Collectively, A Thread To Celebrate Our Kids Athletic Accomplishments (1 Viewer)

[ex-ghost]

Son getting ready to run Districts (race before State) on Saturday. He should finish 2nd behind a kid who just committed to Northern Arizona (NAU) which is a great running school. He is just starting to run about 5 miles a day after injuries, so who knows what will happen. He has run three races, only one was a 5k. He needs to finish top 21 to get to state, should be good to go.

He has interest from Gonzaga, University of Portland, Montana State, Colorado State and Boise State. Visit to Boise was a good experience, no offer was made, he was told to go home and think about where Boise fits into his plans. He was hyped to go, but really didn't like the coaches. I did learn something new, the best part of these visits are the "photo shoot". The kids get to wear the uniforms, including the shoes, and get tons of pictures. Him and his buddy said they needed to practice the flex-and-yell, classic move. He had a good time and also picked up a nice parting gift of Covid.

Son ran on Saturday. Looked good for first 5 minutes, then started falling back and back and back. He looked terrible - ashen and struggling. Supposed to finish 2nd and he struggled across the finish line in 19th. Covid still has the grips on him. Good news is that his team qualified for state Saturday. Has a few more days to sleep and try to recover. Still coughing today, crossing my fingers.

 

[ex-ghost]

Son getting ready to run Districts (race before State) on Saturday. He should finish 2nd behind a kid who just committed to Northern Arizona (NAU) which is a great running school. He is just starting to run about 5 miles a day after injuries, so who knows what will happen. He has run three races, only one was a 5k. He needs to finish top 21 to get to state, should be good to go.

He has interest from Gonzaga, University of Portland, Montana State, Colorado State and Boise State. Visit to Boise was a good experience, no offer was made, he was told to go home and think about where Boise fits into his plans. He was hyped to go, but really didn't like the coaches. I did learn something new, the best part of these visits are the "photo shoot". The kids get to wear the uniforms, including the shoes, and get tons of pictures. Him and his buddy said they needed to practice the flex-and-yell, classic move. He had a good time and also picked up a nice parting gift of Covid.

Son ran on Saturday. Looked good for first 5 minutes, then started falling back and back and back. He looked terrible - ashen and struggling. Supposed to finish 2nd and he struggled across the finish line in 19th. Covid still has the grips on him. Good news is that his team qualified for state Saturday. Has a few more days to sleep and try to recover. Still coughing today, crossing my fingers.

Good news / Bad news from this past Saturday. My son helped his team capture their first state championship in the 85 year history of the school. Such a cool moment for the boys and their coaches. Bad news is that he finished 8th and 20 minutes after the race had a wonderful case of the vomits. Some kids are like that, in all the years of playing sports, and he plays damn hard, he has never puked. He still has not recovered from covid and has been injured since June. I am very proud of him, this season he was tough as nails. He only ran 140 miles in summer and fall, most boys run 160 miles in a MONTH. So, I think his scholarship options have dried up and he may need to wait until early spring, but many schools will have filled their rosters by then. His coaches think he can run a 4:08 mile and one coach who used to coach at the University of Washington thinks he can run under 4 minutes. If he can run that, someone will find a spot for him.

 

[glvsav37]

My 12U son was just named one of the Assistant captains on his ice hockey team. Not a major accomplishment like a championship or MVP or anything but I'm proud of him b/c throughout his playing time so far, he's been bounced around from team to team b/c of his lack of size, or cut b/c of covid and no actual tryouts one year, and not making this year's major team b/c of politics. But he set out this year to show them who he was and worked his *** off to get recognized and be awarded a designation like that. And as I told him, getting a letter is partly about his work on the ice, but also how he's looked at off the ice and how he represents his organization and supports his teammates at all other times.

 

[Chadstroma]

really didn't like the coaches

Seems like this should be a HUGE negative for an athlete

Totally and you know where most of the information came from? The current athletes. They dished a lot on their coaches and the program. Boise has lots of international runners and the American runners told my son that even though they like each other, there is a big financial rift between the two. Most of the scholarship money goes to the internationals who supposedly also get subsides from their own governments, while many of the American runners get less money and are working jobs to make ends meet.

Is that the coaches fault though? I mean... they can't control the money from elsewhere and if the International students are the better athletes, shouldn't they get the scholarships?
Regardless... seems like a very bad spot if the athletes are the one talking bad about their program.

 

[Chadstroma]

Son getting ready to run Districts (race before State) on Saturday. He should finish 2nd behind a kid who just committed to Northern Arizona (NAU) which is a great running school. He is just starting to run about 5 miles a day after injuries, so who knows what will happen. He has run three races, only one was a 5k. He needs to finish top 21 to get to state, should be good to go.

He has interest from Gonzaga, University of Portland, Montana State, Colorado State and Boise State. Visit to Boise was a good experience, no offer was made, he was told to go home and think about where Boise fits into his plans. He was hyped to go, but really didn't like the coaches. I did learn something new, the best part of these visits are the "photo shoot". The kids get to wear the uniforms, including the shoes, and get tons of pictures. Him and his buddy said they needed to practice the flex-and-yell, classic move. He had a good time and also picked up a nice parting gift of Covid.

Son ran on Saturday. Looked good for first 5 minutes, then started falling back and back and back. He looked terrible - ashen and struggling. Supposed to finish 2nd and he struggled across the finish line in 19th. Covid still has the grips on him. Good news is that his team qualified for state Saturday. Has a few more days to sleep and try to recover. Still coughing today, crossing my fingers.

Good news / Bad news from this past Saturday. My son helped his team capture their first state championship in the 85 year history of the school. Such a cool moment for the boys and their coaches. Bad news is that he finished 8th and 20 minutes after the race had a wonderful case of the vomits. Some kids are like that, in all the years of playing sports, and he plays damn hard, he has never puked. He still has not recovered from covid and has been injured since June. I am very proud of him, this season he was tough as nails. He only ran 140 miles in summer and fall, most boys run 160 miles in a MONTH. So, I think his scholarship options have dried up and he may need to wait until early spring, but many schools will have filled their rosters by then. His coaches think he can run a 4:08 mile and one coach who used to coach at the University of Washington thinks he can run under 4 minutes. If he can run that, someone will find a spot for him.

Congrats on the state championship! That is awesome!

 

[Chadstroma]

My 12U son was just named one of the Assistant captains on his ice hockey team. Not a major accomplishment like a championship or MVP or anything but I'm proud of him b/c throughout his playing time so far, he's been bounced around from team to team b/c of his lack of size, or cut b/c of covid and no actual tryouts one year, and not making this year's major team b/c of politics. But he set out this year to show them who he was and worked his *** off to get recognized and be awarded a designation like that. And as I told him, getting a letter is partly about his work on the ice, but also how he's looked at off the ice and how he represents his organization and supports his teammates at all other times.

That is awesome. It is awesome to see your child accomplish things. Some things come harder for some kids and easier for others. 99.99% of our kids will never play a professional sport but persevering and being named a captain are things that can translate to success in life. Good for him!

 

[Dickies]

My son (12U) had a travel baseball tournament and a soccer tournament this past weekend. Even though baseball is my son's top sport and the love of his life, he said he wanted to prioritize soccer this weekend if there were any conflicts as this was the club championship and based on how we did throughout the season he felt we had a good chance at winning it all.

We could have made the Saturday baseball games, but I told his coach that if the soccer team does well, we will be a question mark for the Sunday game(s). My son had attended every practice the entirety of fall, but after their final practice on Thursday evening he calls us on the phone to tell us that he is pulling my son from the tournament and that he found a replacement kid because he needs 100% commitment. My son held it together on the phone call and told the coach that it makes him extremely upset and that he felt he did everything that was asked of him all season and doesn't deserve to be pulled from the tournament. I was proud of him standing up for himself even if it was against a grown adult and a coach. After he hung up the phone he broke down in tears. I was furious for the reasons above, but also because we paid our portion of the team's entry fee into the tournament. They had reasonable success during their other tournaments, but this time they got absolutely crushed on Saturday by a combined 28-0, so I'd like to think karma played a role there (still have nothing but love for all the kids on the team though).

As for the soccer tournament, the boys ended up winning the whole thing. My son assisted 3/4 goals in our first game, had the game-winning goal in the second game, and assisted the winning goal in the championship game. After the championship game we learned via the club president that they present a tournament MVP trophy in addition to the medals they pass out. The head coach told me he wanted to give it to my son, but I didn't want the appearance of favoritism given how hard we worked all season to ensure all kids get equal playing time and have equal opportunities to play all positions, so I suggested we put it to a team vote by the kids. They unanimously voted my son as the MVP. He was so excited and despite baseball being his #1 passion he said this past weekend was the most fun weekend of his life.

Only problem is that now he wants to do travel soccer. Maybe we can work it in as I'm probably going to pull him from the travel baseball team he's been a part of.

 

[Chadstroma]

My son (12U) had a travel baseball tournament and a soccer tournament this past weekend. Even though baseball is my son's top sport and the love of his life, he said he wanted to prioritize soccer this weekend if there were any conflicts as this was the club championship and based on how we did throughout the season he felt we had a good chance at winning it all.

We could have made the Saturday baseball games, but I told his coach that if the soccer team does well, we will be a question mark for the Sunday game(s). My son had attended every practice the entirety of fall, but after their final practice on Thursday evening he calls us on the phone to tell us that he is pulling my son from the tournament and that he found a replacement kid because he needs 100% commitment. My son held it together on the phone call and told the coach that it makes him extremely upset and that he felt he did everything that was asked of him all season and doesn't deserve to be pulled from the tournament. I was proud of him standing up for himself even if it was against a grown adult and a coach. After he hung up the phone he broke down in tears. I was furious for the reasons above, but also because we paid our portion of the team's entry fee into the tournament. They had reasonable success during their other tournaments, but this time they got absolutely crushed on Saturday by a combined 28-0, so I'd like to think karma played a role there (still have nothing but love for all the kids on the team though).

As for the soccer tournament, the boys ended up winning the whole thing. My son assisted 3/4 goals in our first game, had the game-winning goal in the second game, and assisted the winning goal in the championship game. After the championship game we learned via the club president that they present a tournament MVP trophy in addition to the medals they pass out. The head coach told me he wanted to give it to my son, but I didn't want the appearance of favoritism given how hard we worked all season to ensure all kids get equal playing time and have equal opportunities to play all positions, so I suggested we put it to a team vote by the kids. They unanimously voted my son as the MVP. He was so excited and despite baseball being his #1 passion he said this past weekend was the most fun weekend of his life.

Only problem is that now he wants to do travel soccer. Maybe we can work it in as I'm probably going to pull him from the travel baseball team he's been a part of.

Was there clear expectations on the baseball given about attendance/priority? If not that is pretty crappy. If it was... then less so.

