What would be the best non-DA option in the DC area for a U17 boy wanting to play D1 soccer?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Look to get on a team that plays in the USYSA National League. McLean’s Green ‘00 and ‘01 National league teams coached by Jamil Walker have a number of kids playing D1 now, and Baltimore Celtic has a ton. OBGC has had one or two recently, and maybe Arlington as well.

Mclean is out of National League.

Yes, I meant to use that as an example of how teams that are in the National League historically do fairly well placing players in D1. Jamil is a great coach by all accounts, but whether he could help place kids who are on teams that are not at that level is an open question.

Those McLean teams placed way more players in D3 than D1.

Still better than most non-DA clubs/teams do. They also developed players who moved to DA after years and years at McLean and went on to D1. It may be that those golden years are now over, but Jamil’s players in those age groups had a great run.

Why do people care about D1 v D3 if you are not going pro? Is the objective to get a scholarship, and if so, who cares as long as the school is otherwise an excellent fit?

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[Anonymous]

OP, here. Thanks for your helpful answers.
DS is a DA player, but as we put academics first, we would like to see if he could consider other (perhaps slightly less time-consuming) options in a few years that would still give him a shot at playing in college.
Not looking for scholarships, just for good academics and possible playing time.
As argued by some of you D3 may be a better fit (assuming it is much easier to get in).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, here. Thanks for your helpful answers.
DS is a DA player, but as we put academics first, we would like to see if he could consider other (perhaps slightly less time-consuming) options in a few years that would still give him a shot at playing in college.
Not looking for scholarships, just for good academics and possible playing time.
As argued by some of you D3 may be a better fit (assuming it is much easier to get in).

A player who has a few years of DA experience and then drops it to play HS and club soccer should still have plenty of options, and certainly will if D3 is the goal. But we did not find that DA interfered more with academics than regular club soccer. You have one extra practice a week, but only two showcases instead of multiple tournaments. Our kid who played DA did not generally find it hard to balance with a rigorous course load. MLS DA academies are different in the later HS years though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, here. Thanks for your helpful answers.
DS is a DA player, but as we put academics first, we would like to see if he could consider other (perhaps slightly less time-consuming) options in a few years that would still give him a shot at playing in college.
Not looking for scholarships, just for good academics and possible playing time.
As argued by some of you D3 may be a better fit (assuming it is much easier to get in).

D3 is not easier to get in or a path for lesser athletes. The best D3 teams will beat mid-level D1 teams just about every day, and are run (within NCAA rules) just as rigorously as D1. There are many D3 athletes that could be D1 players but chose smaller schools or different academic programs. You will need to be playing (and being noticed) at a very high level to get into a D3 school with soccer. That said, the lesser the school (both academically and athletically), the more options there will be.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, here. Thanks for your helpful answers.
DS is a DA player, but as we put academics first, we would like to see if he could consider other (perhaps slightly less time-consuming) options in a few years that would still give him a shot at playing in college.
Not looking for scholarships, just for good academics and possible playing time.
As argued by some of you D3 may be a better fit (assuming it is much easier to get in).

D3 is not easier to get in or a path for lesser athletes. The best D3 teams will beat mid-level D1 teams just about every day, and are run (within NCAA rules) just as rigorously as D1. There are many D3 athletes that could be D1 players but chose smaller schools or different academic programs. You will need to be playing (and being noticed) at a very high level to get into a D3 school with soccer. That said, the lesser the school (both academically and athletically), the more options there will be.

We’re talking about a kid who currently plays DA. There are definitely some great D3 soccer programs, including most of the NESCACs, Messiah, Brandeis, and several others, but on the whole, the D3/level is much lower, and a top soccer player will have far more D3 than D1 options. The more academically elite D3 schools do still have a high academic bar for admissions, but again, only a relatively small percentage of D3 programs are in that group. DA is much less necessary if D3 is the goal; most NESCAC men’s players did not come from the DA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, here. Thanks for your helpful answers.
DS is a DA player, but as we put academics first, we would like to see if he could consider other (perhaps slightly less time-consuming) options in a few years that would still give him a shot at playing in college.
Not looking for scholarships, just for good academics and possible playing time.
As argued by some of you D3 may be a better fit (assuming it is much easier to get in).

D3 is not easier to get in or a path for lesser athletes. The best D3 teams will beat mid-level D1 teams just about every day, and are run (within NCAA rules) just as rigorously as D1. There are many D3 athletes that could be D1 players but chose smaller schools or different academic programs. You will need to be playing (and being noticed) at a very high level to get into a D3 school with soccer. That said, the lesser the school (both academically and athletically), the more options there will be.

