window. #### Why does my ECNL daughter feel invisible to college coaches even though she starts every game? College coaches at major events receive 500+ recruiting emails the week before a single showcase, then pick one or two games to attend. They watch the top of the roster: the player who already has commits, who plays the attacking minutes, whose name is already in their notes. The 15th to 20th player on a strong ECNL roster travels every weekend and rarely gets evaluated. The fix is not more travel. It is giving coaches one link that proves what she actually does on the field, before they decide whether to watch her live. #### Why don't college soccer coaches recruit out of high school for women's soccer? Because the elite talent plays club year-round, and the club calendar is where the showcases live. High school season is winter in California and runs through February — by then, coaches have built most of their recruiting class for the following year through ECNL, GA, and DPL events held in spring, summer, and fall. The exception is local D2, NAIA, and junior college programs scouting their immediate area. If your athlete is hoping to be discovered at high school games alone, her recruiting window is narrower than her family probably realizes. #### How do college coaches actually pick which games to watch at a showcase? They start with their existing prospects and work outward from there. Most coaches arrive at a showcase with a short list of 15–25 players they planned to see, built from prior film, emails, and other coaches' tips. They watch those players first, then fill open hours with games featuring a high concentration of unknown-but-strong rosters. A college coach almost never picks a random field. The implication is uncomfortable but useful: if the coach you want at her field doesn't already know her name, she has to make sure he does — by Wednesday, before he finalizes his Saturday schedule. #### Do ID camps actually lead to offers, or are they just revenue for the program? Both, but they sort cleanly. Big-school "elite" camps that take 200+ athletes are primarily revenue. Small-roster invitation camps — where the staff personally selected the invite list — are real evaluation events. Before paying for a camp, ask the staff one question: "How many athletes are attending and what's the coach-to-athlete ratio?" If the ratio is worse than 1:8, the camp won't surface her individually. A better use of the same budget is often a single ID session at a smaller program where she's a genuine fit, because the staff there has both the time to evaluate her and a roster spot to offer. #### What does it mean when a coach "favorites" my daughter or sends a generic form letter? Almost nothing. Hudl favorites, recruiting-platform "likes," and generic recruiting questionnaires are top-of-funnel automation — programs cast a wide net, and the player who responds with a specific, well-built reply earns the next step. Real interest looks like a personalized email, a phone call to the club coach, a question about a specific game, or an invitation to a small-roster camp. Treating a form letter as a signal of interest is the most common mistake families make. Treat it as an open door, not a destination. ### Stage 04 — Outreach **The job:** send coaches something they'll actually open. **The anxiety:** "What if our outreach is making her look worse, not better?" **How we help:** Coach-verified film, one paragraph of fit, club-coach contact in the first line. Twenty-seconds-to-decide outreach, not five-minutes-to-skim. #### Does cold-emailing college soccer coaches actually work? Yes. Outside of elite D1, cold email is how most athletes get on a coach's radar. D2, D3, NAIA, and junior college programs do not scout at the volume D1 does. They wait for athletes to email them. A former Cal Poly assistant coach we interviewed put it directly: "the best way to get recruited was just to email the coach." The catch is that anything generic gets deleted. The email has to name a specific reason the athlete wants that program and link to film and stats the coach can verify in under a minute. #### What should a cold email to a college soccer coach actually contain? Five things, in this order: a specific reason your athlete wants this program (region, size, faith, style of play, academic fit), her position and graduation year, her club coach's name and email, a link to film with her jersey number labeled, and her academic profile (GPA and test score if taken). One short paragraph total. The single most-skipped item is the club coach's email. College coaches do not trust self-reported stats and do not trust character claims — they call the club coach to verify both before they invest