I have noticed as the ages and levels increase, there are clear expectations given. My daughters vball club has different levels of teams and they provide a chart of various info for each level, one of them being 'multi-sport' athletes and the lower ones say 'yes' and as you get to the higher levels it starts to show 'limited' or 'no'. For her, it isn't a problem. Currently she is only interested in basketball and vball and they do not conflict much at all... yet.

As my son gets older, it will get more complicated as he will be able to play multiple sports at a high level and will likely need to make some choices. Right now, he is in club for just swim and all else is school sport which breaks it down a bit. It certainly is a whole thing though... I started a thread specifically talking about multi-sport youth athletes and navigating it all.

Congrats on him for getting the MVP and success with socccer as well as handling the baseball thing with maturity.

 

[Gally]

We could have made the Saturday baseball games, but I told his coach that if the soccer team does well, we will be a question mark for the Sunday game(s). My son had attended every practice the entirety of fall, but after their final practice on Thursday evening he calls us on the phone to tell us that he is pulling my son from the tournament and that he found a replacement kid because he needs 100% commitment.

Did he kick him off the team or did he just remove him from that tournament roster? If it's just that tournament what is the problem? As a coach for travel ball we do that all the time based on availability of kids for tournaments. No hard feelings but we have to field a team so if you can't be there what is the issue with finding a replacement? Also, how much advanced notice did you give the coach that you were missing the tournament? Did you tell him at Thursday's practice for a tournament that started two days later? If so, that is very bad form on you for not giving enough notice so the team could find a replacement.

Now if he kicked him off the team completely then it comes down to what expectations did the coach convey prior to starting with that team. Did he tell you that baseball was to be priority and not missed? Did you ever tell the coach there was a possibility that you may have to miss a tournament or two?

Bottom line is if you are playing multiple sports at the same time you need to be completely transparent with all coaches as to your availability and what takes priority. There is nothing worse as a coach to have a kid cancel last minute to make you scramble to field a team. If the coach knows up front what your priorities are then everyone can agree on how to proceed (on the team or not, part time or not, etc) then everyone knows the expectations and there are no hurt feelings or last minute cancellations.

 

[Dickies]

My son (12U) had a travel baseball tournament and a soccer tournament this past weekend. Even though baseball is my son's top sport and the love of his life, he said he wanted to prioritize soccer this weekend if there were any conflicts as this was the club championship and based on how we did throughout the season he felt we had a good chance at winning it all.

We could have made the Saturday baseball games, but I told his coach that if the soccer team does well, we will be a question mark for the Sunday game(s). My son had attended every practice the entirety of fall, but after their final practice on Thursday evening he calls us on the phone to tell us that he is pulling my son from the tournament and that he found a replacement kid because he needs 100% commitment. My son held it together on the phone call and told the coach that it makes him extremely upset and that he felt he did everything that was asked of him all season and doesn't deserve to be pulled from the tournament. I was proud of him standing up for himself even if it was against a grown adult and a coach. After he hung up the phone he broke down in tears. I was furious for the reasons above, but also because we paid our portion of the team's entry fee into the tournament. They had reasonable success during their other tournaments, but this time they got absolutely crushed on Saturday by a combined 28-0, so I'd like to think karma played a role there (still have nothing but love for all the kids on the team though).

As for the soccer tournament, the boys ended up winning the whole thing. My son assisted 3/4 goals in our first game, had the game-winning goal in the second game, and assisted the winning goal in the championship game. After the championship game we learned via the club president that they present a tournament MVP trophy in addition to the medals they pass out. The head coach told me he wanted to give it to my son, but I didn't want the appearance of favoritism given how hard we worked all season to ensure all kids get equal playing time and have equal opportunities to play all positions, so I suggested we put it to a team vote by the kids. They unanimously voted my son as the MVP. He was so excited and despite baseball being his #1 passion he said this past weekend was the most fun weekend of his life.

Only problem is that now he wants to do travel soccer. Maybe we can work it in as I'm probably going to pull him from the travel baseball team he's been a part of.

Was there clear expectations on the baseball given about attendance/priority? If not that is pretty crappy. If it was... then less so.

I have noticed as the ages and levels increase, there are clear expectations given. My daughters vball club has different levels of teams and they provide a chart of various info for each level, one of them being 'multi-sport' athletes and the lower ones say 'yes' and as you get to the higher levels it starts to show 'limited' or 'no'. For her, it isn't a problem. Currently she is only interested in basketball and vball and they do not conflict much at all... yet.

As my son gets older, it will get more complicated as he will be able to play multiple sports at a high level and will likely need to make some choices. Right now, he is in club for just swim and all else is school sport which breaks it down a bit. It certainly is a whole thing though... I started a thread specifically talking about multi-sport youth athletes and navigating it all.

Congrats on him for getting the MVP and success with socccer as well as handling the baseball thing with maturity.

The expectation was not clear. I had been in communication with the coach for two weeks prior to the tournament keeping him updated on what the soccer schedule would be so that he knew what our availability was for the weekend. It wasn't until the last minute that we got the news.

 

[Dickies]

We could have made the Saturday baseball games, but I told his coach that if the soccer team does well, we will be a question mark for the Sunday game(s). My son had attended every practice the entirety of fall, but after their final practice on Thursday evening he calls us on the phone to tell us that he is pulling my son from the tournament and that he found a replacement kid because he needs 100% commitment.

Did he kick him off the team or did he just remove him from that tournament roster? If it's just that tournament what is the problem? As a coach for travel ball we do that all the time based on availability of kids for tournaments. No hard feelings but we have to field a team so if you can't be there what is the issue with finding a replacement? Also, how much advanced notice did you give the coach that you were missing the tournament? Did you tell him at Thursday's practice for a tournament that started two days later? If so, that is very bad form on you for not giving enough notice so the team could find a replacement.

Now if he kicked him off the team completely then it comes down to what expectations did the coach convey prior to starting with that team. Did he tell you that baseball was to be priority and not missed? Did you ever tell the coach there was a possibility that you may have to miss a tournament or two?

Bottom line is if you are playing multiple sports at the same time you need to be completely transparent with all coaches as to your availability and what takes priority. There is nothing worse as a coach to have a kid cancel last minute to make you scramble to field a team. If the coach knows up front what your priorities are then everyone can agree on how to proceed (on the team or not, part time or not, etc) then everyone knows the expectations and there are no hurt feelings or last minute cancellations.

Just removed him from the tournament roster, but my son wants no part of playing for him at this point, so we'll probably be dropping from the team. He has known for a month that the soccer tournament would be a conflict, but neither one of us knew what either tournament schedule was and never did he tell us that if there happened to be a conflict that he'd be dropped. He waited until a day before the start of the tournament to inform us, a month after we had paid our share of the tournament dues, and after my son had attended every single practice. The coach apologized to me and admitted that he completely screwed up due to the lack of transparency. The whole thing felt like we got stabbed in the back despite being nothing but upfront on our end.

 

[Gally]

Just removed him from the tournament roster, but my son wants no part of playing for him at this point, so we'll probably be dropping from the team. He has known for a month that the soccer tournament would be a conflict, but neither one of us knew what either tournament schedule was and never did he tell us that if there happened to be a conflict that he'd be dropped. He waited until a day before the start of the tournament to inform us, a month after we had paid our share of the tournament dues, and after my son had attended every single practice. The coach apologized to me and admitted that he completely screwed up due to the lack of transparency. The whole thing felt like we got stabbed in the back despite being nothing but upfront on our end.

So just to be clear........he was dropped for that one tournament? A tournament you decided not to play in anyway? He is still on the team (if he wants to be)? I guess I just don't understand why there is any negativity at all surrounding this situation. You had a conflict and chose to play soccer. You told the baseball coach a month in advance that you would be playing soccer for that tournament over baseball if there was a conflict. The coach decided (albeit late) to tell your kid that he wouldn't be on the roster for that tournament (the one where your kid chose to play soccer instead of baseball). Why is there a problem?

I don't really see any issue at all or why there is even any hard feelings. The only possible issue could be that you paid for the baseball tournament and didn't get a refund but I don't know how that team handles fees as to whether or not that should be an issue or not.

ETA: I actually have no issue with losing your tournament fee since your kid practiced with the baseball team for the entire month prior to the tournament so he got instruction and time for the money spent. It could really go either way for me and I have been on both sides of the equation (parent and coach).

 

[Dickies]

Just removed him from the tournament roster, but my son wants no part of playing for him at this point, so we'll probably be dropping from the team. He has known for a month that the soccer tournament would be a conflict, but neither one of us knew what either tournament schedule was and never did he tell us that if there happened to be a conflict that he'd be dropped. He waited until a day before the start of the tournament to inform us, a month after we had paid our share of the tournament dues, and after my son had attended every single practice. The coach apologized to me and admitted that he completely screwed up due to the lack of transparency. The whole thing felt like we got stabbed in the back despite being nothing but upfront on our end.

So just to be clear........he was dropped for that one tournament? A tournament you decided not to play in anyway? He is still on the team (if he wants to be)? I guess I just don't understand why there is any negativity at all surrounding this situation. You had a conflict and chose to play soccer. You told the baseball coach a month in advance that you would be playing soccer for that tournament over baseball if there was a conflict. The coach decided (albeit late) to tell your kid that he wouldn't be on the roster for that tournament (the one where your kid chose to play soccer instead of baseball). Why is there a problem?

I don't really see any issue at all or why there is even any hard feelings. The only possible issue could be that you paid for the baseball tournement and didn't get a refund but I don't know how that team handles fees as to whether or not that should be an issue or not.

My son could have played both games on Saturday in addition to playing soccer on Saturday. He could have told us a month ago that my son wasn’t going to play because no matter what happened in either tournament the Sunday game was always going to be a question mark since the Sunday schedule depends on the results from Saturday.

 

[Gally]

My son could have played both games on Saturday in addition to playing soccer on Saturday. He could have told us a month ago that my son wasn’t going to play because no matter what happened in either tournament the Sunday game was always going to be a question mark since the Sunday schedule depends on the results from Saturday.

So hurt because the coach wanted a full time player for a tournament that you said you were missing part/all of? This shouldn't be an issue. This is common for all tournaments. Could he have told you when you first told him you would be missing at least Sunday? Probably. But maybe he was trying to get a sub player and didn't get one until the day he told you. Quitting the team over this is an over-reaction................unless you have some more drastic issues with the coach. If this is the only "issue"......it's a non-issue.

 

[Dickies]

My son could have played both games on Saturday in addition to playing soccer on Saturday. He could have told us a month ago that my son wasn’t going to play because no matter what happened in either tournament the Sunday game was always going to be a question mark since the Sunday schedule depends on the results from Saturday.

So hurt because the coach wanted a full time player for a tournament that you said you were missing part/all of? This shouldn't be an issue. This is common for all tournaments. Could he have told you when you first told him you would be missing at least Sunday? Probably. But maybe he was trying to get a sub player and didn't get one until the day he told you. Quitting the team over this is an over-reaction................unless you have some more drastic issues with the coach. If this is the only "issue"......it's a non-issue.

