Just announced: Oakton Women’s Soccer is 1 of only 2 teams, nationally, to win the @UnitedCoaches Ethics & Sportsmanship Award for 2024! There’s playing college soccer & there’s playing college soccer for us. #hootiehoo https://t.co/01eE519ReY
🚨We are not looking forward to November as it is going to be so hard on student-athletes, potential recruits, and coaches.
- Historically 45 D1 head coaches leave/are fired and the majority happen in early November before financial aid docs are sent. This has a major impact on players on the college roster and verbally committed recruits as many programs wait until a new coach comes to see if they will honor commitment and many want to recruit their players.
-2026 and 2027 Recruits are you aware that there is a dead period for D1 Women's Soccer from Nov 10-13 (signing) and Dec 15 to Jan 5th (Coaches well deserved Vacation/Family Time). No face-to-face or watching prospective student-athletes during this time.
- The written offer of financial aid which is a binding agreement between a college and a prospective student-athlete is Nov 12 and we sadly expect just before that some programs are going to inform players many who have been verbally committed for over a year they are not going to be able to honor it. There will be very few high-quality D1 opportunities left.
- The Transfer Portal opens from Nov 17 to Dec 17 and due to the 28-player roster limits, we expect more players and less opportunity than there has EVER been especially since the 298 D1 programs that have opted-in will have to release a player if they are currently at the 28 player limit (and did not use DSD) in order to add a new player.
This is one of the more challenging months and being informed is one of the best ways you can navigate this as much of this is out of your control. We plan to help as much as we can anyone impacted. #PayItFoward
We receive so many recruiting emails that tell the same story: I have very good grades, I am a hard worker, I am all this and all that on the soccer field. Very few of them describe their mentality. At the college level, our livelihood is dependent upon the performance of our team and in addition to the obvious, we seek out players who hate losing more than they like winning. Talent is plentiful in the youth soccer pool but it is this mentality X factor that creates separation. It is clearly an intangible that is not always easy to measure, but will usually be evident in the way players approach the game: audibly firing up their team in close games, sprinting into the net to grab the ball after a goal, running down an attacker after giving the ball away, hitting a slide tackle to prevent a ball going over endline for corner. Many say this is something you are born with, the way you are wired, but like anything else mentality can be improved. For those who want to play at the next level, don’t ignore this important piece of athletics. @WMTribeWSOC #Mentality #CollegeSoccer
Just because you don’t go D1, that doesn’t mean:
🚨You can’t get a full ride
🚨You can’t use ⚽️ as a vehicle to improve your life
🚨U can’t go pro
🚨You can’t play at a high level
🚨You aren’t good enough
🚨You won’t have a great experience
All of these are possible at non-D1s
#CSTruth
Our final regular season game of the year and we have several sophomores to celebrate. Join us Thursday October 23rd at 3pm and help us thank them for everything they’ve accomplished here! #hootiehoo
Don't sleep on #jucosoccer . There are several teams in Region 4 that are nationally ranked, and we've seen players who received JUCO offers for <$4k tuition costs jump at NCAA offers yet have played less than 75min total through the season so far. Know your options. #juco
Control the Controllable.
John Wooden used to tell his players something that seems simple, but it’s everything in coaching and life:
“Things turn out best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out.”
Wooden never talked about winning.
He talked about preparation, discipline, and attitude.
He knew you can’t control outcomes, only your response to them.
Too many coaches get stuck chasing what they can’t control:
The refs.
The parents.
The talent they don’t have.
The breaks they didn’t get.
But championship coaches do something different; they master what they can control.
Their preparation.
Their consistency.
Their effort.
That’s why Wooden built process-first teams.
He measured success by effort and execution, not the scoreboard.
Because the minute you start blaming, you stop growing.
And the minute you stop growing, your team follows.
So coach your players the way Wooden coached his:
Focus on the habits that build character.
Focus on the process that builds results.
Focus on the controllable, and let the rest go.
Winning is never guaranteed.
But giving your best always is.
Massive verbal local commitment to add to our back line for 2026! Can't wait to see her line up with us next year! It's all about the process and where we can take this together! #hootiehoo
We may have been on the losing side of the conference matchup, but the team showed massive improvement over the last couple weeks and this girl, won the Hootie Hoo Player of the Game as she joins the ranks of college goal scorers w/ her 1st but not last. Congrats Jessica!
One of the bravest things a player can say. We support our players and ask that they let us know when they need help. It’s not a sign of weakness. It’s a rally of support to make them stronger. #hootiehoo
“Without therapy, I might be one of those names that make people go, ‘Ah yeah, Diego Luna … What happened to him?’”
USMNT and Real Salt Lake star Diego Luna opened up about how much therapy is helping his battle with mental health issues and anxiety 🗣️
“I’m sad to admit this, but I only began to consider therapy when my mental health started to affect my soccer,” Luna wrote.
“At the start of 2024, I wasn’t scoring goals. I wasn’t even starting regularly. I had also just become a father.”
“Having a son at 19 was a huge challenge, especially mentally, and I felt like the walls were closing in on me.”
“Growing up in a Latino family, you were supposed to handle your emotions by doing something, like playing soccer. Out on the pitch, I was always a fighter, ‘a dog,’ as Pablo Mastroeni likes to say. As a ‘real man,’ I wanted to figure things out on my own.”
“I felt like the walls were closing in on me. One day, I simply caved in. When I left [my first therapy session], I still had tears in my eyes. I felt blessed that I had found such a good therapist right away.”
“Six days later, I scored my first goal of the season. I could feel the difference. The air was fresher. My feet were lighter. My mind was clearer.”
“Seven months later, I won the MLS Young Player of the Year. Gradually, I became the father I wanted to be. As a dad, you can’t be angry all the time. You can’t lock yourself in your room all day. Your highs and lows can’t be extreme. You have to be the rock for your family,”
“The more therapy I’ve done, the more I’ve realized I can’t be the only one who would benefit from this kind of help.”
“I’ve played for three clubs in four states. I’ve had a son at 19. I can honestly say that, without help, I’d be a lost cause.”
“Without therapy, I might be one of those names that make people go, ‘Ah yeah, Diego Luna … What happened to him?’”
“If you can relate to what I’m telling you here, please try it out. Don’t wait. Too many people suffer in silence until their 40s and 50s. It’s not cool to be depressed and ‘tough.’”
“Getting help is the brave thing to do. I’m telling you that as a friend. Open the door. Get out of the darkness. You don’t have to do this alone.”
[via The Players’ Tribune]
⚽️GAME DAY⚽️ In today’s doubleheader the Owls are competing against Black Hawk & Kishwaukee. Free entry!
⏰ 1PM, Men’s Soccer
⏰ 3:30PM, Women’s Soccer
📲 Watch on Hudl. https://t.co/YWWHZGi4fd
It’s game day! @MCAthletics1924 travels to us with a 4pm kickoff. Oakton looks to go 2-0 in conference play while Morton is still looking for their first conference win of the season. #hootiehoo
While we were out scouting this past Sunday, we didn't get to say Happy Birthday to one of our own! Happy Birthday Rachel! Hope you had a great weekend!