I question the value of playing at the D3 level. My kid’s sport is a year-round commitment. She has already given so much up to attain the level she has during her high school years where her sport dominated her life. The things that must be given up to make this athletic commitment in college (study abroad, work study, limiting majors due to extraordinary time commitment, less time for clubs, and trips with friends) are enormous. Love of the sport can be accomplished by playing at the club level. I would love to hear some discussion on this issue.
I would assume most people play because they enjoy it - the competition, the socialization, to camaraderie.
As for playing at the club level, because there are no NCAA rules regarding club competition, some club teams actually spend more time practicing and competing than varsity teams.
My daughter is a rising senior looking to participate in D3 sports, so admittedly our perspective is not based on experience but on what we’ve been told by coaches and current team members. But one reason she is not looking at D1 schools for her sport is that she wants to study abroad, not have her major determined by her sport, etc, and she has been assured by the coaches who are recruiting her that academics are the priority. She has been told that even though hers is a winter sport, she can still study abroad, and that this is the advantage of going D3. She knows people on the teams in question who are currently abroad and will be taking time away from the team their junior year.
Almost all sports are year round, or at least have practices in the off season. My daughter plays a spring sport (D2) and right now has 9-15 hours of ‘practice.’ They have conditioning every day, then there are captain’s practices and shoot arounds, team meetings. She has given up a lot, but she can still do work study (in fact the athletic department has a lot of jobs available and are flexible), study abroad (either fall or summer) and she’s an engineering student. One of her teammates, also an engineer, is an RA this year to earn free room and board. We don’t think she’s given up much especially compared to the benefits.
The school sponsors the D3 team while the club team is usually funded by the athletes. The recruited D3 player can get admissions help. Not all D3 schools have club teams for the sports they offer at varsity level. I don’t think any of the D3 schools my daughter looked at also have club teams in her sport. My niece played club lacrosse in college, and she could have played at any level, as could her teammates. She didn’t play her senior year because even club sports was very time consuming and involved a lot of travel. She did have to fund raise too.
On the positive side, my daughter’s sport has been such a positive influence on her during high school that she is really looking forward to continuing to train, compete and be part of a team in college. She considers the gain of those things to be more than worth what she might have to forgo because of it.
My son plays a D2 sport which usually requires more time than D3, and he has not had an issue with the things you mentioned. While their official season is in the fall, they do conditioning all year and a spring tournament season. He is a science major in a pre-med track but there are also several engineering majors on the team- I’m not sure how a D3 sport would affect the choice of major. They can do Study Abroad programs and just have to coordinate with the coach. He has had an on-campus job for the last year and has had time for friends( he is very social) and clubs. His school emphasizes academics over sports and his team is recognized every year for their high GPA. His GF plays on a club team at the same school and they travel much more than she had anticipated and have a pretty hefty practice schedule. It all depends somewhat on the coach and the school, but is very doable for most kids.
If she loves her sport but wants to focus on academics, D3 is a good way to go. Being on a team provides a great instant support system for new students. There is usually a sense of camaraderie that develops between team members. Team costs are covered by the school and most D3 schools emphasize academics.
Watch the movie Quantum Hoops.
Scholar athletes indeed.
Does she still enjoy practicing and competing in her sport? My daughter also went D3 and practices year round. She is a freshman so just starting out. She only looked at schools with strong academics, and the coaches all understood they are students first - after all, they aren’t getting paid to swim or play volleyball or row. They are doing it because they want to. My daughter’s coach works around when kids have difficult weeks in school (no formal practice during finals, but he will write out a practice if she wants.) If she has a lab that interferes with practice, she can go on her own a different time of day. She spoke to other athletes and all confirmed this is how it works and the coach is accommodating. Other college coaches seemed to be equally as flexible.
She is at a tech-heavy school. About half do study abroad, and he explained how that works given her practice schedule. Most kids on the team are actively involved in other clubs. They are mostly engineering/comp sci/science majors.
As was the case in high school, it does take some balancing and the choice is hers whether she wants to continue. She can walk away at any time. So far, she has been happy to have a built in set of friends, and a group of helpful people who understand the challenges of being an athlete, wanting to maintain high academic standards, and participating in other activities. She is very happy to be part of the team.
She personally finds participating in her sport keeps her focused in other areas of her life. And she has learned so much and had some great experiences as an athlete. Of course, there are other experiences to be had outside of athletics, there is always a trade-off.
Another parent of prospective D3 athlete agreeing with above – every coach we have met with emphasizes academics comes first, has talked about their players studying abroad etc. At some (but not all) of the D3 schools, the coach said he doesn’t schedule practice until after the last afternoon class, including lab, ends. Other coaches talked about weekday away games never being more than 2 hour travel away (maybe its less, I can’t recall) to minimize conflicts with academics.
Like other D3 athletes talked about here, my player wants to play D3 because his sport is essential to him yet he doesn’t want it to be his “job” in college. He wants to give his sport 20+ hours a week, but not 40.
What do they say? Everyone stops playing at some time. Who is to say but your daughter when that time is – maybe now is the time to stop. That is up to you and her, but you may underestimate the value of D3 athletics as well as overestimating the time commitment.
Concern no. 1. Overseas study. Many team players take a semester off for study abroad during the off season. My kids did and valued their time overseas as well as D3 athletics.
Concern no. 2. Work study. D3 athletics are compatible with work study. It may take some degree of smarts to figure out the right work study job. For example, a very popular job is working in the library, such as checking books. You study and get paid at the same. Some students do limit work to the off season, however.
Full year practices. Don’t get me wrong, there are captain’s practices. They are voluntary, although the kids don’t seem to want to miss them. These are truly voluntary practices, because two or three sport athletes do in fact exist at the D3 level. You may find that the off season is less intense than you presume.
The key here is to check the NCAA rules as well as the applicable league rules. For example, I am told there is a NESCAC rule that students cannot miss a class to attend a game. I believe there also are NESCAC rules limiting the length of travel during the week.
Bonded Friendships. None better than D3 sports. Expect twelve kids to descend on your house even years after graduation during the holidays. It made the transition to freshman year seamless. I called it the fraternity without the dues.
Teamwork and Leadership. Always a benefit of sports, more so at the college level.
Everyone loves an athlete, especially a college athlete. Makes it easier to find jobs after graduation.
Networking. There is a ready made network of alumni who played the sport to tap into for career development. Also, you may find a very strong parent network which is fun for you. I know of parents who extended job offers to members of the college team.
It isn’t for everyone, and things don’t always work out perfectly. However, I would say there are incredible benefits that you may be underestimating. If your daughter is being recruited, you should ask the coach about your concerns. How many girls on the team have a job. How many go overseas. You might be very surprised.
Thank you all for your contributions. This is exactly what I was looking for.