I don't really think I'm over-reacting. In each of the previous tournaments he has let one of the other multi sport kids miss a game or two due to other conflicting sports while allowing them to play the games they are able to make. Maybe he realized he wasn't a fan of doing it that way after the fact, but this was never communicated to us. We aren't a year-round operation and it's more a collection of the more serious little leaguers putting a team together to have fun and get some extra baseball in during the off-season. One kid on the team missed 50% of practices all season because his soccer practice schedule overlapped.... and he played this weekend.

I've soured a bit on the coach this year before this all went down as well, but that's another issue.

 

[Gally]

I've soured a bit on the coach this year before this all went down as well, but that's another issue.

If this is the case then for sure look for something else. Travel ball is a big commitment and it is a big benefit if all the players, coaches, and parents are on the same page. Sounds like this is more than just this particular situation and is compounded by inconsistent regulation of rule enforcement which can be very frustrating.

I didn't mean to come off as critical of you. I just didn't see any issue with what the coach did based on the few paragraphs of info that was presented. Seems like there is a lot more to the story if other kids are allowed to play partial tournaments and it is hit and miss as to how the coach handles it.

I coached a travel team for 6 years and my kids have played beyond that so I can see it from both sides. Trying to help with a coaches perspective but sounds like there is a lot more to the story.

 

[Dickies]

I've soured a bit on the coach this year before this all went down as well, but that's another issue.

If this is the case then for sure look for something else. Travel ball is a big commitment and it is a big benefit if all the players, coaches, and parents are on the same page. Sounds like this is more than just this particular situation and is compounded by inconsistent regulation of rule enforcement which can be very frustrating.

I didn't mean to come off as critical of you. I just didn't see any issue with what the coach did based on the few paragraphs of info that was presented. Seems like there is a lot more to the story if other kids are allowed to play partial tournaments and it is hit and miss as to how the coach handles it.

I coached a travel team for 6 years and my kids have played beyond that so I can see it from both sides. Trying to help with a coaches perspective but sounds like there is a lot more to the story.

I get where you're coming from, and there was a team trying to convince him to play for them that wanted 100% commitment. We knew with the soccer that it simply wouldn't be a good fit. One of the reasons we went with this team is because the coach said he is open to and even encourages the kids to play other sports. The main reason I agreed to coach soccer this year was so that I had a say in the practice schedule and could ensure that there was no overlap between the two

 

[Chadstroma]

Pentathalon meet today.
- Top time for 9 year old in fly
- Top time for 9 year old in free
- Third best time for 9 year old in IM
- Finished his first ever IM
- Won his heat in back even though he basically stopped to put his goggles on (he thought they would give him time to do it when he got in the water)- lol, if they didn't happen, I he would have easily ended in top 3 if not the top in back for 9 year olds.
- Dropped 8.04 off his back entry time
- Dropped 2.22 off his free entry time

 

[[scooter]]

My son could have played both games on Saturday in addition to playing soccer on Saturday. He could have told us a month ago that my son wasn’t going to play because no matter what happened in either tournament the Sunday game was always going to be a question mark since the Sunday schedule depends on the results from Saturday.

So hurt because the coach wanted a full time player for a tournament that you said you were missing part/all of? This shouldn't be an issue. This is common for all tournaments. Could he have told you when you first told him you would be missing at least Sunday? Probably. But maybe he was trying to get a sub player and didn't get one until the day he told you. Quitting the team over this is an over-reaction................unless you have some more drastic issues with the coach. If this is the only "issue"......it's a non-issue.

It doesn't sound like the coach ever stated that he wanted a full time player until after they paid their entrance fee.

edit: there's absolutely nothing wrong with a coach expecting a kid to be a full time player. He just needs to make that expectation 100% clear before he takes your money.

 

[Andrew74]

Football season finally wrapped up. 23 games over the past 3+ months. Whew. We had a good All Stars season, finishing 1st, 3rd and 2nd in our tournaments. We even got to play a game in the snow, which was fun for a guy from TN. My son got some mop-up duty in the 2nd half at RB and scored a TD. Fun game.

All star season really got my son thinking about how small he is (4’8” and 80lbs). He’s asking when he’ll start growing. The last game we played he was getting blocked by some big kids. One was legit 6’, 175lbs as a 6th grader. I was really proud of him for not backing down. He was playing angry and filling his holes at LBs, getting double-teamed at times. Other kids (bigger than him) were starting to avoid getting blocked. I hope for his sake he grows this summer. With his heart and motor, he deserves a shot at not being physically outclassed starting middle school ball.

He was named the defensive captain for all-stars and made all the calls. I even got him watching film. I was also proud that the other coaches recognized him at season’s end for his dedication and play.

I really enjoyed coaching the past two years. Really made some great memories.

 

[ex-ghost]

Son getting ready to run Districts (race before State) on Saturday. He should finish 2nd behind a kid who just committed to Northern Arizona (NAU) which is a great running school. He is just starting to run about 5 miles a day after injuries, so who knows what will happen. He has run three races, only one was a 5k. He needs to finish top 21 to get to state, should be good to go.

He has interest from Gonzaga, University of Portland, Montana State, Colorado State and Boise State. Visit to Boise was a good experience, no offer was made, he was told to go home and think about where Boise fits into his plans. He was hyped to go, but really didn't like the coaches. I did learn something new, the best part of these visits are the "photo shoot". The kids get to wear the uniforms, including the shoes, and get tons of pictures. Him and his buddy said they needed to practice the flex-and-yell, classic move. He had a good time and also picked up a nice parting gift of Covid.

Son ran on Saturday. Looked good for first 5 minutes, then started falling back and back and back. He looked terrible - ashen and struggling. Supposed to finish 2nd and he struggled across the finish line in 19th. Covid still has the grips on him. Good news is that his team qualified for state Saturday. Has a few more days to sleep and try to recover. Still coughing today, crossing my fingers.

Good news / Bad news from this past Saturday. My son helped his team capture their first state championship in the 85 year history of the school. Such a cool moment for the boys and their coaches. Bad news is that he finished 8th and 20 minutes after the race had a wonderful case of the vomits. Some kids are like that, in all the years of playing sports, and he plays damn hard, he has never puked. He still has not recovered from covid and has been injured since June. I am very proud of him, this season he was tough as nails. He only ran 140 miles in summer and fall, most boys run 160 miles in a MONTH. So, I think his scholarship options have dried up and he may need to wait until early spring, but many schools will have filled their rosters by then. His coaches think he can run a 4:08 mile and one coach who used to coach at the University of Washington thinks he can run under 4 minutes. If he can run that, someone will find a spot for him.

Quick update: After advice from his coaches to email the schools to let them know the issues (only 200 miles running since June, Covid, etc) and to say that he is very interested in their programs and what can he do to get an official visit - two of the schools (Montana St and Gonzaga) replied within the hour saying yes, they would love to schedule a visit. My son's attitude did a full 180 after that. We head to Bozeman next weekend and prob to Gonzaga in January. What a f'n whirlwind. Montana State offered him an $8k scholarship without even meeting him. Running definitely is not a high dollar scholarship sport.

 

[Zow]

I have four small kids. I posted this on facebook over the weekend, and am now convinced it's an accomplishment:

So a rarity is presently occurring where my four kids are playing nicely together without fighting with each other, destroying the house, or causing any real problems. The game they’re playing though? Bank robbers. As in they are pretend robbing a bank together. And one of them just shot an uncooperative patron.

I have no idea whether to praise them for playing nicely together or discipline them for simulating felony murder. I also have no idea where they learned to rob fake banks so efficiently with actual teamwork.

 

[Chadstroma]

Football season finally wrapped up. 23 games over the past 3+ months. Whew. We had a good All Stars season, finishing 1st, 3rd and 2nd in our tournaments. We even got to play a game in the snow, which was fun for a guy from TN. My son got some mop-up duty in the 2nd half at RB and scored a TD. Fun game.

All star season really got my son thinking about how small he is (4’8” and 80lbs). He’s asking when he’ll start growing. The last game we played he was getting blocked by some big kids. One was legit 6’, 175lbs as a 6th grader. I was really proud of him for not backing down. He was playing angry and filling his holes at LBs, getting double-teamed at times. Other kids (bigger than him) were starting to avoid getting blocked. I hope for his sake he grows this summer. With his heart and motor, he deserves a shot at not being physically outclassed starting middle school ball.

He was named the defensive captain for all-stars and made all the calls. I even got him watching film. I was also proud that the other coaches recognized him at season’s end for his dedication and play.

I really enjoyed coaching the past two years. Really made some great memories.

A friend of mine, who played MLB, was a really good football player. He has everything, I honestly think he could have made division I college.... if it wasn't for his size. He was strong but very short. I am guessing 5'3'' ish is where he ended up as an adult.

After talking to a coach this summer whose kid was very tall for his age while the coach was not very tall he told me what his son does (drinks a lot of milk and a lot of protein like eggs for breakfast etc) I was curious and did some 'research' and talked to some other people like Doctors. What I came up with was this...

To encourage growing

1. Diet. A healthy amount of protein is crucial with calcium and supportive vitamins, minerals, etc. Limit protein shakes etc as too much protein, especially that type, can be harmful for a child.
2. Excercise. Stretching/Yoga and swimming are great to assist.
3. Sleep. This one surprised me the most, but consistently enough sleep is crucial for growth.
4. Good posture.

Avoid poor eating habit with a lot of sugar and trans/saturated fats, a lot of weight training and stress.

 

[Chadstroma]

Not exactly a perfect fit for this thread but something I thought was pretty cool for a 4th grade bball team...

We ended up behind the entire game. I think started off 8-0. We battled back and late in the game we were down by 3. We have a set rule that there are NO 3 pointers unless I give them permission (I am the coach obviously). My point guard asks if he can take a 3 and I told him yes. He is one of our better players but was cold all game long. He takes in a pass, roles off a screen from my son pulls up and hits the 3. Tie game with about 40 seconds left. First time we had been tied since the tip off. The other team brings it up and one of my kids bolts to double team their best player which was their point guard who was the best player on the court.... but unfortunately (or fortunately for us), he knew it and that was his weakness, way over confident and forced a few bad plays through the game.... my guy steals it from him. When he did, for a split second, it looked like my guy was gathering the ball up and not going to break so I went to call the TO... I got my hands in T form and started with a "Ti" and then I could see him break, so I stopped and luckily the refs were not quick on that and let it play. He takes it down and passes off to my point who then takes the shot and scores with about 10 seconds left. First lead of the whole game. They come up and we play good defense and they didn't get a decent look... we win.

Fun way to end a game.

 

[belljr]

Its been a long stressful process... little belljr also went into the worst slump of her life in the middle of it all.

