How To Get Scouted In Soccer: “4 Easy Steps To Get You Scouted In 2024”

If you have dreams of playing higher level, college, or professional soccer and need to learn how to get scouted in soccer (football)…This post is for you.

I’ll explain 4 steps you can use to get scouted in football (in 2024 and beyond).

Personally…

I’ve used these steps to get scouted for college soccer (earn a college scholarship) and the National Futsal team. Other players, have used these same methods to get scouted by professional football clubs.

Read this entire post and you will:

increase your chances of getting scouted in soccer
discover if your country puts you at a big disadvantage
learn what you can do about that (if it does)
get 4 tricks to “stand-out” and impress scouts
and hear why “getting scouted” is NOT your best option

How to get scouted in soccer in high school

If you want to know how to get scouted in soccer in high school, I can help you with that because I’ve done it myself.

In 2004…

I was in my last year of high school, attempting to enrol at the University of Calgary (school of business). Unfortunately, my GPA out of high school was only about a 78% and the University demanded at least a 83% average to enrol.

I was lost and frustrated with myself.

I hadn’t focused enough in high school and began to think that I would never be able to play college soccer.

But that summer…

I was playing in the provincial finals. My team won the championship and I made a solid contribution as the starting CDM. I didn’t know it at the time, but a college coach from a different city was watching me play.

He approached me after the match, complimented me on my play, and said he would contact me about an upcoming identification (ID) camp.

A month later…

I attended the camp and performed well. The coach insisted that I come to his school the following year and play on the team but at the time he wasn’t offering me any scholarship money.

My dad (who was worried about the price of tuition / living in a different city) asked if there was any way he could make this great opportunity more affordable.

That one question ended up getting 95% of my college tuition paid for. Obviously, college tuition in Canada (and many other countries) is far less than the United States. But the lesson is: you never know how much you can get, unless you ask for it.

That’s my personal example of how to get scouted in soccer for college.

On the surface, the story seems pretty straightforward. But, I left out a few key decisions in my past that allowed me to get scouted. If I never made those specific decisions (which I’ll explain later in this post), I would have never been scouted to play college soccer that day.

How to get scouted in soccer (steps)

My story was about how to get scouted in soccer for college but the principles I’m about to share with you can be applied to any goal you may have: higher level teams, college soccer, or professional football.

Step 1: How To Get Scouted In Soccer

Understand The Process

If you want to know how to become scouted in football it’s helpful to understand how the scouting process works.

I’ve interviewed several different Professional Scouts from England and they gave me some great insight to how scouting works and where it happens.

The truth is…

It happens in some countries and not in others (especially when talking about how to get scouted by a professional football club).

In countries where there is a well-developed professional football system (for example: England, Spain, Germany, etc) there is actually quite a lot of scouting going on.

In countries where there is an under-developed (or no) professional soccer system there is little to no scouting going on.

However…

You cannot look at the place you live as a problem. It may be an obstacle but when you want to succeed the obstacle is always the way. You can use it as an excuse or you can find a way to work around the system and achieve your goal.

Step 2: How To Get Scouted In Soccer

Change Your Environment

I want to give you some actionable tips on how to get scouted in soccer (football) so you can actually do something about increase your chances of getting scouted.

The first thing you can do is:

Put yourself in the best possible situation to actually get scouted. Scouts are not coming to watch the worst team in the league play.

Remember, my personal story of: how to get scouted in soccer for college

I would have never been playing in the provincial final if my Dad hadn’t encourage me to leave my best friends and change teams, so I could play with better players and get better coaching.

It would have been easy for me to say on my old team. Where I was the best player, all of my friends were there, I had been on the team for years, and I was comfortable.

But…

I wouldn’t have been in the best environment to get scouted.

You need to think about how can you put yourself in the best situation to be scouted. You want to get yourself onto the best team in the top leagues. If that means you have to improve as a player to do so, that should be your current goal.

Question:

Who is the best team in your city?

Find out how you can get on that team:

– Go to the team website and get information.
– Reach out to the coaching staff
– Find information about tryout dates
– Use personal connections to get yourself into the team

Better teams get into better scouting situations. They play in big games, go to bigger tournaments, and attract more attention. You want to be where the attention is.

Bonus tips on how to get scouted in soccer:

Get your grades up. You should also think about having the highest GPA possible. Especially if you want to get scouted to play college soccer. Although a coach may want you to play for his team, he/she may not be able to get you into the school because you’re grades are not good enough. Having a higher GPA will give you an advantage over other players.How are your grades?
Polish your social media. People talk and if you’re a good player, chances are scouts may have already heard about you. If that’s the case, they won’t just judge you on you playing ability. They will also judge you on you character and social media. Many scouts and college coaches will look at your social media before deciding if you’re a good fit for their team.What does your social media say about your character / lifestyle

Step 3: How To Get Scouted In Soccer

Find Additional Exposure

It’s great that you want to learn how to get scouted for soccer but depending on where you live in the world the chances of that happening may be lower. There may not be that many scouts, due to the amount of financial investment and level of professional football in your country.

However, there are things you can do to increase your chances of getting scouted.

You need to think about “being seen” by as many people as possible. This will not happen if you practice by yourself in your backyard everyday and never get yourself out there. You want to go to specific events and put yourself in situations where you will be seen by potential scouts.

