Can someone discuss the benefits of D3 soccer.

[Guest]

I guess the question I'm asking is why play college soccer on a losing team if you can get the best parts of the college experience without it? I agree that if the athletic scholarship is what is making it possible, then you put up with the bad to get the good. But if it's not, what is the point of spending 4 years on a team that has no hope or aspirations of competing for a league championship or NCAA tournament bid?

Love the game? Great comradery? Goal is to make the conference tournament and see what happens? Love the benefits an athlete gets that a NARP doesn't?

I mean, why do players on Luton or Fullham or Everton play if they have no chance of winning the EPL, right?

[Guest]

My D is a college junior right now, and I only recently started to understand this mentality. Can't imagine putting in all that time and effort over the last 15+ years only to finish the last few years on a team that hardly wins any games. She is miserable and ready to quit.

Yep, I definitely think she's playing for the wrong reasons that. Probably time to move on

[Guest]

Love the game? Great comradery? Goal is to make the conference tournament and see what happens? Love the benefits an athlete gets that a NARP doesn't?

I mean, why do players on Luton or Fullham or Everton play if they have no chance of winning the EPL, right?

You can satisfy your love for the game and get camaraderie playing club soccer or even intramural soccer at school.

If you have a chance to make the conference tournament, then great, I agree, anything can happen. But I am talking about teams that have no hope of competing for a conference championship (eg. look at Holy Cross...hasn't made their conference tournament since 2019 (and 2019 was the first time since 2000).

Good point on the social clout an athlete gets that a NARP doesn't.

Professional teams are a completely different circumstance...get paid to play the game you love, maybe show enough to get picked up by another team, etc. But agree that players on those teams are probably pretty miserable knowing that in their current circumstance they have no shot at winning a championship.

[Guest]

Yep, I definitely think she's playing for the wrong reasons that. Probably time to move on

Why is wanting to play with a chance to win "the wrong reason"? Why is it "the right reason" to play a sport with no desire to actually win?

[Guest]

Yep, I definitely think she's playing for the wrong reasons that. Probably time to move on

This comment is the result of too many participation trophies.

[Guest]

This comment is the result of too many participation trophies.

Not the OP, but referencing the post above (i.e. related to education, costs, etc.), if all things being equal, would you rather:

* Get limited minutes on a good team
* Get full minutes on a crappy team

[Guest]

Agree with this. However, if you're on a team that doesn't compete each year for league championships and the NCAA tournament, what's the point? I don't know a single player who doesn't hate losing, and if the team has no aspirations or hope to compete for the league championship, it feels like a huge letdown after all the years of hard work to get to this level.

What’s the point is a highly individual answer which is subjective as to your reasons for picking that particular college/soccer program. For many the financial aspect is the main reason. A scholarship to attend college to lessen the costs should be the top reason to accept a program that will not win conferences or go to the NCAA. My point has been to give an opinion based on the good/bad of D1. I have had 2 daughters playing D1 so i have experience to discuss this important issue . Just saying playing D1 over D3 is a shortsighted answer given the environment of both leagues. D1 for the top clubs is highly competitive especially for those programs that each year compete for title and championships. For the overwhelming majority that’s not the case. There are many D1 athletes who choose D3 as an alternative and never look back. That’s not an excuse but rather that’s there choice about there college years. To each their own and neither choice should be diminished. My daughters friends who chose D3 never looked back or thought of entering the transfer portal to enter D1. They do have friends that went from D1 to D3. Just something to think about the benefits of D3.

[Guest]

Not the OP, but referencing the post above (i.e. related to education, costs, etc.), if all things being equal, would you rather:

* Get limited minutes on a good team
* Get full minutes on a crappy team

There are other options to think about...if you are on a crappy team playing in a crappy conference, then getting full minutes on the crappy team with the chance to win the crappy conference would be preferable. If you are on a crappy team playing in a strong conference, then limited minutes on the good team would be preferable. And if on a crappy team in a good conference, then maybe just quit the team and enjoy everything else college has to offer.

[Guest]

What’s the point is a highly individual answer which is subjective as to your reasons for picking that particular college/soccer program. For many the financial aspect is the main reason. A scholarship to attend college to lessen the costs should be the top reason to accept a program that will not win conferences or go to the NCAA. My point has been to give an opinion based on the good/bad of D1. I have had 2 daughters playing D1 so i have experience to discuss this important issue . Just saying playing D1 over D3 is a shortsighted answer given the environment of both leagues. D1 for the top clubs is highly competitive especially for those programs that each year compete for title and championships. For the overwhelming majority that’s not the case. There are many D1 athletes who choose D3 as an alternative and never look back. That’s not an excuse but rather that’s there choice about there college years. To each their own and neither choice should be diminished. My daughters friends who chose D3 never looked back or thought of entering the transfer portal to enter D1. They do have friends that went from D1 to D3. Just something to think about the benefits of D3.