But she finally got 2 offers from her 5 choices. We knew it was going to be a long process because she is focused on engineering and wanted to stay local so there is only a handful of choices to do that. She didn't show well in front of a couple coaches so that dampened her spirits. They weren't her top school and not the best softball wise but I'll be happy with either choice she makes. She just wants to play and get her engineering degree. Its "only" D3 but its nice to be wanted

Officially "committed" Monday. Super happy for her. We were delayed a bit because coach she knew well retired in the summer so we were waiting on a third option.

 

[Chadstroma]

Its been a long stressful process... little belljr also went into the worst slump of her life in the middle of it all.

But she finally got 2 offers from her 5 choices. We knew it was going to be a long process because she is focused on engineering and wanted to stay local so there is only a handful of choices to do that. She didn't show well in front of a couple coaches so that dampened her spirits. They weren't her top school and not the best softball wise but I'll be happy with either choice she makes. She just wants to play and get her engineering degree. Its "only" D3 but its nice to be wanted

Officially "committed" Monday. Super happy for her. We were delayed a bit because coach she knew well retired in the summer so we were waiting on a third option.

That is awesome! Congrats to her! If you are open to it, I am curious about the terms of the offer.

 

[belljr]

Its been a long stressful process... little belljr also went into the worst slump of her life in the middle of it all.

But she finally got 2 offers from her 5 choices. We knew it was going to be a long process because she is focused on engineering and wanted to stay local so there is only a handful of choices to do that. She didn't show well in front of a couple coaches so that dampened her spirits. They weren't her top school and not the best softball wise but I'll be happy with either choice she makes. She just wants to play and get her engineering degree. Its "only" D3 but its nice to be wanted

Officially "committed" Monday. Super happy for her. We were delayed a bit because coach she knew well retired in the summer so we were waiting on a third option.

That is awesome! Congrats to her! If you are open to it, I am curious about the terms of the offer.

It is D3..... So she got whatever academic money she would normally get and the coach got her an extra 3 for "living on campus". It literally says on campus housing experience: . This is not athletic money. She got preferred application obviously and will get preferred housing. And an actual spot on the roster . This was not a big d1 offer or anything

 

[Chadstroma]

Its been a long stressful process... little belljr also went into the worst slump of her life in the middle of it all.

But she finally got 2 offers from her 5 choices. We knew it was going to be a long process because she is focused on engineering and wanted to stay local so there is only a handful of choices to do that. She didn't show well in front of a couple coaches so that dampened her spirits. They weren't her top school and not the best softball wise but I'll be happy with either choice she makes. She just wants to play and get her engineering degree. Its "only" D3 but its nice to be wanted

Officially "committed" Monday. Super happy for her. We were delayed a bit because coach she knew well retired in the summer so we were waiting on a third option.

That is awesome! Congrats to her! If you are open to it, I am curious about the terms of the offer.

It is D3..... So she got whatever academic money she would normally get and the coach got her an extra 3 for "living on campus". It literally says on campus housing experience: . This is not athletic money. She got preferred application obviously and will get preferred housing. And an actual spot on the roster . This was not a big d1 offer or anything

Got ya. I overheard the coach on the swim team my son is on, she is a senior, talk about what 'they' offered. I didn't even know there were different offers other than "we got some of your tuition or all of it" lol

 

[belljr]

Its been a long stressful process... little belljr also went into the worst slump of her life in the middle of it all.

But she finally got 2 offers from her 5 choices. We knew it was going to be a long process because she is focused on engineering and wanted to stay local so there is only a handful of choices to do that. She didn't show well in front of a couple coaches so that dampened her spirits. They weren't her top school and not the best softball wise but I'll be happy with either choice she makes. She just wants to play and get her engineering degree. Its "only" D3 but its nice to be wanted

Officially "committed" Monday. Super happy for her. We were delayed a bit because coach she knew well retired in the summer so we were waiting on a third option.

That is awesome! Congrats to her! If you are open to it, I am curious about the terms of the offer.

It is D3..... So she got whatever academic money she would normally get and the coach got her an extra 3 for "living on campus". It literally says on campus housing experience: . This is not athletic money. She got preferred application obviously and will get preferred housing. And an actual spot on the roster . This was not a big d1 offer or anything

Got ya. I overheard the coach on the swim team my son is on, she is a senior, talk about what 'they' offered. I didn't even know there were different offers other than "we got some of your tuition or all of it" lol

D3 there is not athletic money. If it's a private institution they can find some here and there. It has been our experience that most D3 don't offer much above what any student would get, but they want you on the team, they might be able to get you in if borderline, better dorm, etc. Public schools really don't offer anything that any student would get. I know it sounds meh but around here it's pretty competitive finding a school that wants you. Sure she could walk on most of these places but it's nice knowing you are 100% wanted and have a guaranteed spot. We had a D2 offer that had little money but we said no. I think D1 and D2 have 12 scholarships per softball team. So most studs get full rides then the other 10-12 split it pot

 

[Boston]

Its been a long stressful process... little belljr also went into the worst slump of her life in the middle of it all.

But she finally got 2 offers from her 5 choices. We knew it was going to be a long process because she is focused on engineering and wanted to stay local so there is only a handful of choices to do that. She didn't show well in front of a couple coaches so that dampened her spirits. They weren't her top school and not the best softball wise but I'll be happy with either choice she makes. She just wants to play and get her engineering degree. Its "only" D3 but its nice to be wanted

Officially "committed" Monday. Super happy for her. We were delayed a bit because coach she knew well retired in the summer so we were waiting on a third option.

That is awesome! Congrats to her! If you are open to it, I am curious about the terms of the offer.

It is D3..... So she got whatever academic money she would normally get and the coach got her an extra 3 for "living on campus". It literally says on campus housing experience: . This is not athletic money. She got preferred application obviously and will get preferred housing. And an actual spot on the roster . This was not a big d1 offer or anything

Got ya. I overheard the coach on the swim team my son is on, she is a senior, talk about what 'they' offered. I didn't even know there were different offers other than "we got some of your tuition or all of it" lol

D3 there is not athletic money. If it's a private institution they can find some here and there. It has been our experience that most D3 don't offer much above what any student would get, but they want you on the team, they might be able to get you in if borderline, better dorm, etc. Public schools really don't offer anything that any student would get. I know it sounds meh but around here it's pretty competitive finding a school that wants you. Sure she could walk on most of these places but it's nice knowing you are 100% wanted and have a guaranteed spot. We had a D2 offer that had little money but we said no. I think D1 and D2 have 12 scholarships per softball team. So most studs get full rides then the other 10-12 split it pot

Most people are not aware how good many D3 sports are (saying this from a New England/northeast perspective)…in fact they are often clueless about it and shocked when their kid shows up and doesn’t see the field/court/ice…there is a very big difference between being on a college team and playing on a college team…I am pretty involved in recruiting as well as having one kid playing in college and one high school senior committed to play and without a doubt (IMO) the most important thing besides actual talent is the parent being honest or fully understanding what their kid is…if they aren’t ‘t the whole recruiting process has a very good chance of going sideways…it is truly amazing how many people think their kid can play D1 when they are borderline D3 material…as for $ at D3 you would be surprised how much is there on the academic side…you won’t see it at the NESCAC/high academic type of schools but many of the other private ones will give out solid $ for good but not great grades and if the Coach really wants you they can have an influence if they have a good track record with their favors…as for full rides there is a good chance that unless it is D1 hoops or football or if they are a legit stud in another sport if someone tells you they are getting one they are exaggerating (that is being nice)…my buddy coached one of the elite D1 hockey schools and at one point he only had one free ride and it was to a player who is now an all star level player in the NHL…the rest were sliced up to varying degrees.

 

[belljr]

Its been a long stressful process... little belljr also went into the worst slump of her life in the middle of it all.

But she finally got 2 offers from her 5 choices. We knew it was going to be a long process because she is focused on engineering and wanted to stay local so there is only a handful of choices to do that. She didn't show well in front of a couple coaches so that dampened her spirits. They weren't her top school and not the best softball wise but I'll be happy with either choice she makes. She just wants to play and get her engineering degree. Its "only" D3 but its nice to be wanted

Officially "committed" Monday. Super happy for her. We were delayed a bit because coach she knew well retired in the summer so we were waiting on a third option.

That is awesome! Congrats to her! If you are open to it, I am curious about the terms of the offer.

It is D3..... So she got whatever academic money she would normally get and the coach got her an extra 3 for "living on campus". It literally says on campus housing experience: . This is not athletic money. She got preferred application obviously and will get preferred housing. And an actual spot on the roster . This was not a big d1 offer or anything

Got ya. I overheard the coach on the swim team my son is on, she is a senior, talk about what 'they' offered. I didn't even know there were different offers other than "we got some of your tuition or all of it" lol

D3 there is not athletic money. If it's a private institution they can find some here and there. It has been our experience that most D3 don't offer much above what any student would get, but they want you on the team, they might be able to get you in if borderline, better dorm, etc. Public schools really don't offer anything that any student would get. I know it sounds meh but around here it's pretty competitive finding a school that wants you. Sure she could walk on most of these places but it's nice knowing you are 100% wanted and have a guaranteed spot. We had a D2 offer that had little money but we said no. I think D1 and D2 have 12 scholarships per softball team. So most studs get full rides then the other 10-12 split it pot

Most people are not aware how good many D3 sports are (saying this from a New England/northeast perspective)…in fact they are often clueless about it and shocked when their kid shows up and doesn’t see the field/court/ice…there is a very big difference between being on a college team and playing on a college team…I am pretty involved in recruiting as well as having one kid playing in college and one high school senior committed to play and without a doubt (IMO) the most important thing besides actual talent is the parent being honest or fully understanding what their kid is…if they aren’t ‘t the whole recruiting process has a very good chance of going sideways…it is truly amazing how many people think their kid can play D1 when they are borderline D3 material…as for $ at D3 you would be surprised how much is there on the academic side…you won’t see it at the NESCAC/high academic type of schools but many of the other private ones will give out solid $ for good but not great grades and if the Coach really wants you they can have an influence if they have a good track record with their favors…as for full rides there is a good chance that unless it is D1 hoops or football or if they are a legit stud in another sport if someone tells you they are getting one they are exaggerating (that is being nice)…my buddy coached one of the elite D1 hockey schools and at one point he only had one free ride and it was to a player who is now an all star level player in the NHL…the rest were sliced up to varying degrees.

Yep. We knew going in lower D1 was an outside shot and D2 d3 was our sweet spot. We got 39k total per year so whoever was responsible it didn't matter I live in NJ so I know how crazy it is

 

[Boston]

Its been a long stressful process... little belljr also went into the worst slump of her life in the middle of it all.

But she finally got 2 offers from her 5 choices. We knew it was going to be a long process because she is focused on engineering and wanted to stay local so there is only a handful of choices to do that. She didn't show well in front of a couple coaches so that dampened her spirits. They weren't her top school and not the best softball wise but I'll be happy with either choice she makes. She just wants to play and get her engineering degree. Its "only" D3 but its nice to be wanted

Officially "committed" Monday. Super happy for her. We were delayed a bit because coach she knew well retired in the summer so we were waiting on a third option.

