Gauging “Level of Play”

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How many players and their families regret their college choice because they let soccer choose their school/program instead of the other way around? Level of play matters very little in the big picture if the players end up at a school that helps less with post graduation plans than a school with resources and reputation employers and grad schools hire from. In the end this soccer journey we are all on ends. It’s saddening to see how many parents are short-sighted about this. The best thing parents can do is help their kids have a long term vision about their future which includes school choice. Sorry, but it’s ridiculous to think how many parents let their kids settle for schools and programs they likely would have never considered without the soccer piece. The exception to this would be for athletes that used their sport to get into better schools and could not have without their sport.

Treat college choice like non athletes would. And if your kid can play at one of those schools you’ve gauged correctly.

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IMO, a Syracuse or Miami would be pretty dominant for a couple of years if they were to join the AAC or PL. Then, once the classes that had been drawn to ACC soccer had aged out, they would sink closer to parity. Just my opinion.

I take that back. They'd be struggling in the AAC too. PL or A10, they'd have an easier time.

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I take that back. They'd be struggling in the AAC too. PL or A10, they'd have an easier time.

In a tough conference like ACC, anything less than perfection looks weak. Both Syracuse and Miami have relatively new coaches and the transfer activity and young teams that come with that. Their rosters are much more talented on paper than what you see in the bottom half of D1. As miserable as their results are against ACC teams, they still beat PL, MAAC, etc. when they play them. AAC is a real mixed bag, 3-4 teams in the top 100 and bottom 100; but nothing tells me Syracuse or Miami couldn’t hang with the best of them.

[Unregistered]

How many players and their families regret their college choice because they let soccer choose their school/program instead of the other way around? Level of play matters very little in the big picture if the players end up at a school that helps less with post graduation plans than a school with resources and reputation employers and grad schools hire from. In the end this soccer journey we are all on ends. It’s saddening to see how many parents are short-sighted about this. The best thing parents can do is help their kids have a long term vision about their future which includes school choice. Sorry, but it’s ridiculous to think how many parents let their kids settle for schools and programs they likely would have never considered without the soccer piece. The exception to this would be for athletes that used their sport to get into better schools and could not have without their sport.

Treat college choice like non athletes would. And if your kid can play at one of those schools you’ve gauged correctly.

Sorry, but I'd rather my kid attend college at a "less prestigious" school and graduate debt free because of soccer than graduate with six figures of debt and a "name brand" degree. This is undergraduate mind you. We've managed to dumb college and HS down to the point kids need an undergrad degree like they used to need a HS diploma... a smart kid will do well anywhere. Not all of us are wealthy.

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Sorry, but I'd rather my kid attend college at a "less prestigious" school and graduate debt free because of soccer than graduate with six figures of debt and a "name brand" degree. This is undergraduate mind you. We've managed to dumb college and HS down to the point kids need an undergrad degree like they used to need a HS diploma... a smart kid will do well anywhere. Not all of us are wealthy.

Most kids don’t get full rides in soccer. Depending on your EFC, it is very possible you could pay more to attend a college and play soccer than pay less at your local state institutions.

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Most kids don’t get full rides in soccer. Depending on your EFC, it is very possible you could pay more to attend a college and play soccer than pay less at your local state institutions.

Very true. Many soccer families don't qualify for financial aid (you can't have been paying $7K a year for a pricey league unless you're making a solid income and FA income caps are very low), so unless you can get good athletic or merit$, your bill may be quite large. To maximize your athletic or merit $ you need to be a players/student they really, really want. If that means staking too large a step down that also might not be worth it, depending on the school

[Unregistered]

How many players and their families regret their college choice because they let soccer choose their school/program instead of the other way around? Level of play matters very little in the big picture if the players end up at a school that helps less with post graduation plans than a school with resources and reputation employers and grad schools hire from. In the end this soccer journey we are all on ends. It’s saddening to see how many parents are short-sighted about this. The best thing parents can do is help their kids have a long term vision about their future which includes school choice. Sorry, but it’s ridiculous to think how many parents let their kids settle for schools and programs they likely would have never considered without the soccer piece. The exception to this would be for athletes that used their sport to get into better schools and could not have without their sport.

Treat college choice like non athletes would. And if your kid can play at one of those schools you’ve gauged correctly.

I let my kid choose school over soccer and every week i ask her if she is ready to transfer.

[Unregistered]

In a tough conference like ACC, anything less than perfection looks weak. Both Syracuse and Miami have relatively new coaches and the transfer activity and young teams that come with that. Their rosters are much more talented on paper than what you see in the bottom half of D1. As miserable as their results are against ACC teams, they still beat PL, MAAC, etc. when they play them. AAC is a real mixed bag, 3-4 teams in the top 100 and bottom 100; but nothing tells me Syracuse or Miami couldn’t hang with the best of them.

