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Can someone discuss the benefits of D3 soccer.

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    If you care about athletic status.Your not very bright

    Comment


      It makes no sense to limit your options early in the process by declaring DI only or DIII only. You can find good academic schools with good soccer programs in both DI and DIII. Fewer in DII and NAIA because of the academic piece (the soccer teams can be better than some DI teams though, especially in men's soccer), but not none. What you really want to check, though, is whether being on the soccer team is consistent with taking full advantage of a school's academic opportunities.

      1. Ask when a school practices. If it's in the middle of the day, then you obviously will not be permitted to take classes in the middle of the day because they will conflict with team practices. Many DIII and a much smaller number of DI schools block off time (typically 4-7) and don't schedule any classes during that time. That time is reserved for team practices and student activities. If the school doesn't have lights on its practice fields, you'll need to ask about how they practice later in the season. They may start at a time that avoids conflicts, but move it up earlier later in the season and create those conflicts right as your kid is hitting mid-terms.

      2. Check out the travel schedule. If a team has to travel a considerable distance to many games (and flight is not the criteria, because a six hour bus ride can be just as bad as a flight), you need to take note of when the games are taking place. If it's Saturday night, chances are you have to leave on Friday and you probably can't take Friday classes. If, however, you're traveling across time zones, you may have to leave even earlier or arrive back later. All of that travel can result in classes missed or simply not taken during the season because of the conflicts. If you're thinking of majoring in a science and there are labs for classes on Friday, a team may not let you major in that subject. Sometimes you can schedule those classes in the off-season, but that might not be possible because the school only offers certain classes in the fall that are needed for the major.

      3. Ask about spring practices and schedule. If you want to do internships, study abroad, or any other activities, that might not work with the spring schedule. Even in DIII, there are differences. NESCAC schools have typically had no organized coach-led team practices in the Spring, which is supposed to offer space to do other things, although they have captains practices and some coaches really monitor attendance by speaking with the captains. Most other DIII schools have spring practices/games and the allowable amount of days recently increased significantly, from 15 days to 24 starting in 2024 (including one game day, which could consist of multiple games to give everyone playing time). They can spread that out from Feb 1 to five weekdays before finals, when it used to be five weeks. If coaches intersperse that with weightlifting sessions with the performance coaches only, they can keep a DIII athlete pretty busy with mandatory activity. That can be a real plus for a kid who wants something closer to the daily structure of DI practice schedules in DIII or it could be a real negative.

      4. Ask about mandatory study sessions. Both DI and DIII coaches have them, but not all have them. Those can be great or they can be a time suck if your student works better in a quiet space alone.

      On the soccer side, there are questions we all know about your child's level, whether they will get playing time, whether the practices will be serious and the players will be competitive. You have to see for yourself by attending games and watching practices. Only thing I can add is that there are both DI and DIII soccer programs that are disorganized and the practices are frustrating for the serious player. There are good and bad coaches at both level and there are more than a few DI coaches that played at DIII, so it isn't like there is some magic sauce in DI. Facilities also differ significantly. There are some wealthy DIII programs with better weight rooms, fields, and indoor practice facilities than DI schools, although on average DI is going to be better than DIII. There are also some DIII programs that outdraw DI programs. Some small LACs often have a lot more money for everything than DIs and when 1/3 of the student body plays varsity sports (a common % in small LACs), you're just going to have a lot of resources for the athletes. Power 5 (or whatever we call it now) schools aside, DI soccer can be the stepchild of a poor DI school's athletic department. Finally, playing time is no certainty at either DI or DIII. You can't assume you will get playing time at a DIII just because it is supposedly "lower" level. How do you improve your chances? Go where you are wanted. That could be DI or DIII. Coaches look for different things, run different systems and have different ideas about what they need in a player. Find the coach that really wants you and explains why they want you, rather than begging for the coach to take you. Even then, coaches move all the time and you could go from wanted to unwanted overnight.

      On the social side, you may want to ask other players the size of the non-traveling roster each week. A large non-traveling group can be great news if your kid would rather stay on campus and study/socialize etc than travel and sit on the bench, especially if the group of teammates is large enough to keep them company, or it may be devastating and lonely to miss out on those experiences for an entire season or more. And this can be true in DI or DIII. As someone pointed out upthread about Endicott, there are DIII schools that have 40-50 on the roster because they use it to generate enrollment.

      One other fairly minor question on the DIII side is whether they provide gear, how much, and whether players have to pay for it. Usually, coaches fundraise for it, or it's not that expensive for parents use to paying for it in club, but if not everyone gets it because it's not mandatory, it can make DIII feel pretty minor league if the players don't have matching backpacks and jackets/warmups.