That is awesome! Congrats to her! If you are open to it, I am curious about the terms of the offer.

It is D3..... So she got whatever academic money she would normally get and the coach got her an extra 3 for "living on campus". It literally says on campus housing experience: . This is not athletic money. She got preferred application obviously and will get preferred housing. And an actual spot on the roster . This was not a big d1 offer or anything

Got ya. I overheard the coach on the swim team my son is on, she is a senior, talk about what 'they' offered. I didn't even know there were different offers other than "we got some of your tuition or all of it" lol

D3 there is not athletic money. If it's a private institution they can find some here and there. It has been our experience that most D3 don't offer much above what any student would get, but they want you on the team, they might be able to get you in if borderline, better dorm, etc. Public schools really don't offer anything that any student would get. I know it sounds meh but around here it's pretty competitive finding a school that wants you. Sure she could walk on most of these places but it's nice knowing you are 100% wanted and have a guaranteed spot. We had a D2 offer that had little money but we said no. I think D1 and D2 have 12 scholarships per softball team. So most studs get full rides then the other 10-12 split it pot

Most people are not aware how good many D3 sports are (saying this from a New England/northeast perspective)…in fact they are often clueless about it and shocked when their kid shows up and doesn’t see the field/court/ice…there is a very big difference between being on a college team and playing on a college team…I am pretty involved in recruiting as well as having one kid playing in college and one high school senior committed to play and without a doubt (IMO) the most important thing besides actual talent is the parent being honest or fully understanding what their kid is…if they aren’t ‘t the whole recruiting process has a very good chance of going sideways…it is truly amazing how many people think their kid can play D1 when they are borderline D3 material…as for $ at D3 you would be surprised how much is there on the academic side…you won’t see it at the NESCAC/high academic type of schools but many of the other private ones will give out solid $ for good but not great grades and if the Coach really wants you they can have an influence if they have a good track record with their favors…as for full rides there is a good chance that unless it is D1 hoops or football or if they are a legit stud in another sport if someone tells you they are getting one they are exaggerating (that is being nice)…my buddy coached one of the elite D1 hockey schools and at one point he only had one free ride and it was to a player who is now an all star level player in the NHL…the rest were sliced up to varying degrees.

Yep. We knew going in lower D1 was an outside shot and D2 d3 was our sweet spot. We got 39k total per year so whoever was responsible it didn't matter I live in NJ so I know how crazy it is

D1 can be a real grind…the kid has to love to chew glass to play at that level…it is not for everyone and it is tough enough when you are getting playing time but to put in all that time without playing and possibly never having a chance to play is daunting…add in the transfer portal and incoming freshmen classes and it can head south quickly…coaches can BS you about academics all they want but sports come first at that level.

 

[Chadstroma]

Its been a long stressful process... little belljr also went into the worst slump of her life in the middle of it all.

But she finally got 2 offers from her 5 choices. We knew it was going to be a long process because she is focused on engineering and wanted to stay local so there is only a handful of choices to do that. She didn't show well in front of a couple coaches so that dampened her spirits. They weren't her top school and not the best softball wise but I'll be happy with either choice she makes. She just wants to play and get her engineering degree. Its "only" D3 but its nice to be wanted

Officially "committed" Monday. Super happy for her. We were delayed a bit because coach she knew well retired in the summer so we were waiting on a third option.

That is awesome! Congrats to her! If you are open to it, I am curious about the terms of the offer.

It is D3..... So she got whatever academic money she would normally get and the coach got her an extra 3 for "living on campus". It literally says on campus housing experience: . This is not athletic money. She got preferred application obviously and will get preferred housing. And an actual spot on the roster . This was not a big d1 offer or anything

Got ya. I overheard the coach on the swim team my son is on, she is a senior, talk about what 'they' offered. I didn't even know there were different offers other than "we got some of your tuition or all of it" lol

D3 there is not athletic money. If it's a private institution they can find some here and there. It has been our experience that most D3 don't offer much above what any student would get, but they want you on the team, they might be able to get you in if borderline, better dorm, etc. Public schools really don't offer anything that any student would get. I know it sounds meh but around here it's pretty competitive finding a school that wants you. Sure she could walk on most of these places but it's nice knowing you are 100% wanted and have a guaranteed spot. We had a D2 offer that had little money but we said no. I think D1 and D2 have 12 scholarships per softball team. So most studs get full rides then the other 10-12 split it pot

Most people are not aware how good many D3 sports are (saying this from a New England/northeast perspective)…in fact they are often clueless about it and shocked when their kid shows up and doesn’t see the field/court/ice…there is a very big difference between being on a college team and playing on a college team…I am pretty involved in recruiting as well as having one kid playing in college and one high school senior committed to play and without a doubt (IMO) the most important thing besides actual talent is the parent being honest or fully understanding what their kid is…if they aren’t ‘t the whole recruiting process has a very good chance of going sideways…it is truly amazing how many people think their kid can play D1 when they are borderline D3 material…as for $ at D3 you would be surprised how much is there on the academic side…you won’t see it at the NESCAC/high academic type of schools but many of the other private ones will give out solid $ for good but not great grades and if the Coach really wants you they can have an influence if they have a good track record with their favors…as for full rides there is a good chance that unless it is D1 hoops or football or if they are a legit stud in another sport if someone tells you they are getting one they are exaggerating (that is being nice)…my buddy coached one of the elite D1 hockey schools and at one point he only had one free ride and it was to a player who is now an all star level player in the NHL…the rest were sliced up to varying degrees.

I have been trying to get my son to start to understand this. Beyond scholarships or D1-3 college or whatever else, it is important for me to try get him to understand the correlation of working for something and success. Since he loves sports and is competitive this is, I think, my best chance to impart this understanding to him.

He goes to a Catholic school which is, comparative to public schools, small. He is without doubt athletic and has potential to do well in various sports. For his age he is above average height, above average strength, above average speed, and above average overall athletic ability. He is unique among his peers in having that mix as there are certainly kids taller, stronger, faster, but none of them have all of that together like he has. He is also younger than most of the kids he is going against as his birthday is at the cut off, so instead of being in 4th grade, he could be in 4rd grade right now (I can't imagine him a grade lower... he would dominate at a ridiculous level in his school sports). He plays football, basketball and soccer on the school team (which plays mostly against other Catholic schools in the area) and then on club swim. To a degree, he is a big fish in a small pond and I think sometimes that works against him because he is usually above average or one of the best because he often isn't 'hungry' and there is no doubt some of that is him thinking he is hot poo. In football, he played almost all snaps through the year at G and played at a high level with many pancakes and being successful in blocking assignments. He played a little more than half of the snaps on D, mostly at DT but also DE and OLB- and he was very disruptive. Tons of TFL and tackles. The coaches raved about him saying he could play any position on the field. For basketball, I am the coach of his team, he is our third best scorer/ball handler- good rebounder and good defender. He doesn't spend time getting better in basketball as it is his third favorite sport, outside of team practices and maybe a clinic/camp I have him go to, it is pretty much show up and play. He has a ton of untapped ability to be better in basketball. For soccer, I am not as sure, last season the team only lost one game- the Championship game. He was, from my untrained eye as I know and care very little for soccer, a pretty good defender. The team (like football) is a combined 3rd/4th grade team. I am interested to see how he does this year as a 4th grader. Then there is swim. This is the sport he is in a much bigger pond (no pun intended). Last season, which was his first, he did well. Winning some heats even in big meets and more than a couple of races in dual meets. This season, he is discouraged because he isn't winning jumping to the 10U from the 8U last season but when I look at the races, even the larger meets, and take out the 10 year olds- he is top or near the top in times and he is a very young 9.... 4 months into it. If he continues then when he has his spring/summer season of his 10th year, he will rack up tons of wins.

He clearly has potential in sports but at the same time, that pond gets bigger and bigger and bigger.... a big fish in a small pond can end up being a tiny little thing that no one cares about quickly. His "I want to be when I grow up" is in the NFL. Ok, great, then dude... you have to work at it to get there. (Yes, I realize, he is in 4th grade and it isn't about him making the NFL to me, but as I mentioned above it is trying to get him to understand the life lesson of hard work = success or at least a chance of success).

I told his basketball team that the reality was that most of them will not play basketball beyond their time at elementary/jr high at their school they are at now. A few of them will play high school. Maybe 1 or 2 will play college at some level and the chances of any of them making the NBA is extremely unlikely. It isn't impossible but making it to each level takes a lot of time, energy, focus and commitment. I really wonder how far my sons natural talent will go and how much he will put extra work in for success at each level. For me, my knee injuries in 8th/9th grade side railed any chances of competitive sports even in HS, so it could be something outside of anyone's control as well.

Playing in college at any level takes a lot and is an accomplishment. Getting a scholarship for it is elite- D1, 2 or 3. I will be an extremely proud Daddy if any of my three kids get to any college on a full ride athletic scholarship. That would be amazing to me.

 

[Chadstroma]

Its been a long stressful process... little belljr also went into the worst slump of her life in the middle of it all.

But she finally got 2 offers from her 5 choices. We knew it was going to be a long process because she is focused on engineering and wanted to stay local so there is only a handful of choices to do that. She didn't show well in front of a couple coaches so that dampened her spirits. They weren't her top school and not the best softball wise but I'll be happy with either choice she makes. She just wants to play and get her engineering degree. Its "only" D3 but its nice to be wanted

Officially "committed" Monday. Super happy for her. We were delayed a bit because coach she knew well retired in the summer so we were waiting on a third option.

That is awesome! Congrats to her! If you are open to it, I am curious about the terms of the offer.

It is D3..... So she got whatever academic money she would normally get and the coach got her an extra 3 for "living on campus". It literally says on campus housing experience: . This is not athletic money. She got preferred application obviously and will get preferred housing. And an actual spot on the roster . This was not a big d1 offer or anything

Got ya. I overheard the coach on the swim team my son is on, she is a senior, talk about what 'they' offered. I didn't even know there were different offers other than "we got some of your tuition or all of it" lol

D3 there is not athletic money. If it's a private institution they can find some here and there. It has been our experience that most D3 don't offer much above what any student would get, but they want you on the team, they might be able to get you in if borderline, better dorm, etc. Public schools really don't offer anything that any student would get. I know it sounds meh but around here it's pretty competitive finding a school that wants you. Sure she could walk on most of these places but it's nice knowing you are 100% wanted and have a guaranteed spot. We had a D2 offer that had little money but we said no. I think D1 and D2 have 12 scholarships per softball team. So most studs get full rides then the other 10-12 split it pot

Most people are not aware how good many D3 sports are (saying this from a New England/northeast perspective)…in fact they are often clueless about it and shocked when their kid shows up and doesn’t see the field/court/ice…there is a very big difference between being on a college team and playing on a college team…I am pretty involved in recruiting as well as having one kid playing in college and one high school senior committed to play and without a doubt (IMO) the most important thing besides actual talent is the parent being honest or fully understanding what their kid is…if they aren’t ‘t the whole recruiting process has a very good chance of going sideways…it is truly amazing how many people think their kid can play D1 when they are borderline D3 material…as for $ at D3 you would be surprised how much is there on the academic side…you won’t see it at the NESCAC/high academic type of schools but many of the other private ones will give out solid $ for good but not great grades and if the Coach really wants you they can have an influence if they have a good track record with their favors…as for full rides there is a good chance that unless it is D1 hoops or football or if they are a legit stud in another sport if someone tells you they are getting one they are exaggerating (that is being nice)…my buddy coached one of the elite D1 hockey schools and at one point he only had one free ride and it was to a player who is now an all star level player in the NHL…the rest were sliced up to varying degrees.

