Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:The teams ranked 150 and above are interesting. Looks like 1 can still get D1 at that low of a team but then again, there's other dynamics in play that makes people consider if going to a school is worth it even if it's D1.
Playing “D1” is too wide of a definition and often the standard you hear families (mostly parents) reference to measure their daughter’s recruitment success. This label should not be your primary measuring stick.
The bottom half of D1 programs struggle to fill rosters and cannot compete with the top half of schools. College programs ranging from 20-65 cannot compete with the top 20 lacrosse programs. The disparity in athleticism and talent is too wide. D1 needs to be subdivided into three groups - D1A, D1B and D1C. I wonder how many players and parents would choose D1C if that that label was standard practice at the D1 level.
I’ve experienced this firsthand as a parent of a player who played on a top 20 team. Her freshman year they played all freshman in scrimmages and beat teams ranked around 80 by 20 goals. It was painful to watch at times - the lower ranked teams looked like bad club teams. This same group beat several of the top 5 ranked D2 programs in scrimmages - those games were a little more competitive. On the flip side her team lost to a top 5 program by nearly 20 goals.
I’ve seen so many parents and players end up at colleges I never heard them mention during their recruiting process. To the poster’s point many things other than saying you play “D1” should be considered when choosing your four year college experience. Lacrosse is not the end all be all.