Soo helpful. Thank you for taking time to share this
Great to hear - thanks!
Good to hear he was able to make that decision - very helpful
Yes. Recruited athletes with the main deciding factor being choosing the best fit school which turned out to be without sports.
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My son turned down half a dozen academic D3 offers, in each case as a “top recruit” projected to start as a freshman and SCEA’d Yale where he got in. He ended up playing club baseball and golf which he loved. He got to start as a freshman and batted top of the order. They mostly played games with totally voluntary practices vs the greater time commitment which would have been required even in a D3 program.
It’s a great alternative if your kid wants a larger school experience, and playing a sport is more important than being part of a varsity team, especially with the time commitment.
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Awesome. So glad to hear this perspective, thanks for sharing
Another parent of a club athlete at a D1 school here - but club swim.
As a freshman, it was terrific for him and he met a cross-section of people - including older kids in his major who were able to give him classes and scheduling advice.
While some schools can be expensive, his school has a deal between club teams and the athletic department that they work x amount of football games - either directing parking before the game, or cleaning up the study’s Sunday morning after the game. (Or both!) It is a simple formula and how many kids show up for each determines the funding that the athletic department gives them. The club team has a requirement for each athlete they have to work 2 or 3 games parking and one Sunday cleanup.
I actually think it is a brilliant solution because it keeps out of pocket costs low for students. His only cost last year was $60 for nationals - which included the bus and the hotel rooms.
Club sports is also a great social outlet. Many of them may have socials/parties on weekends and get involved in campus activities (homecoming, etc).
Just wanted to share S experience - highly recommend!
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Just to share that some colleges cover the costs of club sports.
DS2022 is in a club sport at his college; his sport is only club at the college, no D1-D3 version.
We only pay $50/yr (and his sneakers), and his college pays for everything else:
- all uniforms/bags,
- hotels/air travel (the women’s club team competed in Puerto Rico last year)
- meals, registration fees, etc
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Just be prepared for the worst scenario.
Yes, the NESCAC Coach made DS2022 an offer of a spot on his roster, requiring son to apply ED.
But son couldn’t give up his dream of #1 college (which only has club version of his sport), so he told Coach that he couldn’t apply ED but would apply RD.
It was a really difficult decision because it was totally:
- bird in hand: NESCAC offer with Coach’s support
- vs. bird in bush: chasing #1 college (~4% acceptance rate).
He could lose both.
Luck was on our side, since DS2022 was accepted to his #1 college.
(Note: son was NOT accepted as RD w/out the Coach’s support to NESCAC college).
–
I’m sure no one would care about much about this story, but I loved it.
So after DS2022 told Coach he couldn’t apply ED, Coach basically ghosted him.
But then in Freshman year season, son’s college and Coach’s college competed at the same meet. Son’s own team coach had stayed home sick with Covid. NESCAC Coach saw son and when he learned that the coach was not there/home sick, NESCAC Coach stepped in and helped coached son’s team.
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Awesome, thanks!!
Helpful, thanks!!
Informative thread. Do club teams at colleges recruit, particularly when the college does not offer the sport other than in the club context?
No, they don’t. Clubs have absolutely no pull with admissions. Typically, you will not hear anything from a club team before you are on campus unless you reach out to them with questions.
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It has been a few years, but my son was an excellent, probable D1 recruit, in his sport. Because of the time commitment in college, he decided not to play in college. He talked to other athletes in his sport that were ahead of him school before he made up his mind. He wanted to study engineering and was told that D1 and engineering were a tough, timewise, combination.
He considered D3 but went to a college with a very good club team instead. He only played his freshman year because he found that college offered so many other clubs and activities that he was interested in that he didn’t even have time for the club team.
So, bottom line, it is very student, college and sport dependent. Talk to the team’s coach and, if you can, some players at the colleges he is considering. I would recommend he choose a college that he likes assuming he will not play his sport. Hate to be stuck with no sport and a college he doesn’t like.
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Informally, maybe.
Here is an interesting article about how this works at Brown:
And it is extremely variable even just at that one college, with multiple tiers of clubs, and then differences between clubs in the same tier.
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Thanks - so helpful to hear these experiences and choices
Sort of My niece played Club lacrosse at a D1 school that didn’t have a varsity team. The coach talked to her before she got there so knew she was coming. She also got 1 credit for being on the team, so registered for it as a class (maybe only in the spring?). She did not receive coach support for admissions so wasn’t a ‘recruited athlete.’ I don’t know if there are any schools that give coach support for admissions to club athletes.
My daughter also got some credits for playing, and she was on the varsity team.
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The most I have ever heard about is what that Brown article described the (paid) rugby coach as doing–submitting recommendation letters for recruits. The coach’s self-reported numbers suggest rugby recruits were then doing very well in admissions, but there was no controlled study, so no way of knowing if those recommendation letters were particularly important.
Still, probably doesn’t hurt.
I do think this also reflects there are in fact “club” sports which are not NCAA sports, but there are national governing bodies, multiple divisions, national tournaments, and so on. And in some cases, they are getting significant spectators. So they can look an awful lot like NCAA sports.
And there still may be no athletic scholarships, no formal recruited athlete slots in admissions, and so on. But, if admissions has, as one of its many institutional goals, supporting club sports like that? Then perhaps informal recruiting could play a role in admissions.
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Exactly. Sports like men’s crew, squash, and sailing are not NCAA sanctioned sports. At the schools that offer these sports, coaches can and do recruit and have influence with admissions as well as ‘slots’. There can even be athletic scholarship money for these students (at schools that have athletic scholarships).
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It is working well, but somewhat unique…
The Brown rugby team benefits from being extremely well funded by loyal alum and benefactors such as Brian Moynihan (former team captain) current CEO Bank America. I suspect the program benefits in this financial regard from its continued club status. The team plays a full Ivy, national, and periodic international schedule.
In our experience Brown men’s team does recruit in a manner somewhat similar to the way the women’s varsity team does. Players are identified based on both playing ability and academic suitability. It is made very clear that the coach doesn’t have “slots” but will advocate for you.
Coach Laflamme is very direct and honest about the limitations of his influence, but has the advantage of offering the opportunity to be a part of an elite rugby program at a premier academic institution. Consequently, the program has thrived under his leadership without compromising the academic integrity of the school.
For the school’s admissions department being a premier rugby player appears to be a “tie breaker” amongst applicants and conversely amongst skilled and academically qualified rugby players the quality of Brown’s team is a tie breaker when comparing other top tier academic options.
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