evaluation time. #### How often should we follow up if a coach hasn't responded? Once after two weeks, once after a meaningful event (a new highlight, a tournament result, an academic milestone), and then stop. Coaches read every email they're interested in; silence is a signal you should respect. Repeat follow-ups with no new information train the coach to delete on sight. Follow-ups with new film, a new stat verified by the club coach, or a confirmed visit date are different — those give the coach a fresh reason to open. The best follow-up is an event invitation: "We'll be at the Vegas Showcase November 6–8, field 4 at 10am Saturday." #### Should the athlete or the parent write the email? The athlete. Coaches recruit the player, not the parent, and a parent-written email tells them the player isn't yet ready to manage her own process. Parents can help draft and double-check — most college freshmen don't write polished outreach unaided — but the email needs to be in the athlete's voice, signed by the athlete, with the athlete's phone number as the contact. The single fastest way to get treated like a one-of-five-hundred is to send the email from a parent's address with the parent's signature. The athlete's email earns a different read. #### Are recruiting services like NCSA worth it for women's soccer? Mass-email services have low return for the same reason mass cold mail has low return: the email looks templated, so coaches skip it. The Cal Poly assistant coach we interviewed received 500 recruiting emails the week before a single ECNL event and read almost none of them carefully. What works is fewer, better emails: each one names a specific reason the athlete wants that program, links to verified stats, and shows film labeled so the coach can identify her instantly. The recruiting profile is the differentiator, not the volume of outreach. ### Stage 05 — The profile **The job:** build something coaches will actually click. **The anxiety:** "What if our profile looks templated and gets deleted in two seconds?" **How we help:** One profile, built like a D1 program built it. Loads on a phone in seconds, with verification on the front page. #### What does a recruiting profile need to look like to a college coach? It has to load on a phone in seconds, communicate position and graduation year in the first glance, and answer the three questions a coach will ask within ten seconds of opening it: who is verifying her stats, what does she look like in real game film, and how does her club coach speak about her. Profiles that look like NCSA templates get treated like the 500 other ones in the inbox. Profiles that look like a D1 program built them get a second look. The signal is in the design, the verification, and the labeling on the film clips. #### Hudl, personal website, or both — what do coaches actually click? Coaches expect to find Hudl film, and not having a Hudl account makes things harder than they need to be. Hudl is the format coaches know how to consume — full games, jersey-number filters, and the platform integrations they're already in. A standalone profile (Brava, a personal site, or otherwise) is what gets shared in the first email and what does the framing: position, graduation year, club coach contact, verified stats, and the link to the Hudl film. The answer is both, with the profile as the front door and Hudl as the deeper film library. A profile without film loses; a Hudl page without context also loses. #### What kind of highlight film actually gets watched all the way through? The 90-second version. Coaches will not watch a six-minute reel of every touch she's ever had. They will watch a tight, jersey-number-labeled clip that opens with the strongest 15 seconds of her play, names the position, and shows her in three or four different game situations rather than the same one repeated. The middle of the reel is where most athletes lose them; the close is where coaches decide whether to click into the full game. Behind the highlight reel, there has to be at least one full game available so the coach who is interested can verify what she does when she doesn't have the ball. ### Stage 06 — What coaches measure **The job:** train and present the right things. **The anxiety:** "What if she's developing the wrong qualities for her position?" **How we help:** A profile that frames stats with the level, the position-specific traits, and the club-coach verification that turns claims into data. #### What stats actually matter on a women's soccer recruiting profile? Stats only matter when the level is named. "12 goals" is meaningless. "12 goals in ECNL Southwest U17" is a data point a coach can place. Beyond goals and assists, coaches look for honors that involve other