Their pitiful records for the past 20 yrs says they could not hang. And dont judge anything by ooc games. Some teams use them to test out formations, players in other positions, newbies (fresh or kids without a lot of playing time under belts). I am not a fan as that is what others call practice sessions not games but it is done.

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Their pitiful records for the past 20 yrs says they could not hang. And dont judge anything by ooc games. Some teams use them to test out formations, players in other positions, newbies (fresh or kids without a lot of playing time under belts). I am not a fan as that is what others call practice sessions not games but it is done.

Thought that was what preseason was for. Anyway nobody’s leaving the ACC; at least not because of women’s soccer. There has to be some teams at the bottom of every conference and that’s Syracuse, Miami, and Pitt lately in the ACC. I wouldn’t expect that to change given for the fight for talent at that level. Still they only look terrible compared to the best teams; they would probably beat most of the bottom 200 teams in D1 on any given day.

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Any parent who doesn't guide their child to target the school based first on what they want to do after college is doing their child a disservice because they ain't playing pro.

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Any parent who doesn't guide their child to target the school based first on what they want to do after college is doing their child a disservice because they ain't playing pro.

Of course you are right, but you are on TS.

3 questions:
If soccer isn’t important to your family, then why are you here?
How did soccer factor in college decision(s) for your family?
Were significant scholarship offers part of your process?

[Unregistered]

Any parent who doesn't guide their child to target the school based first on what they want to do after college is doing their child a disservice because they ain't playing pro.

Kids change majors on average 3 times before settling on one.
https://borderzine.com/2013/03/colle...y-really-love/

An estimated 75 percent of students change their major at least once before graduation

Saying you need to attend a specific school because of a specific major/career choice is problematic given the statistics show a majority of students change majors and many don't work in their field of study. Sure some majors lead to very specific professional careers, but many do not. Your premise is wrong.

My kid currently wants to be a doctor. She can play soccer and has a > 4.0 GPA in an honors program. We have two kids, a retirement looming in less than 20 years and aren't wealthy though we make too much income to qualify for much financial aid. Guess what: she isn't going to the Ivy League. She isn't going to a NESCAC. She will go to either a state school with some athletic money or a private that offers athletic and merit money. Graduating with little to no debt for undergrad is more important than some name-brand diploma, especially given how expensive medical school is. Life is about finding compromises and trade-offs.

A good student will do well anywhere. Debt will follow you everywhere. And if my kid decides medicine isn't the career she wants, it's OK. She isn't in debt and won't have to make compromising choices or put her life on hold because of the cost of her undergrad degree.

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This is talking Soccer not talking Education.Go somewhere else to spout your nonsense.

[Unregistered]

Kids change majors on average 3 times before settling on one.
https://borderzine.com/2013/03/colle...y-really-love/

An estimated 75 percent of students change their major at least once before graduation

Saying you need to attend a specific school because of a specific major/career choice is problematic given the statistics show a majority of students change majors and many don't work in their field of study. Sure some majors lead to very specific professional careers, but many do not. Your premise is wrong.

My kid currently wants to be a doctor. She can play soccer and has a > 4.0 GPA in an honors program. We have two kids, a retirement looming in less than 20 years and aren't wealthy though we make too much income to qualify for much financial aid. Guess what: she isn't going to the Ivy League. She isn't going to a NESCAC. She will go to either a state school with some athletic money or a private that offers athletic and merit money. Graduating with little to no debt for undergrad is more important than some name-brand diploma, especially given how expensive medical school is. Life is about finding compromises and trade-offs.

A good student will do well anywhere. Debt will follow you everywhere. And if my kid decides medicine isn't the career she wants, it's OK. She isn't in debt and won't have to make compromising choices or put her life on hold because of the cost of her undergrad degree.

This guy gets it. I get it. My kids get it. We laid the financial realities to them well before each started the process. We showed them what we could cover, what they would be on the hook for, and if they took out loans what that meant in $ and cents and needing two roommates after college and delaying buying a car....

And really as long as the student is at a good university with a breadth of degrees offered, they will be fine even if they change majors. Good business, STEM etc and they will be fine. God forbid they might have to transfer. Transfer early enough most of your classes will be core classes and should mostly be transferable.

[Unregistered]

Of course you are right, but you are on TS.

3 questions:
If soccer isn’t important to your family, then why are you here?
How did soccer factor in college decision(s) for your family?
Were significant scholarship offers part of your process?

Please stop. Enough.