EP #72: How NAIA Men's Soccer Really Compares with NAIA Coach and former Study & Play USA athlete Aidan Twohig

NCAA Division I gets treated like the only destination for men's soccer, but that belief wrecks a lot of recruiting decisions. We’re joined by Aidan Twohig, a former Study & Play USA soccer player and (at the time of recording), an NAIA Assistant Men’s and Women’s soccer coach at Oklahoma City University, to talk candidly about what the US college soccer landscape actually looks like across NCAA, NAIA and JUCO.We dig into why NAIA men’s soccer can be seriously underrated: less funding, fewer media resources, and far less social content does not mean lower quality. Aidan explains why a cup-style tournament across all men's soccer divisions would be electric, and how cross-division preseason results often prove the 'gap' across divisions is smaller than people think.Then Claire and Aidan get practical about video - what makes a soccer highlight video worth watching in the first 90 seconds? What gets you ignored immediately? What are the green flags and red flags when you jump on a call with a men's soccer coach, and how do you show you’re genuinely interested without trying too hard? We also talk honesty in recruiting, why virtual campus tours should be non-negotiable for internationals, and Aidan repeats what we hear so often on this podcast - why fit matters even more than the division.If you’re an international footballer, a parent, or a coach helping athletes navigate the men's US college soccer recruiting landscape, this conversation will help you gain a deeper understanding of US men's collegiate soccer divisions and a desire to research more NAIA men's soccer games.Subscribe for more honest pathways chat, share this with a soccer player, and leave a review!