'Fess Up-who is still Competing in College...D1 vs D3

Athletic Recruits
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<p>D1 is wrapping up her senior track season at a Div 1 school. It was an incredible struggle the first two years - academic probation (top 20 academic school), countless injuries, scholarship threatened for “lack of performance”. She felt like quitting the sport and school more than once. She persevered and the last two years have been great - she has been consistently improving both athletically and academically. She now holds the school record in her field event and will graduate next month. I can see why the statistics show most athletes don’t continue beyond their sophomore year. It’s tough.</p>

<p>D2 headed off for college as a golfer on a DIII team. She gave it up the first month after discovering rugby! She loves playing for a club team. It gives her the opportunity to compete at a fairly high level and to enjoy the camaraderie of a team without all the structure and demands of an intercollegiate program.</p>

<p>I think that athletes need to consider whether they want that structured life of a college athlete. Athletes’ days are pretty much set around practice and competitions. They will have very little time for anything other than school and their sport. That’s fine for some people, but others want to explore all the other opportunities that college life has to offer. Study abroad, Greek life, even spring break trips are probably out. Even recreation is limited - D1 can’t wait to go skiing next year because that’s been prohibited due to risk of injury.</p>

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<p>My kid is a swimmer on D3 NESCAC school. He wasn’t exactly recruited, but did meet with the coach and all that before applying. He wasn’t really fast enough to be actively recruited, so while the coach was happy to have him join the team, my son was not “tipped” or anything like that.</p>

<p>He swam freshman year, enjoyed being part of a team, disliked the team’s heavy partying, found he didn’t much like the coach’s training methods and wasn’t a good personality match with him, hated the winter training trip, and had a difficult time with the time commitment.</p>

<p>He decided not to be on the team his sophomore year, which was a good choice in my opinion.</p>

<p>Junior year he rejoined the team again and I think he had a much better time than his first year. He was better able to manage his time and was less frustrated with the training program. I think his personal investment in the sport had lessened quite a bit, so he was more willing to just do it for the fun and fitness and not stress about training methods, his times, meets, etc. It’s simpler now; he just likes the sport and he likes being on a team.</p>

<p>I’m glad he had that breakthrough with it and is more relaxed about it now. I don’t, however, have any idea what he’ll do for his senior year. My guess is that he’ll probably be on the team again because it’ll be the last opportunity he has to do that.</p>

<p>All in all D3 has been great for him. He wasn’t a D1 caliber athlete to begin with, so that wasn’t ever on the table, but D3 has been a nice niche for him and gave him the ability to keep swimming, to stop swimming, and to return again to swimming.</p>

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<p>D1 played her DIII sport for three years and loved it. Had to quit her senior year due to academic internship that had her off campus.
D2 played DI sport as a freshman. She started most games but absolutely hated the team chemistry and the change in the coaches once they had you there. No problem keeping grades up but coaches did prevent her from taking some high level math classes. She, along with 10 (!)other players, transferred to other schools the following year. She has no desire to jump back in to college sports…although the new school’s coach calls her all the time to reconsider. The 80% sounds about right from her experience but not older sister’s. There will be another large turnover at her old university this year. Can’t believe that the coach’s contract will be renewed.</p>

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<p>My son is also a swimmer at a D3 school-- he is a freshman. He really loved it this year-- loves the coach and teammates. He also improved a lot over the year and is planning to continue next year. It does take up a lot of time during most of the year, so between classes, homework and practice he didn’t have time to do much else. His final choices for college were one D1 school, one D2 school and 2 D3 schools. His final choice was based on liking the coach and other swimmers, plus the location of the school</p>

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<p>Anyone out there with soccer experience? Would love to hear how soccer players fare.
Thanks.</p>

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<p>We know a lot of female soccer players. The main complaint I hear is how extremely physical the collegiate game is. Finesse players tend to struggle, especially if they aren’t physically large and strong.</p>

<p>The poster skrlvr has a freshman son playing the sport at a competitive Div. 1 school.</p>