people's evaluation: ECNL Player of the Week, All-Conference selection, high school first team. Height matters for some positions — coaches scouting center backs often want 5'9 or up. Jersey number is non-negotiable; without it, a coach cannot find your athlete at a showcase. Self-reported numbers get discounted by default. Club-coach-verified numbers do not. #### Why do college coaches always want to talk to my daughter's club coach? Because coaches recruit people, not just players. They are investing four years and a roster spot in someone they have to live with. A phone call to the club coach answers two questions a profile cannot: are the stats real, and is she someone you would actually want in your program? Profiles that put the club coach's name and email up front skip the trust gap. Profiles that hide that information, or list only the parent's contact, get treated as unverified by default. #### How much do grades and test scores really matter at each division? At D3 and Ivy-equivalent D1, academics are the single largest variable — without them, no level of soccer matters. At standard D1 and D2, grades are the gate that decides whether an interested coach can bring her in at all; admissions sets a floor and the coach can advocate around the margins, but rarely far. At NAIA and JUCO, the academic bar is lower but still binding. Across every level, a transcript that demonstrates rigor (honors and AP courses with B+ or better) helps more than a perfect GPA in an unchallenging schedule. Test-optional changed how scores are used, not whether they're used — a strong score still helps; a weak score she can omit no longer hurts. #### What do coaches look for in a center back vs an outside back vs a midfielder? Center back: height (often 5'9+ for the D1 conversation), aerial dominance, passing range under pressure, and a calm 1v1 read. Outside back: speed over 30 yards, recovery pace, attacking overlap volume, and crossing accuracy. Holding midfielder: defensive actions per 90, first-touch composure under pressure, and the ability to switch the field. Attacking midfielder: progressive passes into the final third, expected assists, and 1v1 dribble success. Forward: shots-on-target rate, goals per 90 normalized to level, off-ball runs, and a measurable "first defender" workrate. Coaches who specialize in a position evaluate the position's specific traits — a profile that surfaces the position-relevant numbers does the work for them. ### Stage 07 — Money **The job:** understand what this actually costs — and what gets paid for. **The anxiety:** "Are we going to spend $50,000 chasing a $5,000 scholarship?" **How we help:** We help families target programs where the athlete is a clear fit — not blast 200 wishlist schools and pay for the silence. #### How much scholarship money is actually available in women's soccer? D1 women's soccer was just expanded from 14 to 23 full scholarships per program, the largest single increase in the sport's history. D2 allows 9.8. D3 offers no athletic money; aid comes through academics. NAIA has no cap, so individual schools vary widely. Junior colleges in Washington, Nevada, Utah, and Arizona are fully funded at 15 scholarships per school for soccer. Most programs at every level split funds across the roster instead of writing full rides — a "scholarship offer" is usually partial. The total money in the system is real and growing. Finding it requires targeting programs where your athlete is a clear fit, not blasting wishlist schools. #### What is a "full ride" actually worth after housing, books, and fees? A full athletic scholarship in D1 women's soccer covers tuition, room, board, books, and fees — the same components as a full Cost of Attendance (COA) package. Public in-state schools come out around $25,000–$35,000 a year covered. Out-of-state public schools and most private schools land in the $55,000–$80,000 range. What's often not covered: travel home, medical insurance beyond the team's coverage, personal expenses, and summer-term housing if she's not in summer school. The House settlement also opened the door to direct revenue-sharing payments and expanded NIL access, which can add real dollars on top of the scholarship at programs that opt in. The headline number on the offer is rarely the full number; ask for the complete COA breakdown in writing before comparing offers. #### How does NIL change anything for women's soccer recruits? Less than it does for football and basketball, but more than zero. Women's soccer NIL deals are mostly local — apparel, gyms, restaurants, regional brands — with occasional national deals for high-profile USYNT players. The bigger change is that the post-House-settlement landscape lets programs