<p>I've got a bunch of these coming up right in a row and was wondering if those who'd been through the process had any tips. I know to bring a sleeping bag, visit classes, talk to students, act mature, do whatever the coach says, etc. I was more wondering if there were any tips or better ways of getting to know the school, things you might not think of to bring along (or things you wish you hadn't), etc. Feel free to share your stories.</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>My daughter (and all of the other girls in her visit group) did not bring swimsuits. The coach brought them all to the local Target so they could buy them and go to the ocean. So…if you are visiting a school near the shore, you never know!</p>
<p>Be prepared to be offered a drink or three.</p>
<p>Sherpa is right! I just took DS for his first official visit. He told me, “Mom, I couldn’t believe how much everyone drank!” He’s a runner, and doesn’t understand why/how these athletes would do that! He’s determined not to drink in college, but I know it will be hard for him to refrain. </p>
<p>He enjoyed the visit a lot, though. He tried to be social and fit in, which the other guys noticed - they said some of the recruits just sit in the corner and don’t say anything!</p>
<p>I believe the NCAA rule is no alcohol 24 hours before a practice or competition, which rules out an awful lot. Other than that, I think the coaches expect the athletes to use discretion and abide by the law (which I’m sure doesn’t happen in most cases). Big think at my daughter’s school is no drinking in dorms or just out on campus. They all know if they get caught, it’s all over for them. So…they are all told to stay at one house (there is an apartment where many of the athletes on this particular team live and this is where the coaches expect them to gather…and they do).</p>
<p>DS has been invited to a couple of recruiting weekends coming up in October, but we haven’t received any details yet. How structured are these things? Does the athlete/guest “shadow” his host for the entire time, or is he left on his own to explore the campus for periods?</p>
<p>I imagine most are fairly structured (i.e. the visiting athlete is not left on their own). My daughter’s official visit w/e’s were filled with structured activities such as viewing practices, attending a dinner at the coaches house or at a restaurant with the team and coaches, attending another athletic event on campus with the team, campus tours and classroom visits, and hanging out with the team in their dorms, and in one case, at the beach.</p>
<p>Sevenrdr, the only time my son was on his own was when he went for his run. The boys on the team had already attended a cross country meet that day, so they couldn’t run again. DS’s host took him to a spot to run, and of course DS managed to get lost! Thank goodness it’s a tiny town, so he found his way back to campus without much trouble.</p>
<p>Two years ago, my daughter was almost always with a host, but sometimes was “handed off” partway through a visit, due to logistics. Generally she was paired with someone who had similar academic interests, so she could get a feel for classes in her prospective major.</p>
<p>Often, she would spend a weekend evening in a suite/common room with kids on the team watching a movie, while some students were catching up on studying, as needed. She visited during the season, and it was clear to her that hosts were very busy between practice and needing to study, and weren’t exactly partying up a storm. She wasn’t offered alcohol on any visit, by the way. It’s not ubiquitous. I realize this may sound dead boring, but was a realistic representation. She found a nice balance between social/sports and academics in her eventual match. Different strokes.</p>
<p>Riverrunner, thanks for your post. My daughter is going on an “unofficial” visit very soon, and from the previous comments about drinking, I was worried. Still, not sure what an unofficial visit entails other than the fact we pay for it. Would that mean she doesn’t overnight, doesn’t go to dinner. Can I invite coaches to dinner if I want? Sorry if this hijacks the thread.</p>
<p>On an unofficial visit, the school cannot pay for any part of the visit. If your daughter stays overnight, she will be required to pay a nominal fee for her stay in the dorm for the night (we paid $10 when my daughter unofficially visited) and will pay for her own meals.</p>
<p>What role do parents play in the official visit? My daughter has several lined up for this fall. Although I have not received all of the schedules yet, my daughter asked one of the coaches and he said that we pretty much drop her off and pick her up. What are other parents’ experience with this?</p>