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<p>Like many of us I want to see my kids compete at the NCAA level. I don’t expect the Olympics or anything past school. I am only hoping to have them enter school with a built-in group of friends and to be active in the school with more than just studies and not much spare time to party, though I know and expect the parties. I don’t want to see their abilities go to waste.
My D swam D-1 her freshman year and got a ride to do so. I tried keeping her from the boys until she got to school, but she met a boy just before the season and was coming home too often. Her heart wasn’t in it. Wanted to get closer to home and swims D-2 and seems happy. (no more boy, at least not that one).
Onto my S. He’s looked at some D-1, 2 and 3 schools. Offers from a couple and we’re down to three schools two NE LAC’s D-2 and one SUNY D-3. He’s met some kids from the first D-2 school, all nice kids. Recruit trip this weekend to second D-2 and met some kids from the D-3 school, again all nice kids. Neither of the D-2 offer scholarships for swimming. I wish they did as it would hook him rather than going in with only an academic award. I would prefer that he had some swim money over his head as he thinks he will just go to school and maybe not swim. As I’ve told him…nothing’s free, but if you decide to compete and become a collegiate athlete, which you have the ability to do, I will pay. However, if you choose not to you participae you will work full time and help pay. It’s 90% about the $ here. It’s now crunch time and not an easy time for him. He’s never been on a team and I know that that will make the difference and he will ultimately enjoy it, but he’s understandably nervous. I think that he feels that if he decides to swim that it will take too much away from his extacurricular activities, but I’ve tried in many ways to assure him that it will only help him. Not only in school, but when he grows up and moves on in life. His coach has told him as well as other kids, but he’s still on the fence.</p>

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<p>My son is in his first year as a D1 soccer player at a very competitive academic school. Not a scholarship player but received support in admissions. His former club teammates went many places, 5 D1 and 2 D3. All but one of them love their school and program, and the one who is transferring will still play his sport–he was recruited to the school he is transferring to and we all thought he should have gone there in the first place. The year before, I know of 3 kids who went D1 and one of them quit after the first season.</p>

<p>My son red-shirted this year, as most of the players who played his position were seniors. Most of the other frosh red-shirted as well. During HS, he played in the Development Academy and while he expected the level of play and speed of play to increase in college, the biggest surprise was how serious the players are during practice, etc. He also likes that there are incredible athletes on his team who are also incredible students.</p>

<p>He remarks that there are some upperclassmen who get very little playing time and yet are still on the team and he has said that he enjoys his teammates, the practices, etc. so much that even if he doesn’t see the field much, he would still stay on the team. He says that even the players who don’t play very much are very, very good, so that gives you an idea of what the level of play is like.</p>

<p>The sport is also a very big time commitment, basically all year. Off season, you are expected to practice on your own, and there is a limited amount of time you can practice as a team. And, of course, there’s the weight room. Most schools have a small spring season as well.</p>

<p>The team also does a lot of other community-outreach activities together–the players run clinics for little ones from time to time, for example. They also participate in goofy school-wide activities involving all the athletes to raise money for charity. So the time expectation extends to these kinds of activities as well.</p>

<p>His biggest complaint with respect to the sport is that he gets very, very tired. After practice or heavy weights, all he wants to do is sleep (practice starts at 7:45 am and goes for about 2 hours) but he has to get to class, etc. Some days start at 7 am and he’s not done until 7 at night, because some of his classes have discussion section at night. It’s been draining for him, but more than worth it.</p>

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<p>We actually did not expect our athlete son to work during the semester. We qualify for need-based aid-2 kids at Midd is more than many can afford-and he has 10 hours a week of campus employment offered as part of his package. His brother works on campus 20 hours a week-sounds like a lot but some of it is research for a prof in his field of interest.</p>

<p>It really would have been impossible for him-he has a heavy course load and struggled some academically, and practice took from about 3 or 4 til 7:30 every day during the season. He is luckily a miser, so other than paying his plane fare for his training trip, we haven’t been asked to subsidize his books or activities- he earned a lot of money last summer and pretty much only eats in the cafeteria.</p>