share revenue directly with athletes at schools that opt in, which means individual programs now compete on a roster compensation package, not just a scholarship. The implication for recruits: ask the question. "Does your program participate in revenue sharing for women's soccer?" tells you in one sentence whether the offer on the table is a 2026 offer or a 2022 offer. ### Stage 08 — Alternative paths **The job:** find the path when D1 isn't a straight line. **The anxiety:** "Is there still a path, or is it already over?" **How we help:** A coach-verified profile gets the same read from a JUCO HC as from a D1 assistant. We built the JUCO pathway into the intake, including the transfer-up timeline. #### Do junior colleges count as a real recruiting path for women's soccer? Yes, and the funding picture has changed in the last few years. Junior colleges in Washington, Nevada, Utah, and Arizona are now fully funded for soccer at 15 scholarships per school. Top JC programs (Eastern Florida State, Arizona Western, Tyler JC, Salt Lake CC, Iowa Western, Sierra College, Santiago Canyon) routinely transfer players up to D1 programs in the SEC, ACC, Big 12, and Pac-12. The pathway works best for athletes who need a year or two of physical development, who could not qualify academically out of high school, or whose families need the scholarship before committing to a four-year school. #### Is D3 a real option, or just a fallback? D3 is a real option, especially for academically strong athletes and for families that can carry meaningful tuition. D3 offers no athletic money — every dollar is academic or need-based aid — but elite D3 programs (the NESCAC, the Liberty League, the UAA) recruit at a level comparable to mid-major D2. The level of play in those conferences is higher than most ECNL families realize. The athlete who wants four years of competitive soccer, a strong degree, and is willing to forgo athletic aid often ends up happier at a top D3 than as the 25th player on a low-D1 roster. "Fallback" is the wrong frame. "Different fit" is the right one. #### Does the transfer portal mean fewer roster spots for high school players? Yes, and it's the most underdiscussed shift in college recruiting in the last five years. Programs increasingly fill needs through the portal — a junior who's already played at the college level, with film and a track record, is a lower-risk addition than an unproven high school senior. Combined with the 28-player roster cap coming out of the House settlement, this means the high school recruit faces stiffer competition for the roster spots that remain. The implication is not "give up." The implication is that fit matters more than ever: high school recruits win the spots where their profile precisely matches what the program needs in their class, not the spots that go to the best-available transfer. #### What if she gets injured during her recruiting year? Two things matter: documentation and communication. Get the diagnosis, the surgical or rehab plan, and the projected return-to-play in writing from the team doctor — coaches will ask for it. Email the programs already engaged in her recruiting with the news, the timeline, and the rehab milestones. Coaches do not lose interest in athletes who handle injury well; they lose interest in athletes who go quiet. Most major women's soccer injuries (ACL especially) have well-documented return-to-play curves, and coaches recruit through them all the time. Keeping the profile updated with rehab progress and pre-injury film is the right move — silence is the failure mode. ### Stage 09 — Closing **The job:** read what's happening and choose well. **The anxiety:** "Are we being strung along?" **How we help:** A finished profile gives you a clear before/after with each program — and a way to compare offers honestly, beyond the headline scholarship percentage. #### What does it mean when a coach goes quiet after a visit? Usually one of two things: the coach found a player they prefer for that roster spot (the most common case), or your athlete is in a backup tier they'll come back to only if the first-choice recruit commits elsewhere. Silence after enthusiasm is data. The honest move is to email once, a week or two after the visit, and ask directly: "Are we still being considered for the 2027 class, and if so, what does the next step look like?" Coaches who are still interested will tell you. Coaches who aren't will either say so or not respond — and at that point you have your answer and your time back. #### Should we commit to the first offer or hold out for a better fit? Depends on the timing and the offer. An offer in junior fall from a program she'd choose without hesitation: commit. An offer in sophomore