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What is the true experience/recruiting process for D2/D3?

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    #16
    Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
    Midnight makes more sense for college kids than 6am! 6AM Ouch!!!!!! 5 days a week?
    Keeping away from the college temptations because you have practice from midnight to 2AM is not easy. Not a good idea to go up against 90 mph fastballs with a slight buzz on.

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      #17
      Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
      Keeping away from the college temptations because you have practice from midnight to 2AM is not easy. Not a good idea to go up against 90 mph fastballs with a slight buzz on.
      Not easy to be ready to play at 6am isn't easy for the same reasons

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        #18
        Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
        There is no way it's 6am every day. Maybe 1-2 times per week during the winter/off-season.
        D1' D's morning working is 6AM 5-6 days a week, almost year round. Less than 5 days in season and around finals week.

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          #19
          I know my niece (who is at D2) practiced at 6a everyday during the season.

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            #20
            Sophomore year at this time is a very late start. You will need to focus up quickly.

            1. Pin down geographic area
            2. Pin down type of school (liberal arts, general ed, tech, urban, rural,) and size.
            3. Pin down academics. School has to have potential majors of interest and kid has to be able to get in.
            4. No athletic scholarships for D3 and probably minimal for NAIA and D2 -- so if you go with that assumption then any athletic money from a D2 or NAIA will be gravy. Look at grades and test scores and call financial aid/admissions. Talk turkey about what it will cost to attend. Do not leave out privates if grades and scores are good. Privates often have quite a bit of money available.

            BE REALISTIC ABOUT SOCCER ABILITY. Every school will let a decent player tryout. It costs them nothing. If you want to play though you have to find a school where there is an ability match. Generally -- playing a sport in college is too much work and not enough fun unless you actually play. As a freshman, playing time might not be such a big deal, but making the travel roster and having a chance to play might be important.

            5. Go visit. Pick nearby schools and start visiting. Send emails to the head coach explaining your life long interest in attending SE McMurry State and how their program in Aztec literature is consistent with your career goals. (Help your kid with these emails.) Let the coach know when you are playing so they can come see, or send links to youtube videos. Get your club coach to make a call -- you are looking for a chance to go visit and talk with the coach. (This is not the standard student tour.) Go visit. Take a day off and do it right. Practice first though. Kids are not used to talking with adults for a couple of hours during a tour. He/she will need questions to ask and need to be able to answer common questions (why are you thinking of SE McMurry State? What other schools are you looking at? If you were a tree, what kind of tree would you be and why?)

            6. Go visit more schools. Really. After you have visited a dozen or so schools your kid will have the process down and will have a reasonably good idea what they are looking for in a school. After that first dozen school visits my kid could tell within an hour "yes" or "no".

            Be realistic. There probably is no "perfect" school. You are looking for a decent fit academically, athletically and socially. And, the finances have to work. What does the kid think of the coach and the players on the team. What do the players on the team think of the coach. What is the level of play and the time commitment? Is it likely the kid will play a decent amount and when? Does the coach want the kid? Coaches are on their best behavior when recruiting. They can be very different during the season.

            There was an earlier thread about 6 months ago that discussed what playing in college was like. The consensus view from that thread was that all coaches were jerks during the season and that most were okay in the offseason. The level of jerkiness varied.

            Finally -- yes D2 and D3 teams work out and practice in the off-season. Yes -- they do so less than D1 teams which will typically use the D1 allotted practice hours of 8 per week. From what I gather -- competitive D2 and D3 programs in the offseason will do 3-4 hours of week on the ball training and another 4-6 hours a week fitness work. All strictly "voluntary" of course. A D1 team will use their full 8 hours a week with coach training, plus
            additional "voluntary" fitness training. With time spent going to and from practices and training figure: D2/D3 offseason - 12 hours and D1 - 20 hours. Most of that time will be packed into Mon-Thurs as kids (and coaches) want weekends off. Most of that work will be early morning and evening/night so as not to interfere with class schedules.

            I will say that with my kid's team (and I doubt they are unique) they ended up liking early morning training hours as it was less intrusive than having to stop studying.

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              #21
              When thinking about how much time is involved you need to understand what the NCAA considers to be "countable" activities and what it doesn't. You will find that there are many activities (like the training room or meetings) which can consume a tremendous amount of the player's time which parents never seem to factor into these discussions. Another is the size of the campus and how long it takes to commute to all of the team's events. On some campuses that alone can represent a sizeable chunk of time.

              BTW.. Northeastern used to have practice at 11 PM. How's that for a buzz kill. Another thing is for those who are looking at a 6 AM practice, think about what time you player would actually have to get up, so they could then travel to practice and actually get ready to be on the field the 10-15 minutes early most coaches expect.

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                #22
                exactly. my daughter is graduating from a top local d1 program and her teams' complaint in their exit interview with school administration was how the schedule fit the coach and their family commitments rather than the academic schedule of the players. her team would have loved 5 six am practices, but the soccer staff scheduled mid day, not wanting to miss family time or wake up early, blocking a lot of important classes. the team would practice without goalies all spring.

                my kid is a pretty good player with options to travel and play professionally, but, in college, the pursuit of education should take precedent over soccer for ALL.

