Can anyone tell me how competitive these teams are? I’m wondering what level one needs to be at to be recruited. I assume that for these sports academics need to be on par with averages for the student body as a whole, there are plenty of smart girls who play soccer and golf.
Thanks.
NESCAC soccer is pretty competitive. Less familiar with golf. The general rule of thumb is that you need to be a student who would be admitted without the sport. If the coach wants you, that is what will get your application selected over all the other qualified applicants.
Spend some time reading old threads in this forum and you’ll get a good sense of the scene. I would also recommend visiting the school teams websites and reading player bios, news, results, etc. You’ll get the flavor of each program.
I think the summary is that if you are recruited, it’s a great way to get into a very selective school. But finding a school you love that also wants you on their team can be much more work and more challenging than most people on the outside realize.
And of course, NESCAC is not monolithic. There are stories of recruits not getting past the pre-read at school A who got scooped up by school B.
NESCAC athletics in general are at a very high level. If you take a look at the Division 3 NCAA womens soccer tournament, you will see that five NESCAC teams (Williams, Tufts, Hamilton, Middlebury and Conn College) took part. That is pretty impressive, given that the League champion is automatically in and the rest need to be invited. Add to that, Williams won the tournament, so that gives you an idea. That said, not all NESCAC teams are created equally, so there is some degree of variation. But all NESCAC teams must play teams in the league that are of that high caliber, so it tends to be a very high level of play.
Currently two NESCAC teams are playing in the NCAA Div III Women’s Golf Championship.
http://results.golfstat.com//public/leaderboards/gsnav.cfm?pg=participants&tid=14622
Coaches look to recruit players that can play in their top 3 spots.
Just came home from this year’s Div III Women’s golf championship. The finish was as exciting and compelling as any Div I Golf finals you will see on the Golf Channel later this month.
There was the visible raw emotion from all the participants. But what was also great to see was the tremendous support from the other participants and their families, who lined up the 18th hole to watch the playoff.
If your daughter has the talent to be recruited and the academics on par with what NESCAC schools require to be admitted, Div III athletics offer the best balance for the student athlete.