      Comment


        Originally posted by Guest View Post
        If you care about athletic status.Your not very bright
        [gets sand kicked in his face]

        Comment


          Originally posted by Guest View Post
          It makes no sense to limit your options early in the process by declaring DI only or DIII only. You can find good academic schools with good soccer programs in both DI and DIII. Fewer in DII and NAIA because of the academic piece (the soccer teams can be better than some DI teams though, especially in men's soccer), but not none. What you really want to check, though, is whether being on the soccer team is consistent with taking full advantage of a school's academic opportunities.

          1. Ask when a school practices. If it's in the middle of the day, then you obviously will not be permitted to take classes in the middle of the day because they will conflict with team practices. Many DIII and a much smaller number of DI schools block off time (typically 4-7) and don't schedule any classes during that time. That time is reserved for team practices and student activities. If the school doesn't have lights on its practice fields, you'll need to ask about how they practice later in the season. They may start at a time that avoids conflicts, but move it up earlier later in the season and create those conflicts right as your kid is hitting mid-terms.

          2. Check out the travel schedule. If a team has to travel a considerable distance to many games (and flight is not the criteria, because a six hour bus ride can be just as bad as a flight), you need to take note of when the games are taking place. If it's Saturday night, chances are you have to leave on Friday and you probably can't take Friday classes. If, however, you're traveling across time zones, you may have to leave even earlier or arrive back later. All of that travel can result in classes missed or simply not taken during the season because of the conflicts. If you're thinking of majoring in a science and there are labs for classes on Friday, a team may not let you major in that subject. Sometimes you can schedule those classes in the off-season, but that might not be possible because the school only offers certain classes in the fall that are needed for the major.

          3. Ask about spring practices and schedule. If you want to do internships, study abroad, or any other activities, that might not work with the spring schedule. Even in DIII, there are differences. NESCAC schools have typically had no organized coach-led team practices in the Spring, which is supposed to offer space to do other things, although they have captains practices and some coaches really monitor attendance by speaking with the captains. Most other DIII schools have spring practices/games and the allowable amount of days recently increased significantly, from 15 days to 24 starting in 2024 (including one game day, which could consist of multiple games to give everyone playing time). They can spread that out from Feb 1 to five weekdays before finals, when it used to be five weeks. If coaches intersperse that with weightlifting sessions with the performance coaches only, they can keep a DIII athlete pretty busy with mandatory activity. That can be a real plus for a kid who wants something closer to the daily structure of DI practice schedules in DIII or it could be a real negative.

          4. Ask about mandatory study sessions. Both DI and DIII coaches have them, but not all have them. Those can be great or they can be a time suck if your student works better in a quiet space alone.

          On the soccer side, there are questions we all know about your child's level, whether they will get playing time, whether the practices will be serious and the players will be competitive. You have to see for yourself by attending games and watching practices. Only thing I can add is that there are both DI and DIII soccer programs that are disorganized and the practices are frustrating for the serious player. There are good and bad coaches at both level and there are more than a few DI coaches that played at DIII, so it isn't like there is some magic sauce in DI. Facilities also differ significantly. There are some wealthy DIII programs with better weight rooms, fields, and indoor practice facilities than DI schools, although on average DI is going to be better than DIII. There are also some DIII programs that outdraw DI programs. Some small LACs often have a lot more money for everything than DIs and when 1/3 of the student body plays varsity sports (a common % in small LACs), you're just going to have a lot of resources for the athletes. Power 5 (or whatever we call it now) schools aside, DI soccer can be the stepchild of a poor DI school's athletic department. Finally, playing time is no certainty at either DI or DIII. You can't assume you will get playing time at a DIII just because it is supposedly "lower" level. How do you improve your chances? Go where you are wanted. That could be DI or DIII. Coaches look for different things, run different systems and have different ideas about what they need in a player. Find the coach that really wants you and explains why they want you, rather than begging for the coach to take you. Even then, coaches move all the time and you could go from wanted to unwanted overnight.

          On the social side, you may want to ask other players the size of the non-traveling roster each week. A large non-traveling group can be great news if your kid would rather stay on campus and study/socialize etc than travel and sit on the bench, especially if the group of teammates is large enough to keep them company, or it may be devastating and lonely to miss out on those experiences for an entire season or more. And this can be true in DI or DIII. As someone pointed out upthread about Endicott, there are DIII schools that have 40-50 on the roster because they use it to generate enrollment.

