NCSA catches up with recent American University commit Alex Almodovar
May 7th, 2009 - byNCSA caught up with rising soccer star Alejandro Almodovar to talk about his high school career and the 
opportunity to compete at the next level.
NCSA: How do you show a college coach that you are really interested in their program?
Almodovar: In order to show a college coach that I am really interested I had to take several steps. The first step I would take is to email a coach and tell him that I was very interested in their university and soccer program. I would ask them permission to send them a schedule of an upcoming tournament and to send them a video so that they can take a look at what I can do. Second, I would call the coach so he could see that I am interested in his individual university and the email I sent him was not just a universal email that I sent to many schools.
NCSA: What are you doing to “take charge” of your recruiting process?
Almodovar: To take charge of my recruiting process I have been keeping in contact with the coaches who have been interested in me. Once I knew which schools were interested in me I narrowed down the schools to three so I could really spend time focusing on those schools and speak to the individual coaches about what their programs can offer me and what I could offer to their program.
NCSA: How do you handle nerves when communicating with college coaches?
Almodovar: At first, when I began my recruiting process, I always seemed nervous when talking to coaches. After a while, I realized that playing soccer at the Division 1 level was what I really was passionate about and was something I really wanted to do, so eventually my nerves just went away as I got used to talking to coaches and realizing what I wanted.
NCSA: How do you deal with disappointment in the recruiting process? Can you give an example?
Almodovar: At one point throughout my recruiting process, I became very interested in playing for St. John’s University and Notre Dame University. I had emailed both coaches only to get a response from both of them that they are not looking for goalkeepers and that I should look at other programs. I was extremely disappointed. I did not give up because I knew I was going to be able to find the right university for myself. I picked myself up and continued my recruiting process.
NCSA: What are your goals for this club/high school season? How is the season going?
Almodovar: My High School season at Chaminade College Prep is already over and unfortunately because we had a very young team, our team had a very unsuccessful season. My last year of club with Fusion F.C. has been great. The team just finished Dallas Cup where we lost in the quarter finals 3-2 due to a penalty kick in extra time. We have nationals cup coming up and I hope to win the tournament with my team since it will be our last tournament where we will all be playing together.
NCSA: Overall, how has the recruiting process been for you so far? Has NCSA made a big impact for you?
Almodovar: The recruiting process overall was a pretty interesting journey. It was definitely not easy. I had several ups and downs. If I learned one thing throughout the recruiting process was to never give up. NCSA was definitely a huge impact for me. They introduced me to excellent Universities I seem to look over. When they sent out my video and profile to several Division 1 programs, I was contacted my several coaches who were interested in me. Without NCSA I probably would have never become in contact with American University, the school I will be attending. I am very happy that NCSA was able to help me find the right college for me.
