I don’t see many field hockey threads here, so where are the field hockey people? Can anyone share experience? Are D3’s pretty supportive of admission? When were you asked to commit? d1? d2? d3? DD has had quite a few interactions with d3 and d1’s have been positive at clinics, but they are not calling her club coach (that I know of). If a D1 coach says we are definitely interested in you, how many others are they saying that to? 10? 100?? Share the good, the bad and the ugly with me Thanks!
I’ll take a stab. I don’t think the sport matters as much as the approach. I can’t imagine the D3s are doing much different on the recruiting front for field hockey than they are doing for soccer or lax. The fundamental rules are the same. First, there are no recruiting budgets, so the FH recruit will need to market herself. Cast a wide net – contact as many coaches as you can. You never know where you will find traction. Have the proper tools at your disposal – video, statistics, awards, college resumes, board scores and unofficial transcripts. Then set up unofficial meetings with the coaches. See how it goes. Rinse. Repeat.
No one can determine your individual circumstances (i.e., extrapolating how many D1/D3 coaches are interested based on one coach’s interest). You just have to go with it and work really, really hard at getting your name out. Usually good things happen when you work hard.
Thanks! DD has been emailing since freshman year and has developed some relationships with D3, but since D1 can’t reply to her yet, she just gets the “we will talk to you when we can” blanket statement. Her academic stats are very strong, and she did some testing to get that behind her. When she shared her results, the coaches she spoke to on campus said “we are definitely interested”, but its hard to know how many others they say that to.Its an expensive process. She’d like to attend 4-5 camps this Summer, but that all adds up VERY quickly with travel expenses. I’d love it if she was asked to verbally commit to the one she’s going to in June. She loves that school and the coaches and would say yes in a millisecond.
The coaches can’t reply directly, but can through high school or club coaches and that’s how a lot do it.
I think the camps are worth it.
Well, start with trying to decide how many players will end up as freshmen recruits. You can usually figure that out by the rosters, but I am going to guess between five and ten recruits, depending on whether or not there is a B team. By this point, I am guessing that they are saying “we are definitely interested” to around 25-30 recruits, perhaps more.
As far as the camps go, twoinanddone and I have a differing views. Given multiple spins at recruiting, we spent an awful lot on camps and showcases. The conclusion – some camps/showcases were definitely worth it and others were a waste of money. Use your financial resources realistically, because less really can be more. So, I would do some soul searching and ask some questions of your D.
- Are these college camps or independent showcases? If they are college camps, they may not (depending on the school) fill up at an early date. In that case, you might be able to wait to see June turns out and then skip the other camps if her preferred school wants her.
- How does your D feel about camp/showcases? Does she love them, or are they a necessary evil? You may be surprised by that answer.
- Four to five total does not sound like a huge amount of camps, but if your D has already been seen by coaches in other camps, tournaments or showcases it could be more than enough. I am convinced there is a diminishing returns from camps. I do not believe the equation that "more showcases equals more offers." For some kids, it may. For others, it may not. In fact, if a kid plays really well at one camp in front of a coach, and meh another day in front of that same coach, the second camp could actually hurt.
- My view is to choose camps and showcases strategically. That one showcase by invitation only for elite players may not be the best showcase for a given athlete. Choose well run camps that are tailored to your D's abilities and where she'll be seen by the schools that interest her.
Field hockey is much more concentrated in the northeast than other sports. I don’t know how big the camps or showcase tournaments are, but I’ll bet most coaches are at the same tournaments/camps. You may not need to do 4 camps to be seen by every single coach in New England.
For D1, there are ~80 schools that have teams. I think there were only a handful that were south (Duke, UNC) and fewer yet west (UC Davis). For D2, there are only 33 schools (learn to love Pennsylvania if you are thinking D2 Field hockey), and only 2 below the Mason/Dixon line. For comparison, there will be close to 140 schools with D2 lacrosse programs next year, some in states that don’t even touch the Atlantic ocean.
Are you trying to find the highest ranked (academic) school where she can play, or are you looking for the best team among similar schools? Would you take Duke where she might get a tiny scholarship and may not play much over Tufts, with only admissions help? Would she prefer Adelphi with a scholarship and lots of playing time over Hopkins?
We looked for a balance. My daughter didn’t care about the prestige of the school, and didn’t like LACs at all so we pretty much eliminated D3. She could have gone D1, but lower in the (athletic) rankings. D2 became the best fit.
That lend me to the next question since you have been through this. She could definitely do a top of the class tournament or limelight or college connection (or the like), but do you feel that showing a physical presence on campus is more valuable if you like a specific school? She is still trying to answer some of the questions you posed. My concern is if she goes for the highest ranked/most rigorous school, she will end up suffering academically for FH without any compensation for that. I feel like she can handle D1, but not at the likes of Duke, Virginia, Syracuse…I think more Patriot league, MAAC, maybe Ivy? It looks like some of the D3 carry HUGE rosters, while some of the more challenging to get in to carry small. I feel like dd does care SOME about the prestige of the school, but mom and dad care about the whole value proposition! D2 could be a good fit.
All tough questions. Tournaments/showcases have the advantage of enabling a lot of different coaches to see a lot of different players – that could be good or bad for a specific recruit. If you want to be seen by 30 coaches, they are more efficient in reaching that goal than a college camp. However, you need to check the recruiting rules about coach contact with players at the showcase. They can vary depending on whether technically the showcase is a “camp” or a “showcase.”
