With soccer receiving only a fraction of the scholarship funds that big-revenue sports, including football and basketball, receive, a soccer scholarship is not always easy to acquire. Limited funds cause coaches to divide up scholarship money to give partial-rides to more students. Getting yourself noticed can help increase your chances of receiving a soccer scholarship. Many college-bound players choose to participate in Olympic development or traveling soccer teams to increase the likelihood of receiving a scholarship.
University
The NCAA provides college scholarships for each and every Division I and II school. Scholarships are available for men's and women's programs. The NCAA provides 9.9 men's soccer scholarships and 12 women's soccer scholarships for Division I schools. Division II schools are able to offer nine scholarships for men and 9.9 scholarships for women. Scholarships can be full rides or partial scholarships. Division III schools do not award athletic scholarships. Student soccer players in Division III schools follow the same admissions standards and are eligible for the same type of aid as the remainder of the student body.
Olympic Development
With few scholarships available for soccer players, many college-bound soccer players are not likely to receive scholarship money. Students who are part of an Olympic development team are more likely to receive scholarship funds. Olympic development teams are organized according to age, gender and region. Athletes can try out for these teams that practice and compete year round. Olympic development teams participate in numerous tournaments. College coaches and recruiters frequent these tournaments, which increases the chances of a college-bound soccer player getting noticed as well as receiving college scholarship money.
Traveling Tournament Teams
Many soccer organizations on local, state and regional levels have traveling soccer tournament teams for teenage soccer players. Teams travel across the country to participate in a number of soccer tournaments and championships. When teams attend events known as college soccer showcase tournaments, college coaches and recruiters are likely to be in attendance. College soccer showcase tournaments highlight the skills of college-bound athletes.
NAIA
Schools who compete as part of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics may also be able to offer scholarships. There are 218 men's and 223 women's teams that are part of the NAIA. Scholarships are available at all of these schools. Each school receives the equivalent of 12 NCAA athletic scholarships in funds. These funds are to be distributed between men's and women's programs. When it comes to awarding these scholarships, academic performance may also be taken into consideration.
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