Lots of threads about recruiting. Not so many about what happens next.
My daughter is finishing her Junior year in college. All in all she (and we as her parents) lucked out. We thought we had done lots of research and certainly she did lots of visits, talked to coaches and players, and we were careful about academic fit. But, with hindsight, there was still huge unknowns that for the most part worked out okay. At a recent midterm break some of her old club/high school teammates were over for dinner and we parents listened in while the girls kicked around their different experiences (Div I, II and III and even JC). None regretted playing. Several were no longer playing or were done playing. All enjoyed the obvious pluses about playing. All had "war stories" which were relatively common.
Some of the common pluses:
1. Having a group. All for the most part liked their teammates. Pretty common for Freshmen and Sophomores to be somewhat ignored by older teammates. Pretty common for older teammates to not make an effort to get to know younger teammates.
2. Academic help. Jumping in and playing soccer Fall term freshmen year is a huge time demand right off the bat. Those that had academic help from advisers and tutors learned or were forced to make use of them right away. Enforced study table time requirements seemed like a pain initially but were helpful across the board. Everyone said it would be very easy to be overwhelmed.
3. Scared to party much. Everyone drank at team parties. Some did some partying within their dorms. None did anything else technically illegal - even smoking weed. Pretty much across the board testing positive for anything in season other than alcohol was going to get you kicked off the team (and maybe off-season too). No one wanted to test that theory. The coaches had them scared straight. A couple got MIPs during their Freshmen year and had no real team consequences (but not DUIs).
4. Coaches Pretend to be Nice During Recruiting. No one hated their head coach -- even the girls who were eventually cut. Everyone thought their head coach was a jerk during the season, and somewhat better in the off-season. Pretty typical I would think. Asst. coaches were the "friends" not the head coach.
5. Getting Yelled At. Everyone gets yelled at personally and as a team. Sometimes legit and sometimes not. Nothing you can do seems to be the conclusion. My favorite story: Team lost an away game to a team they should beat. Coach was mad. Next practice involved lots of running. Coach lit into the kids who did not travel to the game, because they suck so bad they could not beat out the crappy players he took to the game. All agreed it really sucks to do punishment practices if you did not get to play. But see coach's comment above. It does seem to help segments of the team bond.
6. Playing time. Everyone has playing time issues. No coach wants to hear from any player about playing time. Only resource to make a pitch for more time is an asst. coach. Everyone had instances where they knew they were better than kids who were playing, but could not get on the field.
7. Class Scheduling/Majors. Some majors do not work well with sports. Art and Music require lots of time outside of class doing things that cannot be done on a bus. It is difficult to find that time during the season. Majors with lots of labs -- hard to do unless labs are always on non-travel days which is impossible to control really.
8. Div I Off-Season Time. Probably biggest regret from the kids playing Div I was inability to do much else. A trade they were willing to make, but still wish they could do other things. My kid sings in a group and that is the only other "official" thing she does other than soccer. Even in the off-season she spends about 3 hours a day 4 days a week on soccer. Div III kids were more involved in other activities and all others were jealous. If you play Div I or II in a competitive program -- soccer is who you are and what you do.
9. Attrition. Two girls were cut. Coaches in each case said after Sophomore year - that they did not see them playing much next year. Probably better if they left. Two others quit after not playing much their Freshmen year. One never made the travel squad. Decided it was too much work and not enough fun to keep playing. No major injuries out of the group thankfully.
I did an unscientific look at some of the BCS league teams a while ago. For the schools I looked at there was at least 50% attrition between Freshmen and Senior years at pretty much every school. A few schools did better (mostly ones that recruited heavily overseas). A good many did worse (including some major women's soccer powers).
10. Bumps in the Road. Everyone had some troubles. Lots of them had playing time issues as Freshmen. For the ones who were cut/quit those continued into their Sophomore year.
Not many girls come from a club or school setting where the coach did a lot of yelling. It takes some getting used to. I suspect that a fair number of parents of college players have heard "the coach hates me" from their kid at some point during their Freshmen year.
It is hard for the kids and it can be hard on the parents. These are kids who were stars on their school soccer teams, and good players/stars on top level club teams. To not play. To not make the travel squad. To getting yelled at regularly by coaches. To not being liked by upperclassmen teammates. To watching kids play who may not be as good. And, to be in an environment where competition for playing time is almost a tangible thing can be a real culture shock. For my kid and I would guess the same for the others in that group -- they survived the Fall Freshmen season by largely doing the right things. Work hard. Keep mouth shut. Be friendly to everyone.
Out of the group we had over really only one kid started and played every game right away for a good Div II school (she made 2nd team all league - a real talented kid who would have been a big time Div I recruit if she did not graduate at 17). The kid who really was (and still is) the best player overall started and played big minutes the first few games, but then was injured and out for some time. By the time she was better she had lost her position so she did not play again freshmen year. She won her position back as a Sophomore and really had a great year.
My kid's story is that she came in as a sub during the team's first game her Freshmen year. She was the first freshman to get playing time. She played a wing defender position in a 4-4-2. Five minutes after subbing in she got beat and allowed a cross into the penalty area. A center D was in position to clear but miss hit it, and it was knocked in. My kid was pulled before the kickoff, and did not see the field for the next 3 games. She got another chance when a teammate was injured. As you would expect, no one wants to see a teammate injured, but injuries bring opportunities. For my kid that meant she got off the bench and eventually earned playing time and then a starting spot as a defensive center mid.
The other surprise I suppose was with positions. There was a lot to learn with flow of play and where/how coaches want ball and player movement. All way more complex that she had seen before. But, the freshmen were all in the same boat.
