<p>And son also got insulted by some coaches.Like, 'you're missing such and such data, don't you realize how important I am!' But I knew all along this kid has value in his sport. He has been at it a long time and knows his sport well. It was tough but a few things are coming along.</p>
<p>I happened to be browsing the baseball web and found this passage in a discussion about D3 baseball programs in the south. This was written by the father of a graduate of such a program who was drafted and is now playing professional baseball. I thought it might be helpful to the OP and others:</p>
<p>"I assume you are asking whether the top DIII programs are "pretty competitive?"
Actually, these players compete just as "hard" as DI teams compete. There is no difference between DI and DIII in terms of the effort and committment required. In the Fall, you will be lifting at 6am, be running the mile under 6 minutes and be on the field 3-4 hours several days per week. Are they DI? The answer is no. Will you find pitchers who throw 90? Occasionally you will. Will you find DI players at this level? Occasionally. Top DIII's such as Southwestern, McMurry, Hardin Simmons/Trinity play the game with as much intensity/competition as you will find anywhere but it is not Texas vs Rice in terms of overall skills from top to bottom. If you are not fully committed and very talented, chances are you will not have much success at the top DIII programs in TX and your teammates and coaches will let you know that right away.
A major difference from DI is the fact you are not entitled to anything different that every other student. So, you are expected in class, no tutoring or special academic treatment and many times you may end up running from class to practice, which has already started."</p>
<p>My son plays in a D3 program in Wisconsin and I feel its worth the effort. He was able to walk on to a few D1 and D2 schools but becasue of the academic offerings and the ability to play on a regular basis he chose a D3.
There are some bad prgrams out there and some good programs out there and one must do their homework to find them. I personally have seen his abilities grow and his coach also has seen it grow. He is being looked at by the scouts and has a chance. Its all in the attitude of the coaches and the player how well they do. I have seen some teams that would do well against D2 and D1 teams and I have seen some that wouldn't do well at all. I think its alot of the coaching staff alignment with what they want to do.</p>
<p>"My neighbor was recruited at div 3 school for soccer. He goes to the first practice and finds out that 19 other kids were also recruited. The coach kept 5."</p>
<p>My niece was recruited at a D III school for tennis. When she was in high school, seriously, the college coach talked to her a lot, the college coach talked to her high school coach a lot - she really felt "recruited" and the coach really made her feel like yes, he was looking forward to having her play on his college team. Then, once she got there, there were, like, 8 recruited freshmen trying out for 5 or 6 places, so 2 or 3 girls got cut. My niece made the team and has been having fun with it, but seriously, all 8 of those girls really felt recruited. But we can't really blame the coach, can we? He didn't know all 8 of the high school seniors he was encouraging were going to choose to come to this D III school? Maybe he was recruiting the number of girls he thought would yield the number of spots he knew he'd have open? With no athletic scholarships available, there are no agreements to sign, no real commitment, right? (I know my input here isn't relevant to baseball, but isn't this sort of relevant to D III school sports in general?)</p>
<p>College sports that have a specific number of roster spots (tennis - soccer - baseball - football - basketball types) can be difficult for DIII/Ivy coaches to fill - as there are no athletic scholarships and the student plays for the love of the sport in a sense (and can walk away pretty much at any time as well) - thus the coach really doesn't know how many will be filled until the acceptances come back to the school - and can also depend on the quality of the walk on's as well. Other sports that don't have that to deal with (swimming - track & field types) can usually find a place for any athlete that is willing to put in the time - for the most part - not all the time - but in many cases.</p>
<p>I post as the wife of a former DIII baseball player. He wouldn't trade having played four years as a starter for all of the professional success he has had since. He knew going in that he wouldn't be getting scholarship money, but loved the game so much he played. He took away tremendous life lessons about organization, team work, commitment and just plain getting along with people. Baseball has also offered him a tremendous opportunity to stay involved in the life of his college, and his participation in alumni activities led to his appointment to the Board of Trustees. During college, I considered chainsmoking a form of exercise, so I was a skeptic about the lifelong value of spending so much time on a playing field. But I see know what he gained, including, I suspect, a leg up in admissions to an Ivy League law school. (He was playing on 4 intramural softball teams there when I met him. )</p>
<p>Hey! I just saw my comment here from over 2 years ago!</p>
<p>Well, here is an update. In the end there were 2, only 2, colleges that really wanted Son to play on their varsity tennis team. There were other colleges which would have used him in Div. 3 but these 2 colleges were also colleges which were offering son generous meirt aid and we could afford.
So Son chose one of these 2 colleges and after he had his acceptance in and contacted the coach at the appropriate time the coach, who had WANTED our son before, hemmed and hawed and said, well, DS would have to TRY OUT at the beginnning of the season. " You dirty rat " went through my mind over and over at this point and the advice of one c.c. parent of getting that 'letter of intent' resonated through my mind. Anyway, as it turned out all those fabulous players the coach seemed to think were coming his way did not, and son did play on the team in a prominent position Freshman year.
Son is in his second year now playing Div1 college tennis . He is not the best player on his team this year and has had to move over somewhat to make room for newer and more talented players. But he enjoys being on the team very much and wants to continue on the team next year. He really enjoys everything about the team from practices to away and home games and enjoys the comradship of his teammates. It has been a very positive expereince for him.</p>
<p>My advice. Make contact. Be realistic. Don't assume you will receive an athletic scholarship . And then, when all is said and done look at the choices and choose a school which child likes and you can afford.</p>
<p>Each school is slightly different. I played and coached D 3 baseball as well as playing at a D 1 school. When I played we had a 6 week fall season that practiced and played 6 days a week. All programs competing under NCAA guidelines have a 20 hour/week time limit. Now at our school we have a 4 week out of season program that practices 4 days/week. The spring committment is atleast 15 weeks with the 20 hour week limit (games can make that number change). Other schools have no out of season practice schedule and other schools still follow the 6 week rule.</p>
<p>In regards to scholarships the previous statements are true...no athletic money. There is plenty of academic money out there though. We can get a student up to 75% in tuition remission based on academics alone.</p>
<p>Recruiting can be aggressive as mentioned before and there are definitely the programs that more closely resemble a club or intramural team.D3 programs can and are typically very competitive and can and do beat D1 and D2 schools. We beat a D1 school a few years back 1-0 and that school qualified for the NCAA tournament and was the conference champ in their league. The difference is the depth of pitching, more power, and arm strength of the catcher.</p>
<p>Bottom line is to go where the student is going to be happy. Not everyone plays right away and sometimes a school just ends up being a poor fit.</p>
<p>I found the best thing to do was to ask the coach direct questions during the recruiting process. Such as, "So, should my son consider this an official scholarship offer?," or "Can you show us your depth chart so little Johnny can see where he fits into your plans?," or "Who else/how many others are you recruiting at this position and what priority is little Johnny?" (They hate that question and will hem and haw unless your kid is indeed their top priority. My son actually chose the school that called everyday to tell him he was the top priority for their school at his position, but note that no matter what school or level, the coach is always looking to upgrade the talent and will recruit over your kid in a heartbeat. Just business.) Then, follow up with an email like this: "Hi Coach Smith, just wanted to thank you for the visit/phone call last week. Your scholarship offer/ offer of a spot on the soccer team was greatly appreciated. My son is excited to be your number one recruit at this position and cannot wait to sign his LOI/apply to Acme University, etc. It is a pleasure dealing with someone like you who shows such great sincerity and integrity in the recruiting process. Sincerely, Mr. and Mrs. Parents of Little Johnny."</p>