Is it possible to just play varsity, no club and play in college?

[Anonymous]

My HS freshman loves multiple sports, and loves playing for his school. But he wants to play in college.

Has anyone’s kid played a team sport in HS and gone on to play in college, or is club necessary?

Soccer and lacrosse are his two strongest sports.

[Anonymous]

no for soccer and lacrosse. no colleges are looking at the HS teams.

[Anonymous]

Do you care what level of college play?

It's nearly impossible to play D1...but there are tons of mediocre D3 (i.e., low academic and/or weak sports teams) programs where you can probably do it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do you care what level of college play?

It's nearly impossible to play D1...but there are tons of mediocre D3 (i.e., low academic and/or weak sports teams) programs where you can probably do it.

Really? It seems like 100% of recruiting for both soccer and lacrosse is done via club. But interested in examples of D3 kids who didn't play club.

[Anonymous]

It's not really about ability -- it's about where coaches are looking. And for those sports, they look at clubs.

However ... if you have good film, and if he's a good student, you can make it happen. Record everything, have him make a recruiting Instagram, and start emailing coaches as soon as possible.

Is he thinking he will eventually focus on one for recruiting?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do you care what level of college play?

It's nearly impossible to play D1...but there are tons of mediocre D3 (i.e., low academic and/or weak sports teams) programs where you can probably do it.

Really? It seems like 100% of recruiting for both soccer and lacrosse is done via club. But interested in examples of D3 kids who didn't play club.

I know a kid talking to Muhlenberg for LAX that doesn't play on a club team...I know nothing beyond what the parent tells me, but seems like they basically have an offer. They do attend showcases and went to a Muhlenberg prospect camp.

[Anonymous]

It is possible, but it would be harder to get recruited. Go to the college's ID camp and initiate contact. Then enroll at that school and just start showing up to pre-season training and practice. This can work in D3. There are numerous D3 schools with less than 28 kids on the roster. IF you really want to be there, you can get your foot in the door that way. Coaches love dedication and grit. I walked on a sophomore in D3, practiced a lot, subbed on a few minutes here and there and got more play time each year. Look for the D3 school your kid is interested now, see if the roster is full or not and initiate some contact.

Most of the crazies on their board think it's all about D1 or bust or an Elite Ivy League. I played in the centennial conference in D3 and it was a blast. Yes, some players were obvious starters, recruited and had some benefits...and some players who wanted to be a part of the program were there and worked hard for several years. No one from D3 played soccer after college in any meaningful capacity, but no one was really looking was really looking to do that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It is possible, but it would be harder to get recruited. Go to the college's ID camp and initiate contact. Then enroll at that school and just start showing up to pre-season training and practice. This can work in D3. There are numerous D3 schools with less than 28 kids on the roster. IF you really want to be there, you can get your foot in the door that way. Coaches love dedication and grit. I walked on a sophomore in D3, practiced a lot, subbed on a few minutes here and there and got more play time each year. Look for the D3 school your kid is interested now, see if the roster is full or not and initiate some contact.

Most of the crazies on their board think it's all about D1 or bust or an Elite Ivy League. I played in the centennial conference in D3 and it was a blast. Yes, some players were obvious starters, recruited and had some benefits...and some players who wanted to be a part of the program were there and worked hard for several years. No one from D3 played soccer after college in any meaningful capacity, but no one was really looking was really looking to do that.

I'd love to hear of some good academic D3 schools with lacrosse teams that my kid could make without much club experience. By way of background, they played AAA hockey for too long before realizing it wasn't going anywhere and shifting more focus to lacrosse late in the game (after always playing rec and then high school lacrosse because it didn't conflict as much with hockey).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do you care what level of college play?

It's nearly impossible to play D1...but there are tons of mediocre D3 (i.e., low academic and/or weak sports teams) programs where you can probably do it.

He definitely cares about the level of academics.

— OP

[Anonymous]

Sort of? I live elsewhere now and my town is a weird outlier with a single HS and a dominant lacrosse team. Their lacrosse org is affiliated with the HS team and prohibits players from being part of outside clubs. But kids still are playing year round and at tournaments, but only for the club that is essentially one and the same as the HS. Some people like it and some people hate it so much they go to or private or move so they can guest on teams.

[Anonymous]

HS level is soooo low. No. A kid has to be playing at the high rate of speed/IQ in MLSNext, minimum ECNL for a boy in soccer. And, nowadays--for boys--even that is a crap shoot--particularly if you want to attend a school you don't have to google to find out where it exists or what it is. The transfer portal/older players and internationals have effectively killed most recruiting for kids still in high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do you care what level of college play?

It's nearly impossible to play D1...but there are tons of mediocre D3 (i.e., low academic and/or weak sports teams) programs where you can probably do it.

He definitely cares about the level of academics.

— OP

I would just pick a college and do the club team. lots of amazing schools with only club teams and the kids are good on the club teams, many could have played d3 but didn't want to go to some random school just to play lax.

[Anonymous]

Just to give you an idea - my neice was the #1 swimmer in our state, great grades and the best full ride scholarship she got was Colorado Mesa. Meh.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just to give you an idea - my neice was the #1 swimmer in our state, great grades and the best full ride scholarship she got was Colorado Mesa. Meh.

Colorado Mesa just came in third at the NCAA Division 2 Championships.

[Anonymous]

Something like 80% of D1 recruits are international players, so I wouldn't count on that. But D3, it's possible