Hating donut hole life: athletic recruiting version

[Anonymous]

I have a DS playing at a Mid Major D1. No $$$. For DS, playing was never about the $$$ or college dreams, but love for the sport and his teammates. Miraculously, DS ended up at a school that was a right fit (right on target, neither a reach nor a safety) and he is loving the school and the team.

Chiming in on some other thoughts: Very little $$$ in most Mid Major D1 sports (aside from the obvious). Heck, DS has friends at P4 who are paying full freight and are elite athletes.

Do it for the love of the sport and admissions certainty (not a boost in admissions in our experience, but at least will give you certainty you can get in IF.IF.IF you already have the stats).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:lmao at the PP who “plans” to have his kids play D1. Good luck with that!

IME many of the D1 athlete parents know how to train their kids to become D1 athletes, especially if it's in the same sport. These parents also tend to marry other athletes so the kids benefit from good genes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wow I can't imagine working hard for 4+ years to have to play D3 sports at a college on my own dime.

I was D1 and didn't have to pay for college. That is what my two kids are planning to do! D3 is a sad middle place where you still have to do all the work with none of the perks or benefits.

I promise you that my DS is over the moon that he's going to get to play his favorite game for four more years at an excellent D3 college. He can more than imagine it, and the last thing he is about it is "sad."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a DS playing at a Mid Major D1. No $$$. For DS, playing was never about the $$$ or college dreams, but love for the sport and his teammates. Miraculously, DS ended up at a school that was a right fit (right on target, neither a reach nor a safety) and he is loving the school and the team.

Chiming in on some other thoughts: Very little $$$ in most Mid Major D1 sports (aside from the obvious). Heck, DS has friends at P4 who are paying full freight and are elite athletes.

Do it for the love of the sport and admissions certainty (not a boost in admissions in our experience, but at least will give you certainty you can get in IF.IF.IF you already have the stats).

My boys have a friend who is paying full price to play his sport at a D1 level.

[Anonymous]

It’s tough when your kid played sports their entire childhood and teen years. That was my daughter and she would not have know what to do with herself without the sport in school. She was at a D1 level and lived and breathed her sport. She would not have struggled making friends in college etc without it.

Colleges know this and a lot of D3 schools use sports to attract kids. If your kid can get into a NESCAC, drop down and little on the selectivity and those less highly ranked schools will be very generous with merit aid. If your DC is could go to a T25 D3 LAC school, reach out to T26-50 and you’ll be surprised how generous the merit can be. And these are very good schools. For these schools you can rely on RD and compare aid packages.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s tough when your kid played sports their entire childhood and teen years. That was my daughter and she would not have know what to do with herself without the sport in school. She was at a D1 level and lived and breathed her sport. She would not have struggled making friends in college etc without it.

Colleges know this and a lot of D3 schools use sports to attract kids. If your kid can get into a NESCAC, drop down and little on the selectivity and those less highly ranked schools will be very generous with merit aid. If your DC is could go to a T25 D3 LAC school, reach out to T26-50 and you’ll be surprised how generous the merit can be. And these are very good schools. For these schools you can rely on RD and compare aid packages.

Just adding that my DC told me more than once that she wishes she looked at D3 schools harder. The sport is not a job at the D3 level but still gives the benefits of having team to hang out with and to continue to play your sport. High schoolers have a hard time seeing this when comparing D1 to D3 schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:lmao at the PP who “plans” to have his kids play D1. Good luck with that!

IME many of the D1 athlete parents know how to train their kids to become D1 athletes, especially if it's in the same sport. These parents also tend to marry other athletes so the kids benefit from good genes.

Yea, but it doesn't always work that way. Close friend (former Pro football player) who has kid 1 playing on Saturday at a P4 with a legit shot at pro. Kid 2 is my kids best friend and plays at a D3 though they desperately wanted to follow in dads footsteps as well. My kid has one non-athletic parent and one very good but undersized parent. They start at a mid-major but no chance at pro.

One can assume but you never know until you know.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow I can't imagine working hard for 4+ years to have to play D3 sports at a college on my own dime.

I was D1 and didn't have to pay for college. That is what my two kids are planning to do! D3 is a sad middle place where you still have to do all the work with none of the perks or benefits.

I promise you that my DS is over the moon that he's going to get to play his favorite game for four more years at an excellent D3 college. He can more than imagine it, and the last thing he is about it is "sad."

+100

[Anonymous]

Why even suggest schools you cannot afford…sports or not. You messed up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:lmao at the PP who “plans” to have his kids play D1. Good luck with that!

IME many of the D1 athlete parents know how to train their kids to become D1 athletes, especially if it's in the same sport. These parents also tend to marry other athletes so the kids benefit from good genes.

Yea, but it doesn't always work that way. Close friend (former Pro football player) who has kid 1 playing on Saturday at a P4 with a legit shot at pro. Kid 2 is my kids best friend and plays at a D3 though they desperately wanted to follow in dads footsteps as well. My kid has one non-athletic parent and one very good but undersized parent. They start at a mid-major but no chance at pro.

One can assume but you never know until you know.

True, but the bar set in your story (going pro) is much higher than just playing D1.

While it's never guaranteed, it's a lot easier to get your kid good enough to be recruited at the mid or lower D1 schools than the most selective ones. Most former D1 parents can do this if they're serious. Some of the D3 teams are better than the lower D1 teams.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:lmao at the PP who “plans” to have his kids play D1. Good luck with that!

