D3 and NAIA Recruiting

[sluggers]

My DD#3 played hoops at a D3 school. Her major was chemistry. Her time commitment to basketball was 3 to 4 hours a day. Practice started at 3 and was over with around 6 PM. She grabbed a bite to eat, and then hit the books. If she had a lab that went over, her coach groused a little, but he didn't demand that she drop the course.

So, generally, hoops didn't interfere too much with her education except for games. However, there were many times she would be doing homework on the bus after a game while her other teammates were celebrating. She had to study on Saturday mornings and all day on Sunday. Her social life was curtailed.

DD#3 considered med school. Her advisor told her that because she played sports, she could expect full support from the school if she chose to do so. She got letters of recommendation from the President of the college and the Dean of the Chemistry Department. The college is well known for its med school program. With those recommendations, she would have had no trouble getting into med school. She chose not to go to med school because she didn't want to be a doctor. The recommendations did help her get a great job.

That is what you get at a D3 school--people are really concerned about your future. If you are a good athlete, you get to be something of a "star", and the faculty and staff help you.

If I had it to do all over again, I would have sent all three of my DDs to D3 schools. It is a much, much better experience than getting a "Big Mac Pac 10" or a "Big Mac Big 10" degree.

 

[DonnieS]

Did you have a choice? Can you be objective about what you would have done if your kid had a choice between say full ride, small-mid D1, partial - full ride large school d1, and D3 ?

 

[sluggers]

I had two DDs who played sports in college. DD#1 had a full ride to play softball at a big D1 school. DD#3 played hoops at a D3 school and ended up with an NCAA championship ring. DD#3 had an opportunity to play for a D1 school.

Here is what happened to both of my DDs: The schools offered a particular class only once a year during the spring. The class is needed to graduate. If they don't take the class, they graduate a year later. The class interferes with practice. So, each DD had ask the coach to let her come late to practice. What is the coach's answer?

D1 coach: Hell no. If you take the class, turn in your uniform.
D3 Coach: (*moan*) Isn't there something you can do? Have you looked at everything? Are you certain? Oh....Ok. Maybe I can push practice back 30 minutes.

The coach at a D1 school will get *fired* if he has a losing team for a couple of years in a row. He/she gets a bonus for wins, post-season appearances, etc. Parents should ask themselves, "What would I do if I were a coach and the performance of the kids on my team determine how much food I can put on the table?" Somehow, parents think that coaches aren't human and therefore don't react the way all the rest of us would react.

Parents don't understand what they are getting their kid into by signing with a D1 school. Weight lifting and fitness training is at 6 AM five days a week in the off season. There are "non-mandatory mandatory" practices during the off-season. Your DD will have to take 18 hours of classes in the fall to make up for the 12 hours she will take in the spring.

On top of all that, the coach at a D1 school is going out every year looking for a player to replace your DD. D1 sports are a business, designed to increase the revenue of a school by increasing alumni donations.

DD#1 played D1 softball, and had a great career as a player. She got her degree, but her grades were less than stellar. Her grades caused her some problems after she graduated. True, she has opportunities in athletics open to her that others don't because she played big-time college sports.

D3 coaches are under similar pressures as D1 coaches, but not to the same extent. There is also this underlying idea with all interactions with the coach that, "I'm at this school to get a degree, not to play sports."

I cant' say that DD#1's is better or worse that DD#3. The only thing is that I wish that we had gone into D1 sports with our eyes open.

 

[DonnieS]

D1 coach: Hell no. If you take the class, turn in your uniform.
D3 Coach: (*moan*) Isn't there something you can do? Have you looked at everything? Are you certain? Oh....Ok. Maybe I can push practice back 30 minutes.


I cant' say that DD#1's is better or worse that DD#3. The only thing is that I wish that we had gone into D1 sports with our eyes open.

Andy, thanks for laying out your experience. Its most helpful for us newbies going in for the first time. I know the D1s put out big bucks to our kids and I have told my dd that I have no doubt you are going to earn every penny.

What I told both my daughters is this - I worked 30-40 hours a week working my way through college - I think you will practice/play/travel that much or more. The difference is that no one clapped or cheered when I bagged a load of groceries at the grocery store, there was no reporter waiting to ask me how I felt when I stock and fronted a shelf with Del Monte Green Beans, # 303 can, even though I felt like an all-american grocery store stocker.

The youngest (15) has not verballed or anything yet, the older verballed as a junior to a large D1 school and leaves this Sunday so our adventure is just starting.

