<p>I think I am in mourning. Son just returned from a camp that may have been his primary hope of playing varsity soccer in college, without an offer. It was NAIA. Assuming for the sake of this thread, that if you don't get recruited for NAIA, it's not looking good for "no-name-school" Div III. "We" are now looking for schools with good "club" soccer. The good news is, that this unfetters the process. Still, after 13 years of this sport, I am mourning. Anyone else?</p>
<p>Shrinkrap - Sorry to hear about your news. I’ll assume your son is a 2011. Keep your chin up and keep trying to move forward. Have you considered widening/broadening your recruiting net? Many baseball folks have told me that California is especially competitve in terms of talent supply and demand. Maybe the same principles apply to soccer? Just a thought. Best of luck</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>And yes; class of 2011. </p>
<p>You might be right about the California competition. Maybe his luck will be better with the Washington and Oregon schools on the list. </p>
<p>For the most part the “net” has only included schools based on academic fit first, and I don’t know that us parents are willing to be flexible about that. So far, we are hoping son will be flexible about the soccer part.</p>
<p>Have you looked at College of Idaho and the other NW schools in their league? They’re NAIA, but looking to go to DIII in the next couple of years. </p>
<p><a href=“http://www.collegeofidaho.edu/[/url]”>http://www.collegeofidaho.edu/</a></p>
<p>Sorry you are experiencing this pain Shrinkrap. You’ve obviously invested years of energy (and $) into his soccer life and it’s normal to feel the loss of the next stage of his development. Whether it is due to stiff comnpetition, injury, or quirks of fate, I think we parents feel the loss of our child’s sport as keenly as s/he does.</p>
<p>Fortunately, there are many incredible new opportunites in college he will discover. Extracurriculars, club sports, research jobs, internships, study abroad,…and many of these are impossible to schedule for the varsity athlete with no free time.</p>
<p>You are wise to emphasize academics over soccer. I hope he can find a good club progam at his first choice schools. Good luck.</p>
<p>Thank you fauve! And it’s not really pain, at least not yet. Varsity season is about to start up, and that’s enough to put me off sports for awhile, but I guess it will be the last! The good news is, we were pleasantly surprised my his SAT’s, and while the gpa is still a big stumbling block, once “we” let go of the soccer aspirations, he will probably get into better schools than we anticipated. </p>
<p>PS I am checking out the College of Idaho…but are there any black people in Idaho?.. …smile…sort of…</p>
<p>We do have a few schools in Washington and Oregon on the list.</p>
<p>Hi Shrinkrap,</p>
<p>Well, yes there are some black people in Idaho! I do know some black students at C of I, and I just spent a minute searching their website for some stats and am coming up blank. They do claim 12% minority enrollment, and we have a fairly high Hispanic population in our state, so I’ll admit that would account for some of that number. We don’t have many kids with Asian ancestory. Since you asked, I know of at least one black player on the men’s soccer team.</p>
<p>Shrinkrap, I’ll throw out this offer: put your son on a plane to Boise any time. I’ll pick him up and run him over to the college for the day, to meet the coach, run his numbers through admissions and finaid, and see the campus. I’ve done this for some other California friends- the flights are cheap, he can see it all in a day, or spend the night if he likes. If he doesn’t like it, no harm done! A couple of my neighbors are profs at C of I, and I’ve never met a more caring, competent bunch of people. My kids weren’t interested because it’s too close to home, of course, but for a kid looking for change, a small school, and possibly a place to continue with his sport, this could be good. </p>
<p>I have a feeling C of I would roll out the red carpet for him. Whether he could see himself here is another matter. Interestingly, C of I has adopted the program where every freshman reads the same book and then gets together to discuss it. The choice for this crop of freshmen is on the theme of Slavery, Race and the American Experience:</p>
<p>[First</a> Year Book](<a href=“http://www.collegeofidaho.edu/academics/FYE/book.asp?ID=academics]First”>http://www.collegeofidaho.edu/academics/FYE/book.asp?ID=academics)</p>
<p>Not sure what drove that decision, but this might give you some insight into the the level of awareness of this topic at the College.</p>
<p>I posted my first response to you pretty hastily, and regret that I didn’t offer you some sympathy. It does sound like you and your son are in the process of letting go of varsity level college athletics. I completely support your thoughts about putting the academic piece first. If you get that part right, he’ll be happy whether he plays soccer for the school or not. There are many ways to enjoy sports without the pressure of representing a school. Best wishes, and I’m not kidding about having him visit :)</p>
<p>Wow! Don’t know what to say. l’ll start with thanks.</p>
<p>Hi Shrink- I know that invitation probably sounded a little out of place (a little pushy? too forward?) since we haven’t had one-on-one conversation, but you and I post on the same forums from time to time, and I feel like a I know you a little. PM me if you have interest in following up about C of I. My D2 is starting college in California this fall, and I think we’ve been tracking some of the same schools for our kids.</p>
<p>“a little pushy? too forward?”</p>
<p>Not at all! But I AM imagining family saying “Idaho!?!?”</p>
<p>Stay tuned!</p>
<p>P.S. I’d love it if my kids read “Middle Passage”.</p>
<p>Did you notice that the home page for C of I has a black student on it?? What are the chances of that happening!! It’s a sign.</p>
<p>Speaking as a minority person who lives near Idaho in one of the other lily white states.</p>
<p>Shrink: FWIW, our research has found that club teams are more competitive and taken more seriously by the players when they are NOT at schools with a varsity program in the sport. In other words, if a school has a D-1/2/3 soccer program, their club team seems to behave more like an intramural just-for-fun team - the kids aren’t serious about being at practices and/or games. We’ve seen lots of schools not show up at these club games and practices are held “whenever” and are lead by “whomever.” And this is considered club. However, if the school does not have a varsity program, then the club team fills in that gap and the coaches and players take it all more seriously. </p>
<p>DS’ sport has a nationwide-based website on the club teams, with standings, schedules, playoffs, and links to their individual websites. Maybe soccer has the same and you can research them that way. I would imagine your DS wants to play on a more serious team, given his experience. It’s something worth considering.</p>
<p>Thank you! And yes, there is such a website.
<a href=“http://www.nirsa.org/Content/NavigationMenu/Sports/Soccer/SoccerLeagues/Soccer_Leagues.htm[/url]”>Sign In;
and
<a href=“http://westcoastsoccerassociation.com/[/url]”>http://westcoastsoccerassociation.com/</a>
standings, west coast division
<a href=“http://westcoastsoccerassociation.com/archive/2010MensSpring.php[/url]”>http://westcoastsoccerassociation.com/archive/2010MensSpring.php</a>
That puts University of the Pacific back on the list</p>
<p>FYI - not being recruited does not necessarily mean not being varsity quality. Most D3 schools are not allowed nearly enough recruits to fill their teams for virtually any sports (other than maybe football and basketball) … so most D3 teams are quite interested in walk-ons. I’d suggest once your son figures out his school list that he contacts the coaches … and I’d guess a few would be interested in him trying out for the team when he shows up at school.</p>
<p>Oh, that is helpful! Thanks!</p>