spring from a program she's lukewarm on: probably wait, because the offer rarely vanishes if she actually fits, and committing early to a wrong fit creates a transfer problem later. The framework is: would she still want to be at this school, on this team, with this coach, if she never played a minute? If yes, the offer is real. If no, the offer is a deadline tactic, and deadlines mostly don't hold when the coach actually wants her. #### What's the difference between a verbal offer, a written offer, and an NLI? A verbal offer is not binding on either side. It's the coach's stated intent to offer a scholarship at signing, contingent on continued performance, academic eligibility, and roster availability. A written offer (a Financial Aid Award letter or NCAA Athletics Aid Agreement) is binding for the school once signed and binding on the athlete for that year. The National Letter of Intent (NLI) — which still exists in 2026, despite recent NCAA changes — is the formal commitment that bars other D1 programs from recruiting her once signed. Verbal offers are real but not enforceable. Get it in writing before you stop recruiting, and read the conditional language carefully. --- ## About Brava Brava is a small operation run by Ben Siverly. The platform combines a guided intake (parents submit film, stats, and a club coach reference in about ten minutes on a phone) with a production pipeline that labels footage, polishes photos, drafts an athlete-voice bio, and routes stats to the club coach for verification. Finished profiles are published as static, mobile-first pages on bravamade.com with a single shareable link that stays live for 12 months. Profile owners also get access to the recruiting hub: benchmarks against players competing for the same programs, a curated D1/D2/D3/NAIA/JC program explorer with the correct recruiting-coach contact at each program, and per-coach profile view tracking. **Tagline:** Brave. Fierce. Excellent. --- # Research Open research on women's soccer recruiting. All pages are licensed CC BY 4.0 — please link back to bravamade.com/research when citing. ## Research hub — https://bravamade.com/research/ Index of all research pages. Two clusters: **Benchmarks by Position** — per-90 statistical distributions (mean, standard deviation) for starters in NCAA D1, D2, and D3 women's soccer, with the Z-score formula, competition multipliers (ECNL National, GA, ECRL/DPL, NPL, HS varsity), and division-specific height ranges. **Pathways & Rules** — D1 scholarship economics after the House settlement, the NCAA D1 recruiting calendar, the JUCO pathway, and the California club hierarchy. ## Methodology — How the Benchmarks Work Every stat is normalized to a per-90-minute rate so a player who started 22 games can be compared to one who played 14. To compare across competition levels (ECNL vs. a state NPL, for example), multiply the per-90 rate by the competition multiplier **M**, then compute a Z-score against the division mean. - `R = (stat × 90) / minutes` - `R_adj = R × M` - `Z = (R_adj − μ) / σ` Minimum 75 minutes played to qualify. All distributions reflect starters at each division. σ (standard deviation) is published for D1 only — use D1 σ as a reasonable proxy when computing against D2/D3 means. **Competition multipliers (M):** | League | M | |---|---| | ECNL National / US Youth National Team | 1.00 | | Girls Academy (GA) | 0.95 | | ECRL / Development Player League (DPL) | 0.80 | | NPL / Elite State Leagues | 0.70 | | High School Varsity (competitive state) | 0.65 | | High School JV / Recreational Club | 0.40 | **Tier alignment:** | Tier | Z | Percentile | Where it places | |---|---|---|---| | Elite D1 / Power-5 | Z ≥ 1.5 | Top 7% | SEC, ACC, Big Ten, Big 12-equivalent starting potential | | Solid D1 / Elite D2 | 0.5 ≤ Z < 1.5 | 69–93rd | Mid-major D1 or top D2 starting potential | | D3 / NAIA / Lower D2 | −0.5 ≤ Z < 0.5 | 31–69th | Developmental programs, tactical over physical | ## Forward Benchmarks — https://bravamade.com/research/benchmarks/forward/ Per-90 statistical distributions for forwards in NCAA Women's Soccer. | Metric | D1 mean | D1 σ | D2 mean | D3 mean | |---|---|---|---|---| | Goals | 0.65 | 0.25 | 0.50 | 0.40 | | Shots on Target | 2.80 | 1.10 | 2.20 | 1.80 | | Shot Conversion | 22.5% | 4.8 | 18.0% | 14.5% | | Expected Goals (xG) | 0.55 | 0.20 | 0.42 | 0.35 | | Successful Dribbles (1v1) | 4.50 | 1.50 | 3.20 | 2.50 | | Assists | 0.30 | 0.15 | 0.22 | 0.18 | Forward height range: D1 5'5"–5'9", D2 5'4"–5'8", D3 5'3"–5'8". **Height override:** 32.3% of 2019 Women's World Cup players were under 165cm (5'5") with no reduction in playing time. The published D1 mean height is 5'6.3" (168.4cm), but exceptional speed and technical metrics consistently