Yep. We knew going in lower D1 was an outside shot and D2 d3 was our sweet spot. We got 39k total per year so whoever was responsible it didn't matter I live in NJ so I know how crazy it is

My understanding is that D1 for most sports is means that your life is that sport and secondary to that is academics and then the left over is your life. Most people aren't built for that and for most people it isn't going to 'pay off' either as most will not go pro in their sport, D1 or not.

 

[ex-ghost]

I can shed a tiny bit of light on the D1 issue, at least in cross country and track. Schools get 12.6 scholarships for men and 18 for women. What surprised me is that not all schools fund all the available scholarship space. My son has been on two official visits and that is one of the questions I ask, are they fully funded? Also, if the school signs international students, a lot of money usually goes to those students since their tuition and fees are so high. At least at one school there was a rift between the US kids and the internationals since most of the money went to the intl kids even if the US kids were faster.
Also, scholarship offers are negotiable. If a coach can get you for cheap, he/she will get you for cheap. You can find out how much they want you if you ask for more and they say, nah. Many athletes also use other school's offers as leverage - you can also find out how badly a coach wants you that way. Also learned that some athletes say they will sign for $X, but if they run certain times they will get $X+. It is all a game within a game.

 

[Chadstroma]

I am curious about private high school recruiting if anyone has good insight on those. We are still a bit off from that (kids are 6th, 4th and 1st... and unless my daughter, the 6th grader, continues to make big strides in bball or vball she isn't going to get any athletic interest from anyone).

I always assumed HS did athletic scholarships but I recently stumbled on finding out that they actually can not offer them. What are their pitches then? Come play X at X and your parents can spend $15K a year! I mean, yea, we know the academics are better but how many kids are like "yea... I want to go to this school because the academics are so much better"

If anyone has any insight, experience, knowledge etc about the whole HS private school on all of that, I would be interested in reading.

 

[Gally]

I am curious about private high school recruiting if anyone has good insight on those. We are still a bit off from that (kids are 6th, 4th and 1st... and unless my daughter, the 6th grader, continues to make big strides in bball or vball she isn't going to get any athletic interest from anyone).

I always assumed HS did athletic scholarships but I recently stumbled on finding out that they actually can not offer them. What are their pitches then? Come play X at X and your parents can spend $15K a year! I mean, yea, we know the academics are better but how many kids are like "yea... I want to go to this school because the academics are so much better"

If anyone has any insight, experience, knowledge etc about the whole HS private school on all of that, I would be interested in reading.

I assume they can still get academic or hardship scholarships. There are ways around not being allowed to give "athletic" scholarships. I would expect is similar to the D3 situation.

 

[Boston]

I can shed a tiny bit of light on the D1 issue, at least in cross country and track. Schools get 12.6 scholarships for men and 18 for women. What surprised me is that not all schools fund all the available scholarship space. My son has been on two official visits and that is one of the questions I ask, are they fully funded? Also, if the school signs international students, a lot of money usually goes to those students since their tuition and fees are so high. At least at one school there was a rift between the US kids and the internationals since most of the money went to the intl kids even if the US kids were faster.
Also, scholarship offers are negotiable. If a coach can get you for cheap, he/she will get you for cheap. You can find out how much they want you if you ask for more and they say, nah. Many athletes also use other school's offers as leverage - you can also find out how badly a coach wants you that way. Also learned that some athletes say they will sign for $X, but if they run certain times they will get $X+. It is all a game within a game.

Excellent point about the funding…I was not aware of that scenario until a buddy of mine who is an AD at a D1 school explained it to me a few years ago…I was asking him about his opinion on certain schools for my kid and he was very blunt about one saying they only use about 4 scholarships when they can use 12 which is why they are not good and never will be good…they are not committed to it and are putting their teams in a position to fail right from the get go…until he told me that I just assumed all schools at the D1 and D2 level used all of that $ but they don’t.

One other thing I would add…do your research on the Coaches and the culture of the team…there are a lot more bad college coaches out there than people realize…they all seem great during the recruiting process but a lot of that is for show and not real…while 99.9% of the kids are not going pro it will be the last time they play competitively so you don’t want it spent in a toxic environment…that will leave a mark.

 

[ex-ghost]

I can shed a tiny bit of light on the D1 issue, at least in cross country and track. Schools get 12.6 scholarships for men and 18 for women. What surprised me is that not all schools fund all the available scholarship space. My son has been on two official visits and that is one of the questions I ask, are they fully funded? Also, if the school signs international students, a lot of money usually goes to those students since their tuition and fees are so high. At least at one school there was a rift between the US kids and the internationals since most of the money went to the intl kids even if the US kids were faster.
Also, scholarship offers are negotiable. If a coach can get you for cheap, he/she will get you for cheap. You can find out how much they want you if you ask for more and they say, nah. Many athletes also use other school's offers as leverage - you can also find out how badly a coach wants you that way. Also learned that some athletes say they will sign for $X, but if they run certain times they will get $X+. It is all a game within a game.

Excellent point about the funding…I was not aware of that scenario until a buddy of mine who is an AD at a D1 school explained it to me a few years ago…I was asking him about his opinion on certain schools for my kid and he was very blunt about one saying they only use about 4 scholarships when they can use 12 which is why they are not good and never will be good…they are not committed to it and are putting their teams in a position to fail right from the get go…until he told me that I just assumed all schools at the D1 and D2 level used all of that $ but they don’t.

One other thing I would add…do your research on the Coaches and the culture of the team…there are a lot more bad college coaches out there than people realize…they all seem great during the recruiting process but a lot of that is for show and not real…while 99.9% of the kids are not going pro it will be the last time they play competitively so you don’t want it spent in a toxic environment…that will leave a mark.

That is the beauty of visiting a school. On my son's two visits he spent some quality time with the team, away from coaches. One of the schools the kids told him some things that has made him not want to go there. The other school's runners were very complimentary of their coach. He has learned a lot.

 

[Chadstroma]

I am curious about private high school recruiting if anyone has good insight on those. We are still a bit off from that (kids are 6th, 4th and 1st... and unless my daughter, the 6th grader, continues to make big strides in bball or vball she isn't going to get any athletic interest from anyone).

I always assumed HS did athletic scholarships but I recently stumbled on finding out that they actually can not offer them. What are their pitches then? Come play X at X and your parents can spend $15K a year! I mean, yea, we know the academics are better but how many kids are like "yea... I want to go to this school because the academics are so much better"

If anyone has any insight, experience, knowledge etc about the whole HS private school on all of that, I would be interested in reading.

I assume they can still get academic or hardship scholarships. There are ways around not being allowed to give "athletic" scholarships. I would expect is similar to the D3 situation.

I have seen mixed info on scholarships. I saw something that said all scholarships had to be need based but then one of the schools I was looking at had scholarships based on the entrance exams. I also something in a chat where they said they knew of cases that the schools offered athletes and then one of the parents ended up with a job at the school. I am sure there is a lot of 'creative' ways to get students they really want covered. Same with college schools. How bad do they want to make it happen? They just might make it happen and if they would like you but don't care if you are there or not then maybe they say come on board and we can find a spot on the team for you... I am sure you can figure out the finances on your own.

 

[Chadstroma]

I can shed a tiny bit of light on the D1 issue, at least in cross country and track. Schools get 12.6 scholarships for men and 18 for women. What surprised me is that not all schools fund all the available scholarship space. My son has been on two official visits and that is one of the questions I ask, are they fully funded? Also, if the school signs international students, a lot of money usually goes to those students since their tuition and fees are so high. At least at one school there was a rift between the US kids and the internationals since most of the money went to the intl kids even if the US kids were faster.
Also, scholarship offers are negotiable. If a coach can get you for cheap, he/she will get you for cheap. You can find out how much they want you if you ask for more and they say, nah. Many athletes also use other school's offers as leverage - you can also find out how badly a coach wants you that way. Also learned that some athletes say they will sign for $X, but if they run certain times they will get $X+. It is all a game within a game.

Excellent point about the funding…I was not aware of that scenario until a buddy of mine who is an AD at a D1 school explained it to me a few years ago…I was asking him about his opinion on certain schools for my kid and he was very blunt about one saying they only use about 4 scholarships when they can use 12 which is why they are not good and never will be good…they are not committed to it and are putting their teams in a position to fail right from the get go…until he told me that I just assumed all schools at the D1 and D2 level used all of that $ but they don’t.

One other thing I would add…do your research on the Coaches and the culture of the team…there are a lot more bad college coaches out there than people realize…they all seem great during the recruiting process but a lot of that is for show and not real…while 99.9% of the kids are not going pro it will be the last time they play competitively so you don’t want it spent in a toxic environment…that will leave a mark.

That makes sense if you think about it... some schools are healthier financially than others... or maybe they don't want to dip into the pool of money for the administrators to carve up

 

[Boston]

I can shed a tiny bit of light on the D1 issue, at least in cross country and track. Schools get 12.6 scholarships for men and 18 for women. What surprised me is that not all schools fund all the available scholarship space. My son has been on two official visits and that is one of the questions I ask, are they fully funded? Also, if the school signs international students, a lot of money usually goes to those students since their tuition and fees are so high. At least at one school there was a rift between the US kids and the internationals since most of the money went to the intl kids even if the US kids were faster.
Also, scholarship offers are negotiable. If a coach can get you for cheap, he/she will get you for cheap. You can find out how much they want you if you ask for more and they say, nah. Many athletes also use other school's offers as leverage - you can also find out how badly a coach wants you that way. Also learned that some athletes say they will sign for $X, but if they run certain times they will get $X+. It is all a game within a game.

Excellent point about the funding…I was not aware of that scenario until a buddy of mine who is an AD at a D1 school explained it to me a few years ago…I was asking him about his opinion on certain schools for my kid and he was very blunt about one saying they only use about 4 scholarships when they can use 12 which is why they are not good and never will be good…they are not committed to it and are putting their teams in a position to fail right from the get go…until he told me that I just assumed all schools at the D1 and D2 level used all of that $ but they don’t.

