That moment….

[Guest]

I like the joke about Master Bates. But, I disagree with the rest of your post. Every top 50 school list (US News, etc) has all of the NESCACS. My kid was at the ID camps of some NESCACS and I tested the theory that no one outside of the northeast knows who they are by asking some employees and customers from around the country if they had heard of them. I know it is a small sample size so I am not delusional...but, everyone had heard of Middlebury, Tufts, etc. To think that there isn't a doctor in the country that doesn't know about Tufts is insane. Honestly I don't have a dog in this fight. My son just went through the recruiting process and it was hell. I was big on D3 for multiple reasons. He wanted D1...I tried many times to talk him out of it. He pushed and was recruited...starts at a D1 school in the fall. I have two other kids in college...I will say that certain 'brand name' schools make a difference. They make a difference both in name recognition and alumni....just ask a BC grad. If you had a choice to play D3 at Springfield or not play and go to Middlebury I think the answer is simple. If you disagree then you are extremely naive.

Actually many are not on the top 50 lists.

[Guest]

Walk up to 100 strangers at any shopping mall outside of the Northeast and ask them if they can name one team in the NESCAC. How many of that 100 will be able to do it? How many will ask you what NESCAC is?

[Guest]

Of course. As you point out your sample is skewed. Doctors, your employees, etc. I didn't say an educated person hasn't "heard of", I simply said they don't "revere". Any parent with an ego, which is most, likes to flex about their kid getting into a highly selective college. The reality is there are very few schools with truly National/Global brands (Duke, Harvard, Stanford, MIT, Oxford, etc.). Regional networks are what most people care about. One family's Richmond is another's SMU, and my colleagues Gonzaga is my Holy Cross. yes, the NESCAC sits as the most elite LAC conference, but the average patron at Millers Ale House is unimpressed. Of course we will all say we aren't trying to impress that person, but then you fall into the trap of admitting that ultimately, you are just trying to impress

Both of the above posts are quality giving a very fair perspective. While soccer is a team sport it still comes down to individual decisions about what is your end game. My daughter was very fortunate to have offers from a well known D3, Ivy school and a well respected D1 soccer program. Her choosing a college was a personal choice not what was the best soccer program. All three were solid soccer but my daughter was about the college experience and her end game. If you look at the metrics the chances of your daughter making a career from soccer is very low. If they used their soccer skills to get into a college which was a “push” then they have succeeded. After that they are playing with “house money” for the next four years. Anyone who is fortunate/lucky enough to have you son/daughter playing in college will agree. College athletes have an advantage to building relationships with alumni of the college including athletes who have graduated from the college. By the time you get to your Junior year 99% of these student athletes are thinking about their majors, building contacts with alumni and looking at life after college. My advice is that every high school student on a school visit to those colleges recruiting you make sure to spend as much time vetting the academics and the academic support staff. There is no U24, just life after college. Don’t be left without a plan when the music stops. College student parents know what I am talking about.

[Guest]

Walk up to 100 strangers at any shopping mall outside of the Northeast and ask them if they can name one team in the NESCAC. How many of that 100 will be able to do it? How many will ask you what NESCAC is?

Why would I walk up to 100 strangers who I don’t know anything about and ask them their opinion about anything. If that is how you would make a decision then you pretty superficial. Until last weekend those 100 people had no idea there was a college located in Jersey City, NJ called St. Peter’s. I also will guarantee you informed people about academics, college soccer conferences and college soccer absolutely know about NESCAC schools if you mention them by name. The reputation of these colleges are known in all four regions. Doubt me? Go look at their rosters and you will see student-athletes from throughout the country.

[Guest]

Why would I walk up to 100 strangers who I don’t know anything about and ask them their opinion about anything. If that is how you would make a decision then you pretty superficial. Until last weekend those 100 people had no idea there was a college located in Jersey City, NJ called St. Peter’s. I also will guarantee you informed people about academics, college soccer conferences and college soccer absolutely know about NESCAC schools if you mention them by name. The reputation of these colleges are known in all four regions. Doubt me? Go look at their rosters and you will see student-athletes from throughout the country.

Maybe for the same reason you would engage and maintain a conversation with another anonymous user on TS.

[Guest]

Maybe for the same reason you would engage and maintain a conversation with another anonymous user on TS.

I will engage and have a conversation doesn’t mean I agree with that person opinion or the other 99 TS anonymous/strangers.

[Guest]

Why would I walk up to 100 strangers who I don’t know anything about and ask them their opinion about anything. If that is how you would make a decision then you pretty superficial. Until last weekend those 100 people had no idea there was a college located in Jersey City, NJ called St. Peter’s. I also will guarantee you informed people about academics, college soccer conferences and college soccer absolutely know about NESCAC schools if you mention them by name. The reputation of these colleges are known in all four regions. Doubt me? Go look at their rosters and you will see student-athletes from throughout the country.

Glancing at rosters it highly variable. A top LAC school AND program like Williams or Amherst yes there's players from all over. A lower one like Hamilton or CT college it's nearly all kids from the Northeast. However not all are - eg CC ranked 50th in LACs. Tufts is an outlier in terms of national reputation, larger size, big graduate school programs, and in a major city. It's really more like the UAC schools Rochester, Emory etc.

Then there's the reality that many student athletes have no interest in small LACs in more rural areas no matter how good the academics or sports.

[Guest]

Why would I walk up to 100 strangers who I don’t know anything about and ask them their opinion about anything. If that is how you would make a decision then you pretty superficial. Until last weekend those 100 people had no idea there was a college located in Jersey City, NJ called St. Peter’s. I also will guarantee you informed people about academics, college soccer conferences and college soccer absolutely know about NESCAC schools if you mention them by name. The reputation of these colleges are known in all four regions. Doubt me? Go look at their rosters and you will see student-athletes from throughout the country.

Maybe you should look at their rosters. If we're being honest with each other, a significant number of NESCAC players from outside New England only found out about these little LACs while attending ISL/NEPSAC schools. Check their bios.