D2 scholarships

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Look at all your options based on ACADEMICS!!!! Not soccer. My D got $32K in merit $$ at D3 at her first choice school. Her D2 package offers were much lower. Just look at every option.

Most families (certainly not all) don't compromise academic fit for sports. these aren't nationally ranked top basketball players looking to get onto the top 5 bball teams in the country, not matter what the academics are like, because they'll be going pro after two years. OP said his daughter has learning issues so many D2 schools would be an appropriate fit. D2 is an appropriate fit for many students. Last think you want is your kids struggling in school.

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Selling soccer is what makes them millions ,when All you need is the grades.The infighting between clubs and leagues just smokescreen.If you kid is talented and loves to play then wonderful.But reality is it will end at some point.Have solid plans pick your appropriate major and excel in your studies.If you get to play soccer in college that's a bonus.

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So why play soccer at all. Better yet why not just Town soccer and call it a career after the high school career is over.

Believe it or not, some kids like to play soccer for the sake of playing soccer and not because they're forced to play soccer to get aid.

One could also read your post as equating D3 soccer to playing town soccer. There are a heck of a lot of D3 programs that would put a pasting on some D2 teams.

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There are a heck of a lot of D3 programs that would put a pasting on some D2 teams.

Not only that but most D3 schools are superior to D2 schools in the quality of academics at the schools.

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Not only that but most D3 schools are superior to D2 schools in the quality of academics at the schools.

OP said his kid has learning issues. D2 may be the perfect for them. There's a school for everyone. Find the best fit.

[Unregistered]

Selling soccer is what makes them millions ,when All you need is the grades.The infighting between clubs and leagues just smokescreen.If you kid is talented and loves to play then wonderful.But reality is it will end at some point.Have solid plans pick your appropriate major and excel in your studies.If you get to play soccer in college that's a bonus.

Somebody finally gets it here. And its not just selling soccer to get your kid into the school, its any of the sports. Unless its a full scholarship, or substantial offer (more than half), your kid is not a star and just another disposable athlete there. And the school is hoping that your kid quits the team or gets cut after a year so that your family will be stuck paying full tuition for the final 3 years (that's where they make their $$$).

The athletic department is just a marketing arm to get more students into the school. Similar to them promoting the band, cheerleading squad, or the world renown robotics team, whatever they think will interest the student to apply. Obviously they want good athletes so they can promote good records, conference championships, etc, which in turn they can sell that to the high school prospects. Playing college sports is a great activity and I encourage anyone that can commit to the team workload and balance the academic coursework. But I know that college athletics is considered like any other activity or club at most of the colleges around here. Don't risk the large time commitment of college sports and have it negatively affect the main reason why you're there.

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Perfectly stated

[Unregistered]

Somebody finally gets it here. And its not just selling soccer to get your kid into the school, its any of the sports. Unless its a full scholarship, or substantial offer (more than half), your kid is not a star and just another disposable athlete there. And the school is hoping that your kid quits the team or gets cut after a year so that your family will be stuck paying full tuition for the final 3 years (that's where they make their $$$).

The athletic department is just a marketing arm to get more students into the school. Similar to them promoting the band, cheerleading squad, or the world renown robotics team, whatever they think will interest the student to apply. Obviously they want good athletes so they can promote good records, conference championships, etc, which in turn they can sell that to the high school prospects. Playing college sports is a great activity and I encourage anyone that can commit to the team workload and balance the academic coursework. But I know that college athletics is considered like any other activity or club at most of the colleges around here. Don't risk the large time commitment of college sports and have it negatively affect the main reason why you're there.

Being on any kind of scholarship be it academic or athletic usually comes with certain expectations that must be met in order to keep that scholarship money coming. The bottom line in most cases is you have to bust your butt to work off the money that they are giving you. Seems as though you expected your kid to fail doing that. That’s pretty sad. Why spend a fortune on club soccer if you felt that way.

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So why play soccer at all. Better yet why not just Town soccer and call it a career after the high school career is over.

In terms of the topic being discussed, this is sound advice for a substantially larger number of players, perhaps a majority, than anyone wants to acknowledge.

The number of players who (a) don't stay at the school they commit to based on playing soccer, (b) don't play for more than one year (never mind all 4), or (c) play smaller role on a team as they get older is alarming...but almost never enters the discussion.

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Most families (certainly not all) don't compromise academic fit for sports.

One could argue that number should be all, not most.

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One could argue that number should be all, not most.

I would argue that it's not "most"...

[Unregistered]

In terms of the topic being discussed, this is sound advice for a substantially larger number of players, perhaps a majority, than anyone wants to acknowledge.

The number of players who (a) don't stay at the school they commit to based on playing soccer, (b) don't play for more than one year (never mind all 4), or (c) play smaller role on a team as they get older is alarming...but almost never enters the discussion.

If you and your daughter have not had a few discussions about the eventual end of her soccer "career" by age 16 or 17, then I think you're crazy. Admittedly, it can be a tricky conversation to have - especially if your kid is working toward playing in college. Having the blinders on can be beneficial for keeping her focused and maxing out her soccer potential, but I don't want my daughter sprinting toward a cliff (or a wall).

In our case, we talked about the possible soccer careers down the road (player, coach, administrator, media), the potential appeal and the likelihood of success in any of them. Our daughter came to the conclusion that they were either not possible or unattractive. Once across that important hurdle, we talked about various playing scenarios up to around age 22; high school, club, summer leagues, college, etc. We talked about the demands of playing in a top 25 college program vs. playing in a top 100 program, D1 vs. D3, etc. She was adamant that she wanted to push to play at the highest level possible, so we discussed the academic and social tradeoffs and the possibility that she might not play as much or have as much impact if she pushed too high up the rankings. She did some research to see how the players a few years ahead of her at her club were faring in college. Having a sense as to how they were "ranked" as recruits and knowing the level of the programs they were attending, this helped her to realign her goals somewhat and be more realistic about what level of program to target.