<p>Between the two boys, the athlete drinks /parties less, and gets more sleep, because of “training rules”. He is more organized and procrastinates less, because he can’t.He also loves his very physically fit body…And he eats healthier. So from my standpoint, a plus.</p>

<p>Another big plus was attending his meets, checking in, dropping off treats and support a couple times a month over the winter. He is very close to us and just enjoyed feeling we were still around for him. Of course Mom loved it , too…</p>

<p>He enjoyed making of progress towards personal goals. The coach was a great adult role model, and he was surprised to see what he could accomplish in his sport-he learned a lot of new skills and it was exciting to see him advance, especially at NESCACS.</p>

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<p>OldbatesieDoc - what do you hear of the soccer team at Midd?</p>

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<p>In my experience, the main reasons that female soccer players quit their sport is because of the physical toll of the game - in other words, injuries. This coming spring, at least 2 of our varsity players will not be returning (one is having her third knee surgery tomorrow, while the other had such a severe concussion that she can no longer play). Depending on how my upcoming surgery/PT goes, I might have to be one of them (fingers crossed, though!). </p>

<p>There are also at least three people from the squad two years ago who had to quit due to knee/ankle problems and concussion eligeability. Many of my former teammates have said similar things - that they love their teams, and that the majority of the people who quit do so not because of a lack of playing time/social frustration, but because injury forces them out.</p>

<p>I would say to be cautious with soccer in particular, because the potential injury is so high. By that, I mean that you should MAKE SURE you like the school, bot just the sport, because if you can no longer play, you don’t want to be miserable (for the record, though, I love my school).</p>

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<p>bflogal…my Ds were soccer players. The DIII player loved it, loved the coach, loved the team. The DI player is also a great academic student. She was a full COA when academic aid was added to athletic scholarship. She didn’t like the "party hard " atmosphere of the team and the personality change of the coaching staff once she got there. She started most games as a freshman so no complaint about playing time. 4 or 5 girls were placed on academic probation after the playing season and 10 from the team transferred last year, including her. More have followed this year. She was prevented from taking as many credits as she wanted to take and had to have her schedule approved by the coaches. They did not allow her to take what she needed for her intended major. That was what led her to transfer. Go in with your eyes wide open.</p>

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<p>soccermom-sorry, don’t know any soccer people at Midd. Boys have a friend who plays, he’s happy…</p>

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<p>lion0709 mentioned “scholarship threatened for ‘lack of performance.’” Are scholarships ever revoked if the athlete does not perform as expected?</p>

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<p>I have a D playing DIII soccer. She loves it: she found a team with exactly the right level of intensity, great teammates who have become her best friends as a freshman, terrific coach who is very supportive of the academic side of things. The college is perfect for her in every way.</p>

<p>It’s true about injuries, though. So many of the players were sidelined at various times in the season. It certainly ensured that my D got lots of playing time, but it took a toll on her by the end of the season to play nearly every minute of every game.</p>

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<p>beenthere2 - I have not heard of anyone on Ds team having a scholarship revoked. I know there are girls who have been injured and then retain their athletic scholarship for the remainder of their undergraduate years even though they no longer practice or compete. There are probably NCAA rules governing that situation. </p>

<p>I must say that I was surprised to receive a telephone call from D’s coach her sophomore year saying that D’s scholarship would likely be reduced from 50% to 35% the next year for “lack of performance”. I told the coach that I was not so much concerned about the money (I kind of was), but the affect that the reduction would have on D’s confidence. Fortunately, D PR’d for the first time in three years at a track meet later that week. I told D “well, that was a $7,500 jump!”. </p>

<p>One coach that recruited D said that they adjust the athletes’ scholarships each year based on their individual performance at the conference meet. I thought that was a lot a pressure for a kid.</p>

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<p>^ Another parent on these boards recently told me that her student was given a NLI/scholarship and If injured, they red-shirt the kids for that one season/yr.</p>