Yep, agree that financial package would be the biggest driver to keep playing on a perennially bad team. Beyond that, most high level athletes would be miserable losing game after game and having little/no chance at competing for a conference title regardless of the level of the conference. The individual answer of why do it are likely driven by the relationship the players have with each other and the social clout on campus had by student-athletes.

[Guest]

Why is wanting to play with a chance to win "the wrong reason"? Why is it "the right reason" to play a sport with no desire to actually win?

Didn't you just say she was miserable and ready to quit? THAT is the reason.

[Guest]

Didn't you just say she was miserable and ready to quit? THAT is the reason.

Yes...and you (or someone) said that she is playing for the wrong reason. Presumably you (or that person) were trying to say that her motivations for playing (for a chance to compete for a conference championship) was not a good reason to play college soccer. What am I missing here? I fully support her wanting to quit because I agree that perennial-losing is miserable and not worth continuing.

[Guest]

Back to the original question. D3 schools cover a vast array of size, facilities and experience. Just as D1 schools. You have d3 schools with 30,000 students and d1 with 3,000 students. Some d3 actually don’t even provide uniforms much less swag. Some d3 provide tons. My daughter plays d3 soccer at a school that takes soccer seriously. She would not have been an impact player d1. We did not qualify for any aid, but her academic money covers a VERY substantial amount of her tuition. That money will not be in danger of being taken away. The team reports to campus mid August. The coach runs a tight ship with high expectations. In-season is very large time commitment which I believe is pretty comparable to most d1 programs. Off season she still has tons of soccer. During winter months, team lifts together and play indoor leagues with other area colleges without coaches. Once weather permits, practices start with coaches 3 or 4 times per week on top of 3 lift sessions per week. Only one game day which kinda sucks but without game travel, spring semester allows her to take super tough/high time commitment classes that would be harder to take in fall. She has access to any academic support she might need because the school provides it to all students. Kid is truly happy. She is happy for her club soccer teammates who chose d1, just as she is sad for those that have chosen to quit for a variety of reasons. Don’t get sucked into anyone else’s narrative. Good luck in finding the right fit.

[Guest]

Back to the original question. D3 schools cover a vast array of size, facilities and experience. Just as D1 schools. You have d3 schools with 30,000 students and d1 with 3,000 students. Some d3 actually don’t even provide uniforms much less swag. Some d3 provide tons. My daughter plays d3 soccer at a school that takes soccer seriously. She would not have been an impact player d1. We did not qualify for any aid, but her academic money covers a VERY substantial amount of her tuition. That money will not be in danger of being taken away. The team reports to campus mid August. The coach runs a tight ship with high expectations. In-season is very large time commitment which I believe is pretty comparable to most d1 programs. Off season she still has tons of soccer. During winter months, team lifts together and play indoor leagues with other area colleges without coaches. Once weather permits, practices start with coaches 3 or 4 times per week on top of 3 lift sessions per week. Only one game day which kinda sucks but without game travel, spring semester allows her to take super tough/high time commitment classes that would be harder to take in fall. She has access to any academic support she might need because the school provides it to all students. Kid is truly happy. She is happy for her club soccer teammates who chose d1, just as she is sad for those that have chosen to quit for a variety of reasons. Don’t get sucked into anyone else’s narrative. Good luck in finding the right fit.

Just further proof that there is no right answer but every student-athlete has their own story as a student and as an athlete.

[Guest]

A moderately common occurrence is a kid likely better suited to playing D3 ending up on the end of a D1 bench. The overreach happens various ways and the outcome is often less than positive.

[Guest]

Back to the original question. D3 schools cover a vast array of size, facilities and experience. Just as D1 schools. You have d3 schools with 30,000 students and d1 with 3,000 students. Some d3 actually don’t even provide uniforms much less swag. Some d3 provide tons. My daughter plays d3 soccer at a school that takes soccer seriously. She would not have been an impact player d1.

How can you say your D is at a D3 program that takes soccer seriously and would not have been an impact player D1 right after you (correctly) said that there is a huge range of D1 schools?