She is all-in to have the best college playing experience possible, but she knows that there are a host of potential outcomes. She could be a four year stud, or not. If she settles on a major with significant conflicts, suffers a major injury, decides to study abroad, gets involved with a club or organization that captures her passion, isn't playing very much or simply loses interest in soccer - she could stop playing soccer and move on to the next part of her life. She's mature enough (finally) to understand that her circumstances might change over the next few years.

Most importantly, we got over our excitement about her early successes, potential, trophies, championships, etc. and learned to remind ourselves that we were raising a person and not just a soccer player.

[Unregistered]

If you and your daughter have not had a few discussions about the eventual end of her soccer "career" by age 16 or 17, then I think you're crazy. Admittedly, it can be a tricky conversation to have - especially if your kid is working toward playing in college. Having the blinders on can be beneficial for keeping her focused and maxing out her soccer potential, but I don't want my daughter sprinting toward a cliff (or a wall).

In our case, we talked about the possible soccer careers down the road (player, coach, administrator, media), the potential appeal and the likelihood of success in any of them. Our daughter came to the conclusion that they were either not possible or unattractive. Once across that important hurdle, we talked about various playing scenarios up to around age 22; high school, club, summer leagues, college, etc. We talked about the demands of playing in a top 25 college program vs. playing in a top 100 program, D1 vs. D3, etc. She was adamant that she wanted to push to play at the highest level possible, so we discussed the academic and social tradeoffs and the possibility that she might not play as much or have as much impact if she pushed too high up the rankings. She did some research to see how the players a few years ahead of her at her club were faring in college. Having a sense as to how they were "ranked" as recruits and knowing the level of the programs they were attending, this helped her to realign her goals somewhat and be more realistic about what level of program to target.

She is all-in to have the best college playing experience possible, but she knows that there are a host of potential outcomes. She could be a four year stud, or not. If she settles on a major with significant conflicts, suffers a major injury, decides to study abroad, gets involved with a club or organization that captures her passion, isn't playing very much or simply loses interest in soccer - she could stop playing soccer and move on to the next part of her life. She's mature enough (finally) to understand that her circumstances might change over the next few years.

Most importantly, we got over our excitement about her early successes, potential, trophies, championships, etc. and learned to remind ourselves that we were raising a person and not just a soccer player.

Excellent post.

[Unregistered]

If you and your daughter have not had a few discussions about the eventual end of her soccer "career" by age 16 or 17, then I think you're crazy. Admittedly, it can be a tricky conversation to have - especially if your kid is working toward playing in college. Having the blinders on can be beneficial for keeping her focused and maxing out her soccer potential, but I don't want my daughter sprinting toward a cliff (or a wall).

In our case, we talked about the possible soccer careers down the road (player, coach, administrator, media), the potential appeal and the likelihood of success in any of them. Our daughter came to the conclusion that they were either not possible or unattractive. Once across that important hurdle, we talked about various playing scenarios up to around age 22; high school, club, summer leagues, college, etc. We talked about the demands of playing in a top 25 college program vs. playing in a top 100 program, D1 vs. D3, etc. She was adamant that she wanted to push to play at the highest level possible, so we discussed the academic and social tradeoffs and the possibility that she might not play as much or have as much impact if she pushed too high up the rankings. She did some research to see how the players a few years ahead of her at her club were faring in college. Having a sense as to how they were "ranked" as recruits and knowing the level of the programs they were attending, this helped her to realign her goals somewhat and be more realistic about what level of program to target.

She is all-in to have the best college playing experience possible, but she knows that there are a host of potential outcomes. She could be a four year stud, or not. If she settles on a major with significant conflicts, suffers a major injury, decides to study abroad, gets involved with a club or organization that captures her passion, isn't playing very much or simply loses interest in soccer - she could stop playing soccer and move on to the next part of her life. She's mature enough (finally) to understand that her circumstances might change over the next few years.

Most importantly, we got over our excitement about her early successes, potential, trophies, championships, etc. and learned to remind ourselves that we were raising a person and not just a soccer player.

Nice post. However, I'd add that if you're having the discussion at 16 or 17 it's likely too late for D1. We had a similar discussion with our daughter at age 14-15. That's when they'll really need to make that decision to go all in if that's their desire. After a couple of ID camps, ours tapped out of the D1 path as she was not willing to make that type of commitment.

[Unregistered]

Nice post. However, I'd add that if you're having the discussion at 16 or 17 it's likely too late for D1. We had a similar discussion with our daughter at age 14-15. That's when they'll really need to make that decision to go all in if that's their desire. After a couple of ID camps, ours tapped out of the D1 path as she was not willing to make that type of commitment.

I agree to an extent. I don't know of many 14-15 year olds that have the maturity for that kind of conversation, without the potential for unintended consequences. I know that ours was only ready for a portion of that conversation, because she was in that heady stage where top 20 teams were interested, YNT was in play, etc. and she was focused on high she might go. In our case, we weren't ready to snuff out "the dream" when she was still in her first few semesters of high school. There was little doubt that she would play in college from as early as 7th grade, but as we got closer the conversation became more nuanced.

Perhaps the timing for such decision making changes a bit depending on the skill of the player and the number of options in play. I think it might actually be harder for the family of a player who has lower D1 potential, because they may have many more paths to consider (low D1 with low impact/little playing time? D2? high level D3? play club at D1?, etc.).

The best advice we received was from a family with older players who recommended that we get to know the kids 2-3 years ahead of us, watch what they did and where they went, and really understand how they fared and whether they were happy with the result. We found a few families that served as a template of sorts for us.