<p>Then each year the scholarships are absolutely done by previous years performance to the team. The coaches expect the athletes to be there and to produce…that’s what they “are being paid for” so to speak. Coaches can’t have kids sign and come in, and then coast/not perform…thats also why recruting the best talent is so competitive.</p>

<p>That is the drawback for kids signing and getting $ to play–
because it can be lost if after the one season of red shirting, they can’t come back…
and lack of performance etc will reduce their scholarship money…
The parents then have to be sure they can afford the school without the athletic money</p>

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<p>Honestly, these two factors should help explain why our national teams continue to slip; in our development system, brute force overcomes skill all too often. One of the most promising young players I’ve ever seen had her career ended by a frustrated brute who clumsily took her down in the last minutes of a meaningless game, falling on and hyperextending this players leg, tearing her ACL and cartilage. One surgical complication later, her career was done. </p>

<p>Hardly an unusual story - high school soccer, especially, is a destroyer of talent, where blind fury, untrained refs and coaches, and miserable playing surfaces turns soccer into the UFC. Funny thing is, “girls” soccer at that level is much more vicious than boys. </p>

<p>So, many are lost to injury, both large and small (nagging injuries that sap performance will put you on the bench - there’s not a lot of sentimentality in college athletics), others lost to academics, too much partying, too little playing time, and so on.</p>

<p>Having gone through the system at all levels, ODP, national tournaments, knowing State and even a couple of national pool players, here’s how I can boil it all down. Of the hundreds of players I’ve known, if I think of the very best, can’t miss, guaranteed Division 1 college, even a couple of supposed future National Team players? Nearly every one fell short, and most fell hard.</p>

<p>The very best players I saw ultimately achieved little - very, very few continued to play until Senior year in college, most went to disappointingly poor schools, or went to schools that already were loaded with players ahead of them on the depth chart, and rarely saw the pitch. One national pool player went to a highly regarded Div 1 school, struggled mightily under the academic and practice demands, drank too much, saw perhaps 30 minutes of playing time in 3 seasons, and finally just quit, with almost nothing to show for years and years of training but bad knees, a bad back, an incomplete degree, and a job in retail. On the other hand, she seems happier now than she’s been in years. </p>

<p>The ones who fared the “best?” Division 3 players. No, they weren’t as skilled as the Division 1 counterparts, (these were the kind of girls you were surprised <em>anyone</em> had recruited), but had a lot less pressure, and had a lot more fun. Sure, there’s not much prestige, but most of the girls I knew that went to little Div 3 schools to play played all four years, graduated on-time, and had fun doing so. The number of Division 1 players I could say that about I could count on the fingers of one hand…</p>

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<p>fogfog - your comments may sound blunt to some parents, but they are true. They lead me to another warning - the coach who tells you something during recruiting may not be the one making decisions later. D was recruited by her field event coach. He is still her coach and has been with her through thick and thin. He told us during recruiting that her scholarship would not be reduced if she signed. We didn’t really rely on that, but figured it was at least a general commitment. </p>

<p>However, the head coach for the team was dismissed before D even arrived on campus as a freshman and was replaced by a new coach who has been under pressure to perform herself. She is the one who threatened to reduce the scholarship. I really couldn’t blame her.</p>

<p>D has blossomed the last two years and hoped that her scholarship would be increased based on her great performance of late. It wasn’t. I told her that she was overpaid the first two years so she should just consider it all even.</p>

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<p>^ You make a good point.
Consider the kid who being recruited, is getting $, and perks for being on the team (preference for hosuing, preference for course selection were among those mentioned at a D1 we visited), and then the student is red shirted for an injury.
While no kid wants to be injured: the school is paying for that student-athlete to compete…
so in essense, the generosity/policy of the school to not withdraw $ is pretty nice.
In the real world, you don’t get a season of sick days…(have no clue about works comp) Yet you get my point.
There have been threads here on this board about injured athletes, though I dont know if any parent ever filled in the blanks afterwards…(red shirt, $ etc) I guess policies vary from school to school and coach to coach. Since NLI are one year, I suspect policies can change yearly, right?</p>