<p>Another word to the wise parents/students regarding playing in college - make SURE to get the student registered with the NCAA Clearinghouse - in order to be qualified eligible to be able to play D1 D2 - not needed if strictly D3. <a href="http://www.ncaaclearinghouse.net%5B/url%5D">http://www.ncaaclearinghouse.net</a> - be aware there are now new rules in effect as well.</p>
<p>You also may want to check <a href="http://www.ncaa.org%5B/url%5D">www.ncaa.org</a> to see if the school/team/coach is under any type of suspension or if any type of probation is in effect - may make a difference in your thinking of that school as well.</p>
<p>Lots of good information here.<br>
Also (I have written this probably ten times on this website!), the DiSalvo book, College Admissions for the High School Athlete, was very helpful to us. You can get it on amazon.</p>
<p>Worrywart, I'll try sending you a private message. Be sure your private message function is turned on (go to your control panel, go to Edit Options, scroll down to messaging and notification, and check the boxes)</p>
<p>People shouldn't be discouraged by these D3 stories. I've talked with some realy honest D3 coaches during my recruiting process. I get the impression that hey weren't overecruiting (or just liked me a lot) because they made it very clear that if they would help me in admissions I would seriously plan to play that sport all 4 years. I think I'm going to go with a D1 school anyway, but D3's an awesome alternative.</p>
<p>Along the same lines, in my opinion, although recruiting does add a dimension to the college application process, it was a wonderful dimension. It caused son to do more extensive research into the schools, and it was so nice to go on visits where everything was taken care of and the prospective student had an ample opportunity to get a real in-depth feel for the campus. It was also really fun to get calls from coaches (and all of the ones from the schools that son liked the best were delightful) all through the year. </p>
<p>The hardest thing was making a choice at the end, and having to say no to people we had come to care about.</p>
<p>Since we're trying to balance the perspective, I will add that on my D's list (a few D3 and several D1), the D3 coaches are wonderful and I trust their statements. THe D3 coaches I have referenced before are ones we have heard about through others or ones we have eliminated because they acted strange or inconsistently. I guess I just believe that the contract nature of D1 (letter of intent) means that ultimately the athlete knows where he/she will stand, i.e. a place on the team. In D3 no contract means no guarantees (a major star could matriculate and bump you off the roster.) On the other hand, all the fancy footwork and subterfuge leading up to the letter of intent in D1 can reveal a lot about the D1 coaches and their honesty.</p>
<p>And Patient, I hope that we are in the enviable position you described of having to decide and say no to folks we have built a relationship with/</p>
<p>My nephew is making his college choice based in large part on baseball, and is looking for Division III schools where he can make a difference and play a lot. In other words, he's not aiming too high athletically, just as SBmom has advised. He's considered two-year schools for this very reason.</p>
<p>He is being "recruited," and coaches from some the schools he has looked at do travel to showcase camps. Even without athletic scholarships involved, coaches are coaches!</p>
<p>This thread is really helpful, though--I am going to to encourage my nephew to ask about exactly how many kids tried out for his position (pitcher) last year, among other things.</p>
<p>Hoedown, again, make sure that he is aware of the high school baseball website--google those terms and you should be able to find it, or send me a private message and I'll send you a link--lots and lots of threads about the merits of different paths--D1, 2, 3, NAIA, junior college, walking on, etc. The experience level of a lot of the posters is really impressive and many of them are not "anonymous" so you know who the source of the information is. </p>
<p>As far as pitchers go, typically a team will carry anywhere from 12 to 20 pitchers. Typically 7 to 8 are used the most, with a few more getting some innings here and there but not as many as the main pitchers. But in my opinion, sometimes pitchers have the best shot at getting playing time because so many of them are needed--typically 2 to 3 per game, and sometimes up to 4 games a week during the season. So if you see 12 pitchers on a roster, it doesn't mean that there won't be an opportunity to play. It is a constant competition as to who is performing the best and who is going to get the innings.</p>
<p>I'm in an odd position because while I know a lot about college admissions (I'm a former adcom at a small school, and do a lot of analysis for a Top-25 admissions office now), I know nothing about athletics and little about the colleges at the level & geographic area he is looking at. I really can't be helpful to him, so I've been trying to stay out of it--but at the same time I'm intensely interested in the process he's going through! </p>
<p>That website looks like a goldmine! Thanks so much.</p>
<p>Got it, patient! Very informative and eye opening. I've already checked out the rosters of some schools where I can picture my son. We've got a lot of homework to do. Thank you for your help.</p>
<p>Worrywart, s is being recruited for sprinting (ran indoor and outdoor ) by a few Ivys, most competitive LACs, and a few D Is. Just a suggestion, to maintain credibility with the coaches, make sure your son reports only FAT (fully automated times) because a hand held sprinting time won't be taken seriously by many coaches.</p>
<p>Thanks, daffymom. Considering I've never even been to a meet in the two years he's competed, I'm not familiar with FAT. (Unlike baseball where his games are within a half-hour's drive and I attend every single one, the indoor meets are located out of state and I just can't get to them after work.) Congrats on your son! Which events does he run?</p>
<p>Worrywart, Access to indoor track facilities is limited in our area also, although we don't have to travel out of state. During the indoor season S. runs 55m, 300m and a leg of either the 4x200 or 4x400 relays.
You mentioned that your son's interested in both baseball and track. According to Playing the Game by Chris Lincoln, NESCAC Schools find dual sport athletes especially attractive due to the NESCAC guidelines limiting the total number of athletic recruits the school is allowed. In other words with dual athletes they get 2 for 1!</p>
<p>And what do you do if a coach comes to see you and you either have a bad day or , as in tennis, have a better opponent? A coach wants to come see son and son is scared about it. First they want stats, then they want videos, now they want to come see. Why don't they just give up already?!</p>
<p>backhandgrip - yikes that does sound stressful. The good news, is that your son has made such a good impression that the coach is interested enough to come and watch.</p>
<p>We really worked at this.S must have sent out 40 athletic questionaires. There were some coaches (div.1)who said, "great!, I'll be at the Nationals on such and such, hope to see you then". We just don't think Nationals.Son was very up front on a letter he wrote. He made it clear his rankings were District and he quit rankings second yr 16 which is the most important year. Only certain colleges are interested in that type player.But he found a few and maybe more. The academic stats were important. I had no idea. What I was impressed with was that some coaches saw the value of the type of player my son is, that is, 4 yrs varsity with good record and captain, district tournaments 12-16 including a few wins, and teacher of township tennis program and becoming certified pro. It was difficult but some coaches saw the value of that!</p>