A Systematic Evaluation of a Soccer Club's College Advisory Program

The College Advisory Program offered by Total Vision Soccer Club aims at providing young players with the opportunity to learn how to navigate the collegiate recruiting process, market themselves to college coaches, and increase their exposure to potential colleges and universities. A team of external evaluators (authors of this chapter) conducted a formative evaluation to determine what the program needs to do to reach its goal. By following a systemic evaluation process, the evaluation team investigated five dimensions of the program and collected data by reviewing various program materials and conducting surveys and interviews with players and their parents, upstream stakeholders, and downstream impactees. By triangulating the multiple sources of data, the team drew a conclusion that most program dimensions were rated as mediocre although the program had several strengths. The team provided evidence-based recommendations for improving the quality of the program.