Below are a few idea on how you can increase your chances of being scouted by professional football clubs or college scouts:

How To Be Scouted In Soccer (additional ideas)

Showcase Tournaments. Many countries will hold large tournaments where numerous teams come and scouts are invited to come watch. If you’re on the best team in your city, you’ll be more likely to attend these types of events. However, you may want to do some research for showcase tournaments in your area and encourage your coach to register.
Combines. Organizations will put together tryouts for a group of players and invite scouts from different professional clubs. These events are beneficial because you get more eyes on you at once. Instead of one scout watching you play. You could have 10-20 different scouts watching you at once. Do a google search for soccer (football) combines in your area to get more information.
Open tryouts. In some countries professional clubs will hold tryouts for the public. Depending on the club there could be a couple hundred players attending and scouts only select one or two players. The odds may not be favourable but getting scouted is a numbers game. It’s another opportunity for you to be seen, gain some experience, and potentially make some connections.
Player and ID Camps. Attending player development camps is another opportunity to develop your game but also be seen by potential coaches, scouts, or people with connections. Colleges will also hold pre-season ID camps which are another opportunity for you to be seen and potentially scouted.

This is actually how I was selected to play for the Canadian National Futsal Team.

I attended an ID camp where myself and one other player were selected out of a group of about 60 players.

But…

That opportunity would have never come to me if I wasn’t trying to find additional exposure.

*These are just a few ideas (there are many more) on how to play college or become a professional footballer. Later in this post, I’ll explain how you can really take your future into your own hands, when you start taking strategic action towards achieving these goals.

Step 4: How To Get Scouted In Soccer

Stand-out EVERY TIME You Play

You never know who’s watching.

For that reason, every time there is a ball at your feet you are on tryout.

And when you start thinking like that…

You will instantly improve the quality of your performances.

If you truly want to know how to get scouted in soccer you need ask yourself a few questions:

How would you play if you knew scouts were watching?

Do you play that way in your current matches?
Do you play that way in team practices?
Do you play that way with your friends in the park?

I had a professional scout tell me:

He scouted a player on vacation. He noticed a kid playing with his Dad while he was relaxing on the beach in Mexico and ended up making a connection with the player.

“Someone is always watching”

Keep that idea in your head, every time there is a ball at your feet. It’s your responsibility to do your best to stand-out every time you play.

Whenever players ask me about how to get scouted in soccer they also ask:

How to impress scouts?
or What do scouts look for?

Here are 4 easy ideas that will impress scouts and help you standout when you play:

Make an impact. Players who make a contribution to the outcome of the game get noticed. That means scoring goals, making assists, creating chances, keeping clean sheets, making big saves, and doing everything they can to help their team win.
Play your position properly. Strikers need to score goals and defenders need to keep clean sheets. If you want to impress scouts, learn to play your position properly. That means being the right place, making the right decisions, and executing with your position specific skills. For example: CB winning a header, CDM playing a cross field pass, or WINGER beating a defender and creating a chance.
Show your unique qualities. Multiple scouts have told me they always look for a specific quality that makes a player stand out. That could be your speed, physical strength, technical skill, passing ability. Whatever your best qualities are, demonstrate them when you play. Don’t try to overcomplicate your play. Do what you’re good at.
Display leadership. Scouts like to see players who can inspire their teammates to play better. Not only do they want to bring good players into their club, they want to bring in good people. For that reason, you can also standout with your communication skills. Motivate your teammates, give description advice, and help your team with your words as well as your feet.

Action Steps: How to get scouted in soccer

Ideas are nothing without execution. Let’s review what we’ve learned about how to get scouted for soccer (football) and make a commitment to act on these ideas.

How to get scouted in soccer (steps):

Understand the Process
Change Your Environment
Find Additional Exposure
Standout Every-Time You Play

Four quick ways to take this information and move closer to your goals:

Don’t blame your country. You live where you live. You can either use it as an excuse or find a way to work around it. Your ability to confront obstacles and overcome them, is what will make you successful in soccer (and life).
Review your situation. Have you put yourself in the best possible situation to be scouted in soccer? Or could you change your environment? Create a plan to get yourself onto the best team in the best league available to you.
Do some research. Get on google and start searching for more exposure. Search for showcase tournaments, soccer combines, open tryouts, and soccer camps (for development and colleges).
Make a personal commitment. Every time you have the ball at your feet, remind yourself “someone is watching”. From now on you will always play like scouts are watching and this is your opportunity to impress.

Please Don’t Wait To Get Scouted

In my opinion, “getting scouted” is the least important method if you want to play college or professional soccer. You are basically waiting for someone to find you.

Being scouted is amazing if it happens (but please don’t wait for it to happen).

There are many other strategies you can use to make a higher level team, earn a college scholarship, or become a professional soccer player.

However, you must first understand…

Getting to the next level (and achieving your long-term goal) is not just about being good enough. In fact, that’s a small piece of the puzzle. The bigger piece is finding your opportunity.

Your opportunity will not find you.

You must find it by making connections, attending events, promoting yourself, and putting systems into place that will increase your chances of playing at the next level.

There are millions of players around the world, who are good enough to play professional but they didn’t find their opportunity. They waited for someone to come and find them and it never happened.

My biggest mistake was letting the people around me tell me it couldn’t be done, that I would never become a professional, so I might as well stop trying. And I did.

In fact…

I never even started.

Looking back I realize I had to go through that failure, so I can help you find your success.

The Next Step

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he Next Step

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About The Author

I used to be a soccer player who struggled with self-confidence. I felt slow, weak, and unmotivated. My coaches didn’t pay much attention to me, my friends laughed at my lack of skills. At one point, I even became so discouraged that I quit the sport altogether.

Enough was enough. I decided to take control of my own development and set out on a journey to become a better soccer player. This path led me on an incredible journey of self-improvement.

I went on to win league and goal-scoring titles, earn awards, lift trophies, and received a college scholarship. I’ve even earned international caps for my country.

I started sharing my knowledge with others and teaching them how to become the best soccer players they could be. My YouTube channel grew to over 500,000 subscribers. I’ve coached for the top youth clubs & men’s teams in my city, and have my own soccer training company.

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