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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]First -- there really are not small D1 schools in rural areas.  There are lots of D3 schools that fit that description.

Now -- for soccer -- you really need to be in the Power5 conferences to have maxed out scholarship numbers for women and maybe men.  A bit more iffy for men even.  Football numbers chase away those soccer scholarships for the guys.  Conversely, they typically mean the women's side will have their full 14 (Title IX).  Once you get outside the Power5 conferences then the scholarship numbers are likely to drop from the NCAA max allowed numbers.

Now -- to be frank -- the big thing about playing D1 college soccer is that it is very time consuming, and it prevents you from effectively taking certain majors.  It is not so bad freshman year, because a kid will be taking typical freshman classes regardless of their major.   The problems come when you start to get to required attendence classes for things like labs, and practice performances, and studio time, and you are travelling with the team.  Sure you can take those things in the Summer of Spring terms, but pretty soon -- those classes start to require stack up and require that you have already taken XYZ course.  But, you could not take XYZ course in the Fall, because you were on the team.

There is a reason why smart kids in college playing a sport typically end up in particular majors.  They need to be done in 4-5 years, and it may not be possible with some majors.

Finally -- the reality is that lots of kids -- most even -- who come in playing will be off the team by their Junior year.  Why?  Largely because it is way too much work to also not be playing much or at all.  During the Fall season -- so from the beginning of August to November and the end of the season -- a player will be easily devoting at least 40 hours a week to soccer not counting travel.  When the season is over that will drop to about 20.  If you are riding the bench after your freshmen year -- it is not much fun.

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A university with several different schools tried to talk my player out of applying to the one that had attracted her interest in the school and into one with an easier path for her to play soccer.   I was listening to the call.   Needless to say, that school went to the bottom of the list.[/quote]

During a campus tour day I was riding in the back of the golf cart and heard the coach ask the standard question about what my kid was thinking of studying.  She had a canned answer (every coach asks this), and it included the possibility of fine arts.  The coach said, conversationally, that he had never had a player doing fine arts.  He had been there about 10 years.  The school had a very good fine arts program.  No one?  In 10 years?  That got my parent instincts going, and I dug in.  Women’s soccer.  Kids are very often excellent students who get things done so he wasn’t going to say “no”.  But —- it would have been impossible.  You can’t be in a studio basically living there creating your pieces during the season.  Could not be done.  My kid’s older brother was then a music teaching major at another big school.  I asked him to find out how many athletes were in the music college.  He talked to the admin folks - none.  Same problem. Required hours rehearsing individually, small groups, and larger groups would make it impossible during the season.   Same issue with majors that require labs.  Take an Organic lab course - the lectures aren’t the problem, but pretty much every lab course allows you to miss maybe one lab - for any reason.  Sick?  Tough.  Retake the course.  On a road trip?  Tough retake the course.  Again, you take courses in the off season terms, BUT (big but) you have to dig into the details of your major.  If your major requires say 5 lab courses, chances are that you need to finish say lab 1 and lab 2 and take course 3 before you can take lab 3, and then lab 4 and then lab 5 has another set of prerequisites.  What?  lab 4 is not offered this term - well SOL.  What the prerequisite course is offered only Fall term?  Well you can take it next year.  Wait you won’t be able to do it then either because of team commitments?  Oh well.  Even at big schools junior and senior level courses have limited offerings.

So - Work through the entire 4/5 year plan.  Literally.  Do it.  Look on line and sit there with pencil and paper and work it out.  Keep your in season credits to the bare minimum and do not write in any courses during the in season term that require your kid to physically be somewhere.  Is a particular major even possible to accomplish when you do that?  You can take books on the road.  You can watch a taped lecture on the road.  You can read and study on the road, but that’s it.  You can’t bring lab instruments.  You can’t bring an easel and paints.  You can’t bring mechanical equipment, etc….  Chart it out.  Could it be done?

Now - you also have to comply with ncaa requirements about advancing towards s degree.  There may be some work around if you are a good player for a revenue sport - but not for a women’s (or men’s) soccer player.  You must be advancing to a degree, meeting prerequisite course requirements on a 5 year pace.  That’s possible of course - even taking minimum in season credits, but the whole prerequisite course requirements again stick their head in the door here.

So.- my kid is going premed.  Great.  Not going to happen and keep playing beyond freshman year.  But great.  Freshmen athletes barely survive Fall term taking 12 credits of standard freshmen classes.  And, a good many don’t survive.  The pressure is pretty intense.  And the biggest things are the time requirements and atmosphere.  Your kid is now an employee.  Your kid needs to do everything asked, everyday, and not say a word of complaint to anyone but his/her parents.  Ever.  The coach is not their friend.  Your kid works for the coach.  About 40 hours a week.  The coach’s job depends on 3 things; his/her winning consistent with school expectations,  2.  His/her winning consistent with school expectations, and 3.  Having players who meet gpa standards for the team (often quite high for women’s soccer) and stay out of trouble.  It is a very competitive, produce or die environment, and very often kids are not up for it.  Add in the huge athletic time commitment right as you start, and it can be very tough for anyone.  The coach wants your kid to do well and to work out.  But, if it doesn’t for your kid, the coach wants your kid gone so the scholarship money can be given elsewhere next year.  That can be a lot for a freshman.  Oh - and your kid’s teammates?  They want your kid to do well for the team’s sake, but won’t be sad if your kid is gone or injured.  Reduced competition for playing time.

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