<p>My D has yet to join the ivy team she will be with in the autumn, however something we paid attention to at every college she seriously looked at, and something we considered when she narrowed down her OV invitations to 5, was just how many upperclassmen were still on the team. To us, that was a strong indication of the “health” of the team, in terms of how supportive the coaches, teammates, etc. were. The ivy she will be joining has a similar amount of sophomores, juniors and seniors on the team currently - in fact, the smallest group represented right now are the freshmen. That was a selling point to us. </p>
<p>In terms of athletic scholarships keeping people on a team, that would definitely be something to consider with a non-ivy. She has 2 friends at a top D1 non-ivy who are definitely sticking with the sport for the $. When my D first started this whole process, she had a strong leaning towards ivies as she liked the idea of no one on the team “having” to compete at their sport for needed scholarship $. She loved the idea of everyone being on the team simply because they loved the sport. The school she initially committed to is a non-ivy D1, and she loved that school enough to make the exception, and not care so much about the $ angle. Once that commitment did not come through, she returned her focus to non-scholarship/ivy schools for the reason mentioned. As much as we would have loved an athletic scholarship as opposed to being full-pay at an ivy (yes, a scholarship sounds pretty nice right now!), I totally understand and respect her reasoning on that.</p>
<p>My son’s Ivy team lost 2-3 players per year, out of a roster of 45-48. Injured players often stayed on the roster, but players that didn’t want to make the commitment left. Of his teammates that entered as freshmen, one left sophomore year, one junior year, and one in senior fall (it’s a spring sport). </p>
<p>Of those three, one couldn’t hack the academics and had some personal issues. One didn’t want to work that hard physically. One wasn’t playing much and wanted to preserve some eligibility for grad school with a different coach.</p>
<p>ETA: Oh yeah, one more left. Academics in a demanding major. Left after junior year, is taking five years or at least an extra semester, to graduate. Should note that the team has high academic standards and always has some Academic All Americans on the roster. One year a junior physics major had a 4.0. Egads!</p>
<p>mayhew, your daughter’s thinking about being surrounded by other athletes who are all volunteers and who are there for the love of the sport is exactly our daughter’s logic. And it’s not just the kids on her team, of course, it 's the whole athletic department and coaches who work under the same premise. The coaches and upperclassmen have to nurture and encourage the younger athletes to keep them on board. It makes for a very positive culture, in my opinion. I was the most impressed by the Ivy athletes when I went to the national championships last June. There aren’t many of them, but when I explained to my dad that every one of the Ivy athletes was there out of love for the sport, not dollars, it brought a whole new meaning to the event.</p>
<p>Interesting discussion. I have had 2 harvard parents tell me that their daughter will stay on the team through their sophmore year out of respect to the coach for recruiting them and getting them into harvard. Then they’ll quit because they’re not as good as the other teammates and they accept. It’s the old the pond just got a lot bigger.</p>
<p>Someone above asked about my d. And the answer is no she does not go to an ivy and I don’t think she’s strong enought to lift an oar:)</p>
<p>I do think my daughter will go 4 years…she loves her teammates. And I know she wants that ncaa title:)</p>
<p>Qualify that. She loves some of her teammates. In the 5 years she’s been competing there has always been a ty cobb on the team…great athlete who can’t get along with anyone</p>
<p>3 players were recruited to nescac schools for football from my sons team. My son went to one LAc and the other 2 boys went to another school. All are still playing and plan on continuing. One is even playing baseball in addition to football. They are all lucky enough to be balancing the academics and sports.</p>
<p>From our little high school we had 5 recruits to football. My son and one friend are at Nescacs and will continue. Two went to D2’s ,both injured this season one will, continue, one will not. Last one D3, Centennial league, plans on continuing.
