<p>It seems some have already done OVs. My D is scheduled for her OV 10/18-10/20 (yay, just found out yesterday). Is there any do's or don'ts from those who have previously gone that they could share. We (both D, my DH and myself) have met with the coach before and have talked for hours. We (at least dh and me) have asked all the questions that we have wanted of him. I'm thinking is there more questions/conversation that D should have with the team girls. We already know what majors don't really work well with her sport, which was a biggie.</p>
<p>We know that most of the girls live on campus their Freshman year and then live off campus in houses, HC told us that there are 3 houses that the girls basically live in after Freshman year. Would it be wrong to ask to see where the other girls live because we know that she will be staying on campus for the OV?</p>
<p>This is your chance to ask all your questions–the easy ones and the hard ones! When my D did OV last year, she asked specifically to see the off campus houses that the athletes lived in, because she was very curious what housing might look like long term. Not only was she taken to see the housing (all the housing options) but there was a team get together in one of them on one of the nights she was visiting. </p>
<p>Another question might be–what if I don’t end up living with the other team members, what are my options for housing then? Some athletes don’t want to live with others in their same sport, because they see them so much already.</p>
<p>Thanks swim4school! We know that she will live on campus as a freshman and she will live in suite style housing, we even know what building. I think she will ask the questions though about roommate being in her sport as well as suite mates.</p>
<p>She just got another email from coach asking for her NCAA ID#, got that no problem, but then he asking her if her parents were attending and if so names. She forwarded me the email and I’m like I have no idea! Do parents usually attend OVs? I was thinking this was just for her. Maybe he means the football game on Saturday? Obviously we will drop off on Friday and go pick her up on Sunday (literally go to the gym where she will be meeting up with the coach again). Hopefully there will be a meeting that we would like to be included in, but honestly that is all that I want to be included in is the meeting at the end. Does that make sense?</p>
<p>zebradome, our D, now a freshman, took all her OVs by herself. My H and I did not attend one (though we were on some unofficial visits). We believed that the OVs were for her. We wanted her to travel by herself (she flew to all her OVs) and to have the visit with no parent interference. This way she was making her decisions based on her own personal experiences.</p>
<p>Dad went with S on his 2 OVs, but dropped him off at the beginning and met up at the end of the 48hrs. On one of the visits he was specifically invited to go to a sporting event with several other parents who were also there with their kids, so it seemed the norm for a parent to be in attendance. Both OVs ended with $ discussions with the head coach, so we were glad a parent was there. </p>
<p>My S made his final choice of schools in large part on how he felt about his possible future team mates. So it is important that your D gets a feeling for how it will be to spend all her time with the group of people she is meeting. For the most part she will train, travel, study and likely live with the team and each school seems to have a different feel and culture which you can’t always pick up on from meeting the coach.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone. The school is driving distance from our house, so we don’t have to worry about airline tickets and such. I just told D to respond to coach’s email asking for clarification if parents should come or come to certain parts of the visit. I just want her to add that we would like to be involved in the meeting at the end of the visit. I really don’t want to be there the entire weekend. Like I said up above, the school is about 40 minutes from our house, I’m going home and doing my weekend stuff and then will head back on Sunday.</p>
<p>Having a current freshman…I am so jealous that you are looking at a school that close to home! That would be wonderful–just far enough away that you’ll call before you visit, but close enough to see her sporting events and catch a quick dinner on a weekend or even run home on a Saturday night. I just spoke to my own daughter who has a respiratory infection, miserable, hard training, mid-terms, lots of challenges…and she said, “all I really want it a night in my own bed and some of your soup…” And you could fulfill that! (We are a plane ride away.)</p>
<p>However, to answer your question–we took our daughter and dropped her off at her OV’s, and when there were going to be private coaches meetings, we attended–usually Sunday as athletes were leaving. (You can certainly request to meet also if you want a meeting and its not suggested to you.) On a couple of visits my spouse went with her to drop her off, and he did attend sporting events (football games, soccer games) with tickets provided by the coach. He did not attend with the team, just used the tickets.</p>
<p>I think dropping off/attending games/meeting with coaches are all family specific decisions. When it comes down to the decision making (which goes fast if committing in November) you need the all the facts to make the decision as a family. Very few families can give a 17 year old carte blanche to make a college choice. The price tag, the distance, the advantages of one school over another, the team dynamics, the rank/placement on the team, and the financial offer/financial aid package are all critical decision points. </p>
<p>In our family, the athlete got 75% of the decision. The parents got the other 25%–that was the 25% that figured out whether we could make it work financially based on the financial offer from her selected school. In other families, the athlete got 100% of the decision. In others, the athlete got very little choice–we know many athletes that went to the school with the best offer. It is truly a family issue in the end.</p>
<p>One other consideration…rooming with same sport athletes is hard. However, it is done very often in our sport because our D is up at 5am six days a week, and there are not many non athlete college students who can tolerate that lifestyle, nor the random 90minute power naps that occur at odd times to make up for the 5am wake up call. </p>
<p>I would ask about policies on rooming. Some teams have strict rooming policies, including a couple that we saw that the coach dictated who roomed together. (Weird to me…) There is a lot of togetherness with the team…your D should critically look at the team and see if she thinks she can be with them alot.</p>
<p>I know that although my D rooms with another athlete in her sport, she has tons of dorm friends that are not athletes…so she can have an “outside life” away from her sport and the team. Your D might want to inquire if the team members have friends outside the sport as well.</p>
<p>My D also rooms with another swimmer; they were matched up by the coach. This has worked very well for her and they are rooming together soph yr. I am amazed how much they are alike. They are up at 5:45, take power naps, go to bed fairly early during the week. This year she is in a suite with 4 other teammates and next door to another swim suite. She is at a small LAC.</p>
<p>She also has friends who are not in her sport that she met in her freshman dorm. Sometimes the continual presence of the team is just too much!</p>
<p>Well, the coach asked for us parents to be there. I will be able to go, my husband will stay home with our younger son (he has his own activities going on over the weekend as well).</p>