College Soccer- Does it matter in the long run?
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Anonymous
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"I often joke that I’ve yet to see a girl reject a dance from a guy at a wedding because he played Division III…and that when you are a grown adult living life, the Division you played in doesn’t matter. Too much emphasis is put onto this by teenage kids."
-Coach Andy Fleming" https://therecruitingcode.com/interview-with-xavier-mens-soccer-coach/?fbclid=IwAR0NVfK8OZMkQ2JHFYeyHW-uaiXsKkqnTgtgR5mV_ywCSRUxigJPluHXKPQ Thoughts? |
Anonymous
| My brother had a full ride D1 scholarship and a short pro career. He tells my boys it wasn’t worth it. Focus on academics. He said he actually was starting to burn out by the time he left for college and the sport takes away too much from the college experience. |
Anonymous
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The former D1 players I know have told me:
a) physically, it wasn't worth it. It was a horrible burden on them and they are still feeling the pains and aches and will likely all their lives. b) sportswise, there wasn't really a next step for them. One was looking at a pro career but the physical burdens of injuries were a show stopper. c) socially, it was a mixed. They made some very close friends amongst their teammates, but also said they lost out on other college experiences as they were too busy running around to practices, treatments or games or being social with their teammates. d) academically it was tough to balance, but they did get college paid for and now have no debt which is nice. e) career-wise they said some people were very interested to talk about being a D1 athlete in job interviews but they didn't think it made a difference in getting a job. This is all anecdotal from about five friends so not really sure how accurate. |
Anonymous
| I played D1. It was worth it fir me. It’s not for everyone. |
Anonymous
| My DS plays a DIII sport, truthfully he is not strong enough for DI. He loves it as we do. He’s got balance in his life! |
Anonymous
| I'm a former D1 player in another sport and didn't make the cut for the pros. That's ok though because my college experience was excellent. First off, I was a solid student but would not have been admitted to my University based on grades/SATs alone and joining the school as a group as opposed to an individual made everything....I mean everything easier. It was a ton of work to balance academics and athletics, but you can manage as long as you stay focused. Keep in mind, you don't push the athletics both semesters, it really does allow you to manage your course load and take the heavy classes during the off season where you don't train everyday. |
Anonymous
| If it means you get 200K in free tuition, I can see how it's worth it. |
Anonymous
Not a lot of those scholarships out there for Soccer |
Anonymous
For boys- basically NONE. Schools get 9 total and that is at any given time so they will split them into meager amounts. If there are 9 upperclassmen with scholarships and only 2 graduating that means 2 available. For boys, do not plan on it being a lucrative model. Plan on paying yourself. |
Anonymous
Most go to the International students. |
Anonymous
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This was a really great, informative interview. Thanks for posting, OP!
I’m amazed by some of the parent behavior he describes in the interview and like how he seems to have high expectations for player character as well as performance. I love the quote about the wedding dance. It’s very true that a lot of boys (maybe girls too, but I’d guess it’s less of a phenomenon) get very hung up on the idea of playing D1 vs D3. For the kids I know, it’s more about bragging right than money, and about holding on tho the dream of being a pro one day. A lot of kids would be better off choosing the D3 starter path than the D1 bench path. My kid is about to embark on his D1 career, and we are looking forward with some trepidation to see what comes next. |
Anonymous
It is really not true that there are no full rides for boys. In the interview, this coach mentions he has three kids on full athletic scholarships, with the majority of the rest on 25% to 60%. I know several boys (all from the US) who are or will be on full athletic scholarships for soccer, and many on 50%-75% averaged over 4 years (usually a lower percentage for the first year or two then high for the remainder). It’s not nearly so dire a situation for D1 boys as it’s made out to be, especially for boys from a soccer-rich area like this. |
Anonymous
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players playing a high level too early burn out by college. there is no reason to be in a club environment before 14-15 years old.
The kids on my kids team, many who expect to play division 1 have either reached the top of their game, hurt on a regular basis, or are having serious issues with dealing with the pressure because that is all they do. I am willing to bet those who say it is worth it were multiple sport athletes through high school. |
Anonymous
Interesting, so you know a lot of kids who play rec until 14 yrs old, jump to club/travel and then make a D1 team? What percentage of D1 players would you guestimate took this path? |
Anonymous
Academics are more important to getting college paid for through soccer than the athletic scholarships. The focus for kids should be on both disciplines to get to the school they want and avoid having to pay most of the cost. Lots of schools will take kids with strong academic profiles and are potential contributors to fill out the roster. This helps with team GPA and then allows the scholarship to be used elsewhere. |