The transition to college soccer can be difficult for some players. The level and expectations for the player are set high. Incoming players have the whole summer to prepare themselves to come ready for the soccer season which starts in August. If you decide to just lay around and not do any significant workouts for soccer, you will not be ready for the college soccer season. Unlike high school soccer, player can pretty much do whatever they want over the summer and still be fine for the high school season because the level of soccer and expectations are not as high as college soccer season.
There is no off season for college athletes and when it comes to preparing there is a lot involved. For pre-season, which usually takes place late summer, there is a two-week non-stop period of constant training. With about three sessions a day, each two hours from Monday to Saturday. There is not much time to do anything but sleep, and that is all you will want to do after all that training. A big part about being a college athlete is all about how fit you are. The fitness you endure as a college athlete is insane. You could be running sprints, miles, suicides, for what feels like forever, and if you do not pass the tests, most of the times you will not even be allowed to practice.
However, in high school there is no summer workouts sheet that you have to follow up with you coaching staff. High school soccer is more a fun experienced compared to college soccer, there is less pressure from school, coaches, and parents when it comes to high school. High school soccer does not really involve all the fitness test and mental preparations and the need to study formations and tactics of the team you play for is not really a necessity. Nothing is guaranteed in college sports, not playing time, not a position, nothing. New recruits are there for the same reason you are, to play and to win, and if you let yourself fall behind, there will be someone there to take your place. All and all as a college athlete you just need to make sure you have your mind in the right place.
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