<p>Yes, she is playing club hockey on Sundays. We have a convenient arrangement as the coach's daughter is a teammate and she will be staying with their family.</p>
<p>Club hockey for girls on Sundays is a New England norm. Pretty much all of the top club teams in the region are made up of prep school players and play a fall season with their club teams on Sundays, go to a couple of holiday tournaments, and then district playoffs in late February (coordinates well with prep season).</p>
<p>Don't know how club soccer works or if it has a similar arrangement for weekend/off-season play. You might ask a coach at one of the better soccer schools if this is done.</p>
<p>
[quote]
College homework is a breeze for her and she had no adjustment period her freshman year. She said it was so much easier than bs! She watched several new college friends spiralling downward as the first semester drew to a close. She was like a mini-parent with her observations of who was drinking, socializing, or loafing too much, and her predictions of who would lose their scholarships.
[/quote]
I guess it is just the high profile D1 college sports where the athletes are required to go to study hall and their progress is monitored - too much prestige at stake. Sorry to hear that her teammates were struggling. </p>
<p>I do think that BS does help get the kids into the rythm of keeping up with their studies (not to mention adjusting to dorm life) and is a significant advantage to an incoming freshman.</p>
<p>Do you think that you D's teammate were also potentially overmathced in a reach school because of a coach's tip? I do worry a bit about finding the right level of school (where a coach has an interest) because it is silly sending a kid off to a school where they will struggle academically (regardless of athletic committment), just because you CAN get in there with athletics. Kinda kills grad school opportunities.</p>
<p>Not all D1 schools have mandated study halls for freshmen; I know my daughter's school does not (maybe it is determined by the sport)? I know that my daughter's sport (gymnastics) had the highest team GPA at her university last season. </p>
<p>Goaliedad...</p>
<p>Soccer is a bit different in that, by sending my son to bs, we are sacrificing something in the soccer department as hs soccer, even at the prep school level, is by no means as polished a sport as is a strong club team. His club coach is willing to be quite accommodating for him, and I know we can have him home most w/e's from bs, so he will be able to attend w/e games, but will have to forego midweek practices (can you say 6 hour rt drive?) Also, the bs really wants him to play baseball....he loves baseball and is very good, but normally does not play the school season because of spring club soccer. Instead, he plays Babe Ruth in the summer.
His school is allowing him to miss 3 days in November for nationals and now his team has been invited to the Nike Friendlies in Bradenton, FL in December. This is another very important place "to be seen" by top D1 coaches as well as the National staff, but as he is a freshman (again) I might wait until next year for this particular tourny so it doesn't impact school as much.</p>
<p>It sounds like you have an arrangement in place for your S's soccer. I'm not sure how the "not practicing with the team midweek" will work out for both him and the team. </p>
<p>With hockey, there is a certain amount of timing and chemistry that is developed during practice that is critical for higher level hockey teams. I guess if he has been playing with the same group of boys for a number of years, it shouldn't be as much of an issue.</p>
<p>I agree with you about the exposure events with freshmen. Too early. </p>
<p>I know with hockey, the exposure events start the summer after the Sophomore year, getting coaches attention at a few selective camps and tourneys, so they come out and watch a game or 2 during the Junior year season and July 1 after their junior season the real recruiting begins, with some of the top programs having already gotten their committments for next season by the time school starts in the fall. This year, I believe the Minnesota womens team has already gotten 6 committments and are pretty much full up.</p>
<p>Let me know how things work out with his club soccer.</p>
<p>Goaliedad,
Sorry for any confusion--my college soph D isn't a recruited athlete, so it wasn't her teammate she was watching spin out of control, just hall mates!</p>
<p>Just connecting dots that weren't there. LOL I was talking about Goaliegirl's homework load and weekend sports committment and when you made the jump to college, I went right along with it thinking athletics and homework load. My bad. </p>
<p>This is starting to look like Parent Cafe, isn't it?</p>
<p>C'mon! Anyone want a piece of this? I'm King of the Hill and if I can't prevail and change your opinion on this subject with my unparalleled logic, I'll just keep posting until you are beaten down to a shadow of your former self.</p>
<p>(just trying to recreate that ol' cafe feeling)</p>
<p>For those of you who have been through both the college application process and the prep application process, what to you see as the major similarities & differences? Do you think the adcom evaluation process is similar or is there less focus on community? Do the arts &/or athletics carry as much weight as they do in the boarding school process?</p>
<p>Well, I have been through both with D, but since she applied to nine BS and only one college, there is simply not enough data to draw any conclusions.</p>
<p>I CAN tell you that your BS kid could be at a disadvantage for merit aid if they are a "B" student at a tough grading school. Colleges that offer merit scholarships usually have objective GPA cutoffs that do not allow for consideration of the level of academics at any particular school. For example, the college may have a founder's scholarship with minimum GPA of 3.5 or 3.75. If you're a student who might have had a 4.0 at the local public hs, but you attend a challenging private hs, you may only earn a 3.4, so you're out of the running. The education you received may be far superior, making you a better candidate, but there is no wiggle room in the criteria.</p>
<p>That said, I would still choose to send my kids to the best hs I could afford since it's the solid hs education we're after.</p>