IME many of the D1 athlete parents know how to train their kids to become D1 athletes, especially if it's in the same sport. These parents also tend to marry other athletes so the kids benefit from good genes.

That's what I'm seeing now that my kid is a mid-teen, too. The kids who are coming out of puberty ahead have athletic parents, and a few of the highly skilled kids who had early success are getting passed up by taller, stronger kids. Some of them were small until last year, and now they look like professional athletes!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:lmao at the PP who “plans” to have his kids play D1. Good luck with that!

IME many of the D1 athlete parents know how to train their kids to become D1 athletes, especially if it's in the same sport. These parents also tend to marry other athletes so the kids benefit from good genes.

Yea, but it doesn't always work that way. Close friend (former Pro football player) who has kid 1 playing on Saturday at a P4 with a legit shot at pro. Kid 2 is my kids best friend and plays at a D3 though they desperately wanted to follow in dads footsteps as well. My kid has one non-athletic parent and one very good but undersized parent. They start at a mid-major but no chance at pro.

One can assume but you never know until you know.

True, but the bar set in your story (going pro) is much higher than just playing D1.

While it's never guaranteed, it's a lot easier to get your kid good enough to be recruited at the mid or lower D1 schools than the most selective ones. Most former D1 parents can do this if they're serious. Some of the D3 teams are better than the lower D1 teams.

The point that I was trying to make is that you never know. Both kids were trained the same way and came from the same genes. One has a great shot at playing on Sunday, the other topped out at D3. They were both trained the same one was able to get much further than the other even though the genetics were from the same pool.

There are alot of D3 programs in many sports as good as or better than lower level D1. Not so much in football but in other sports it is more common than many believe. The NESCAC and UAA conferences are loaded with mid-level D1 athletes for many sports.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:lmao at the PP who “plans” to have his kids play D1. Good luck with that!

IME many of the D1 athlete parents know how to train their kids to become D1 athletes, especially if it's in the same sport. These parents also tend to marry other athletes so the kids benefit from good genes.

Yea, but it doesn't always work that way. Close friend (former Pro football player) who has kid 1 playing on Saturday at a P4 with a legit shot at pro. Kid 2 is my kids best friend and plays at a D3 though they desperately wanted to follow in dads footsteps as well. My kid has one non-athletic parent and one very good but undersized parent. They start at a mid-major but no chance at pro.

One can assume but you never know until you know.

True, but the bar set in your story (going pro) is much higher than just playing D1.

While it's never guaranteed, it's a lot easier to get your kid good enough to be recruited at the mid or lower D1 schools than the most selective ones. Most former D1 parents can do this if they're serious. Some of the D3 teams are better than the lower D1 teams.

The point that I was trying to make is that you never know. Both kids were trained the same way and came from the same genes. One has a great shot at playing on Sunday, the other topped out at D3. They were both trained the same one was able to get much further than the other even though the genetics were from the same pool.

There are alot of D3 programs in many sports as good as or better than lower level D1. Not so much in football but in other sports it is more common than many believe. The NESCAC and UAA conferences are loaded with mid-level D1 athletes for many sports.

I think we're arguing different points. A poster was laughing at another D1 parent's plans for their kid to go D1. I think that's a very likely scenario.

You're arguing that you can't plan on your kid going pro. That's also a reasonable position.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t care if my kid goes to a “ lower ranked school” if they get a good education and it allows them to do what they want in life.
No one cares where you went to school.

+1 I know tons of happy (and affluent) people who went to schools that are maligned on this board.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:lmao at the PP who “plans” to have his kids play D1. Good luck with that!

IME many of the D1 athlete parents know how to train their kids to become D1 athletes, especially if it's in the same sport. These parents also tend to marry other athletes so the kids benefit from good genes.

Yea, but it doesn't always work that way. Close friend (former Pro football player) who has kid 1 playing on Saturday at a P4 with a legit shot at pro. Kid 2 is my kids best friend and plays at a D3 though they desperately wanted to follow in dads footsteps as well. My kid has one non-athletic parent and one very good but undersized parent. They start at a mid-major but no chance at pro.

One can assume but you never know until you know.

True, but the bar set in your story (going pro) is much higher than just playing D1.

While it's never guaranteed, it's a lot easier to get your kid good enough to be recruited at the mid or lower D1 schools than the most selective ones. Most former D1 parents can do this if they're serious. Some of the D3 teams are better than the lower D1 teams.

The point that I was trying to make is that you never know. Both kids were trained the same way and came from the same genes. One has a great shot at playing on Sunday, the other topped out at D3. They were both trained the same one was able to get much further than the other even though the genetics were from the same pool.

There are alot of D3 programs in many sports as good as or better than lower level D1. Not so much in football but in other sports it is more common than many believe. The NESCAC and UAA conferences are loaded with mid-level D1 athletes for many sports.

I think we're arguing different points. A poster was laughing at another D1 parent's plans for their kid to go D1. I think that's a very likely scenario.

You're arguing that you can't plan on your kid going pro. That's also a reasonable position.

I've never wanted my kid to go pro or D1; their sport is not very lucrative except at the top 1% of pros. By college, they need to be focused on school and internships.