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                  #23
                  Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                  exactly. my daughter is graduating from a top local d1 program and her teams' complaint in their exit interview with school administration was how the schedule fit the coach and their family commitments rather than the academic schedule of the players. her team would have loved 5 six am practices, but the soccer staff scheduled mid day, not wanting to miss family time or wake up early, blocking a lot of important classes. the team would practice without goalies all spring.

                  my kid is a pretty good player with options to travel and play professionally, but, in college, the pursuit of education should take precedent over soccer for ALL.
                  Coaches forget the term "student athletes." Most are driven by wanting to win, and keeping their jobs. Much worse at the D1 level but even some D3 coaches aren't very accommodating. In their favor field time can be an issue at some schools with limited facilities. Most schools let athletes register before the rest of the student body, but some higher level classes won't have multiple sections like say an intro English class so you have no options. It can get very tricky trying to work classes, practices, meetings, classwork, labs and sleep all in. Social life certainly drops off. All things for prospects to consider when looking

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                    #24
                    I am familiar with the differences between D1 and D3. Where does D2 fall into the spectrum in terms of time commitment, season, etc? There are still athletic scholarships involved (sometimes) so am I correct in assuming the commitment is more similar to D1 than D3? My D is starting the process and her academic interests might not jive with a D1 or possibly D2 commitment. Thanks.

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                      #25
                      Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                      I am familiar with the differences between D1 and D3. Where does D2 fall into the spectrum in terms of time commitment, season, etc? There are still athletic scholarships involved (sometimes) so am I correct in assuming the commitment is more similar to D1 than D3? My D is starting the process and her academic interests might not jive with a D1 or possibly D2 commitment. Thanks.
                      If she wants D2 she has no academic interests.

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                        #26
                        Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                        If she wants D2 she has no academic interests.
                        Azz hole.

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                          #27
                          Yes, expect D2 commitment to be pretty similar to D1

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                            #28
                            The first thing you need to realize is having a coach notice your daughter randomly at some tournament is like winning the lottery. I'm sure it does happen but its extremely rare.

                            The best piece of advice I can give is to be proactive. Determine geographic fit. Then create a list of schools in that area that she might be able to play at. Reviewing the bois of current players on the roster will give you a decent indication. Reach out to the coaches with an introductory letter/email expressing interest in their program. Go visit the school and while there set up a meeting with the coach. Invite coaches to come watch your daughter play.

                            The one thing that worked best for my daughter was to attend the camps and clinics the colleges put on. Usually lasting a day they are generally affordable and are a great way to make sure you are being seen by the coach and their staff. For my kid, this worked better. She is a very solid player with great technical skills but lacks the "look at me" attitude and mindset that makes her stand out in the few minutes a coach might be watching. Being able to showcase her work ethic, determination and skills in a controlled environment of a clinic was way better for her. She will be going and playing at a NESCAC school next year.

                            Most of all, enjoy the process as much as possible. It will be over before you know it.

                            Comment


                              #29
                              Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                              The first thing you need to realize is having a coach notice your daughter randomly at some tournament is like winning the lottery. I'm sure it does happen but its extremely rare.

                              The best piece of advice I can give is to be proactive. Determine geographic fit. Then create a list of schools in that area that she might be able to play at. Reviewing the bois of current players on the roster will give you a decent indication. Reach out to the coaches with an introductory letter/email expressing interest in their program. Go visit the school and while there set up a meeting with the coach. Invite coaches to come watch your daughter play.

                              The one thing that worked best for my daughter was to attend the camps and clinics the colleges put on. Usually lasting a day they are generally affordable and are a great way to make sure you are being seen by the coach and their staff. For my kid, this worked better. She is a very solid player with great technical skills but lacks the "look at me" attitude and mindset that makes her stand out in the few minutes a coach might be watching. Being able to showcase her work ethic, determination and skills in a controlled environment of a clinic was way better for her. She will be going and playing at a NESCAC school next year.

                              Most of all, enjoy the process as much as possible. It will be over before you know it.
                              My daughter is just graduating from a top local D1 program, after playing and contributing for 4 years, and in retrospect, the advise above is spot on. Listen to the college coaches of the programs you hope to attend. They will usually tell you the truth and not waste your time.

                              After a clinic, if your kid isn't being pulled aside and schmoozed by coach and assistants, they are not a top recruit.

                              Comment


                                #30
                                Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                                The first thing you need to realize is having a coach notice your daughter randomly at some tournament is like winning the lottery. I'm sure it does happen but its extremely rare.

                                The best piece of advice I can give is to be proactive. Determine geographic fit. Then create a list of schools in that area that she might be able to play at. Reviewing the bois of current players on the roster will give you a decent indication. Reach out to the coaches with an introductory letter/email expressing interest in their program. Go visit the school and while there set up a meeting with the coach. Invite coaches to come watch your daughter play.

                                The one thing that worked best for my daughter was to attend the camps and clinics the colleges put on. Usually lasting a day they are generally affordable and are a great way to make sure you are being seen by the coach and their staff. For my kid, this worked better. She is a very solid player with great technical skills but lacks the "look at me" attitude and mindset that makes her stand out in the few minutes a coach might be watching. Being able to showcase her work ethic, determination and skills in a controlled environment of a clinic was way better for her. She will be going and playing at a NESCAC school next year.

                                Most of all, enjoy the process as much as possible. It will be over before you know it.
                                Just to offer an opposite perspective...D had much better success with tournaments than with camps. Every camp she attended without having been seen first and invited out of a tournament was a complete waste - coaches were 100% focused on the kids they invited.

                                She was proactive and got good attention from coaches she invited to come watch her at tournaments and also got a surprising (based on advice from here) amount of interest from schools she didn't contact - two good schools made her short list and at least four other inquiries after she committed.

                                Comment

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