For my son: so far, so good. His studies went well, football went well! We also had one soccer to an Ivy, one non-Ivy D1 Soccer, D3 basketball, (all girls) and 2 more boys a D3 lacrosse player and D3 baseball player.</p>
<p>Our D plays a stick sport at a smallish D1. From her recruit class of 9, seven remain at the end of Freshman year. She was the only one from her high school to play D1 in this sport (or any D in the sport’s year group). </p>
<p>From her club, we know that there has been some drop off. Her club placed 11 in D1 programs and 11 in D3. I’m sure I don’t know all of the stats. At least 2 of the D3s have dropped their sport, and from what I know, one of the D1s is trying to transfer, and another is leaving her big UC to return to the east coast, to a state school that doesn’t offer her sport. </p>
<p>Those who dropped from her recruit class are still at the school. Her D1 Club friends…one is transferring due to both money and distance, and for the other, I think the issue is that the school and perhaps the coach weren’t a great “fit”. She’s a talented athlete and her academics were fine, so I hope she lands at a better fit.</p>
<p>Before commitment, we looked at the college roster and noticed the attrition among prior recruiting classes. Some of that was due to a coaching change about four years ago. During courtship we also asked the coach why some had left his team and we were satisified with the answers. He has our total respect and the coaching staff has turned out to be exactly who we thought they were (no Jekyl and Hyde…).</p>
<p>Fantastic topic that really cuts to the heart of the subject.</p>
<p>My son will be attending a NESCAC school and playing football. He had multiple opportunities at 8+ excellent schools and our advice to him was to pick the school he would be happiest at if he blew out his knee the first minute of practice and never stepped foot on the football field again. For us, college is a 40-year decision, not a 4-year decision. And my son was wise beyond his years when he turned to us one day early in the process and said “I’m going to use football to my advantage, not let football use me.” It got him into a great college, so he accomplished his goal. Don’t get me wrong, he loves to compete and he wants to play all four years. But he is in college to get an education, not just play football. He’s hoping the NESCAC experience allows him to do both. In the end, it’s impossible to predict the future, so we only hope he is happy and content down the road …</p>
<p>“…Interesting that baseball students transfer-maybe a sign of true “love of the game”-go where you can play, because that’s the most important thing to them?”</p>
<p>Oldbatesiedoc,</p>
<p>That is very much the case. Lots of baseball players transfer to JUCOs to play a year and then transfer back into another program. This is very, very common for those seeking more playing time or other transfer related issues.</p>
<p>I like 4more’s post as well. And I Love the 40 year comment…makes me feel better about the cost. Although if you take away the sport I’m pretty sure my d would have gone to a different college college. She chose the coach and team, not the school. She was 16 when she was courted…I don’t think she knew much about choosing a college.</p>
<p>Before becoming the parent of a serious athlete, I certainly would have been of the opinion that academics should always take precedence, and that one should keep in mind that the vast majority of those who play sports in college will never take their athletic talent to the next level. The problem, however, is that if the athlete feels s/he has a legitimate shot at going pro, or making it to the Olympics, then s/he can greatly diminish those chances by selecting a school based only on academics. And even if the student does not believe his talent is enough to “make it” beyond college, some kids will want to try anyway–just to find out if they can do it with top notch training and facilities. Again, it comes down to fit and your own child. There is no right answer.</p>
<p>^^I agree, maybe, if the choice was Harvard vs Michigan State. But even then I might not have forced her to go somewhere else if she loved the coach and team.</p>
<p>Most people make safe bets, they don’t put themselves in risky positions. And they don’t truly follow their passions. Most kids dreams start getting squashed in middle school. That’s not who we are, I’m not so much guiding my daughter, I’m more holding on to a tiger by the tail.</p>
<p>My d and a few other posters daughters on this board were not really facing the “that’s what parents are for” implication made by mamster, I wasn’t helping my d choose a team vs good school. My daughter chose between Stanford, Princeton, Columbia, Duke, Northwestern, UCLA, Cal, Penn and Dartmouth. Now which one of those would have been the bad academic choice??</p>
<p>She chose the coach and team only, she followed her dream! She can learn at any of these schools.</p>
<p>I think most of us know if our child is one of the elite, or just a very good player. My S has no interest in making the Olympics or going pro, and indeed, it would be impossible.</p>
<p>He would like to qualify for Nationals in D3 eventually…</p>
<p>I agree, no one correct decision, but that’s what this thread is for-to share opinions and expertise for those beginning the quest for the correct match between student-athlete, and college.</p>
<p>It’s especially nice when there are multiple options and “no bad choices”</p>
<p>Apparently, it is not uncommon for some kids to use their athletic abilities to get into a school they might not otherwise gain admission to and they promptly quit the team. I guess this mostly occurs at Ivies. During Non-OV kid found out about and met a couple of ex-teammates who remain friends of the team ( and who seem to have regrets). Kid is going to an Ivy school and coach spent a lot of time trying to discern her level of commitment to the sport – it’s very high. Kid loves the sport but ultimately chose her school over scholarship offering schools because she preferred to be a student who played sports versus an athlete who goes to school.</p>
<p>I think ‘promptly’ is the questionable word here. It may not be unusual for an athlete to quit after 2 or 3 years, but using the coach to help gain admission (to an Ivy) and immediately quitting is unusual. I guess coaches are pretty good judges of character.</p>
<p>doubtful quote…“Apparently, it is not uncommon for some kids to use their athletic abilities to get into a school they might not otherwise gain admission to and they promptly quit the team” </p>
<p>If it is there, I have not seen it in Ivy baseball. Seniors through freshmen have 7-9 players per class at son’s Ivy. I’ve talked to several upperclassmen parents about this, and they haven’t seen it either. I think it is more common for Ivy players to get an injury or decide the academic load is too much than to outright quit a year or two later after getting athletic support through admission. It may be prevalent in other sports, but I don’t see it in baseball.</p>
<p>I think it also depends on the level of recruitment/recruit. A top recruit who has competed on the national/international level will know what it takes in terms of time commitment, not to mention that s/he’ll just NEED the exercise and the competition. Barring injury, they will continue their athletic career during college. Others who may have been recruited based on their high school athletic performance may be shocked and overwhelmed when faced by the college training program, especially if they don’t have a lot of experience in the sport. Finally, there are different degrees of being recruited. I’d say that the kids who get a small boost later on in the admission process may feel less committed than the top recruits. And yes, coaches at top schools are very wary of being used by students to just gain admission and then drop the sport very quickly.</p>