<p>My kid is a freshman recruit at a DI school. After two weeks with the team, things are not going well. There is some sort of mutiny going on, with a large number of kids on the roster not showing up for practice. New recruits have been kept in the dark as to what is going on. One of the upper classman finally spilled the beans to one of the freshman that head coach is not well liked and that there was an incident with some team members that precipitated one of the Asst coaches leaving. There are supposedly more teammates who will be quiting team by the end of the week. Obviously, none of this was evident on OV nor disclosed during subsequent contact with team members. </p>
<p>The freshman recruits are not at all happy about all this. They are feeling mislead and somewhat ostracized by teammates because they are not part and party to the goings on. I have advised my kid to lay low, stay out of the politics and let things play out how they will. But this is certainly not how we envisioned the start of collegiate career.</p>
<p>Wow, that is rough… my sympathy to you both. I think you gave the best advise you could to lay low and just ride it out. There is always more to something than meets the eye. Keep us posted and good luck.</p>
<p>I just had a discussion with the father of a D1 athlete who has been at I think, four schools. Several shortcomings at each one. The dad was noting that some of the coaches are idiots. One coach ran off a defender as being too slow and lazy, while the son thought he was one of the best players he’d ever seen. He (the player who wasn’t good enough for the coach) transferred to a top school in the sport and played as a starter on a national championship team. </p>
<p>The problem is that its too early to figure out what’s what for you.</p>
<p>Agree with Mom2010 that you advised your kid well in laying low. I feel for both of you. The freshmen should stick together, it is a shame they have to endure this when they should be enjoying teambuilding. Maybe they will get more playing time if they continue their hard work with so many upperclassmen on strike. Chances are other coaches are somewhat aware and if things keep going downhill maybe your kid will be able to play for one of them. Your situation sounds rare. Best of luck to you and your kid, keep us posted.</p>
<p>The kids survived another week, with just a couple of casualties on the team. The first years have banded together even tighter and are just trying to weather the storm. One kid is getting really bad advice from a parent, but so far the group has kept him from rocking the boat. They are still being held at arms length by the rest of the team, but they figure that is better than being part of the melee. It seems like things may be starting to settle down, same number of kids at practice each day, so hopefully the worst is over.</p>