One other thing I would add…do your research on the Coaches and the culture of the team…there are a lot more bad college coaches out there than people realize…they all seem great during the recruiting process but a lot of that is for show and not real…while 99.9% of the kids are not going pro it will be the last time they play competitively so you don’t want it spent in a toxic environment…that will leave a mark.

That makes sense if you think about it... some schools are healthier financially than others... or maybe they don't want to dip into the pool of money for the administrators to carve up

Or they just aren’t committed to athletics…there is a lot of agendas on college campuses…each situation is a little different.

 

[belljr]

Daughter new teammate just reached out so she's starting to have fun with it

 

[ex-ghost]

I can shed a tiny bit of light on the D1 issue, at least in cross country and track. Schools get 12.6 scholarships for men and 18 for women. What surprised me is that not all schools fund all the available scholarship space. My son has been on two official visits and that is one of the questions I ask, are they fully funded? Also, if the school signs international students, a lot of money usually goes to those students since their tuition and fees are so high. At least at one school there was a rift between the US kids and the internationals since most of the money went to the intl kids even if the US kids were faster.
Also, scholarship offers are negotiable. If a coach can get you for cheap, he/she will get you for cheap. You can find out how much they want you if you ask for more and they say, nah. Many athletes also use other school's offers as leverage - you can also find out how badly a coach wants you that way. Also learned that some athletes say they will sign for $X, but if they run certain times they will get $X+. It is all a game within a game.

Excellent point about the funding…I was not aware of that scenario until a buddy of mine who is an AD at a D1 school explained it to me a few years ago…I was asking him about his opinion on certain schools for my kid and he was very blunt about one saying they only use about 4 scholarships when they can use 12 which is why they are not good and never will be good…they are not committed to it and are putting their teams in a position to fail right from the get go…until he told me that I just assumed all schools at the D1 and D2 level used all of that $ but they don’t.

One other thing I would add…do your research on the Coaches and the culture of the team…there are a lot more bad college coaches out there than people realize…they all seem great during the recruiting process but a lot of that is for show and not real…while 99.9% of the kids are not going pro it will be the last time they play competitively so you don’t want it spent in a toxic environment…that will leave a mark.

That makes sense if you think about it... some schools are healthier financially than others... or maybe they don't want to dip into the pool of money for the administrators to carve up

Or they just aren’t committed to athletics…there is a lot of agendas on college campuses…each situation is a little different.

Or give more money to one sport over the others. A couple schools he is looking at do not have a football program, that frees up a lot of money, although they do not get the potential revenue. Another school just has a long distance program, so they don't fully fund their scholarships because they do not need to give money to jumpers, throwers or sprinters. Lot of reasons and I keep leaning new information every damn day.

 

[Boston]

I can shed a tiny bit of light on the D1 issue, at least in cross country and track. Schools get 12.6 scholarships for men and 18 for women. What surprised me is that not all schools fund all the available scholarship space. My son has been on two official visits and that is one of the questions I ask, are they fully funded? Also, if the school signs international students, a lot of money usually goes to those students since their tuition and fees are so high. At least at one school there was a rift between the US kids and the internationals since most of the money went to the intl kids even if the US kids were faster.
Also, scholarship offers are negotiable. If a coach can get you for cheap, he/she will get you for cheap. You can find out how much they want you if you ask for more and they say, nah. Many athletes also use other school's offers as leverage - you can also find out how badly a coach wants you that way. Also learned that some athletes say they will sign for $X, but if they run certain times they will get $X+. It is all a game within a game.

Excellent point about the funding…I was not aware of that scenario until a buddy of mine who is an AD at a D1 school explained it to me a few years ago…I was asking him about his opinion on certain schools for my kid and he was very blunt about one saying they only use about 4 scholarships when they can use 12 which is why they are not good and never will be good…they are not committed to it and are putting their teams in a position to fail right from the get go…until he told me that I just assumed all schools at the D1 and D2 level used all of that $ but they don’t.

One other thing I would add…do your research on the Coaches and the culture of the team…there are a lot more bad college coaches out there than people realize…they all seem great during the recruiting process but a lot of that is for show and not real…while 99.9% of the kids are not going pro it will be the last time they play competitively so you don’t want it spent in a toxic environment…that will leave a mark.

That makes sense if you think about it... some schools are healthier financially than others... or maybe they don't want to dip into the pool of money for the administrators to carve up

Or they just aren’t committed to athletics…there is a lot of agendas on college campuses…each situation is a little different.

Or give more money to one sport over the others. A couple schools he is looking at do not have a football program, that frees up a lot of money, although they do not get the potential revenue. Another school just has a long distance program, so they don't fully fund their scholarships because they do not need to give money to jumpers, throwers or sprinters. Lot of reasons and I keep leaning new information every damn day.

You are doing the right thing by having an open-mind and getting as much info as possible...it really is a learning experience and there are a lot of people out there who think they know the process but really don't or know it from one angle/level/sport but not another...I have a son and a daughter (she is younger) and the recruiting process was really different between the two...between Title 9 and the basic supply and demand issue (there is just less of a talent pool on the girl's side in some sports) there is a lot more $ floating around in the non-revenue sports for women...I was a little blown away when we started getting offers for her and she will now be paying less to go to a somewhat pricey school than he does to a state school where he actually got decent academic $...it was a real eye-opener as I went into her process with the same mindset as his but that quickly changed.

I will offer one more observation (for anyone who cares)...if your kid can play at the college level aim low...what I mean by that is if they are borderline D1 go D2 or if they are borderline D2 go D3...that will go a long way towards them having a career where they see the field and are rewarded for their hard work...outside of the academics/overall school fit playing time (and a good Coach/culture) is the most important thing...there will always be those kids just happy to be on a D1 team but for most kids it is a far better experience if they are actually playing and contributing...it's the old big fish/little pond theory.

 

[Chadstroma]

I can shed a tiny bit of light on the D1 issue, at least in cross country and track. Schools get 12.6 scholarships for men and 18 for women. What surprised me is that not all schools fund all the available scholarship space. My son has been on two official visits and that is one of the questions I ask, are they fully funded? Also, if the school signs international students, a lot of money usually goes to those students since their tuition and fees are so high. At least at one school there was a rift between the US kids and the internationals since most of the money went to the intl kids even if the US kids were faster.
Also, scholarship offers are negotiable. If a coach can get you for cheap, he/she will get you for cheap. You can find out how much they want you if you ask for more and they say, nah. Many athletes also use other school's offers as leverage - you can also find out how badly a coach wants you that way. Also learned that some athletes say they will sign for $X, but if they run certain times they will get $X+. It is all a game within a game.

Excellent point about the funding…I was not aware of that scenario until a buddy of mine who is an AD at a D1 school explained it to me a few years ago…I was asking him about his opinion on certain schools for my kid and he was very blunt about one saying they only use about 4 scholarships when they can use 12 which is why they are not good and never will be good…they are not committed to it and are putting their teams in a position to fail right from the get go…until he told me that I just assumed all schools at the D1 and D2 level used all of that $ but they don’t.

One other thing I would add…do your research on the Coaches and the culture of the team…there are a lot more bad college coaches out there than people realize…they all seem great during the recruiting process but a lot of that is for show and not real…while 99.9% of the kids are not going pro it will be the last time they play competitively so you don’t want it spent in a toxic environment…that will leave a mark.

That makes sense if you think about it... some schools are healthier financially than others... or maybe they don't want to dip into the pool of money for the administrators to carve up

Or they just aren’t committed to athletics…there is a lot of agendas on college campuses…each situation is a little different.

Or give more money to one sport over the others. A couple schools he is looking at do not have a football program, that frees up a lot of money, although they do not get the potential revenue. Another school just has a long distance program, so they don't fully fund their scholarships because they do not need to give money to jumpers, throwers or sprinters. Lot of reasons and I keep leaning new information every damn day.

You are doing the right thing by having an open-mind and getting as much info as possible...it really is a learning experience and there are a lot of people out there who think they know the process but really don't or know it from one angle/level/sport but not another...I have a son and a daughter (she is younger) and the recruiting process was really different between the two...between Title 9 and the basic supply and demand issue (there is just less of a talent pool on the girl's side in some sports) there is a lot more $ floating around in the non-revenue sports for women...I was a little blown away when we started getting offers for her and she will now be paying less to go to a somewhat pricey school than he does to a state school where he actually got decent academic $...it was a real eye-opener as I went into her process with the same mindset as his but that quickly changed.

I will offer one more observation (for anyone who cares)...if your kid can play at the college level aim low...what I mean by that is if they are borderline D1 go D2 or if they are borderline D2 go D3...that will go a long way towards them having a career where they see the field and are rewarded for their hard work...outside of the academics/overall school fit playing time (and a good Coach/culture) is the most important thing...there will always be those kids just happy to be on a D1 team but for most kids it is a far better experience if they are actually playing and contributing...it's the old big fish/little pond theory.

I dunno, it might works out for some to aim high.... Mat Ishbia was a benchwarming walk on at MSU, went to a couple of final fours and won a championship.... oh, and is now a billionaire.

 

[Boston]

I can shed a tiny bit of light on the D1 issue, at least in cross country and track. Schools get 12.6 scholarships for men and 18 for women. What surprised me is that not all schools fund all the available scholarship space. My son has been on two official visits and that is one of the questions I ask, are they fully funded? Also, if the school signs international students, a lot of money usually goes to those students since their tuition and fees are so high. At least at one school there was a rift between the US kids and the internationals since most of the money went to the intl kids even if the US kids were faster.
Also, scholarship offers are negotiable. If a coach can get you for cheap, he/she will get you for cheap. You can find out how much they want you if you ask for more and they say, nah. Many athletes also use other school's offers as leverage - you can also find out how badly a coach wants you that way. Also learned that some athletes say they will sign for $X, but if they run certain times they will get $X+. It is all a game within a game.

Excellent point about the funding…I was not aware of that scenario until a buddy of mine who is an AD at a D1 school explained it to me a few years ago…I was asking him about his opinion on certain schools for my kid and he was very blunt about one saying they only use about 4 scholarships when they can use 12 which is why they are not good and never will be good…they are not committed to it and are putting their teams in a position to fail right from the get go…until he told me that I just assumed all schools at the D1 and D2 level used all of that $ but they don’t.

One other thing I would add…do your research on the Coaches and the culture of the team…there are a lot more bad college coaches out there than people realize…they all seem great during the recruiting process but a lot of that is for show and not real…while 99.9% of the kids are not going pro it will be the last time they play competitively so you don’t want it spent in a toxic environment…that will leave a mark.

That makes sense if you think about it... some schools are healthier financially than others... or maybe they don't want to dip into the pool of money for the administrators to carve up

Or they just aren’t committed to athletics…there is a lot of agendas on college campuses…each situation is a little different.

