Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ok, it's a bit of a clickbait title, but I was curious--do you think an elite program's practice schedule (4x + week) plus heavy travel (Atlantic Coast) is compatible with a rigorous academic schedule? Do you think one has to give at one point?

It depends on the player, but it’s not a lifestyle most would thrive in. Most have to choose, and I hear some get to college and have to drop out of soccer.

That's actually a huge problem in Ivy League soccer. Since they don't offer any scholarship money, many players use soccer to help get into the schools, and then leave the team after a season or two. I ended up walking onto a Ivy League team my junior and senior year after a number of players quit.

Anonymous wrote:Ok, it's a bit of a clickbait title, but I was curious--do you think an elite program's practice schedule (4x + week) plus heavy travel (Atlantic Coast) is compatible with a rigorous academic schedule? Do you think one has to give at one point?

It depends on the player, but it’s not a lifestyle most would thrive in. Most have to choose, and I hear some get to college and have to drop out of soccer.

Anonymous wrote:A Bethesda player committed to Harvard this year:
http://www.bethesdasoccer.org/Default.aspx?tabid=200237&mid=228230&newskeyid=HN1&newsid=53482&ctl=newsdetail

Assuming his academics suffered, he clearly made up for it in terms of soccer.

Bethesda's DA has sent a few kids to Ivies and other good schools over the last few years (http://www.bethesdasoccer.org/Default.aspx?tabid=216703) and have kids committed to Princeton, Dartmouth, and Stanford on their older teams now. It's a lot of work balancing the academics and soccer commitments, and kids are frequently up very late finishing homework. On the other hand, there is less time for partying and other teen distractions, and kids in the system know that they'll have good college options as long as they keep their grades up.

If anyone has kids just starting out in DA (or in other top programs in any sport), I'd really try to hammer the point home to them that they will put themselves in a great position down the line if they work just as hard at school as at soccer.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ok, it's a bit of a clickbait title, but I was curious--do you think an elite program's practice schedule (4x + week) plus heavy travel (Atlantic Coast) is compatible with a rigorous academic schedule? Do you think one has to give at one point?

Just look at the bios of the Harvard soccer team and you will see that the answer to your question is that DA soccer and Harvard admissions are highly compatible.

What's the big deal about Harvard? Do they have a powerhouse soccer program? It looks like most of these kids went to pretty expensive private schools so I suspect their academics were in good shape.

Anonymous wrote:Ok, it's a bit of a clickbait title, but I was curious--do you think an elite program's practice schedule (4x + week) plus heavy travel (Atlantic Coast) is compatible with a rigorous academic schedule? Do you think one has to give at one point?

Just look at the bios of the Harvard soccer team and you will see that the answer to your question is that DA soccer and Harvard admissions are highly compatible.

A Bethesda player committed to Harvard this year:
http://www.bethesdasoccer.org/Default.aspx?tabid=200237&mid=228230&newskeyid=HN1&newsid=53482&ctl=newsdetail

Assuming his academics suffered, he clearly made up for it in terms of soccer.

I'm not sure I'm understanding your question. Is your question whether a club soccer schedule will keep a player from getting into an elite university?

If so, the answer is obviously no. Those schools will fill out their soccer teams and they're picking those players from high level clubs. Just as an example, I think McLean has current players committed to at least 4 Ivy League schools.

Ok, it's a bit of a clickbait title, but I was curious--do you think an elite program's practice schedule (4x + week) plus heavy travel (Atlantic Coast) is compatible with a rigorous academic schedule? Do you think one has to give at one point?