Is Division 1 really a worthwhile goal?

[Anonymous]

I mean speaking worldwide, NCAA Division 1 soccer is kind of the 'community college' of world football. Yet this forum and websites are filled with brags about how many D1 athletes such and such club has produced. Parents are bending all out of shape chasing that D1 dream when it seems, looking globally, that's really kind of aiming only halfway. American D1 teams struggle against similarly aged (and younger) reserve sides of most professional clubs in Europe. Shouldn't kids be aiming higher than just Division 1?

[Anonymous]

My DD is aiming higher right now, however its hard to find a community that pushes similarly. Usually its college based

Don’t even care that women’s $ sucks for most.

[Anonymous]

d1 soccer should be used to get into a better collrge. It's a hook.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I mean speaking worldwide, NCAA Division 1 soccer is kind of the 'community college' of world football. Yet this forum and websites are filled with brags about how many D1 athletes such and such club has produced. Parents are bending all out of shape chasing that D1 dream when it seems, looking globally, that's really kind of aiming only halfway. American D1 teams struggle against similarly aged (and younger) reserve sides of most professional clubs in Europe. Shouldn't kids be aiming higher than just Division 1?

Let's level set. According to the NCAA (http://www.ncaa.org/about/resources/research/estimated-probability-competing-college-athletics), only 5.5% of boys and 7.1% of girls will ever play ANY level of college soccer. Those percentages drop to 1.3% and 2.4%, respectively, for D1 soccer. I am sure someone else can find a site that has the exact percentage for professionals, but it is simply stating the obvious that less than 1% of all boys and girls will ever play professionally (after all, the vast majority of D1 soccer players never play professionally).

Given that reality, kids (and parents) need to be realistic in setting goals that are achievable for their soccer future. For roughly 95% or so of those kids, their goals should be to have fun playing soccer, make some friends, learn some good life lessons as a participant in a team sport, etc., etc., and maybe, if they are extremely good, get a chance to play for their high school team.

For the few kids who find themselves in the top 5% or so of all kids playing soccer in the US, then those kids should set some higher goals, but they still need to recognize how difficult and unlikely it is for them to play D1, let alone play professionally.

So in response to your question, the vast majority of kids should not even be aiming for D1, as it is completely unrealistic for them. For the elite kids, D1 is a pretty damn good goal. Yes, the super elite should maybe strive for a professional career, but "settling" for a D1 college playing career would be quite an accomplishment. Using the NCAA percentages of D1 players (1.3% for boys and 2.4% of girls), how many of us parents can say that we are in the top 1.3% or 2.4% of our respective fields? To state the obvious, the answer to that question is "not many," even in a region as affluent as the DMV.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I mean speaking worldwide, NCAA Division 1 soccer is kind of the 'community college' of world football. Yet this forum and websites are filled with brags about how many D1 athletes such and such club has produced. Parents are bending all out of shape chasing that D1 dream when it seems, looking globally, that's really kind of aiming only halfway. American D1 teams struggle against similarly aged (and younger) reserve sides of most professional clubs in Europe. Shouldn't kids be aiming higher than just Division 1?

Let's level set. According to the NCAA (http://www.ncaa.org/about/resources/research/estimated-probability-competing-college-athletics), only 5.5% of boys and 7.1% of girls will ever play ANY level of college soccer. Those percentages drop to 1.3% and 2.4%, respectively, for D1 soccer. I am sure someone else can find a site that has the exact percentage for professionals, but it is simply stating the obvious that less than 1% of all boys and girls will ever play professionally (after all, the vast majority of D1 soccer players never play professionally).

Given that reality, kids (and parents) need to be realistic in setting goals that are achievable for their soccer future. For roughly 95% or so of those kids, their goals should be to have fun playing soccer, make some friends, learn some good life lessons as a participant in a team sport, etc., etc., and maybe, if they are extremely good, get a chance to play for their high school team.

For the few kids who find themselves in the top 5% or so of all kids playing soccer in the US, then those kids should set some higher goals, but they still need to recognize how difficult and unlikely it is for them to play D1, let alone play professionally.

So in response to your question, the vast majority of kids should not even be aiming for D1, as it is completely unrealistic for them. For the elite kids, D1 is a pretty damn good goal. Yes, the super elite should maybe strive for a professional career, but "settling" for a D1 college playing career would be quite an accomplishment. Using the NCAA percentages of D1 players (1.3% for boys and 2.4% of girls), how many of us parents can say that we are in the top 1.3% or 2.4% of our respective fields? To state the obvious, the answer to that question is "not many," even in a region as affluent as the DMV.

This botches the statistics references. Those NCAA stats are percentages of kids playing high school soccer that go on to play in college. Given that the vast majority of youth soccer players don't ever play high school soccer, the real percentages are much, much lower if you look at all kids playing soccer vs. those that go on to play in college. It is probably less than 1% of all kids playing soccer now will ever play in college, and a fraction of that play D1, and a fraction of that play pro . . .

[Anonymous]

Maybe because the vast majority of parents aren't stupid enough to think that their kid has a future in professional soccer, and think that getting into a good college, and possibly getting a scholarship is far more important.

[Anonymous]

I love this question. It's a good one.

And without taking it in an entirely different direction, I want to augment it with suggesting that we reflect on a question that lies even further beneath the surface:

For what percentage of players does D1 or professional play reflect a real possibility for being a content person?

