<p>I agree that a coach not meeting the player at the airport is NOT an indication of lack of interest. Anyone who has had exposure to coaches at the D3 level knows that they are often stretched thin to the breaking point and have no time or resources to coordinate everything. Often they are coaching two sports AND have another job to make ends meet. They are planning and supervising practices, dealing with administrative stuff, players' issues, coordinating schedules and travel with all the other coaches, plus having a family and again, maybe working 2 or 3 jobs to support themselves. It is POSSIBLE that it might be a lack of interest but I sure would NOT assume that!!</p>
<p>Agreed with MOWC about the drinking. As much as the coach may forbid it, it will still almost certainly go on. And I mean something like 99% certainty that there will be drinking on an official visit, coach-approved or not.</p>
<p>I've visited many schools and stayed over. A lot of times we went to parties, I was offered drinks out of common courtesy but declined. Those people at least let me know what it would be like there. I think that is better than keeping the potential athletes couped up in a room all night or something.</p>
<p>Disagree with drinking for these 17-18 yo recruits. My D was NEVER offered a drink on her trips. The student/athletes responsible for "entertaining" her took her to campus activities like movies, ice cream, hiking, "hanging out", and so on. There seemed to be an understanding that this is an underage high school student who CANNOT commit a misdemeanor or felony without jeapardizing their opportunity to go to these schools. Somehow, these hosts had gotten the message, and she had GREAT visits without alcohol involved. Schools I'm speaking of are Ivy League, and excellent DIII's. Maybe other sports, schools and recruited young men have different experiences. My advice to my child would be to resist the temptation if offered. They have too much to lose.</p>
<p>I still believe that a party will show me more about the college than going out to the movies. I was able to fit in, and be myself without drinking and no one really pressured me to do anything I did not want to. Which tells me a lot about the students and the school itself.</p>
<p>One very important thing for your student to know is that he should NOT - under any circumstances - make a verbal committment during the official visit - no coach should pressure an athlete for that committment before it is meant to be made.</p>
<p>And about the alcohol/party scene - it will all depend on the school - the student is not under the coaches thumb for the whole visit - so one never knows what to expect - the visiting student should be ready to say no thanks tho - just in case - and I do agree - they have alot to loose should they make a bad choice during their official visit.</p>
<p>I agree with the dress situation - the athlete should be puttiing their best foot forward and dress accordingly - kahkie's/nice pants and golf shirts or button down collar or similar - I would avoid jeans for that first impression visit - but take a pair - and a shirt and tie for guys and a nice outfit for girls - you never know what you will be invited to - it is also not a bad idea to ask the coach if any special events - dress wise - will be going on during the visit as well.</p>
<p>Riverrunner- maybe it's a guy thing. My son's officials to Ivys and top DIIIs involved a lot of alcohol. In fact, in a different sport, several kids got so drunk their high school coaches kicked them off the team! At one Ivy it is a tradition to get the recruits fake IDs for a nice sum of $$$. I am not talking about macho or helmet sports here, either.</p>
<p>My D and her female friends who have been on recruiting trips this year have truly not run into drinking issues. I think we're on to something with the guy theory. My D was pleasantly surprised to see that their hosts had great ideas for ways to have fun without it. She doesn't drink in high school, but I'm pretty sure this will become part of her life in college. The time to make that transition isn't during a recruiting trip.</p>
<p>A good number of the really serious student-athletes in fact are not going to drink much in college any more than on their recruiting trips. </p>
<p>There seems to be a drinking culture on most campuses these days, and the athletes may down a few beers, but you are not going to find the standout athletes, for the most part (there are always exceptions), drinking much if at all. That isn't to say that the recruits won't be taken to parties with drinking--I know that happened, but I do not believe that the official visit hosts (team members in charge of the recruits) were drinking.</p>
<p>They barely have time in a 24 hour period to go to class, eat, practice morning and afternoon (most D1 sports are going to have conditioning in the early morning and team practices in the p.m.), do homework, and sleep a bit, let alone let drinking interfere with all that.</p>
<p>Patient- I wish that were true, but it isn't. When the athletes are in season and training hard, drinking is much less or non-existent (that is the hope). I know for a fact that entire TEAMS have huge drinking- and even drug- cultures. It is very disappointing to me. They carefully plan out the nights when they can get "wasted". I have heard of many a recruiting trip that involved "flaming shots" by the hosts AND the recruits.<br>