My daughter is finishing her Junior year in college. All in all she (and we as her parents) lucked out. We thought we had done lots of research and certainly she did lots of visits, talked to coaches and players, and we were careful about academic fit. But, with hindsight, there was still huge unknowns that for the most part worked out okay. At a recent midterm break some of her old club/high school teammates were over for dinner and we parents listened in while the girls kicked around their different experiences (Div I, II and III and even JC). None regretted playing. Several were no longer playing or were done playing. All enjoyed the obvious pluses about playing. All had "war stories" which were relatively common.
Some of the common pluses:
1. Having a group. All for the most part liked their teammates. Pretty common for Freshmen and Sophomores to be somewhat ignored by older teammates. Pretty common for older teammates to not make an effort to get to know younger teammates.
2. Academic help. Jumping in and playing soccer Fall term freshmen year is a huge time demand right off the bat. Those that had academic help from advisers and tutors learned or were forced to make use of them right away. Enforced study table time requirements seemed like a pain initially but were helpful across the board. Everyone said it would be very easy to be overwhelmed.
3. Scared to party much. Everyone drank at team parties. Some did some partying within their dorms. None did anything else technically illegal - even smoking weed. Pretty much across the board testing positive for anything in season other than alcohol was going to get you kicked off the team (and maybe off-season too). No one wanted to test that theory. The coaches had them scared straight. A couple got MIPs during their Freshmen year and had no real team consequences (but not DUIs).
4. Coaches Pretend to be Nice During Recruiting. No one hated their head coach -- even the girls who were eventually cut. Everyone thought their head coach was a jerk during the season, and somewhat better in the off-season. Pretty typical I would think. Asst. coaches were the "friends" not the head coach.
5. Getting Yelled At. Everyone gets yelled at personally and as a team. Sometimes legit and sometimes not. Nothing you can do seems to be the conclusion. My favorite story: Team lost an away game to a team they should beat. Coach was mad. Next practice involved lots of running. Coach lit into the kids who did not travel to the game, because they suck so bad they could not beat out the crappy players he took to the game. All agreed it really sucks to do punishment practices if you did not get to play. But see coach's comment above. It does seem to help segments of the team bond.
6. Playing time. Everyone has playing time issues. No coach wants to hear from any player about playing time. Only resource to make a pitch for more time is an asst. coach. Everyone had instances where they knew they were better than kids who were playing, but could not get on the field.
7. Class Scheduling/Majors. Some majors do not work well with sports. Art and Music require lots of time outside of class doing things that cannot be done on a bus. It is difficult to find that time during the season. Majors with lots of labs -- hard to do unless labs are always on non-travel days which is impossible to control really.
8. Div I Off-Season Time. Probably biggest regret from the kids playing Div I was inability to do much else. A trade they were willing to make, but still wish they could do other things. My kid sings in a group and that is the only other "official" thing she does other than soccer. Even in the off-season she spends about 3 hours a day 4 days a week on soccer. Div III kids were more involved in other activities and all others were jealous. If you play Div I or II in a competitive program -- soccer is who you are and what you do.
9. Attrition. Two girls were cut. Coaches in each case said after Sophomore year - that they did not see them playing much next year. Probably better if they left. Two others quit after not playing much their Freshmen year. One never made the travel squad. Decided it was too much work and not enough fun to keep playing. No major injuries out of the group thankfully.
I did an unscientific look at some of the BCS league teams a while ago. For the schools I looked at there was at least 50% attrition between Freshmen and Senior years at pretty much every school. A few schools did better (mostly ones that recruited heavily overseas). A good many did worse (including some major women's soccer powers).
10. Bumps in the Road. Everyone had some troubles. Lots of them had playing time issues as Freshmen. For the ones who were cut/quit those continued into their Sophomore year.
Not many girls come from a club or school setting where the coach did a lot of yelling. It takes some getting used to. I suspect that a fair number of parents of college players have heard "the coach hates me" from their kid at some point during their Freshmen year.
It is hard for the kids and it can be hard on the parents. These are kids who were stars on their school soccer teams, and good players/stars on top level club teams. To not play. To not make the travel squad. To getting yelled at regularly by coaches. To not being liked by upperclassmen teammates. To watching kids play who may not be as good. And, to be in an environment where competition for playing time is almost a tangible thing can be a real culture shock. For my kid and I would guess the same for the others in that group -- they survived the Fall Freshmen season by largely doing the right things. Work hard. Keep mouth shut. Be friendly to everyone.
Out of the group we had over really only one kid started and played every game right away for a good Div II school (she made 2nd team all league - a real talented kid who would have been a big time Div I recruit if she did not graduate at 17). The kid who really was (and still is) the best player overall started and played big minutes the first few games, but then was injured and out for some time. By the time she was better she had lost her position so she did not play again freshmen year. She won her position back as a Sophomore and really had a great year.
My kid's story is that she came in as a sub during the team's first game her Freshmen year. She was the first freshman to get playing time. She played a wing defender position in a 4-4-2. Five minutes after subbing in she got beat and allowed a cross into the penalty area. A center D was in position to clear but miss hit it, and it was knocked in. My kid was pulled before the kickoff, and did not see the field for the next 3 games. She got another chance when a teammate was injured. As you would expect, no one wants to see a teammate injured, but injuries bring opportunities. For my kid that meant she got off the bench and eventually earned playing time and then a starting spot as a defensive center mid.
The other surprise I suppose was with positions. There was a lot to learn with flow of play and where/how coaches want ball and player movement. All way more complex that she had seen before. But, the freshmen were all in the same boat.
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