Show, Don't Tell! The Importance of Promoting Yourself in a Competitive Soccer World

Show, Don't Tell! The Importance of Promoting Yourself in a Competitive Soccer World

How many times have you heard "It's not what you know, it's who you know?"

It's been said so many times it's starting to get old, but the point is that it's important to get out there and meet people in your chosen field, however you can. We all have heard, over and over, the importance of networking and self-promotion for when you want a job. But what you may not have heard much about is the importance of self-promotion when you're a soccer player.

If you're planning on pursuing soccer beyond high school, either by playing in college or by trying out for professional teams, you need to master the art of self-promotion.

Unfortunately, for a lot of people, this is harder than it sounds. When we think of somebody who talks about their accomplishments, we tend to think of people who are arrogant, conceited, boastful or braggarts, and we certainly don't want those negative words associated with us.

Repeat after me: I'm the best!

Look at it this way: You're going to be just one of hundreds, if not thousands, of other student athletes applying for that soccer scholarship or trying to get an audition for that professional team. If you don't talk up your soccer accomplishments, nobody else will, and that scholarship or audition will go to somebody else.

So don't be afraid to let coaches, agents, scouts and soccer clubs know just how awesome you are. And don't just tell them. Find ways to make your self-promotion stand out from the crowd. Grab their attention and show them why you're the best player they've ever seen.

Get them your soccer resume

When you're job hunting, one of the first things you do is create a resume and cover letter. The cover letter is the first step to selling yourself to potential employers, and the resume backs it up with a detailed listing of your experience and accomplishments.

When you're a soccer player, it's important to have a soccer resume and cover letter that do the same thing. The object of the cover letter is to convince the coach why you're perfect for his team, or to convince an agent that she needs to represent you.

Your soccer resume should back up your cover letter with your soccer experience and accomplishments. You need to have the teams you've played for on there, along with how well the team did during your time with it, as well as how well you did while playing for them. You also need individual statistics, like goals scored, points, assists, shut-outs, etc., plus any soccer awards or honors you've received.

It's also good to get recommendation letters from coaches you've played with, be it at your school or elsewhere. They can provide firsthand testimony to the kind of player you are, which can be invaluable for your soccer career.

If it's a scholarship or university team you're applying for, you may need to include some academic information, like ACT or SAT scores and your GPA. Because many universities have minimum academic requirements for acceptance, a coach needs to know if you'll even qualify to get into the university.

Modernize your soccer resume approach

While a paper resume is important to have, it's something that every other student athlete will have as well. You need to find a way to push your resume out of the crowd. One way to do this is to include a video resume or a highlight reel along with your traditional paper resume.

Where your paper resume will tell people what you've done, a video resume will show them, especially coaches who may not have had the opportunity to come and see you play. Plus, modernizing how you display your resume will set you a cut above the rest. If you don't send in the video resume with your traditional paper one, make sure that you include a note at the bottom that lets coaches know you have one available.

If you've been involved with any soccer camps, see if they have videos of your playing time. If you're lucky, some camps or soccer programs may even help you create a video resume.

Don't hold yourself back from getting that soccer scholarship or scoring a chance to play for that professional team. Get started now making your soccer resume and highlight reel so that you can blow those coaches away.

Joey Bilotta is the vice president of EduKick, a soccer boarding school exchange program. They host international soccer camps in countries as diverse as Mexico, England and China. They also offer players a video resume to help them continue their soccer career after their time at EduKick. For more information contact EduKick!