Reply to Is Division 1 really a worthwhile goal?

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[quote=Anonymous]Going back to OP's question, I'd note that players on the boys' youth national teams are increasingly skipping college to go pro. Ten years ago, the majority of the U18-U20 YNTs would spend at least some time in college, now the vast majority have gone pro already or are searching out pro deals prior to HS graduation.

A few do still play D1 with an eye toward a pro career afterward, and I'd guess that most of these have parents similar to the DCUM demographic--highly educated people who have emphasized the value of working hard at school and getting good grades throughout their kids' lives.  I was thinking about this while watching the NCAA semifinals last night. Did anyone read this story in the Post about Donovan Pines, one of UMD's stars https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2018/12/06/maryland-soccer-players-field-work-preventing-goals-saving-frogs/?utm_term=.c47ffbf15e7f ?  Sounds like he's a serious student, and his dad is the dean of UMD's engineering school. Akron's Carlo Ritaccio (who had a great game last night) is another with good pro potential who opted for college.

If you are a boy who is only focused on being the best soccer player you can be, then of course you are going to look to play at a higher level than college, and as soon as you can. But you can still have a reasonable expectation of a pro career after getting a valuable degree from a number of excellent schools, like Stanford, Wake Forest, Duke, Notre Dame, Indiana, Georgetown, UVA, UMD, etc.  Even if you stop playing after college, the value of a 50% to 100% guaranteed athletic scholarship at some of these schools is quite significant, not to mention your earning potential once you finally hang up the cleats. [/quote]

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