Donnie

 

[Mark H]

I've told many people to ask their kid, if you fall going down the steps the first day and can never play again, would you want to stay at that school anyway. If she says yes, you likely have a winner.

 

[calgofo]

Another couple of points you probably know. A verbal means pretty much nothing. Till the NLI is signed anything goes. Also, despite what you hear, athletic money is from year to year. Many kids have been promised only to find out that next year they don't fit into the coaches plans. Read Aradi's book if yu haven't already. Unless your child is not academically inclined, education should be the priority. Make sure she will be able to take the courses she wants/needs in order to graduate.

 

[jofus13]

I haven't ordered Aradi's book yet, but I plan to soon.

So far, academics haven't been a problem (knock on wood), and she has always done very well on the standardized tests they give them in school, so hopefully that bodes well for her SAT/ACT scores.

I've mentioned that some div 3 players play more than one sport to her....her love is softball, but she also likes volleyball (and, I didn't see this coming since she's just a freshman, but it looks like she is going to be one of the varsity starters at middle hitter on her high school team).

I wonder, do the school websites list the players majors on their roster pages or anywhere else? That would be some good info to look at as you start to look at various schools....

 

[LMUfan]

Here is what happened to both of my DDs: The schools offered a particular class only once a year during the spring. The class is needed to graduate. If they don't take the class, they graduate a year later. The class interferes with practice. So, each DD had ask the coach to let her come late to practice. What is the coach's answer?

D1 coach: Hell no. If you take the class, turn in your uniform.

Just so we have a fair and balanced discussion, it should be pointed out that not all D1 schools are like the one your daughter chose.

At LMU practice was 12-4 five days per week. LMU is a relatively small school, about 6.000. Many classes are only offered one time during the semester, just like your daughter's school. There were at least 3 semesters during my daughter's career when she had classes and/or labs during the time allotted for practice. The coach may have not liked it but he said nothing. LMU is academics FIRST and athletics second. It's run by the Jesuit order of Catholic priests who are strong academicians. (LMU is not a religious school like Notre Dame, there are no required masses to attend.)

In the spring of her senior year she had only two classes. That's all she needed to graduate. One of the classes, however, was only offered on Thursday nights from 7-10pm. It was a required class for her major. For many D1 schools, the Pac-10 is a good example, this would be a deal breaker as Thursdays are travel days for a Friday game. The conference that LMU is in knows that academics comes first, at least for the 4 Jesuit schools, and conference games are only played on Saturday and Sunday (never on Easter) and this allows teams to travel on Friday afternoon giving more time to the classroom.

Recently, while watching a weekday home game, I saw the starting catcher come out of the dugout around the 4th inning. She had street shoes on and was wearing her backpack as she climbed the steps into the stands to leave. I asked her where she was going. "To class," was her response. Would this have worked at your daughter's D1 school?

They also had excellent help from their advisers. The players sat down with the academic adviser and registered classes together. The adviser made sure that she was taking the right classes to graduate on time. They all graduate on time.

One last comment. While the NCAA says scholarships are one year in length, LMU disagrees. The only event that would cause an LMU player to not have their scholarship renewed would be one that cause the university to eject them from the school. We asked the coach, during recruiting, what would happen to the scholarship money if she didn't want to play any more or was asked to leave the team for some reason. He said that the scholarship would be honored for the full four years. It's what they do.

So, while you have a grudge against a particular D1 school it should be pointed out that not all D1s are the way you describe them. Choose your school wisely.

 

[sluggers]

Just to clarify, I don't have a grudge against any of the schools my DDs attended. I'm very proud of what she accomplished. And, I'm grateful to my DDs coaches. To be fair, the coaches for all of my DDs were looking at post-season play, so the pressure was definitely ratcheted up on the coaches and players.

It should be pointed out that not all D1 schools are like the one your daughter chose.

No, they aren't. And, not all schools are like LMU, where players apparently can leave during the middle of a game. (To be honest, I've never heard of that at any school.)

 

[LMUfan]

And, not all schools are like LMU, where players apparently can leave during the middle of a game.

Exactly. That's why I suggest that everyone choose their school wisely.

To be fair, the coaches for all of my DDs were looking at post-season play, so the pressure was definitely ratcheted up on the coaches and players.

I think that's the goal of every school and every coach. However, it should never interfere with the primary goal of education. That's just my opinion, of course. My daughter only played in the NCAA tournament once. Am I disappointed that she didn't get to play more times? Sure. Would I have traded another NCAA appearance for a postponed graduation date? Not a chance.

(To be honest, I've never heard of that at any school.)

Now you have.