What to expect when you get to college?

DD plays in a top D2 program and is in her freshman year. As others have said here, as well as her college coach when we first met him, most freshman are not ready for college ball. For DD, she was not mentally ready but has grown fast in that area. The main difference as far as NCAA rules go for D1 and D2 is the number of games they can play, but they have the same rules as far as practices. DD starts most days with practice at 6 a.m. and later in the day she goes to weightlifting or batting practice. She only knows that at the moment, Sunday is her only day off for sure but she gets a day off during the week most of the time. They also have strict rules on what they can do socially 24 hours before any softball related activity. She told me that there's several times on her day off that they needed a catcher so she would fill in for them. A lot of times she'll try to get some extra practice in on her own.
I'm not gonna lie...she did not enjoy her fall semester feeling constantly mentally and physically beat down while trying to do well in classes. Several of her teammates quit. I'll never forget the first day we stepped on campus, a young lady introduced herself and after awhile she and DD started talking about softball. This girl had played one year and she told DD, quiting softball was the best decision she ever made and she now loves college. I wasn't too happy to hear this girl say this before we even got her moved in.
DD survived the fall and ended up on the Dean's list. She said she never felt stronger in her life and now could care less about the workouts. She absolutely loves her teammates and I'm sure has already made friends for life. But...when she came home for Christmas break, we were with two of her best friends from high school and they were talking about college. They both said that their fall was amazing and the best time of their life (they both got great grades also). I could see the look in DD's eyes when they said this and then she went on to talk about her fall.
One major issue a student may run into is if they want a social life. Well, softball was DD's social life but now has a really nice boyfriend that lives 4 hours away. I don't like that at all but the fact is, she's a teenager that wants to spend some time with him and not being able to come home on the weekends is tough for her.
DD got mostly academic money and even though she's never said she wanted to quit, she's hinted several times about if it's worth it especially not knowing if she'll see the field much this year. She does realize however, that she's paying very little for education and a lot of that has to do with her being on the team. I'm hoping the spring goes well enough that she sticks with it to be in a good position for next year. They've already hinted they may have more incentives for her to stay.
***Shout out to Greenmonsters for all the mental support he gave to me LOL!

IMlearning,

Thank you, exactly what I was looking for (although I hope some posters say they enjoyed it more).

Dusty- Sluggers IS telling you what can expected.

DD#1 played for a DIII her first year and almost lost her Academic Scholarship, smart kid at a smart school but the kid wasn't used to working hard. she dropped softball (which was more demanding than she ever expected), got her grades up, got off "Financial probation" (which was more of an issue for her parents) and is now in her last semester before graduation.

With DD#2 I am in the same position as you- Good luck!

obbay said:

Dusty- Sluggers IS telling you what can expected.

DD#1 played for a DIII her first year and almost lost her Academic Scholarship, smart kid at a smart school but the kid wasn't used to working hard. she dropped softball (which was more demanding than she ever expected), got her grades up, got off "Financial probation" (which was more of an issue for her parents) and is now in her last semester before graduation.

With DD#2 I am in the same position as you- Good luck!

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Thank you for sharing your DD's experience.

Sluggers, thanks for your honesty. Not everyone is ready to hear that. DD is a D1 commit and has already seen two friends melt down, both P5. Unless you've been through it as a player or parent you really have no clue. Thanks for your thoughts.

DOG310 said:

Sluggers, thanks for your honesty. Not everyone is ready to hear that.

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Perhaps you and Sluggers should get a room.... in the same reading comprehension class.

That's all for me folks, I'm done with this thread fail.

Dusty said:

Thank you for sharing your DD's experience. I don't doubt the sincerity of anyone posting to this thread, just pointing out that the answers given were not only not the ones I was asking but the same answers given on any number of threads on this site. Are all the players on a college roster very good? you betcha. Is it tough to get playing time on a college team? No doubt. I know this particular forum is called "Playing College Softball" but I'm primarily looking info on the "student" side of things rather than the "playing" side.