Even within D1 play, there is a high percentage of players who are unhappy. Unhappy because they are not getting the playing time that they worked on getting since they were 8 years old. Unhappy because their injuries render them a shadow of their aptitude. Unhappy because they decided to attend a school that isn't at all what they hoped for (academics, demographics, team dynamics, coaching, etc.) Unhappy because life is bigger than soccer and they are stressing over the fact that as soon as they finish their senior year, here may be an identity crisis they face wherein they realize that soccer is over and the job market is unkind. Unhappy because...

Well, you get the idea.

I realize that this is a dream that enriches the life of motivated and exceptional athletes, but I wonder if it isn't fool's gold for the majority.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I love this question. It's a good one.

And without taking it in an entirely different direction, I want to augment it with suggesting that we reflect on a question that lies even further beneath the surface:

For what percentage of players does D1 or professional play reflect a real possibility for being a content person?

Even within D1 play, there is a high percentage of players who are unhappy. Unhappy because they are not getting the playing time that they worked on getting since they were 8 years old. Unhappy because their injuries render them a shadow of their aptitude. Unhappy because they decided to attend a school that isn't at all what they hoped for (academics, demographics, team dynamics, coaching, etc.) Unhappy because life is bigger than soccer and they are stressing over the fact that as soon as they finish their senior year, here may be an identity crisis they face wherein they realize that soccer is over and the job market is unkind. Unhappy because...

Well, you get the idea.

I realize that this is a dream that enriches the life of motivated and exceptional athletes, but I wonder if it isn't fool's gold for the majority.

Yes, and all this is even more true for the kids who do end up going pro. It's really stressful to be fighting for your spot week in and week out. You can get a new coach at any time who may decide that you don't fit his system, regardless of how talented you may be. You put in the same amount of work whether you are the journeyman making 65K or the star making millions. Your playing career will not last more than a decade or so in most cases, and those are years that your non-sports friends will have spent advancing in careers that they'll have for life. If you make it big, your money worries will be less (if you stay away from all the temptations that will be thrown your way), but you'll be surrounded by groupies and people looking for handouts. Not to mention how intensely boring it is to be on the road all the time without a whole lot of intellectual stimulation. It's a lifestyle that is far less glamorous than it may seem from the outside.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I love this question. It's a good one.

And without taking it in an entirely different direction, I want to augment it with suggesting that we reflect on a question that lies even further beneath the surface:

For what percentage of players does D1 or professional play reflect a real possibility for being a content person?

Even within D1 play, there is a high percentage of players who are unhappy. Unhappy because they are not getting the playing time that they worked on getting since they were 8 years old. Unhappy because their injuries render them a shadow of their aptitude. Unhappy because they decided to attend a school that isn't at all what they hoped for (academics, demographics, team dynamics, coaching, etc.) Unhappy because life is bigger than soccer and they are stressing over the fact that as soon as they finish their senior year, here may be an identity crisis they face wherein they realize that soccer is over and the job market is unkind. Unhappy because...

Well, you get the idea.

I realize that this is a dream that enriches the life of motivated and exceptional athletes, but I wonder if it isn't fool's gold for the majority.

Yes, and all this is even more true for the kids who do end up going pro. It's really stressful to be fighting for your spot week in and week out. You can get a new coach at any time who may decide that you don't fit his system, regardless of how talented you may be. You put in the same amount of work whether you are the journeyman making 65K or the star making millions. Your playing career will not last more than a decade or so in most cases, and those are years that your non-sports friends will have spent advancing in careers that they'll have for life. If you make it big, your money worries will be less (if you stay away from all the temptations that will be thrown your way), but you'll be surrounded by groupies and people looking for handouts. Not to mention how intensely boring it is to be on the road all the time without a whole lot of intellectual stimulation. It's a lifestyle that is far less glamorous than it may seem from the outside.

...and to throw a little more water on this wet blanket : https://youtu.be/PSwS0zX9PIA

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I mean speaking worldwide, NCAA Division 1 soccer is kind of the 'community college' of world football. Yet this forum and websites are filled with brags about how many D1 athletes such and such club has produced. Parents are bending all out of shape chasing that D1 dream when it seems, looking globally, that's really kind of aiming only halfway. American D1 teams struggle against similarly aged (and younger) reserve sides of most professional clubs in Europe. Shouldn't kids be aiming higher than just Division 1?

My kids were in travel sports. Because they enjoyed it. We never wanted them to be a scholarship athlete because it's a very different college experience. Moreoever, I always felt that those chasing scholarships could probably have sent their kids to college full pay for the amount they spend on travel sports.

[Anonymous]

Many D1 athletes quit. Many players signed as professionals quite within a year or two as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DD is aiming higher right now, however its hard to find a community that pushes similarly. Usually its college based

Don’t even care that women’s $ sucks for most.

Curious how old your daughter is and what level she is playing at currently. I'm assuming she is already getting called in to YNT camps or has played for the YNT at her age group? My daughter (U12) plays for a club that has 3 players on YNT rosters currently and 2 others that were part of multiple camps this year. I can tell you that all of those kids are going the D1 college route.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:d1 soccer should be used to get into a better collrge. It's a hook.

A lot of the best universities don't play D1, especially for males.

[Anonymous]

Our kids were terrible at sports and we were so thrilled about it. No travel teams etc to ruin our weekends. We were quite happy to full pay for the elite colleges that they all went to, we could easily afford it, and it was all so stress free. We always felt sorry for parents whose lives revolved around their kids' athletic pursuits. It's all so fleeting for the vast majority, then what?

[Anonymous]

RantingSoccerDad wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DD is aiming higher right now, however its hard to find a community that pushes similarly. Usually its college based

Don’t even care that women’s $ sucks for most.

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I’d like to read that interview:

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