          One other fairly minor question on the DIII side is whether they provide gear, how much, and whether players have to pay for it. Usually, coaches fundraise for it, or it's not that expensive for parents use to paying for it in club, but if not everyone gets it because it's not mandatory, it can make DIII feel pretty minor league if the players don't have matching backpacks and jackets/warmups.
          Oh, and the Ivy league is not the best of all worlds for these issues in any uniform way. Columbia doesn't have on campus fields and it's a pain to have to travel to get to them daily. Some schools travel more than others and some have practice conflicts with courses. Spring practices can still foreclose internships and study abroad. Plus, on the soccer side, they sometimes have fewer games scheduled, which reduces the chances your kid will play at all. And the academic support is not the same as DI generally, while the admissions preference can be steep for an individual student, making it a bad combination.

          Comment


            Originally posted by Guest View Post

            There are 340 D1 schools do you really want to get started with that argument? I would think at least 280 D1 schools are inconsequential and the season hasn’t started yet.
            I was talking about D3 schools, not D1 schools.

            Comment


              Originally posted by Guest View Post

              I was talking about D3 schools, not D1 schools.
              I am answering you about D1 schools. Do you want to get into a comparison argument. Don’t belittle D3 schools are compared to the vast majority of inconsequential D1 schools. It’s a no win argument.

              Comment


                Originally posted by Guest View Post

                I am answering you about D1 schools. Do you want to get into a comparison argument. Don’t belittle D3 schools are compared to the vast majority of inconsequential D1 schools. It’s a no win argument.
                No, I have no interest in comparison arguments. Commenting that there are tons of mediocre academic D3 schools stands on its own.

                Comment


                  Originally posted by Guest View Post

                  No, I have no interest in comparison arguments. Commenting that there are tons of mediocre academic D3 schools stands on its own.
                  And D1s as well

                  Comment


                    Originally posted by Guest View Post

                    And D1s as well
                    Again, I have no interest in D1. My kid didn't want D1 (the time commitment to soccer was more than what she wanted for college)...but she wanted to play soccer if possible, so D3 is what she went for. Had she not been recruited to one of the strong academic D3 programs, she would have applied to strong academic colleges (D1 or D3, wouldn't have mattered) and skipped playing soccer in college (or maybe just joined a club team). At no point did she ever consider a mediocre-academic college (D1 or D3).

                    My point in bringing any of this up is in response to anyone making a blanket statement about choosing D3 for academics; that there are only a few D3 colleges that are considered "strong academic".

                    Comment


                      Originally posted by Guest View Post

                      Again, I have no interest in D1. My kid didn't want D1 (the time commitment to soccer was more than what she wanted for college)...but she wanted to play soccer if possible, so D3 is what she went for. Had she not been recruited to one of the strong academic D3 programs, she would have applied to strong academic colleges (D1 or D3, wouldn't have mattered) and skipped playing soccer in college (or maybe just joined a club team). At no point did she ever consider a mediocre-academic college (D1 or D3).

                      My point in bringing any of this up is in response to anyone making a blanket statement about choosing D3 for academics; that there are only a few D3 colleges that are considered "strong academic".
                      It's far more than "a few" but carry on with your kid's academic prowess...

                      Comment


                        Originally posted by Guest View Post

                        It's far more than "a few" but carry on with your kid's academic prowess...
                        Speaking of academic prowess, how about Ivy?

                        Comment


                          Originally posted by Guest View Post

                          It's far more than "a few" but carry on with your kid's academic prowess...

                          Your child's average genes seem to really bother you.

                          Comment


                            Originally posted by Guest View Post

                            Speaking of academic prowess, how about Ivy?
                            What about it? Yeah, they're Ivies. Duh. But they also have an inordinate amount of legacy kids and students who know nothing but studying 24/7, zero personality.

                            Clearly your kid was accepted and you're dying to brag. Good for him/her, but honestly no one cares. Even fewer care about Ivy soccer.

                            Comment


                              Originally posted by Guest View Post

                              It's far more than "a few" but carry on with your kid's academic prowess...
                              Of the 400+ D3 colleges out there, how many would you consider "strong academic"?

                              Comment


                                Originally posted by Guest View Post

                                Of the 400+ D3 colleges out there, how many would you consider "strong academic"?
                                how many D1s? Just because some have more name recognition because of their bigger size or performance in men's basketball or football doesn't mean they're better schools. U Akron is a top 25 men's soccer program - ranked 335 on US News for academics.

                                Like all else there's here's a continuum. The reality is there are only so many schools that have top academics, top soccer AND are a good fit for any one particular player. Having both the grades AND the soccer chops to be successful at Stanford is rare. The rest will find a home somewhere well below the top 50 D1 or anywhere else for soccer and a mish-mosh of academic fits that suit their needs.

                                Comment

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