An “on location” college camp has the advantage of letting the recruit take a look at the school. Sometimes (depending) the recruit can schedule an admissions interview during the camp, adding to the economies of scale. I am not sure that an applicant will get much of an admissions bump by merely going to campus. That is reputed to have an impact for a non-recruit at some of the LACs (because it signifies interest), but the impact is pretty much negated for recruits by the availability of applying early. Camps do provide the option of direct discussions with the coach, and that in turn could signify a recruit’s interest to the coach.
When there are no easy answers, it usually means that there are no wrong answers.
@rofikicafe, I saw a pyramid analysis of outreach outcomes - it was something like 500 athlete emails, results in 100 coaches responses, results in 50 coaches meetings, results in 25 pre-reads, results in 10 supports, results in 6 acceptances and 4 admitted athletes.
What year is DD1? If a rising junior, keep hitting camps and showcases; if a rising senior, D3 campus visits with coaches can begin this summer, so time to push for one on ones.
My daughter was lacrosse - she plays field hockey too but was trying to get recruited for lacrosse. She did have many coaches contact her as a result of tournaments and showcases; mostly programs where she was probably over qualified athletically. For her better matches she created a relationship with the coaches through email and phone calls first and then told them where they could see her play. She did go to a few college camps (her favorites- where she really wanted to be sure to be seen and to show true interest)
My D played FH 4 years for a Patriot League team. She made a list of her favorite schools if sports was not considered. Then listed her favorite schools for FH. The intersection was a short list. Fortunately, FH is the easiest sport for recruiting. There are only 3 national events and all the coaches are at each one. She fell in love with a school and coach, committed Jr year. If you want more details, PM me.
My D is a current freshman and plays both lacrosse and field hockey. She made varsity this year for FH and has already been told she’s on varsity for lacrosse too since the coach knows her level of play. While her primary sport has been lacrosse she has been really enjoying field hockey more and more and she wants to play both in college. Do many girls do this? She is thinking NESCAC schools - Middlebury or Bowdoin. I wonder if she should try to be recruited for both and see what happens or if she should focus on one. Anyone have insight? She has a few years to go but we want to start thinking about it now.
Not many schools have both, but at the schools that do it is up to the coaches as to whether they allow it. Many schools that have both are D3 schools, small student bodies, so more are allowed to play both if they can keep up their academics.
I think she should just play both and let the future take care of itself. Formal lacrosse recruiting can’t begin until Sept 1 of junior year. She can still go to camps and tournaments where college coaches will be watching. Grades will be a big part of this equation.
i know people who play both and also know that some schools have the same coach for both. There seems to be a decent amount of crossover in the two sports. My daughter was asked by the coach of one sport if she could or would play the other. Enjoy both!
My D played both - primarily lacrosse - in high school. She did talk to one college coach that would have allowed her to play both. She ended up going D2 instead where there wasn’t a FH team. But all the coaches she talked with seemed glad to have a multi sport athlete
Is she playing on any clubs/AAU? I also suggest looking for elite camps at colleges she might be interested in next summer. You can just attend a couple during the summer, don’t break the bank, but it will give her a feel for the coach, current players and the school.
Thanks for the replies. She definitely plans to keep playing both in high school but we weren’t sure if it was a college option too. She has played club lacrosse for a top Maryland club for several years and will continue that in addition to her school. For FH she is being recruited by several clubs but can’t fit that into her schedule so she’s doing some special teams to attend festival and a few other tournaments.
Her high school regularly sends girls to NESCAC or similar lacrosse programs because it’s known for top academics and my D has always been a strong student. I guess we are just starting to wonder if her success in field hockey would be a bonus to D3 schools who are looking at her for lacrosse or if they don’t think of it that way. We are aware of recruiting rules and very happy this isn’t something she needs to decide this year but it’s something I’d be curious to hear more about if someone has a D who has gone through this.
I know girls (and boys) who have done 2 sports in college, including at D1 level. Your D’s combo is a common one in high school.
I would approach coaches about both to find your best recruiting path, but the reality is that some coaches may not be enthusiastic about her doing both. At the college level, many sports practice year round (with captain’s practices), so there could be a conflict. Otoh, some coaches might like that she’s using the other sport to stay in shape. It does help that one is fall and the other spring. I agree that D3 schools are the better target for this. I know a boy who was trying to do this, and he was recruited for lax and the soccer coach invited him to try outs. Support came only from lax but both coaches were amenable.
If she wants to do both in college, that might define her list of schools just as wanting to do just lax or just FH will. You’ll have to ask the question at each school to see how it unfolds. Sports are a great way to get an admissions edge at a school that wants you, but finding the school you want and that wants you can take some work. I could see how trying to find a school that wanted you for both could narrow, rather than expand the pool.
Decades ago at D3 especially, the rosters of the 2 teams (FH +lax) probably had more than a 50% overlap but with specialization, that has changed.
If you want to see how many girls do both, peruse the roster pages on the college websites. You can also get a sense of what they did in hs.
The best way to probably figure it out is look at the rosters of the schools your daughter likes and see if the same names appear on both. I think at some of the technical schools that typically attract more boys, you will see it happen.
Good advice to look at the rosters and get a sense for overlap. My sense is that lacrosse would be her primary focus but with the new recruiting rules in place that might impact things because she has a few more years to think about it and gain experience in FH (which is good). She will largely be looking at D3 schools because she likes the strong academics and small class sizes. Her sister already attends one, but not for sports, and her parents both went to NESCAC so it’s what she knows. I don’t want her to rule Ivy out yet, especially because she’s at a private school that sends many to Ivy and she’s a top student - but if she goes that route I’m not sure she can do two sports as easily.