Meredith Waropay, NJYS Contributor
The New Jersey Olympic Development Program (ODP) recently presented a College Recruitment Webinar, where it provided information to prospective college student-athletes about the college recruitment process. The webinar featured Keith O’Connor and Kristin Giotta, who currently serve as head coaches for the men’s and women’s soccer programs at Fairleigh Dickinson University (Florham Campus).
Keith O’Connor is a former ODP player who went on to serve as head coach at Centenary University for 13 years. During his time there, he accumulated 128 victories and qualified for the NCAA Tournament twice. He then became the head coach of the men’s soccer program at Fairleigh Dickinson in 2019. Since his hiring, O’Connor has mentored four All-MAC Freedom honorees as well as 43 students with MAC Academic Honor Roll accolades.
Kristin Giotta is a longstanding ODP goalkeeper coach, and she is the longest tenured head coach in FDU history. She completed her 17th season as head coach of their women’s soccer program this past fall, when she was also named the school’s Co-Interim Athletic Director. Outside of FDU, Giotta owns and operates Upper Ninety Training, LLC. Additionally, she is the Girls Director of Goalkeeping at Match Fit Academy.
During the webinar, O’Connor and Giotta answered questions from prospective college students and their families. They discussed steps in the college recruitment process, including communication with college coaches, visiting college campuses and participating in tryouts in some cases. They also talked about the differences in recruiting between different collegiate divisions.
“The major difference between Division 3 in comparison to Division 1 and Division 2 is the ability to receive athletic award money,” noted O’Connor.
Giotta added that tryout times and policies for walk-ons and transfer students are institution-specific. Another topic was regarding how universities support students during their transition from high school and club soccer to the college level. O’Connor and Giotta spoke on the resources provided to students at Fairleigh Dickinson that help them balance their athletic and academic commitments, such as tutoring and academic success meetings. Their teams also have the opportunity to work with a full-time strength and conditioning coach during the offseason, and they offer workout guides during the summer as well.
“What I absolutely love about the Division 3 model is that you have the opportunity to be a student, an athlete, and then experience a lot of things at the university,” said Giotta.
O’Connor added that “student athletes in season have a higher GPA on average than when they are not in season,” highlighting how their schedule is intended to enhance the academic experience instead of take away from it.
Later on in the webinar, Giotta and O’Connor were asked about their goals for their upcoming seasons.
“The end goal is we want to continue to get better in our league, in the MAC and the Freedom Conference while also having academic success,” said Giotta.
O’Connor echoed that notion.
“My goal is to nominate our team every year for a team academic award from our national association,” he stated. “I love to have our student-athletes recognized by our conference for their academic achievements.”
When asked to give their overall advice to students and families, both coaches agreed that it is important to reach out to colleges via email. They also suggested that they provide game film and information about upcoming games and tournaments. Lastly, they recommended narrowing down the college search based on major and academics first before reaching out to coaches.
The Olympic Development Program is an identification system linked to the United States Soccer Federation and US Youth Soccer. The program offers its players a pathway that could lead to representing Regional and U.S. Youth National Teams. Originally established in 1977, ODP was the first program in the country designed to identify potential youth national team players. ODP players begin initially at the local sector before progressing to the state, regional and possibly national levels. By playing with like-talented athletes, ODP offers the opportunity for players to advance in their personal development and to be scouted by college coaches.
For more information about the New Jersey ODP, please email [email protected]. Also, make sure to visit the program online and like the official New Jersey ODP Facebook Page.