override stature deficiencies. ## Midfielder Benchmarks — https://bravamade.com/research/benchmarks/midfielder/ | Metric | D1 mean | D1 σ | D2 mean | D3 mean | |---|---|---|---|---| | Pass Completion | 82.0% | 6.5 | 76.5% | 71.0% | | Key Passes | 2.40 | 0.90 | 1.80 | 1.40 | | Possession Won (recoveries) | 7.50 | 2.10 | 6.20 | 5.50 | | Distance Covered (miles per 90) | 6.60 | 0.80 | 6.00 | 5.40 | | Assists | 0.25 | 0.12 | 0.18 | 0.12 | | Goals | 0.20 | 0.12 | 0.15 | 0.12 | Midfielder height range: D1 5'4"–5'9", D2 5'3"–5'8", D3 5'2"–5'7". D1 midfielders run an average of 6.6 miles per 90 (σ = 0.8); athletes at +1σ on the distance gate with 80%+ pass completion override the height conversation. ## Center Back Benchmarks — https://bravamade.com/research/benchmarks/center-back/ | Metric | D1 mean | D1 σ | D2 mean | D3 mean | |---|---|---|---|---| | Aerial Duels Won | 4.80 | 1.20 | 3.50 | 2.50 | | Duel Success | 62.5% | 7.0 | 58.0% | 54.0% | | Interceptions | 5.50 | 1.80 | 4.80 | 4.00 | | Tackles Won | 3.20 | 1.10 | 2.80 | 2.40 | Center back height range: D1 5'7"–5'11", D2 5'5"–5'9", D3 5'4"–5'8". The position where height matters most among outfield players. ## Outside Back / Wingback Benchmarks — https://bravamade.com/research/benchmarks/outside-back/ | Metric | D1 mean | D1 σ | D2 mean | D3 mean | |---|---|---|---|---| | Duel Success | 62.5% | 7.0 | 58.0% | 54.0% | | Interceptions | 5.50 | 1.80 | 4.80 | 4.00 | | Tackles Won | 3.20 | 1.10 | 2.80 | 2.40 | | Crosses Completed | 2.10 | 0.80 | 1.50 | 1.00 | Outside back height range: D1 5'4"–5'8", D2 5'3"–5'7", D3 5'2"–5'6". The shortest height ranges of any outfield position. ## Goalkeeper Benchmarks — https://bravamade.com/research/benchmarks/goalkeeper/ | Metric | D1 mean | D1 σ | D2 mean | D3 mean | |---|---|---|---|---| | Save Percentage | 78.5% | 5.2 | 75.0% | 72.5% | | Goals Against Average | 1.10 | 0.45 | 1.35 | 1.55 | | Minutes Per Goal Allowed | 81.8 | 25.0 | 66.6 | 58.0 | | Distribution Accuracy | 76.0% | 8.5 | 68.0% | 62.0% | | Crosses Claimed | 2.80 | 0.90 | 2.20 | 1.80 | Goalkeeper height range: D1 5'7"–6'0", D2 5'6"–5'10", D3 5'4"–5'9". The position where height matters most. ## Universal Speed Gates (all positions) | Test | D1 | D2 | D3 | |---|---|---|---| | 10-meter split | 1.75s | 1.85s | 1.95s | | 30-meter sprint | 4.0s | 4.2s | 4.4s | | 40-yard dash | 5.0s | 5.2s | 5.4s | ## D1 Women's Soccer Scholarships After House — https://bravamade.com/research/scholarships/ **The headline change:** Effective July 1, 2025, the NCAA's 14-scholarship equivalency cap on Division I women's soccer is gone (per the House v. NCAA settlement). The new constraint is a hard 28-player roster cap. In theory: every roster spot can be on full scholarship. **What it actually means:** 1. **Rosters get smaller, not bigger.** Programs that carried 30–32 players (counting walk-ons) must now cut to 28. ~50–120 walk-on roster spots disappear per year across ~330 D1 programs. Total D1 athletes is shrinking. 2. **Scholarship math is now a budget decision, not an NCAA rule.** Each athletic department sets its own women's soccer scholarship budget. Power-4 programs (SEC, ACC, Big Ten, Big 12) have largely raised their cap toward 18–22 full equivalents. Most mid-major D1 programs are still at or near the old 14-equivalent ceiling. 3. **"Designated" walk-ons get grandfathered.** Athletes on a D1 roster as of July 1, 2025 may stay over the 28-cap until eligibility expires. New recruits do not get this protection. Realistic scholarship math by tier (2025–26 estimates): | Tier | Scholarship pool | Typical class | Typical offer | |---|---|---|---| | Power-4 elite (UCLA, UNC, Stanford) | 18–22 equiv. | 6–8 recruits | 75–100% | | Power-4 mid-tier | 15–18 equiv. | 5–7 recruits | 50–80% | | Mid-major D1 (CAA, A-10) | 10–14 equiv. | 5–8 recruits | 25–60% | | Lower-resource D1 / Patriot | 8–12 equiv. | 4–7 recruits | 0–40% + need-based | | Ivy League | 0 athletic | 5–8 recruits | Need-based only | ## NCAA D1 Recruiting Calendar — https://bravamade.com/research/recruiting-timeline/ **The two dates that matter most:** - **June 15 after sophomore year** — first day D1 coaches can initiate any direct communication (phone, text, email, DMs, recruiting materials, off-campus contact, verbal offers). - **August 1 before junior year** — official visits open. **Before June 15 of sophomore year:** Coaches cannot initiate contact. They CAN review unsolicited materials, send camp/clinic information, talk to your club coach and high school coach, and observe games. Athletes may initiate contact themselves at any time. **After June 15 of sophomore year:** Unlimited phone/text/email/DMs, verbal offers, off-campus contact during contact periods, unofficial