Why do you want your kid to play in college? Is it worth it? Asking for a friend :)
Statistics for making a college roster are well known. On top of that D3 offers no scholarships, D2/D1 may offer a full (if you are a national star), partial (most likely), or none at all. All will require time commitment taking away from academics and "college experience". I presume that getting a degree and then a successful well paying career is the main objective of going to college. So getting 4.0 GPA and valuable internships is more valuable for a future career than a starter on D1. So why then do you want your kid to play in college? Is it just to get a leg up to be accepted to more elite schools in IVY league? They still require one to be very solid academically, so this is even a longer shot than D1 for most. Is all of this worth it to get into and play for someone like Rutgers? Great soccer program, but would it not make more sense to spend more time and effort on academics and get an academics scholarship or just take a loan if need be? I see how a kid wants to continue to play, be competitive, so on. But as a parent, why?
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You should want your kid to play in college because they want to play in college. It's their path, not yours. Help them reach their goals, offer advice if they seek it out. If they're not willing to take the reins in the process they're not going to succeed. They have to be all in so make sure they are.
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Because they want to.
And, I love watching soccer. I love watching my kid excel at all her endeavors. Cool to see them both combined.
Honestly, for this question to be even asked is troubling. The concept that people actually LIKE the game of soccer never even occurs to some peopleComment
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OP here. So, is a slim chance of playing later more important than a much higher chance of academic scholarship, time on education in college resulting in a more successful career? When the kid is 30,40, etc. and peers are more successful because they concentrated on college/career vs kicking a ball :) is it worth it in the end? I know this is a controversial statement, but as a parent - what do you believe is more important in the grand scheme of things?Originally posted by Guest View Post
BTW, I like soccer. I see how much being on a team developed my kids from a mental and personal side. I like watching them play. I also like cake and watching Netflix (Preferably at the same time). I just truly wonder if it’s worth it beyond HS.
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I would love for her to play in college so I can travel and see the games in my retirement, but she is not at that levelComment
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It could be limited to one (or a subset of) industry (Wall Street), but many investment banks tend to prefer athletes, especially those in team sports, everything else being equal (like school, major, GPA, etc.). Athletes are perceived to have overcome adversity (how to come back from losses), have physical/mental endurance, and know how to work through teamwork (sacrifice, understanding of common goals and roles of individuals in a team).Comment
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Sounds like a trolling post. It’s Friday and they are bored. Just the way they phrase their question is a give away.Comment
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As was said above it's their path and up to them to decide if it's worth it or not. Worse comes to worse they try it and drop out. At least they will know they gave it a shot (and btw lots of players don't last a reality many don't know about).Originally posted by Guest View Post
Btw they don't have to play D1 - D3 has a much better balance of academics and sports. Big schools also have good club teams that play other big schools, have playoffs etc.
As for career path you're being ridiculous. Two years out of college no one cares what you did in college. What you do on the job is what matters. And Cs get degrees. Plenty of former athletes do well in life, plenty don't. Most will be in-between but that's true of just about anyone with a college degree. It's what you make of opportunities, either ones you create or sometimes fall in your lap.Comment
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JFC have them look at D3. They can do internships and study abroad and play soccer. D1 athletes get a ton of academic support D3 athletes don't get.Originally posted by Guest View Post
Also D1 athletes also qualify for merit $. There are rules on how athletic, merit and financial aid are stacked but getting an athletic scholarship doesn't disqualify you from academic money.Comment
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Correct but they don’t give you merit money until you commit so you don’t know. It could be terrific or not what you expected. Depends on school endowment.Originally posted by Guest View PostComment
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No because it's the admissions process that decides your merit amount. It's all in your offer.Originally posted by Guest View PostComment
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Studying and working hard in college is becoming less and less correlated with a successful career. Corporate world is filled with less smart individuals who are just able to network and connect. Which has a lot more to do with personality already fairly set before college in the first place.
Let's face it - working sucks for most adults. If your kid enjoys soccer and has fun doing it - let them play as long as possible. Because true fun is harder and harder to find as you get older.Comment
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As a former collegiate athlete my answer is this. Collegiate athletics for some is part of the college experience and very rewarding at that. It never conflicted with my academic success. In fact it probably kept me more focused and organized than I may have been otherwise. If my child is fortunate enough but more importantly wants to play in college I believe it will only benefit them. As far as money I don’t really care. The experience is more than a few scholarship dollars.Originally posted by Guest View PostComment
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As a former D1 athlete, partial scholarship, mid tier school who sobbed in my dorm room after we lost our last collegiate game it’s about giving your child the opportunity to make that decision. Of my 3 siblings, one also played sports in college and walked away before their senior year, one chose to stop after hs, and one like me played the full 4 years.Originally posted by Guest View Post
Now, being a parent of 2 current kids under 12 who excel in different sports you want to give your kid every opportunity to make that decision for themselves once high school starts to be on the horizon. At this point, similarly to my parents, I am letting them both choose what additional things they want to do to better themselves, if they want to stay with current team or move on/step back.
In their true off-seasons, which are both pretty fleeting, I do put my thumb on the scale and organize something more along the lines of small group training with friends, so it is more enticing than random or private training because I think for both of them that is a critical time to keep on some type of structure, but at least I still ask (facepalm I know).
Both of my kids almost never say no to anything & it would be a joy to watch them play something they had so much joy & memories playing when they were 5,6,7,8,9,10,11,& so on, however once the joy leaves and it’s a burden they should walk away too. I saw that specifically with my older sibling who quit before their senior year. They walked into college loving it and by Junior year grew to not hate the game, but just wanted to be a normal college student. My parents were a little sad because they were fun to watch, but scholarship and all said do what you want. They coach now and can always be seen having a catch with all the kids at every family party. They just wanted their time back.
When your kids want to walk away is the key -it may be in middle school high school college or perhaps they’ll never want to walk away.Comment
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Truth is these people don’t know even know what they wantComment
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