Division III athletics - how competitive?

<p>I am a prospective international student and when I get to the US, I would like to participate in some athletics as I have hard so many good things about it (we don't have high school or college athletics here). So far the only sport that I have some real experience in is Volleyball, but I have just played it recreationally. If I would join a Volleyball club and practice 2 hours twice a week throughout senior year, could I be good enough to participate in Division III Volleyball in college? How competitive would you say Division III Volleyball is (in PA)?</p>

<p>It's going to depend on the school, some d3 schools work just as hard as d1 teams. Usually there is club or intermural teams to play on that are a little less intense. Visit the school's website and look over the program and read some player bios. This should give you an idea of the level of competition.</p>

<p>D3 is just as competitive as the D1 level but just not as good. You will not be able to join the team unless you are serious and one of the best on your high school squad or unless you have a heart like RUDY</p>

<p>D3 Salisbury lacrosse could easily put away most D1 teams....just depends on the school</p>

<p>DIII schools do not offer athletic scholarships, so for the most part they aren't as competitive as DI schools. But practicing 2 hours twice a week will not cut it. </p>

<p>Even high school sports teams practice 5-6 times a week, 3 hours a day. You have to keep in mind that you will be competing against players who have played organized volleyball for 4,5,6 even more years and who train all year round.</p>

<p>"D3 Salisbury lacrosse could easily put away most D1 teams....just depends on the school"</p>

<p>Ha what a joke the DI team they could beat right now is DUKE! And even then they could probably round up some hookers and hoes and form a team. By the way I heard the parties there are crazy! Have you guys heard?</p>

<p>nah...salisbury is nicer than alot of D1 teams...the big 16 or so, of course not...but all the rest they can put away...maybe even some of the big 16</p>

<p>^^^ LOL -- Salisbury lacrosse did beat Duke a couple of years ago in a preseason scrimmage -- at Duke, when Duke was ranked in the top 10 DivI schools. </p>

<p>There is no way to respond to the crude stereotyping you seem to think is funny crunkjuice. I have known the coach since he taught my boys to hold a lacrosse stick many many years ago. Competitive excellence year in and year out (SU broke its own NCAA consecutive win record this year) deserves your respect. His contributions to the kids in this community certainly have earned ours. And we love our 'Bury laxers. Go 'Gulls!</p>

<p>Yeah, my old high school's volleyball practice starts a couple weeks before school actually starts (just like the band and football folks) and practices six hours a day, five days a week. Then after school gets started their after-school practices last from about 2:40 (upperclassmen athletics is last period) to around 6:00...and then there are all the games and what-not.</p>

<p>I really don't think 2 hours twice a week will make you competitive enough with girls here. I'm probably going to do intramural volleyball because I played for my school for a couple seasons and really loved everything aside from the conditioning like running, stairs, bench jumps (aka shin busters), etc. I highly suggest going to a school that offers a bunch of intramurals.</p>

<p>If you can visit, you can check out the what kind of workout the college has, and how good the players are. It's difficult, otherwise, to make that determination.</p>

<p>Agree with Katho. My S's summer workout schedule for his Div III lacrosse team (not Salisbury) was like a part-time job in itself - specific day by day prescriptions involving running, stretching, weight training, agility training. And this is a spring sport, so this is off-season training! Plus there are enough recruits in the freshman class that we have heard that no one else will be permitted to try out. </p>

<p>So IMHO it's very unlikely you can pick up a sport now and have a serious chance to make a Div III team.</p>

<p>Esquette-</p>

<p>You know Coach Berkman?! thats awesome...every kids dream is to play for Salisbury/Maryland/Towson, haha atleast over in Baltimore County. Too bad I had to settle for a uslia team. Dont forget their win streak is like 5th all time in any division sport</p>

<p>My D3 athlete was running between 50-100 miles per week, some workouts geared for distance, some for speed. This was on top of her 40 hr wk/internship.</p>

<p>
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nah...salisbury is nicer than alot of D1 teams...the big 16 or so, of course not...but all the rest they can put away...maybe even some of the big 16

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<p>Yeah. . .but this is lacrosse. . .it's not like people care about lacrosse <g><g><g></g></g></g></p>

<p>b@r!um,
My guess is that you probably aren't experienced enough to play intercollegiate VB. However, I think that almost every college has intramural type volleyball teams. You would join a team (perhaps formed from people on your same dorm floor) and play other teams from your new school. Maybe the English department puts together a team and the Young Republican Club puts together a team. That would probably be a lot of fun for you ... something along those lines.</p>

<p>"Yeah. . .but this is lacrosse. . .it's not like people care about lacrosse"</p>

<p>Hey now...lacrosse is a great sport...not my fault its only played in a few hotbeds across the US :)</p>

<p>^^ Good luck with USILA - lacrosse is the fastest growing youth team sport in the nation, according to Sports Illustrated. So the club level game is rapidly improving and spreading the sport across the nation -- California and Colorado teams always seem to be the finalists for the USILA national championship.</p>

<p>And Coach Berkman is the man . . . .</p>