Or give more money to one sport over the others. A couple schools he is looking at do not have a football program, that frees up a lot of money, although they do not get the potential revenue. Another school just has a long distance program, so they don't fully fund their scholarships because they do not need to give money to jumpers, throwers or sprinters. Lot of reasons and I keep leaning new information every damn day.

You are doing the right thing by having an open-mind and getting as much info as possible...it really is a learning experience and there are a lot of people out there who think they know the process but really don't or know it from one angle/level/sport but not another...I have a son and a daughter (she is younger) and the recruiting process was really different between the two...between Title 9 and the basic supply and demand issue (there is just less of a talent pool on the girl's side in some sports) there is a lot more $ floating around in the non-revenue sports for women...I was a little blown away when we started getting offers for her and she will now be paying less to go to a somewhat pricey school than he does to a state school where he actually got decent academic $...it was a real eye-opener as I went into her process with the same mindset as his but that quickly changed.

I will offer one more observation (for anyone who cares)...if your kid can play at the college level aim low...what I mean by that is if they are borderline D1 go D2 or if they are borderline D2 go D3...that will go a long way towards them having a career where they see the field and are rewarded for their hard work...outside of the academics/overall school fit playing time (and a good Coach/culture) is the most important thing...there will always be those kids just happy to be on a D1 team but for most kids it is a far better experience if they are actually playing and contributing...it's the old big fish/little pond theory.

I dunno, it might works out for some to aim high.... Mat Ishbia was a benchwarming walk on at MSU, went to a couple of final fours and won a championship.... oh, and is now a billionaire.

Definitely...especially if you are realistic with what your chances are, what your goals are and just how hard you are willing to work and sacrifice...but for a good majority that are on the fence with what level they are it does not work out...I will add with how the transfer portal now works and the fact there is zero stigma transferring these days it is much easier to aim high and go to another school if the first choice does not work out...or to transfer to a higher level if you feel you can handle it after a year or two where you originally ended up...that aspect of things has really changed dramatically recently....back in my day transferring was a very big deal/decision that you did not see too much and now it is very common.

 

[PIK95]

Anyone have any insight on soccer ID camps? My son is doing a local one, but we get emails about many others. I wonder what are real, and what are total shady money grabs. Tia.

 

[Chadstroma]

I can shed a tiny bit of light on the D1 issue, at least in cross country and track. Schools get 12.6 scholarships for men and 18 for women. What surprised me is that not all schools fund all the available scholarship space. My son has been on two official visits and that is one of the questions I ask, are they fully funded? Also, if the school signs international students, a lot of money usually goes to those students since their tuition and fees are so high. At least at one school there was a rift between the US kids and the internationals since most of the money went to the intl kids even if the US kids were faster.
Also, scholarship offers are negotiable. If a coach can get you for cheap, he/she will get you for cheap. You can find out how much they want you if you ask for more and they say, nah. Many athletes also use other school's offers as leverage - you can also find out how badly a coach wants you that way. Also learned that some athletes say they will sign for $X, but if they run certain times they will get $X+. It is all a game within a game.

Excellent point about the funding…I was not aware of that scenario until a buddy of mine who is an AD at a D1 school explained it to me a few years ago…I was asking him about his opinion on certain schools for my kid and he was very blunt about one saying they only use about 4 scholarships when they can use 12 which is why they are not good and never will be good…they are not committed to it and are putting their teams in a position to fail right from the get go…until he told me that I just assumed all schools at the D1 and D2 level used all of that $ but they don’t.

One other thing I would add…do your research on the Coaches and the culture of the team…there are a lot more bad college coaches out there than people realize…they all seem great during the recruiting process but a lot of that is for show and not real…while 99.9% of the kids are not going pro it will be the last time they play competitively so you don’t want it spent in a toxic environment…that will leave a mark.

That makes sense if you think about it... some schools are healthier financially than others... or maybe they don't want to dip into the pool of money for the administrators to carve up

Or they just aren’t committed to athletics…there is a lot of agendas on college campuses…each situation is a little different.

Or give more money to one sport over the others. A couple schools he is looking at do not have a football program, that frees up a lot of money, although they do not get the potential revenue. Another school just has a long distance program, so they don't fully fund their scholarships because they do not need to give money to jumpers, throwers or sprinters. Lot of reasons and I keep leaning new information every damn day.

You are doing the right thing by having an open-mind and getting as much info as possible...it really is a learning experience and there are a lot of people out there who think they know the process but really don't or know it from one angle/level/sport but not another...I have a son and a daughter (she is younger) and the recruiting process was really different between the two...between Title 9 and the basic supply and demand issue (there is just less of a talent pool on the girl's side in some sports) there is a lot more $ floating around in the non-revenue sports for women...I was a little blown away when we started getting offers for her and she will now be paying less to go to a somewhat pricey school than he does to a state school where he actually got decent academic $...it was a real eye-opener as I went into her process with the same mindset as his but that quickly changed.

I will offer one more observation (for anyone who cares)...if your kid can play at the college level aim low...what I mean by that is if they are borderline D1 go D2 or if they are borderline D2 go D3...that will go a long way towards them having a career where they see the field and are rewarded for their hard work...outside of the academics/overall school fit playing time (and a good Coach/culture) is the most important thing...there will always be those kids just happy to be on a D1 team but for most kids it is a far better experience if they are actually playing and contributing...it's the old big fish/little pond theory.

I dunno, it might works out for some to aim high.... Mat Ishbia was a benchwarming walk on at MSU, went to a couple of final fours and won a championship.... oh, and is now a billionaire.

Definitely...especially if you are realistic with what your chances are, what your goals are and just how hard you are willing to work and sacrifice...but for a good majority that are on the fence with what level they are it does not work out...I will add with how the transfer portal now works and the fact there is zero stigma transferring these days it is much easier to aim high and go to another school if the first choice does not work out...or to transfer to a higher level if you feel you can handle it after a year or two where you originally ended up...that aspect of things has really changed dramatically recently....back in my day transferring was a very big deal/decision that you did not see too much and now it is very common.

I really was unsure how I felt about the transfer portal but I think it is good for the kids. I mean, before, if they got sold on empty promises, it was, as you put it, a big thing to get out of the school and go elsewhere. It was a big decision. Now, coaches promise you to start and you don't- you can go somewhere else or if things just aren't a good fit- sport wise or not, they can make a change. It should force the coaches to be more upfront, honest and transparent across the board where I suspect that hasn't always been the case.

 

[Boston]

I can shed a tiny bit of light on the D1 issue, at least in cross country and track. Schools get 12.6 scholarships for men and 18 for women. What surprised me is that not all schools fund all the available scholarship space. My son has been on two official visits and that is one of the questions I ask, are they fully funded? Also, if the school signs international students, a lot of money usually goes to those students since their tuition and fees are so high. At least at one school there was a rift between the US kids and the internationals since most of the money went to the intl kids even if the US kids were faster.
Also, scholarship offers are negotiable. If a coach can get you for cheap, he/she will get you for cheap. You can find out how much they want you if you ask for more and they say, nah. Many athletes also use other school's offers as leverage - you can also find out how badly a coach wants you that way. Also learned that some athletes say they will sign for $X, but if they run certain times they will get $X+. It is all a game within a game.

Excellent point about the funding…I was not aware of that scenario until a buddy of mine who is an AD at a D1 school explained it to me a few years ago…I was asking him about his opinion on certain schools for my kid and he was very blunt about one saying they only use about 4 scholarships when they can use 12 which is why they are not good and never will be good…they are not committed to it and are putting their teams in a position to fail right from the get go…until he told me that I just assumed all schools at the D1 and D2 level used all of that $ but they don’t.

One other thing I would add…do your research on the Coaches and the culture of the team…there are a lot more bad college coaches out there than people realize…they all seem great during the recruiting process but a lot of that is for show and not real…while 99.9% of the kids are not going pro it will be the last time they play competitively so you don’t want it spent in a toxic environment…that will leave a mark.

That makes sense if you think about it... some schools are healthier financially than others... or maybe they don't want to dip into the pool of money for the administrators to carve up

Or they just aren’t committed to athletics…there is a lot of agendas on college campuses…each situation is a little different.

Or give more money to one sport over the others. A couple schools he is looking at do not have a football program, that frees up a lot of money, although they do not get the potential revenue. Another school just has a long distance program, so they don't fully fund their scholarships because they do not need to give money to jumpers, throwers or sprinters. Lot of reasons and I keep leaning new information every damn day.

You are doing the right thing by having an open-mind and getting as much info as possible...it really is a learning experience and there are a lot of people out there who think they know the process but really don't or know it from one angle/level/sport but not another...I have a son and a daughter (she is younger) and the recruiting process was really different between the two...between Title 9 and the basic supply and demand issue (there is just less of a talent pool on the girl's side in some sports) there is a lot more $ floating around in the non-revenue sports for women...I was a little blown away when we started getting offers for her and she will now be paying less to go to a somewhat pricey school than he does to a state school where he actually got decent academic $...it was a real eye-opener as I went into her process with the same mindset as his but that quickly changed.

I will offer one more observation (for anyone who cares)...if your kid can play at the college level aim low...what I mean by that is if they are borderline D1 go D2 or if they are borderline D2 go D3...that will go a long way towards them having a career where they see the field and are rewarded for their hard work...outside of the academics/overall school fit playing time (and a good Coach/culture) is the most important thing...there will always be those kids just happy to be on a D1 team but for most kids it is a far better experience if they are actually playing and contributing...it's the old big fish/little pond theory.

I dunno, it might works out for some to aim high.... Mat Ishbia was a benchwarming walk on at MSU, went to a couple of final fours and won a championship.... oh, and is now a billionaire.

Definitely...especially if you are realistic with what your chances are, what your goals are and just how hard you are willing to work and sacrifice...but for a good majority that are on the fence with what level they are it does not work out...I will add with how the transfer portal now works and the fact there is zero stigma transferring these days it is much easier to aim high and go to another school if the first choice does not work out...or to transfer to a higher level if you feel you can handle it after a year or two where you originally ended up...that aspect of things has really changed dramatically recently....back in my day transferring was a very big deal/decision that you did not see too much and now it is very common.

I really was unsure how I felt about the transfer portal but I think it is good for the kids. I mean, before, if they got sold on empty promises, it was, as you put it, a big thing to get out of the school and go elsewhere. It was a big decision. Now, coaches promise you to start and you don't- you can go somewhere else or if things just aren't a good fit- sport wise or not, they can make a change. It should force the coaches to be more upfront, honest and transparent across the board where I suspect that hasn't always been the case.

It's kind of an odd thing because it now goes deeper than that...some kids are now transferring even if they are happy with the Coach/program and getting playing time...they simply may want to go to a warmer school, go to school where their girlfriend is or just want to try something different whether it is a bigger or smaller school...it is a much different dynamic than it used to be...one of the negatives to the portal is there are kids who are in line for playing time that get blindsided when a transfer shows up and takes their position/playing time...like anything else in life there are positives and negatives.