There’s a moment when the hopeful, supportive well meaning parent realizes their child is not going to be the next great soccer player or even be the player that goes D1. That moment is for most of us freeing and brings us calm. We enjoy watching our kids play the game without the obsessive stress. However, there are those parents we call delusional. They think if their child is scoring a lot, and on a winning team is therefore on a trajectory to greatness. It’s not until they start to play outside our small state that they then get their dose of reality. They play teams in CA, TX etc and come back humbled… but then there are still some that were delusional and now are just plain toxic as their hope turns into anger, disappointment and pessimism. This TS site feeds those with hope, delusion, toxicity and anger. Be careful not to go down that path or you will lose the most important piece, time with your child.
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Sorry but I can’t relate. My child was recruited early to a strong D1 program. -
Academics and soccer or lesser soccer and great academics.Academics comes first D1 ,D2 or D3 doesn’t matterComment
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“Academics First”Originally posted by Guest View Post
Soccer is performance based, Academics is prestige based.
which one is the world heading to, and which is it moving from?Comment
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D3 is a mistake. If you're not getting paid to go to school, but instead you are paying for your education, why would you spend so much time and energy on something not related to your academics?Originally posted by Guest View Post
Talk about putting your kid behind the eight ball. All the other kids who aren't playing sports are able to focus entirely on academics and the classroom. Good luck with your grades, and any major beyond basket weaving.Comment
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The other kids often flounder because they don't have structure when they get to school.Originally posted by Guest View Post
Athletes(D1) get all of their classes because they register early.
Athletes get to move in early and have a few weeks on campus to get their bearings.
Athletes have a built in friend group from the very beginning.
For whatever reason other students like to get to know athletes.
Athletes get a lot of free gear and sometimes get their laundry done for them.
Athletes get their own team's academic advisors over and above their typical academic advisors.
Many teams have specific study hours in a central location.
Employers in many industries like to hire athletes because they demonstrate grit, determination and the abilty to multitask.
Athletes generally don't gain the freshman 15.
Other kids have a tendency to binge drink their weekends away. Talk about being behind the eight ball.
Other kids have a high incidence of lonliness and home sickness.
The school my kid is attending generally has 60% of its players on the league honor roll.
Some kids are driven to compete regardless of scholarships, maybe your kid isn't.
The prospect of NLI marketing is intriguing.
A sample of majors on the D1 team my kid is heading to(*spoiler alert* NO BASKET WEAVING):
Business Management x 2
Computer Science x 2
Finance x 4
Graphic Design
International Business x 2
Marketing
Psychology x 2
Quantitative Finance
Many parents whose kids can't make a college team like to denigrate the college soccer experience.Comment
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I would agree that 99% of the kids will NOT play D1 soccer and 99.99% will not play in the MLS. But to discourage everyone because you think everyone is delusional is arrogant and insulting.Originally posted by Guest View Post
One day after a club soccer practice (my son was 10 years old) the club coach told us that he was probably going to only be good for high school soccer. The coach said a lot of the same things you say in your post. I didn't care because I don't even like soccer. But my son was upset. For the next 8 years he worked hard and kept moving to better teams (away from that coach). He captained his D1 high school team, did a PG and won the NEPSAC, dealt with the pandemic and was recruited by a mid level D1 program. You don't know me but I can truthfully say that I never yelled on the sidelines and never pushed him. But I did encourage and support him with money and time. Your post should be less condescending and more educational. Parents should keep their mouth shut on the sidelines, leave the coaches alone and support your child. Maybe they will never play in the Premier League but they can dream for a few years and then they will figure it out on their own.Comment
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Gee I don't know, because players love the game and want to keep playing? If you look at it purely as a job with a money tied to it, you are more likely to be unhappy. In fact having a better balance in D3 with athletics and academics probably results in more contended players than D1.Originally posted by Guest View Post
Very few families allow their MS and HS aged kids to sacrifice grades for athletics. Most soccer families better educated, higher income and academically focused. They are also pretty realistic when it comes to the future - at best they think their kid might get a few $ to play in college. They're not dreaming of pro careers with crazy stupid basketball, football or baseball pro $.Comment
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Originally posted by Guest View Post
lol no soccer players are getting NLI marketing $...
...and all those things can be accomplished in D3. D1 isn't the be all end all (and one of mine is D1).Comment
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Conversely, there is a moment when the opposite is true. My kid was following a path (not sure what) and enjoying the game and working to become better with a hope, a goal, to play at next level. As she sat with a D3 school we were told “you know she’s a D1 player, right?”
Umm…no. We never allowed ourselves to buy into that too early and just concentrated on having fun and getting better.
As for the post crapping on D3, my daughter comes from a family that has multiple D3 players and none of us have any regrets. I’ve hired almost two dozen people over the years and 100% of the time I look for well-rounded people: outside interests, athletes, hobbies. I don’t want anyone who doesn’t understand physical activity and competition is a good thing for your mental state. Such a stupid comment made about D3
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Everyone is entitled to an opinion so I just smiled reading your thoughts about D3 and your rationale abut getting paid. That’s a little rough and say that to someone who doesn’t understand college athletics. Student-athletes who are recruited for college play for the love of the sport. With only 12-14 scholarships per team in D1,2 very few have full scholarships with some getting mid level money and at least 1/3 are walk ons. These athletes make decisions about colleges because of their soccer accomplishments. With D3 & Ivies who also do not get paid can receive money from grants/merit scholarships and financial aid. Do you actually believe that those student-athletes who go to MIT, John Hopkins, UChicago, Amherst, Williams, Middlebury, Emory, just to name a few is a mistake? Your metaphor of an eight ball shows your not a pool player. I admire those student-athletes that choose their education first and foremost. Plenty of them used soccer to get into those prestigious colleges. Many had the opportunity to play D1 with athletic dollars and chose D3 instead.Originally posted by Guest View PostComment
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You evidently never went to college if you thinks students entirely concentrate on academics….Originally posted by Guest View PostComment
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lmao that the anti D3 guy thinks D1 athletes don't party!Comment
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There is no way you can do Computer Science and D1 soccer...not enough time. Unless you get all your homework done for you or going insane.Originally posted by Guest View PostComment
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