Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s going to be hard on Big10 girls now that they have to fly to the West Coast. Not sure how all of that will work.

They're grouping the two CA schools and the two Pacific NW schools. You fly to one pair each year and the other pair comes to you. Not that difficult to comprehend.

You understand when they have to fly out right? And how hard those trips are on your body?

They do it for playoffs and showcases with no issues. Stop being overly dramatic.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s going to be hard on Big10 girls now that they have to fly to the West Coast. Not sure how all of that will work.

They're grouping the two CA schools and the two Pacific NW schools. You fly to one pair each year and the other pair comes to you. Not that difficult to comprehend.

You understand when they have to fly out right? And how hard those trips are on your body?

I understand it is hard for the girls, but my DD is excited about the travel to the West Coast schools. These D1 girls have a different mindset, they want to push themselves. Most top recruits are also good students. It goes hand in hand, it shows good work ethic, drive, responsibility.

For an old man, I would hate to travel to the West coast for a 3 day trip and have to get my work done (school) honestly maybe my DD will get a rude awakening, but she is excited and looking forward to all of these experiences....good or bad its a road less traveled.

It will be an amazing experience for her! She must have a lot of grit and resilience and you must be very proud. Congrats to you too for a job well done getting her to this place. I’m sure there was a lot of driving, travel, private training and the like. It is not an easy path, that’s for sure!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s going to be hard on Big10 girls now that they have to fly to the West Coast. Not sure how all of that will work.

They're grouping the two CA schools and the two Pacific NW schools. You fly to one pair each year and the other pair comes to you. Not that difficult to comprehend.

You understand when they have to fly out right? And how hard those trips are on your body?

I understand it is hard for the girls, but my DD is excited about the travel to the West Coast schools. These D1 girls have a different mindset, they want to push themselves. Most top recruits are also good students. It goes hand in hand, it shows good work ethic, drive, responsibility.

For an old man, I would hate to travel to the West coast for a 3 day trip and have to get my work done (school) honestly maybe my DD will get a rude awakening, but she is excited and looking forward to all of these experiences....good or bad its a road less traveled.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s going to be hard on Big10 girls now that they have to fly to the West Coast. Not sure how all of that will work.

They're grouping the two CA schools and the two Pacific NW schools. You fly to one pair each year and the other pair comes to you. Not that difficult to comprehend.

You understand when they have to fly out right? And how hard those trips are on your body?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Soccer will come first, above all else. That includes studies and social. They say you can have two out of three: soccer, studies, and/or socializing.

Really? Reason they are there is to go to college. Soccer is a key part but no it can't be above studies. Unless you plan to go pro -- which is a small group.

That view is absolutely NOT what happens. You are there to be an athlete first, second and third. Peoples’ jobs depend on how the team does. It is a very different atmosphere than youth club teams or high school. And, your team mates are happy to take your playing time.

It is all about playing time. There is no “I” in team, but there are two in “playing time”. Why? Because of the huge commitment that being on the team demands. If you play it is worth the time and effort. If you do not play - it is not worth the time and effort and you quit. It is pretty simple.


My daughter played in about 2/3rds of the games her freshman year which was okay. Not great, but she was learning to play forward positions. She played in about half of the games her sophomore year. The coach brought in a bunch of transfers which mostly didn’t work out, but my kid wasn’t a star player and kind of got lost. She seriously wanted to quit after her sophomore season. But, lots of kids did quit, and she thought she would give it a try her junior year as playing time might have opened up.

The second game of her junior year she was warmed up and standing at the center ready to check in when a teammate who played defensive center mid was injured. My kid went in to fill that spot while another kid got warmed up. She made a couple of decent plays in the first few minutes so the coach left her in. She kept the position for the next two years. The kid who was hurt - she recovered in a few weeks, but she had lost her position by then.

Sadly, it’s women’s soccer so there are going to be injuries - acls and mcls in particular are season enders. The numbers say there is going to an average of 1 of those per team each season. Add on all the other types of injuries that can keep you out of a game or two and you are looking at plenty of playing time opportunities if you are ready to step in.

Do not be a one-trick pony. Learn the position responsibilities for positions you could play and you can step in. A teammate getting hurt is sad. But, it is also an opportunity for someone else to step up.

Anonymous wrote:It’s going to be hard on Big10 girls now that they have to fly to the West Coast. Not sure how all of that will work.

They're grouping the two CA schools and the two Pacific NW schools. You fly to one pair each year and the other pair comes to you. Not that difficult to comprehend.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s going to be hard on Big10 girls now that they have to fly to the West Coast. Not sure how all of that will work.

I'm the one who asked what made OP's daughter want to play college soccer -- and I appreciated the response.

