My D was a level 10 gymnast in 7th grade who had said she wanted to be a college gymnast since she was able to comprehend a bit what that was. Then, she had a year and a half of continuous serious injuries, and she left the sport. When she left the end of 8th grade, her coach reminded me that D is “college gymnast material,” that she was “throwing away a scholarship,” and that colleges had already started looking at her. All of that to say that we were familiar with gymnastics and college gym and the paths that lead to that.
After gym, D tried diving and has developed a passion for it just as she was passionate about gym. She’s now going into her sophomore year in high school and just made the team at a highly competitive club. She says she’d like to dive in college, but academics would come first. Her coaches talk in general terms about diving in college; many on their team do pursue it. I feel a bit lost about it and about diving in general. I know that, in gymnastics, colleges start looking at a young athletes; I believe it’s older high schoolers that they look at for diving. Is that correct? Is it “too late” for her to realistically go for a diving scholarship? Also, is it club diving that colleges look at, high school, or both? (In gym, it’s club.)
It’s not too late to be considered if she’s good. Gymnastics, at least for Div 1, is a headcount sport so if she got a scholarship it would have been a full one. Swimming and diving are not, and usually the scholarships are divided quite thinly.
If she’s interested in D3, there is no money but she might get help in admissions. Either the club or hs coach can help. Ask if the coach has experience in communicating with coaches, and ask what she should be sending in as far as scores from meets, video, schedules for meets they can see her in.
Since she just got on the team, and it’s a high level team, she may not be competing much this year. Would it be too late as a junior to garner college interest if she’s decent? (It would’ve been too late in gymnastics terms, but diving seems to have a later time table.)
We’ll be discussing this with her coaches, as well, but I’d like to hear from others with knowledge, too.
So, if she goes for D3 (which seems like it’d be a good match in terms of what D wants), the diving could be a hook for admissions if she’s competitive enough. Could it also help her earn more academic scholarships and/or grants? (Another D is starting college this fall as a performing arts major. She was given a lot of scholarship and grant money based on both academics and talent. Would this be possible with this D at D3 schools–even though they can’t give athletic scholarships, do they find ways to give more academic or grant money?) Also, would D still have to go through the NCAA process if she goes for D3 schools?
She doesn’t need to qualify through the NCAA for D3, but it’s really no big deal to qualify if she might be interested in D1 or D2.
Can she get more athletic money from a D3 school? The official answer is no, no scholarships for sports, but of course anyone giving a scholarship can consider her ECs and sports are regarded highly by most people (except those on CC whose children do not play sports) She could get ‘points’ for leadership, showing a commitment to an EC, the time and dedication it takes to participate. The school will not say “Oh, and we’ll kick in $2000 for being on the swim team.”
The coaches can be influential in admissions. It is considered a hook in most schools, and the coaches will ask you to apply ED and commit to the team if you want coach’s help. I wouldn’t count on a D3 school giving more money to athletes. It’s against the rules, and most follow the rules. If you want extra money for athletics, she needs to go D1 or D2.
A level 10 gymnast who wants to dive should attract a lot of attention from diving coaches. By the end of her junior year, your daughter will have been diving for three years which should be enough time to transition sufficiently from gymnastics that college coaches will be able to get an idea of her potential. Although some top recruits do get full swimming and diving scholarships, they are commonly divided among many athletes.
Diving will be extremely helpful to your daughter in her college search. The diving coaching community is very small, and there is a lot of interaction between club and college coaches. Once your daughter has a list of schools that interest her, she should bring it to the club coach for advice and info on the coach and program, Most diving recruiting occurs during Junior year (unofficially kicks into gear once college season is over), so you are definitely not too late.
In order to narrow down school choices, check out the team pages on the school’s athletic website. You can learn so much from those pages - info on the diving coach, the number of divers on the team, and based on their scores, how good they are. You should also check out the conference championship results to see how your daughter would stack up in the league. Another great way to learn more is to go to one of those conference championships and get a sense of the team, camraderie, support for diving, and the coach/diver interaction.
Most coaches want to see a video showing all dives on 1, 3 and tower (if she dives tower) and that video can include dives she is working on. Search youtube for “diving recruiting” and you will see what other kids have done to attract attention of coaches. An email in the spring of junior year expressing interest in the school and including dive list and recruiting video will get the process started.
The best divers get scooped up by the big swimming/diving schools (mostly D1) and the Ivies. But there are so many more opportunities for talented divers to be recruited because almost every school that has a swim team needs strong divers, and the need usually exceeds the number of good divers. Many coaches look at talent and potential to improve over a four year college career, and some coaches prefer a less polished diver with talent to one who has been diving for many years and has reached their potential. Have fun!