Things are not what we want or hope them to be, unfortunately.</p>
<p>Drinking was definitely on the itinerary at the two Ivy's my S officially visited this fall, although far more prominently at one of the schools. This was during season and he wasn't impressed by the non-stop drink fest and hungover athletes. Not surprisingly, the team was equally unimpressive in the game he observed. This morning he flew off to his last official visit at a school (non Ivy) which provided a detailed itinerary that is so packed with meetings there doesn't appear to be much time for recreational drinking. I am curious to see how the campus culture will compare to what he found at the Ivy's.</p>
<p>It seems everyone here has such different experiences, some based on division level and type of sport. For my son, the visit at the he chose was scheduled with the precision of a papal visit and the preparations by the coaches was detailed, right down to what streets they wanted to avoid when driving to restaurants and around town. I hope the OP will post a note later letting us know what his son's experience was like.</p>
<p>At the Williams visit the athletes in my son's sport were encouraged to all come on a particular weekend, and the parents were invited, too. This is DIII, so it is at your own expense. There were some activities for the parents and the kids went off with hosts and did their own thing. We all came together for some talks by Morty, coaches and others. I was quite impressed. While there was drinking, it was kept a little in check by the fact that the parents were roaming around. It was a 2 night visit.</p>
<p>Thanks for all of your replies! The experience was very positive. Yes, he was invited to some parties where drinking was going on -- but definitely did not feel any pressure to drink. Team members made him feel very comfortable. On clothing, there were a couple of other male recruits and several females and all had casual clothing that matched the general college population - lots of jeans, khakis, .... There was a good variety of activities he was able to take part in (basketball game, movies, parties, visiting team practices,...) and also met many non-athletes. It is a great way to see what a college is truly like from a student's perspective.</p>
<p>At one of my kids' recruitment visits, the coach never showed up at all!!! He just figured they'd see the campus and have a free lunch, then meet some students. Needless to say, that school is off the list completely.</p>
<p>That said, all the other visits went very well. My kids wore Khakis and button down shirts with ties. </p>
<p>Kids were never offered alcohol but they did need money for souvenirs, and extras.</p>
<p>So glad he had a good experience! That sounds like how my son felt on his too. </p>
<p>MOWC--wasn't trying to make a general statement, just based on my son's experience over 4 years. I guarantee you that not all athletes drink--just as you can obviously guarantee me that not all athletes do not drink! </p>
<p>I agree with you that there is drinking, and some of it at some places is bad. I was simply making a not-too-generalized statement that not all athletes drink. The use or overuse of alcohol, or the lack thereof, within a team should probably be one of the things that is a factor in a recruit's consideration of which team he might want to be on. Perhaps the official visits can provide some insight into that.</p>
<p>I agree. I just don't think we can assume, unfortunately, that training eliminates the drinking concern.</p>
<p>As a parent, I've also directly asked coaches about their drinking policies. Some have given me a blank stare. Others have a clearly articulated set of "strikes" and do follow through with limited playing time, and even expulsion from the team. I find the coaches' responses to this question to be an interesting litmus test for programs. It is also worthwhile to follow up on this topic with a current athlete to see if the policy has teeth (or just a lot of bark). What your family is comfortable with is very much a personal preference. I'm sure some parents/students don't mind the student having full opportunity to experiment while others wouldn't mind the coach holding players to a standard. Sometimes the "bad cop" coach helps kids keep things under control.</p>
<p>riverrunnner,</p>
<p>Did the coaches tell you how their drinking policies are enforced? How do they know when an athlete has been drinking? Is there a "spy" on the team? Breathalyzer? Or do the athletes need to be caught by "the law" in order for it to count? Sounds like a policy with no teeth to me.</p>
<p>The coach who spoke most candidly with me works for a school with about 1200 students. He gave me an example. He had heard a rumor about a number of athletes attending a party and drinking on the night before a competition. He called each person in and let them tell their story. Athletes who had "partied" were denied participation at the next competition. Over the course of the last season, one athlete was removed from the team because of a pattern of alcohol abuse. The student was also counseled to get help. This coach works on the honor system. The campus is small enough that the rumor mill is enough to generate a conversation with the coach. I know an athlete on the team (coach works with both men and women) and she felt he was fair and effective.</p>