But it's kind of funny that athletes are literally suing because the system is supposedly so exploitative, and yet people are doing everything in their power to have their kids be college athletes. In some cases, the sport gets them in the door at Harvard or Hopkins or MIT. (Yes, MIT has a very strong athletics department -- seventh in the Directors Cup last year.) In other cases, they're going to weaker academic schools just so they can say they're college athletes.

I don't think the Dartmouth players in particular have much of a leg to stand on -- how many of them would've gotten into Dartmouth if they weren't athletes? But yeah, college sports just seem to take up more and more time. In years past, graduating in three or three and a half years before going into the NBA wasn't unusual. Now you'd have to major in badminton to make that happen. Actually, scratch that -- if you majored in badminton, you probably couldn't do your classwork on the road while taking a red eye from USC to Maryland.

So that's why I'm curious about motivations. OP seems pretty reasonable, but a lot of parents of prospective college athletes aren't.

I really don't think travel will be an issue. 1 West Coast trip. That is all. For USC/UCLA they may not have to come east that much. Games may be on neutral fields. Ivy girls do pre-med and still play and graduate in four years.

I mean they probably go in with 10-12 APs so that helps too.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s going to be hard on Big10 girls now that they have to fly to the West Coast. Not sure how all of that will work.

I'm the one who asked what made OP's daughter want to play college soccer -- and I appreciated the response.

But it's kind of funny that athletes are literally suing because the system is supposedly so exploitative, and yet people are doing everything in their power to have their kids be college athletes. In some cases, the sport gets them in the door at Harvard or Hopkins or MIT. (Yes, MIT has a very strong athletics department -- seventh in the Directors Cup last year.) In other cases, they're going to weaker academic schools just so they can say they're college athletes.

I don't think the Dartmouth players in particular have much of a leg to stand on -- how many of them would've gotten into Dartmouth if they weren't athletes? But yeah, college sports just seem to take up more and more time. In years past, graduating in three or three and a half years before going into the NBA wasn't unusual. Now you'd have to major in badminton to make that happen. Actually, scratch that -- if you majored in badminton, you probably couldn't do your classwork on the road while taking a red eye from USC to Maryland.

So that's why I'm curious about motivations. OP seems pretty reasonable, but a lot of parents of prospective college athletes aren't.

I really don't think travel will be an issue. 1 West Coast trip. That is all. For USC/UCLA they may not have to come east that much. Games may be on neutral fields. Ivy girls do pre-med and still play and graduate in four years.

Anonymous wrote:Soccer will come first, above all else. That includes studies and social. They say you can have two out of three: soccer, studies, and/or socializing.

Really? Reason they are there is to go to college. Soccer is a key part but no it can't be above studies. Unless you plan to go pro -- which is a small group.

It’s what they know (sometimes all they know), they still have love for the game, and it’s a huge part of their identity. I get it. Now there are more scholarships and NIL money available (or so it seems) and it’s very prestigious to be a college athlete.

Now whether you enjoy it once you’re there is a different story. It can be very stressful.

Anonymous wrote:It’s going to be hard on Big10 girls now that they have to fly to the West Coast. Not sure how all of that will work.

I'm the one who asked what made OP's daughter want to play college soccer -- and I appreciated the response.

But it's kind of funny that athletes are literally suing because the system is supposedly so exploitative, and yet people are doing everything in their power to have their kids be college athletes. In some cases, the sport gets them in the door at Harvard or Hopkins or MIT. (Yes, MIT has a very strong athletics department -- seventh in the Directors Cup last year.) In other cases, they're going to weaker academic schools just so they can say they're college athletes.

I don't think the Dartmouth players in particular have much of a leg to stand on -- how many of them would've gotten into Dartmouth if they weren't athletes? But yeah, college sports just seem to take up more and more time. In years past, graduating in three or three and a half years before going into the NBA wasn't unusual. Now you'd have to major in badminton to make that happen. Actually, scratch that -- if you majored in badminton, you probably couldn't do your classwork on the road while taking a red eye from USC to Maryland.

So that's why I'm curious about motivations. OP seems pretty reasonable, but a lot of parents of prospective college athletes aren't.

It’s going to be hard on Big10 girls now that they have to fly to the West Coast. Not sure how all of that will work.

Trying to imagine asking a professor for a “mobile lab” so I could go to practice or a game 🤣. That’s rich.

And I don’t think most universities accommodate soccer players with tough academics. The professors won’t and often don’t really like the athletes (sad but true) plus I think they could get in trouble for giving special treatment to athletes).

So the soccer team would have to be the accommodator (letting you miss practice, not travel etc). That may be the case, but guessing it costs playing time.

Soccer will come first, above all else. That includes studies and social. They say you can have two out of three: soccer, studies, and/or socializing.