<p>Time to take HS freshman to visit local college teams in 2 sports...hoping this will help D to decide if/which of the 2 sports she loves she might like to play in college. I'm wondering if anyone has suggestions for questions she can ask to get a feel for what its like to play in college. This is definitely NOT intended to be a recruiting trip. My own thoughts for her to ask of the players and the coaches</p>
<pre><code> what do you like about this sport
what is the difference between club, HS and college
how did you choose between this sport and other (if there was another)
how do you keep up with your studies
what do you do with your team in the off-season
for the sport with a specialized position...do you feel included with the rest of the team
</code></pre>
<p>I would definitely ask upper classmen and coaches first before traveling alot…
If your student is a varsity athlete and heading for highly recruitable nationals times in the next year or so…then sometime soph yr would be a good time to start looking…</p>
<p>with the caveat that it has to be a passion for your student…no one wants to spend 100s of hrs enslaved to the sport, it has to be a passion.</p>
<p>Check out the NCAA clearinghouse website for more information. College coaches cannot talk with students so young and guidelines vary. Also check the Admissions athletes section here at CC …alot of parents have scaled this mountain before.</p>
<p>Actually… students can contact coaches anytime. It’s that coaches cannot contact potential athletes and it depends on the sport when that can. But waiting to get on a coaches radar until that time is often too late in the game.</p>
<p>I agree that HS freshman year is pretty early to be choosing but it can’t hurrt to begin the process because its Soph and Jr year that matters most. That said, I doubt many coaches will go out of their way to help you arrange the visit. They’re just to busy to look 4 years ahead.</p>
<p>Other questions to ask:
Coach
Are there facility improvements planned? If so when?
What are the academic progress requirements?
Is there special classes or tutoring for athletes?
How much - and when - are conditioning sessions?</p>
<p>Players (If they’re made available)
It really doesn’t make much sense to ask about team personality/chemistry - none of them will be there when she arrives. But you can ask about the coach’s style. Fairness? Recruitment overlap (does she bring in 5 kids for one position?) Playing time decisions?</p>
<p>A visit as a freshman seems early, but understand that she is trying to get a feel for time commitments etc. First, do the coaches she wants to see know she is coming? Unless your daughter is already known by them from a club sport or HS team (and shows potential) they may not be all that open with their time, especially with a freshman. Hopefully for your daughter they are open and she is able to visit and find out all that she needs. As a parent you need to understand that some coaches (depending on the program) get several hundred emails a day plus many phone calls; coaches are very busy. If they are not open to an un-official visit I suggest she go to as many of the sporting events of the sports she is interested at the local college and sit/stand as close to the bench/field/court (whatever the particular sport is) and watch and listen how the players interact with each other and how the coach interacts with them; when they are winning and losing. </p>
<p>Since you seem to be new to the process I suggest you go to [The</a> Official Web Site of the NCAA - NCAA.org - NCAA.org](<a href=“http://www.ncaa.org%5DThe”>http://www.ncaa.org) and do some research on eligibility and the recruiting rules. It seems to be a simple process, but once you get into it it is more complicated than realized. Another suggestion is to go to as many of the camps that the coaches put on at this local college and the process go from there. Let them know you like the school etc . and let them evaluate your daughter over the next two summers. Then if they see where she continuously improves her skills/play the process will start to fall in place. These camps are a good place (for your daughter) to meet the athletes and get a lot of info. </p>
<p>Also, as she starts looking at schools and decides what sport she may want to pursue she should put much emphasis on choosing a school for the academics and then the sport; not the other way around. The percentage of high school athletes playing at the college level (any division) is extremely low. Less than 2%. And for the small percentage that do play at the college level; more than 50% (I think its closer to 75%) are done with that sport after their first year for many reasons. </p>
<p>Another area on CC you should look at is under College Admissions:
Specialty College Admissions Topics Click this and then click Athletic Recruits </p>
<p>Hey guys - OP said she was taking D to visit LOCAL college teams. She said it’s definitely not for recruiting purposes, but to help D to decide which sport she might like to focus on in HS.</p>
<p>I realize that, but as a freshman, she should play the sport(s) she loves to play without regard to what’s going to happen in 4 years - let her build her passion naturally. Already having expectations now IMO, may result in burn-out over the next years before college.</p>
<p>Thanks for your input everyone. D is a wise kid. She knows education comes first. </p>
<p>Time to get those unofficial visits going. I’m hoping this experience gives her some input on future intangibles of each sport. Of course I will be along too, so I can remind her that D-1, etc are different and team chemistry depends on who is on the team at the time.</p>
<p>As far as NCAA rules, luckily I dropped club coach’s name when talking to the college coach. That was how he was able to notify me our visit needed to be rescheduled (Take note other newbies!).</p>
<p>Schedule clashes require D to start thinking about which sport takes the back seat to the other for the extras of club, summer camps, etc. She has limited time, we have limited bucks. But she’ll play both as long as she possibly can. She’ll have it no other way.</p>