Why play in college

Anonymous
We are not a sports family, but I suppose it's because the kids like it. My kids and their friends are musicians and those who are in college have continued to participate in orchestra, etc, because they - gasp - LIKE IT!

I mean, do you expect college kids to only have screen time and drugged-out partying as their relaxation?


Anonymous
It's surprising how triggering this post has been. I personally don't find anything in it offensive. Some parents invest tons in private training and camps and sacrifice other family time for what reason? What is the goal?

I think that's what the question is meant to ask and the answer seems to be because the kids enjoy it and it's fun to play in college and not because there is a soccer oriented career in mind.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:It's surprising how triggering this post has been. I personally don't find anything in it offensive. Some parents invest tons in private training and camps and sacrifice other family time for what reason? What is the goal?

I think that's what the question is meant to ask and the answer seems to be because the kids enjoy it and it's fun to play in college and not because there is a soccer oriented career in mind.

I don’t think anyone is triggered. It’s just a really stupid question. Kids have all sorts of reasons for wanting to play in college in addition to love of the game. Some like the community aspect of being on a team. Some are aiming for an admissions boost to get into top academic school. I know several kids who were aiming to go pro but hedged their bets by playing D1 at top programs.

I also find it impossible to believe that most of the former college players OP knows are now coaching youth soccer unless OP’s circle of acquaintances is tiny.
Anonymous
Hundreds of high school students play sports in high school but only a handful will play in college. Do we ask why those kids play high school sports? Such a strange discussion.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:If college soccer resembled professional soccer in theory more college players would go onto playing professionally.

Also, what's wrong with being a soccer coach?


College soccer does not resemble professional soccer in any sense. It is much closer to travel soccer vs professional. It’s an underfunded amateur league. 4% of women play pro soccer after college and 0.8% of men college players.

Now playing does not mean you have a 5 or 10 year career. MLS drafts 1.4% of the eligible players, offers a contract to 46% of those but two years out maybe a quarter are still playing.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:It's surprising how triggering this post has been. I personally don't find anything in it offensive. Some parents invest tons in private training and camps and sacrifice other family time for what reason? What is the goal?

I think that's what the question is meant to ask and the answer seems to be because the kids enjoy it and it's fun to play in college and not because there is a soccer oriented career in mind.


I don't think anyone is triggered and it's frankly more surprising that you would think responders are triggered. I think people are genuinely confused about why OP cares what other people's children decide to do with their lives, as if being one of the 5% of HS soccer players (or whatever the number is) who are actually able to play in college is a bad thing. As if not playing pro and ending up a youth soccer coach is such a bad thing. It's just an odd question and discussion, as reflected in the responses.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:Hundreds of high school students play sports in high school but only a handful will play in college. Do we ask why those kids play high school sports? Such a strange discussion.


If you don't understand the difference, you either did not play college sports or played too much college sports.
Anonymous
For certain professions (particularly business) it’s a sign that you can handle pressure, like competition and are driven. Ask me how many D1 athletes work at the big banks.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:For certain professions (particularly business) it’s a sign that you can handle pressure, like competition and are driven. Ask me how many D1 athletes work at the big banks.


Good point. I work at a Fortune 50 company that targets former military and former athletes for their time management, commitment level and 'team player' aspects.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:For certain professions (particularly business) it’s a sign that you can handle pressure, like competition and are driven. Ask me how many D1 athletes work at the big banks.


Yes, I’ve known multiple hiring managers who view college athletics as a very strong success indicator.
Anonymous
The question is probably more about “is all this travel/time/stress worth it” than actually about playing in college. The answer is kid-driven. If your kid wants more more more, intrinsically, then it is worth it because that’s how the kid is choosing to spend their time, whether college playing (or pro playing) is at the end of the road or not. Around here, people do steer their kids towards the extrinsic rewards “looks good on a college application!” — if the kid expresses reluctance, then they don’t have the intrinsic drive (the evidence of “love it”), and they may want to dial it down.
Anonymous
To add that one bullet point at the bottom of your resume that no one ends up looking at
Anonymous
This is a legitimate question for families where sports was practically nonexistent growing up. I’m an immigrant and the focus growing up was to excel in academics. I played a sport in high school and my parents never watched a game which was fine with me; I was not a superstar like I was in academics and I did not need any support to essentially move my body.

I have one DS who is talented and very competitive and all his friends talk about playing in college as the next step. If DS wants to, we’d support it but I’d prefer if he just sticks to academics and play club in college. It’ll all depend I suppose on the colleges where he wants to go and also which colleges will take an interest in him.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:To add that one bullet point at the bottom of your resume that no one ends up looking at


What do you look at on a resume since the athletic thing at the bottom means nothing?
Anonymous
The response I see a lot of times when this question comes up is for the experience. But the experience is changing and it's changing quickly with these changes to the NCAA, collegiate athletics over the next few years won't be like how they were.
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