What College Soccer Guide does

College Soccer Guide is a private, bootstrapped consulting practice founded in 2016 by Carlos Gonzales, a former NCAA Division I men's soccer player at the University of San Diego (1992-1996) and 20+ year youth club coach in Southern California. The company sells personalized college soccer recruiting advisory services to committed youth club soccer players (high school freshmen through seniors) and their parents, helping them navigate target-school selection, coach outreach, and exposure strategy across NCAA DI/DII/DIII, NAIA, and junior college pathways. The core offering is one-on-one personal consulting, in which Gonzales builds a customized Action Plan around each player's Athletic, Academic, Social, and Financial Fit. Supporting free offerings include a live webinar ('How to Identify Your Best Fit and Target List') and a downloadable recruiting checklist, both functioning as lead magnets feeding the paid consulting funnel. The company also facilitates College ID Camp registrations to connect players directly with college coaches.

The underlying technology is minimal and non-proprietary: the digital storefront and course delivery run on Kajabi, scheduling is handled through Calendly, and ID Camp signups route through Signup.com. The competitive advantage is the founder's personal credentials (USSF National 'A' License, 1992 NCAA National Finalist, coaching stints at SoCal REDS FC, Liverpool FC International Academy SoCal, LA Galaxy, and West Coast Futbol Club) plus a published track record of helping 100+ players reach college soccer, with testimonial-backed placements at programs including Texas, Alabama, and UCLA.

The business model is direct-to-consumer professional services revenue. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and consulting is quote-based; free resources (webinar, checklist) serve as top-of-funnel lead capture. The company is a sole-operator practice according to one source — though firmographic data lists 14 employees, suggesting possible contractor affiliates — operating exclusively in the United States with no external funding, no parent company, and no disclosed M&A, partnership, or distribution activity. A related venture, XTRA Soccer Training, operates as a separate private-training entity under the same founder.

Name

College Soccer Guide

Legal name

College Soccer Guide

Website

https://collegesoccerguide.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

College Soccer Guide is a private, bootstrapped consulting practice founded in 2016 by former NCAA DI player Carlos Gonzales, offering one-on-one college soccer recruiting advisory services — including customized Action Plans, free webinars, and ID camp registrations — to committed youth club soccer players and their parents in the United States.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

College Sports Recruiting Consulting

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

College Recruiting & Scholarship Advisory / Athlete Placement (HSADAEAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Athletic Recruitment & NCAA/NAIA Eligibility Counseling (EDANAEAM), Sports Business Consulting & Advisory (Strategy, Valuation, Due Diligence) (MPAKAKAL)

Keywords

• College soccer recruiting
• Youth soccer consulting
• College ID camps
• Athletic recruiting guidance
• Soccer player mentorship

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Operations

Revenue model

1. Personal Consulting Services: One-on-one consulting sessions where Carlos Gonzales provides customized action plans and strategic guidance for players' Athletic, Academic, Social, and Financial Fit. Sessions are scheduled via Calendly and appear to be the primary revenue-generating service.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

College Soccer Guide provides one-on-one college soccer recruiting advisory services to youth club soccer players and their parents, delivering customized Action Plans covering Athletic, Academic, Social, and Financial Fit. The practice is led personally by founder Carlos Gonzales, a former NCAA Division I player and 20+ year elite youth club coach, and also offers College ID Camps, free live educational webinars, and downloadable recruiting guides as supporting offerings.

Product overview

College Soccer Guide is a consulting and advisory service (not a software platform) founded by Carlos Gonzales, a former NCAA Division I player and experienced club coach. The service offers personalized college soccer recruiting guidance through multiple delivery channels: Personal Consulting (one-on-one advisory with customized Action Plans), College ID Camps (exposure sessions), a Free Live Webinar (online educational session), and a Free Checklist (downloadable guide). The company also publishes educational blog content covering recruiting strategies, ID camp recommendations, and email templates. XTRA Soccer Training operates as a related private training subsidiary. The business model is service-based, focused on professional guidance and mentorship rather than software or technology products.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Personal Consulting One-on-one advisory sessions where Carlos Gonzales guides youth soccer players through the college recruiting process with a customized Action Plan addressing Athletic, Academic, Social, and Financial Fit, including coach outreach support.
• College ID Camps Sessions that connect youth soccer players with college coaches to maximize exposure for recruitment opportunities, with scheduling via Signup.com.
• Free Live Webinar A complimentary online seminar that educates players and parents on the college soccer recruiting process and the Athletic/Academic/Social/Financial Fit framework.
• Free Checklist Download A downloadable resource titled 'How To Get Recruited To Play College Soccer' that provides step-by-step guidance for the recruiting process.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 100 players helped achieve goal of playing college soccer

Named customers3 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights2 records

Direct peers

• BeRecruited: Free online athletic recruiting network where high school athletes create profiles to be discovered by college coaches. Direct peer because it competes for the same recruiting-services value pool with a self-serve, lower-cost alternative to personal consulting.
• CaptainU: College athletic recruiting platform that connects high school athletes with college coaches. Direct peer because it targets the same youth-soccer-and-other-sports recruiting workflow and is now part of the NCSA family.
• FieldLevel: Athletic recruiting network and platform for high school athletes and college coaches. Direct peer because it provides recruiting profile, video highlight, and coach-matching functionality for the same target customer (club-level high school athletes).
• NCSA (Next College Student Athlete): Largest online college athletic recruiting platform covering all sports including soccer. Direct peer because it solves the same problem — guiding youth athletes through the college recruiting process — but at platform scale rather than 1-on-1 consulting.
• Prep Baseball Report (PBR): Subscription scouting service that helps high school baseball players get recruited to college programs through showcase events and scouting reports. Direct peer because it is the most established sport-specific expert-driven recruiting service — the model College Soccer Guide aims to replicate for soccer.
• SportsRecruits: Subscription-based recruiting network for high school athletes across multiple sports including soccer. Direct peer because it offers athletes a profile, college coach search tools, and communication features — competing for the same recruiting-services wallet.

Broad incumbents

• Hudl: Dominant sports video and analysis platform used by athletes, teams, and college coaches across many sports including soccer. Broad incumbent because its highlight-video and coach-sharing tools increasingly substitute for parts of the personal-consulting value prop.
• MaxPreps: High school sports statistics, rankings, and recruiting-content platform covering dozens of sports including soccer. Broad incumbent because it provides free recruiting visibility (stats, rankings, college coach search) that competes with paid advisory services.
• Stack Sports: Provider of sports technology platforms (including former Blue Star Sports / SportsEngine products) serving leagues, clubs, and athletes across multiple sports. Broad incumbent because it owns club-management and recruiting-adjacent infrastructure used by youth soccer organizations.

Emerging players

• Tweni: Emerging college athletic recruiting platform focused on connecting high school athletes with college coaches. Emerging player because it is smaller and newer than NCSA/CaptainU but increasingly overlaps with the recruiting-tools value College Soccer Guide sells as 1-on-1 consulting.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat2 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/college-soccer-guide

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about College Soccer Guide