Should she take a chance?

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Oct 30, 2016
6
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Our DD (2017 graduate) is late on the recruiting trail due to an injury she had her junior year. She has had a lot of success and accolades at the high school and TB level. She has been offered a spot at a D1 Juco close to home. She has also been offered a full ride at a D1 Juco about 6 hours from home.
At the local Juco she will start as a freshman and get loads of playing time and experience, but may or may not get recruited to play as a transfer. The Juco 6 hours away is a powerhouse program that regularly makes national tournament appearances and sends a lot of girls on to play at the D1 and D2 level. However, they will carry more girls and the time and frequency of playing time is a complete unknown. (And again, if she doesn't play much it will make a transfer difficult.)
What would you advise your DD in this situation? I want to say "close to home" but that may just be my heart talking. :confused:
 
Oct 30, 2016
6
0
She is a smart girl and will get a good education at either place. This is a softball forum and she has a love of the game, hence the reason for my post here. Curious as to why you would respond at all Lenski if this is all you had to say?
 
Last edited:
Feb 17, 2015
318
18
USA
Personally, I would worry about her education.

This. Plus I'll add that getting recruited out of a JUCO is very similar to getting recruited out of high school. You still have a lot of leg work to do by getting your emails sent out or getting your recruiting packets in the mail. If she is still eligible to play next summer it would also benefit her to do that. Some JUCO's have good contacts at 4 year schools and can help your DD make that transition. Some do not and you have to do all the work yourself. If I was your DD I would explore each school academically first and see if she can accomplish her academic goals there. I would also get with the coaches and check to see how they support their athletes academically and to see if they value the student portion of student athlete, team GPA etc. Also look at their travel schedule to how much school your DD will miss on her road trips. Keep in mind JUCO's don't play by the same rules as the NCAA does. JUCO's don't have the same limits for practices, conditioning and competition that he NCAA does. Your powerhouse JUCO may be more into winning than preparing your DD for a career after softball. Choose the school where your DD will enjoy herself the most and get the most out of the experience she wants to have. If you are willing to do all that recruiting work all over again the transfer to a 4 year program will take care of itself.
 
Nov 26, 2010
4,784
113
Michigan
She is a smart girl and will get a good education at either place. This is a softball forum and she has a love of the game, hence the reason for my post here. Curious as to why you would respond at all Lenski if this is all you had to say?

Because the college forum is more then just softball. not to speak for another member. But How I read that wasn't to say don't play ball, but make the academics one of if not the top considerations when picking between schools. It's good advice.
 
Sep 18, 2011
1,411
0
Assuming that there is no academic advantage with one school over the other, this looks to me like the biggest no brainer in the history of the world. Your dd has a love of the game and wants to play high level D1 or D2. One JUCO program has a great track record of sending girls on to play D1 and D2. And that program offered her a full ride. Worried about playing time? In my very limited experience, I tend to believe that girls on full scholarships rarely sit the bench.
 
Oct 30, 2016
6
0
Because the college forum is more then just softball. not to speak for another member. But How I read that wasn't to say don't play ball, but make the academics one of if not the top considerations when picking between schools. It's good advice.

Thanks for this. I guess it took it as snarky and I shouldn't have. My bad and I apologize.

DD is in the top 10% of her class and has a very strong ACT score. She has many college options, including other playing options at NAIA and D3 schools. She's 17, works 20 hours a week and is a 3 sport athlete. This is her decision and her father and I will support her. I personally prefer the D3 school but it isn't my choice. SHE is having a hard time deciding between these 2 Jucos. SHE is basing it off of the softball programs because she feels she can excel academically anywhere. Her question is the one I posted and I don't have an answer for her. I thought I might find it here.
 
Oct 3, 2011
3,478
113
Right Here For Now
We had/possibly still have a member on here who's DD went this route. She moved on to a top 20 D1 school from a JUCO as a preferred walk-on and made the team. Subsequently, she made the choice to leave the softball arena altogether because her major was pre-med and her grades were suffering due to the SB practice/Fall game schedule. I guess what I'm trying to say is beware of what your DD wishes for. A challenging major at the D1 level and a good athletic program don't often mix well. Just something to think about for your DD.
 
Oct 30, 2016
6
0
This. Plus I'll add that getting recruited out of a JUCO is very similar to getting recruited out of high school. You still have a lot of leg work to do by getting your emails sent out or getting your recruiting packets in the mail. If she is still eligible to play next summer it would also benefit her to do that. Some JUCO's have good contacts at 4 year schools and can help your DD make that transition. Some do not and you have to do all the work yourself. If I was your DD I would explore each school academically first and see if she can accomplish her academic goals there. I would also get with the coaches and check to see how they support their athletes academically and to see if they value the student portion of student athlete, team GPA etc. Also look at their travel schedule to how much school your DD will miss on her road trips. Keep in mind JUCO's don't play by the same rules as the NCAA does. JUCO's don't have the same limits for practices, conditioning and competition that he NCAA does. Your powerhouse JUCO may be more into winning than preparing your DD for a career after softball. Choose the school where your DD will enjoy herself the most and get the most out of the experience she wants to have. If you are willing to do all that recruiting work all over again the transfer to a 4 year program will take care of itself.

I guess I assumed that a program that sent so many kids on to D1 and D2 colleges would have more connections that a program that didn't...
 
Feb 17, 2015
318
18
USA
I guess I assumed that a program that sent so many kids on to D1 and D2 colleges would have more connections that a program that didn't...

They probably do. But as others are saying, there is more to college than softball. If your DD goes to the powerhouse and it turns out to be more of a job than an enjoyable experience because it's all softball all the time she may burnout and decide that college softball is not for her. She may go there and love it. For example, my DD is a sophomore at a D1 JUCO. Since the middle of August they have practiced almost every day up until their games started then practiced about 4 days a week. Her schedule varies but generally has 6AM weights about 3-4 days a week. They practice in the afternoons from generally 3:30 P to 6PM, sometimes later. Then it's shower time, eat than study hall. They usually get done around 9:30 PM. Their fall schedule had about 25 games this year. They would have had more but 2 tournaments were rained out. They have a new coach this year. A lot of the girls, including my DD, are tired. But now they have conditioning in the afternoon instead of practice and they still have early morning weight sessions. So far my DD is keeping up in school but she says there are several freshman who are struggling academically. My DD is not enjoying this year as much as last year. Just something for your DD to think hard about. What does she want from her college experience?
 

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