We’re talking about a kid who currently plays DA. There are definitely some great D3 soccer programs, including most of the NESCACs, Messiah, Brandeis, and several others, but on the whole, the D3/level is much lower, and a top soccer player will have far more D3 than D1 options. The more academically elite D3 schools do still have a high academic bar for admissions, but again, only a relatively small percentage of D3 programs are in that group. DA is much less necessary if D3 is the goal; most NESCAC men’s players did not come from the DA.

This is all really interesting and new for parents whose kids are smart, may want to play in college, but have no ability or desire to go pro. It makes you wonder what percentage of D1 players (and their parents) think they will actually become professional players. But also interesting is the input about the absence of any difference in free time between elite club and DA soccer time.

[Anonymous]

DS has been told he is a low Division I or DII/DIII player. We are skewing toward very good DIII programs that offers athletics and academics.

Better to get degree and strong soccer experience from Washington & Lee than somewhere like Longwood.

[Anonymous]

The Harvard lawsuit has revealed some interesting facts about college admissions for athletes. While it is "Harvard" and probably not representative of all schools, what has been shown is that athlete 'boosts' can come in different forms.

A tier 1 athlete at Harvard is a player of "National, International or Olympic caliber or someone directly recruited by a coach." Each year there are less than 100 tier 1 athletes recruited by Harvard, but their chances of admission are very very high.

A tier 2 athlete is someone who is a leader in the secondary school team, or on a club that has achieved regional or state recognition. A captain of a high school team who plays on a state cup finalist club would be a good example. These get a considerable boost in admissions but not a sure thing.

A tier 3 athlete is an "active participant" in a sport but receives no admissions boost.

Simply playing on a DA is not going to get you a Tier 1 status, and quite possibly not even tier 2. If you are certain you don't want the 4+1 days a week of a DA, plus the showcases and other travel time, you might be better suited aiming at a leadership role in a club or on your high school team. Here is a kid from St. Albans now at Harvard playing soccer. I would guess his bio is kind of indicative of what this would take.

https://www.gocrimson.com/sports/msoc/2019-20/bios/moore_harry_0xkj

As mentioned, Harvard isn't UMD or Georgetown or another big soccer powerhouse, but I suspect the breakdown of recruiting might be somewhat similar.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DS has been told he is a low Division I or DII/DIII player. We are skewing toward very good DIII programs that offers athletics and academics.

Better to get degree and strong soccer experience from Washington & Lee than somewhere like Longwood.

For sure. If you don’t need athletic money and the kid has no designs on going pro, then the admissions boost and fit are what it’s all about.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The Harvard lawsuit has revealed some interesting facts about college admissions for athletes. While it is "Harvard" and probably not representative of all schools, what has been shown is that athlete 'boosts' can come in different forms.

A tier 1 athlete at Harvard is a player of "National, International or Olympic caliber or someone directly recruited by a coach." Each year there are less than 100 tier 1 athletes recruited by Harvard, but their chances of admission are very very high.

A tier 2 athlete is someone who is a leader in the secondary school team, or on a club that has achieved regional or state recognition. A captain of a high school team who plays on a state cup finalist club would be a good example. These get a considerable boost in admissions but not a sure thing.

A tier 3 athlete is an "active participant" in a sport but receives no admissions boost.

Simply playing on a DA is not going to get you a Tier 1 status, and quite possibly not even tier 2. If you are certain you don't want the 4+1 days a week of a DA, plus the showcases and other travel time, you might be better suited aiming at a leadership role in a club or on your high school team. Here is a kid from St. Albans now at Harvard playing soccer. I would guess his bio is kind of indicative of what this would take.

https://www.gocrimson.com/sports/msoc/2019-20/bios/moore_harry_0xkj

As mentioned, Harvard isn't UMD or Georgetown or another big soccer powerhouse, but I suspect the breakdown of recruiting might be somewhat similar.

That definition of “Tier 1” is interesting. Harvard’s men’s soccer has attracted very few players of National, International or Olympic caliber in recent years, but of course every year they will have a few that are directly recruited by the coach. It actually is in a sweet spot right now for smart kids who are decent but not standouts as most of the ivies have stronger teams and attract more serious players. It looks like the kid whose bio was linked above may have had a decent shot of getting in without the sport, and that’s true of the kid listed above him in the roster as well (though that kid was a good DA player). Both have non-sports hooks.

[Anonymous]

Not to go too far off on a tangent, but Harvard has a 25 player roster with 6 GKs...wow

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DS has been told he is a low Division I or DII/DIII player. We are skewing toward very good DIII programs that offers athletics and academics.

Better to get degree and strong soccer experience from Washington & Lee than somewhere like Longwood.

For sure. If you don’t need athletic money and the kid has no designs on going pro, then the admissions boost and fit are what it’s all about.

Yes. And he will get academic money, too. So when people say club doesn't pay off, they are intangible benefits beyond money. Also, he is not a DA player. So there are paths beyond just that model to take advantage of the situation. It helps his initial test scores were promising.