visits, recruiting materials. Official visits still wait for August 1 of junior year. **Period types:** - **Contact period** — full activity allowed (most of the year). - **Evaluation period** — coaches can watch you play and assess academic records, no off-campus meetings. Showcases and ECNL National Events tend to fall here. - **Quiet period** — no in-person off-campus contact, no evaluations. On-campus visits and phone/digital allowed. - **Dead period** — no in-person contact at all. Phone/digital still allowed. Short, typically near signing windows or holidays. **When commits actually happen:** - Sophomore summer (Jun–Aug): ~10–15% — early Power-4 elite commits. - Junior fall (Sep–Dec): 40–60% — largest single wave after ECNL National Event fall season. - Junior spring + summer (Jan–Aug): 20–30% — second wave after spring showcases. - Senior fall + NLI (Nov): final spots, late additions, transfer-window adjustments. ## The JUCO Pathway — https://bravamade.com/research/juco-pathway/ **The headline numbers:** - NJCAA Division I women's soccer: **up to 18 full scholarships per program**, with average rosters of ~19 players. - ~120 NJCAA Division I women's soccer programs nationwide. - Top programs (Santiago Canyon, Eastern Florida State, Tyler JC) place 70–90% of athletes into NCAA D1/D2 programs as transfers. **Why coaches often prefer JUCO transfers:** 1. Proven in U.S. college environment. 2. Two extra years of physical maturation. 3. Eligibility math — a sophomore transfer with two years remaining can start immediately. **Three tier systems:** - **NJCAA D1** — ~120 programs, up to 18 full scholarships. Region 14 (Texas), Region 1 (West), and Florida pipeline are heavily scouted. - **NJCAA D2** — Lower scholarship cap, excellent academic support. Top programs include Johnson County CC, Jones College (3.77 team GPA), Northwest Mississippi CC. - **3C2A (California)** — No athletic scholarships, but extremely low tuition (~$1,400/year) + structurally protected transfer pipeline to UC and CSU systems. Santiago Canyon cites an 85% D1/D2 transfer rate. **Top programs to know:** Eastern Florida State (2024 NJCAA Champions), Tyler Junior College, Iowa Western CC, Salt Lake CC, Arizona Western, Seminole State (OK), Trinity Valley CC, Navarro College, Johnson County CC, Jones College, Northwest Mississippi CC, Santiago Canyon, Sierra College, Saddleback College, Folsom Lake College. ## California Club Hierarchy — https://bravamade.com/research/california-clubs/ **The four named tiers, in descending order:** - **ECNL** (Elite Clubs National League) — undisputed premier developmental platform. California split into Northern Cal and Southwest conferences. Mandatory attendance at ECNL National Events drives unparalleled scout density. Competition multiplier M = 1.00. - **ECNL-RL** (ECNL Regional League) — second tier and direct promotion pathway. Increasingly scouted; RL rosters often have first-team-adjacent players. - **GA** (Girls Academy) — launched 2020 after Development Academy dissolution. M = 0.95. - **DPL** (Development Player League) — second tier of GA structure. M = 0.80. "Super Group" format brackets top 16 teams per age group. **CIF** (California Interscholastic Federation) is the high school season (Nov–Feb/Mar). Section playoffs (Southern, North Coast, Sac-Joaquin) provide a fundamentally different evaluative environment — leadership in chaotic conditions correlates strongly with NCAA readiness. **Southern California elite ECNL clubs:** San Diego Surf (2025 U13 + U14 ECNL National Champions), Slammers FC (2025 U18/19 ECNL National Champions), Legends FC (San Diego branch led by USWNT alum Shannon Mac Millan), Beach FC, Pateadores (multi-chapter model), LAFC So Cal Youth (formerly Real So Cal), Eagles SC (operates USL W team), So Cal Blues, West Coast FC, Rebels SC. **Northern California elite ECNL clubs:** MVLA (alumni include Abby Dahlkemper and current UCLA head coach Margueritte Aozasa; 2025 U16 ECNL National Champions), Mustang SC (Danville), De Anza Force (Silicon Valley, possession-based), San Juan SC (Rancho Cordova), Bay Area Surf, Davis Legacy, Placer United, Walnut Creek Surf, Marin FC. **Top CIF programs 2025–26:** Bishop O'Dowd (19-1-0), Mater Dei (19-3-8, Trinity League), Santa Margarita (19-2-5, Trinity League), San Ramon Valley (17-3-2), Westlake (18-4-1). **How recruiters compare leagues:** ECNL National (M=1.00) > GA (0.95) > ECRL/DPL (0.80) > NPL (0.70). ECNL-RL is increasingly scouted. For mega-clubs with Chapter models (Pateadores, Slammers, San Diego Surf), reach individual chapter coaches — they drive day-to-day development, not the overarching ECNL director. CIF dominance + ECNL performance is statistically the most reliable NCAA-success signal.