<p>Both D1 and D2 had official visits. Alcohol was not part of any of them. They watched practices, games and hung out with the team. D1 went to a 21st birthday party for a future teammate where alcohol was served but the coach was in attendance so there was no underage drinking. At DIII unofficial visits all meals were covered by coach and no nominal charge for overnight stays. At unofficial DI visit there was one meal covered but it was because we piggybacked the visit with an admissions visit day.</p>
<p>At D2’s official visit to DI we did attend a game and then an early am practice but left her for the rest of the weekend so it really was a drop off and pick up.</p>
<p>^^I was referring to DI when I said there was a nominal fee. </p>
<p>wes…at all of my daughter’s official visits, there was a separate parent itinerary, some of which coincided with my daughter’s activities and some (most) which did not. We had a lot of “on our own” time, but there were some parent activities.</p>
<p>My d had a couple of official visits, and they were just for the kid - they sent us an airline ticket and picked her up at the airport, so it wasn’t even a dropoff/pickup situation.</p>
<p>One school made reservations for both of us, but I had to pay for my ticket.</p>
<p>My son is going on an official this weekend and he is being picked up at the airport by the coach and will be dropped off by the coach. The coach sent us an itinerary of the two days he’s allowed to be there. The coach is then taking him back to the airport. All is being paid. He’s going on a visit in two weeks to D3 MIT and the program doesn’t do officials so we paid for the ticket and we have to pay for meals. But we don’t have to pay for any lodging or dorm fees.</p>
<p>Most coaches do not leave anything to chance on an official visit so your child will probably always be with someone. My husband and I went with our son on his visits (Division I), but the school did not pay for our portion of the trip. At the school my son really wanted to attend, we invited the coach out to lunch because we knew they were not able to pay for us and it seemed less awkward to just pick up the tab than to split the check up and ask them for their share. Every coach is different and visits can differ according to sport or level of play as well. Drinking happens but I would advise your child to assume nothing is private on a recruiting trip. My son asked to meet with the team academic advisor at the schools he visited. That was valuable because they were usually forthcoming about whether certain majors would work out with the sports schedule. Eat at the cafeteria. Athletes only have training table meals during season so most of the time they will be eating at the dining hall. Some schools have better food than others. The school wants your kid so they will make sure everything goes as well as possible. If you want to go, go. Most parents do not think twice about accompanying their children on college visits so why should parents of athletes be any different? It os normal for parents to help their kids choose a college. If a coach discourages it, I would take a close second look at the coach. As far as the actual sports part of the visit, it’s always good to ask the coach for a prediction on what the freshman year will be like… can you expect playing time, where do you fit in on the team depth chart, who gets to travel with the team, etc.</p>
<p>I have 4 D1 trips lined up for the fall, just completed one this past weekend. I brought a parent with me as we were close enough (a few hours) to simply drive, and I didn’t want to have to worry about driving myself. My parent was included in a lot of the meetings and tours and was provided with game tickets one day, but for the most part I did my own thing with my host.</p>
<p>Alcohol is available at a lot of trips… I don’t really partake, since most of it is honestly the cheapest and fastest to get drunk on, therefore not quality tasting… and I honestly don’t feel that drinking is the way to give off a good impression, as team meetings generally follow recruiting weekends and even if the recruits who got completely smashed got along well with the team, it’s something for the coach to consider- typically a 17 year old who chugged alcohol and partied hardcore- and I feel that would raise questions about how mature they honestly are and able to handle intense college training.</p>
<p>Honestly, just expect that there will likely be beer/parties/etc. and trust that you raised your child well. I told my parents about the alcohol present, and they were both fine with it- as I was. What others do isn’t my problem. </p>
<p>Just my two cents, as a D1 recruit with some experience with trips.</p>
<p>^^Yes, the coaches do know about the parties. We went out for dinner w/the coaches and other parents on the visit while the girls spent the evening together. The coach mentioned that she knew some of the girls were going to a party (not girls who were hosting the recruits). She said, “don’t worry, your daughters aren’t with them. I know they will probably have a few drinks and I didn’t want to put your girls in that situation as they are underage.”</p>