<p>Patriot, </p>
<p>Did you lose your scholarship entirely as a result of the surgeries and lost play time? Was your scholarship all athletic $$ ?</p>
<p>I was on a half scholarship for soccer and a quarter scholarship for academics. I lost the entire athletic part of my scholarship but still retain my academic scholarship. Another point here is that academic scholarships are almost always contigent on keeping good grades so if you go to a school and get academic scholarship along with athletic and then slack off you can lose your academic scholarship as well.</p>
<p>Why did you lose your athletic scholarship? I hope not because of your injuries! I know three DI players who had career ending ACL injuries and all were able to keep their scholarships.</p>
<p>Yes it was because of my injuries… It really all depends on the school and the coach. They have no obligation to allow me to keep the scholarship but most coaches will allow kids to. My coach apparently felt that he couldn’t afford to allow me to keep the scholarship since I had already been sidelined for two years with consecutive injuries. Believe me I think its messed up as well.</p>
<p>I don’t mean to hi jack but i hope my sons situation will be useful to the OP. He is a sophmore who really want’s to play D1. He’s played for 10 years, including 5 years at a low level competative team, and two years of varsity, where he was rookie of the year, and “all section”. The problem is, it’s a tiny school in a tiny town, while overall, California copetition is pretty fierce. He’s doing all kinds of tryouts this month, hoping to hook up with a team where he can get some looks, including that development academy thing, but IMHO, it’s kind of too late to get to that level. He has always had natural talent that gets him noticed in the classroom and on the field, but is a bit immature (ADHD). So, low level teams and a 3.0, but a better PSAT, and local kudos. </p>
<p>So, my question is, assuming no scholarship, and certainly none that would be worth all the sacrifices I hear are involved, why would a kid like that even WANT to play D1? Isn’t there a better way for kids like that to enjoy soccer in college?</p>
<p>Ya I would definitely say that soccer in college is not all its cracked up to be. Unless your already spending thirty hours a week doing soccer related things in high school you don’t really understand the time commitment. And at most upper level division one teams its run like a business. I visited several schools where kids told me they had about no contact with the head coach except at practice and games. They said that if they needed something they had to go thru the assistants. There is a reason that about 25% of kids that come into college playing end up quitting or being cut by their senior year. Unless you think you have a legitimate shot at playing pro (which is most of the kids but they aren’t being realistic) or you want to coach at a high level, its not worth it unless you love the game so much your willing to sacrifice almost anything else for it. D3 schools are far less time demanding although still competitive. And almost every school has a club team that will play year round and get together like 3 times a week to practice. Its really up to the individual but not really anyone I talk to in high school really understands what it takes, I know I didn’t. And most kids who are fixated on playing d1 are doing that just because of a pride issue and bragging rights. And most of these kids are not realistic. High school is not a good barometer of if your good enough. I know many kids who were all americans in high school but are not playing d1 because no d1 schools offered them. ODP is probably the best barometer we have (although its not good enough because not every kid can afford it and it can get political) and I don’t really know any kid who has played d1 unless they were at least one of the best kids on their respective state teams. And most high level d1 teams won’t even look at you if you don’t have regional ODP experience. I still remember a coach at akron university telling me and a group of kids when I was a junior in high school that if your not a national pool member, we aren’t looking at you.</p>
<p>Thanks! Do you mind sharing what your pre-college soccer experience was like?</p>
<p>What exactly would you like to know? I’d be happy to share it with you just private message me.</p>
<p>Done! 10 char</p>
<p>patriot…You might have lost your scholarship because the school couldn’t afford to convert it to a medical. That’s what usually happens when an athlete is injured…they don’t keep the actual athletic scholarship. That just wouldn’t make sense because then the coach couldn’t replace you with someone who could actually play. Usually the school has to have enough money to let the coach have a medical scholarship. </p>
<p>I have to disagree that DI athletics is like a job and they own you, etc. etc. My daughter is a DI athlete (gymnast) and as such, she knows many, many DI athletes in several different sports. In fact, she is friends with a lot of the soccer players. These guys definitely have time for a social life and the team GPA is high as well. My son does play for a development academy and he likewise knows many DI players, past and present. All of these people (including my daughter) are happy with their sport. Of course they don’t do it to go pro. The percentage of DI players going pro is very small as I am sure you know. Maybe at some schools it is not enjoyable, but I think a goodly portion of the players do it because they love the sport and enjoy competing at the highest level they are capable of.</p>
<p>ya I don’t know anything about the medical scholarship thing… And I’m sure there is different dynamics at all different schools and all different sports. At my school as well as several that I visited all seemed very business like. I think the dynamic of my school may be different from that of your daughters as we are known for our soccer program and have a history of churning out professional players. And the head coach is an ex professional head coach. There is really only one goal here for all the players i’m around and that is to play pro. But again this is just my experience. And I’m not saying I don’t have time for those things, you just have to learn the value of time management. And you do have to sacrifice things like a social activities a good amount of the time (especially during season when a lot of traveling is involved).</p>
<p>Well of course it is business-like…it is DI athletics! My daughter’s team is top 25 in the nation and the hockey is usually in the top 4 or 5. (They still seem to have tons of time for partying!) I think it really depends on the school as the hockey coach is very approachable and amiable; his players (nor does my daughter in her sport) ever have to go through the assistants. And the hockey team sends plenty on to pro. Of course sacrifices do have to be made. But that is all part of being on a team of that level. Some kids are okay with it. </p>
<p>Could you PM (or post publicly if you don’t mind) the name of your school? My son would love to go pro and his club coaches seem to think its a possibility. We are currently in the process of wading through reams of school info and I am curious which schools have the highest success rate with that. All of my son’s current coaches are ex-English Premier players, so he is used to a very serious environment.</p>
<p>P.S. No more ODP, really. The US Soccer Development Academy has pretty much taken over.</p>
<p>Patriot’s case is a good reason to be open and talk with coaches when you are being recruited. Many prospective players ask what happens if they are injured while on the team. Patriot’s is the first case I know of where the player lost a scholarship due to a team injury. I’m sure there are more but I’ve never heard of them in the soccer and basketball circle we are familiar with. In fact we know more who have gotten their scholarships changed to five years. We also know some players who have negotiated five years from the beginning if they plan on majoring in an area that has lots of labs/clinicals that need to be taken in that fifth year. Research the culture of the team before you commit!!!</p>
<p>Keep improving and working to get on the best club teams. Guy from my school was recruited to D1 solely through his club resume. He plays premier and did ODP. Contact coaches this summer because it never hurts to put you name out there. Good luck! :)</p>
<p>I’m interested in hearing how happy the players are with the coaches at the various Ivy League Men’s Soccer Teams.</p>