In the case of my younger DD, she is a late bloomer. As a freshman two years ago she wasn't even thinking about playing college softball but then she had a breakout year as a sophomore which changed her outlook (FWIW- she was all-state last year). She is also a very good student who works hard in the classroom but her HS sports and school schedule keeps her busy enough that she is concerned there aren't more than 24 hours in a day which is what she would need to maintain the grades primarily but also athletic commitment on a collegiate level.

I know there are kids who do it though and either enjoy it or feel the reward is worth the sacrifice. Student athletes don't get to enjoy the same college experience as regular students but those students don't have the chance to get the experience a student athlete does. I don't see posts like yours as cautionary. If your DD got into a school like Amherst or Williams, she'll at least graduate from a top school while getting the chance to play college softball and will leave it behind without any regrets. It sounds like IMlearning's DD's softball career is far from over and she may ultimately look back on it and say the sacrifice was worth it.

It would be nice if someone who's played recently and graduated on time chimed in on their experience

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For D3 SB it is very simple. There are zero financial rewards to play at this level. The kids that play do so because they enjoy the game and/or being part of the team. If they didn't believe or stop believing that the time and effort that they commit to softball isn't worth that sacrifice or takes away too much from their academic performance, they wouldn't play or would stop playing. Unlike some D1 or D2 situations, their continued enrollment at that school is not jeopardized in any way. My DD was drawn to D3 SB like many other kids who probably could've played D2 or even D1 "somewhere", but wanted to play on their own terms. Some D3 coaches fully recognize this and encourage their student athletes to take full advantage of the college opportunities that are available to them, including fall off campus study, difficult majors, majors like hard sciences, nursing, education etc that have requirements beyond class lecture time. Some D3 coaches don't recognize this and are not as encouraging or accommodating. You only find out what type of coach you might be dealing with by talking to multiple current or recent former players. Either way, if your DD is like mine was, there will be little time for anything other than academics and SB unless your kid is a genius who doesn't ever need to study.

My advice to the OP and his DD and others who prioritize school ahead of SB is to do just that when considering colleges.

DOG310 said:

Sluggers, thanks for your honesty. Not everyone is ready to hear that. DD is a D1 commit and has already seen two friends melt down, both P5. Unless you've been through it as a player or parent you really have no clue. Thanks for your thoughts.

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One of DD's TB teammates had a meltdown this fall in practice. She's a freshman in a pretty good D1 program and they gave her 3 days off to pull herself together. I'd never expect this girl to break down...she's one tough cookie.

Greenmonsters said:

For D3 SB it is very simple. There are zero financial rewards to play at this level. The kids that play do so because they enjoy the game and/or being part of the team. If they didn't believe or stop believing that the time and effort that they commit to softball isn't worth that sacrifice or takes away too much from their academic performance, they wouldn't play or would stop playing. Unlike some D1 or D2 situations, their continued enrollment at that school is not jeopardized in any way. My DD was drawn to D3 SB like many other kids who probably could've played D2 or even D1 "somewhere", but wanted to play on their own terms. Some D3 coaches fully recognize this and encourage their student athletes to take full advantage of the college opportunities that are available to them, including fall off campus study, difficult majors, majors like hard sciences, nursing, education etc that have requirements beyond class lecture time. Some D3 coaches don't recognize this and are not as encouraging or accommodating. You only find out what type of coach you might be dealing with by talking to multiple current or recent former players. Either way, if your DD is like mine was, there will be little time for anything other than academics and SB unless your kid is a genius who doesn't ever need to study.

My advice to the OP and his DD and others who prioritize school ahead of SB is to do just that when considering colleges.

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Total agree. My DD is a DIII softball player/student. Couldn't wait to come home for Christmas break just to be able to take a break from Softball and studies. DD is back at school now where her softball team practices every other day at 6:00 am in the morning. A girl's got to love the game....I'm just saying.

Dusty said:

Perhaps you and Sluggers should get a room.... in the same reading comprehension class.

That's all for me folks, I'm done with this thread fail.

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Once you unleash the thread you can't control it!