realistically playing 2 div I sports?

[BobInMadison]

As others have stated, it depends on the sport, the athlete, and the coaches.

I knew a young lady who actually did 3 D-I sports in college, and made 2nd team All-American in one of the sports. She did cross-country in the fall, indoor track in the winter, and outdoor track in the spring. Nike offered her a job as a professional runner, but she turned them down. Ah, but those 3 sports are all so very similar.

My DS, on the other hand, found he could only do ONE sport at a high level even at a D-III school. He rows at one of the top D-III rowing programs in the US (Milwaukee School of Engineering). In order to be one of the very top rowers at the school, he not only practices early morning every day, but works out in the gym a couple of hours every afternoon. That is what he needs to do to stay on top. He told me his track times were good enough for his school's track team. He used to play intramural Ultimate, and the captain of the Ultimate club offered him a spot on the roster his freshman year. He gave up the intramural sports when he moved out of the dorms. Basically, the only sport he can do at a high level is rowing. He will do stuff like bike riding for fun, but not competitively.

Most programs these days go all year round. For example, my DS' D-III rowing team goes all year round. He wouldn't have time for another sport.

I think there are a few very speedy college football players who also run track in the spring.

Multiple sports in college used to be much more common. Jim Thorpe was great at everything, was perhaps the best track and field athlete of all time, played baseball for the NY Giants, and was one of the founders of the NFL. Jackie Robinson did 3 D-I varsity sports. O.J. Simpson once had a world record in track, and carried the US flag in the 1968 Olympics.

 

[vicimus]

Not sure I’d put much stake in a freshman parent blaming losses pitching seniors instead of putting their DD in.

You’re obviously putting a lot into ensuring your DD has all the opportunities she can both academically and athletically. That alone puts her ahead of the game. Just do the research and don’t assume anything. Coaches will say whatever it takes to get your kid to play for them and it’s in the their interest to tell people they got a kid a full ride. The college coach isn’t allowed to talk about it and since nothing is in writing yet there’s no way to verify it. Even if parents are being up front they’ll usually say whatever puts their kid in the best light. A 50% athletic scholarship covering tuition, room & board could still be called a “full ride” because it’s covering 100% of tuition. The point is don’t make any decisions or try to gauge what your DD might get based on what you hear from other parents or coaches.

I’m not so sure about it being easier to get a scholarship at the #200 softball school. The #200 D1 softball school is still higher than almost 100 other D1 teams. They’re not going to make it to OKC, but that’s still a very high level of softball. If MD is the dream school their field hockey RPI would put them at #68 in softball. They were #180 in softball last year. The difference from the #180 team to #68 isn’t that great. What you’ll find is the #68 school has better coaching and more depth. The odds of getting a scholarship at either school is about the same. She’s young enough to still play both at the highest level. Once recruiting heats up she’ll need to focus more on her favorite.

Final piece of advice would be make sure it’s her favorite sport and not which is easiest to get a scholarship. You’d be amazed at more many kids wash out their freshman years. A “full ride” by any definition isn’t worth much if she quits after a year. Good luck and enjoy this exciting time.

Lots of great advice!

DD's #1 problem is that she can't decide which sport is her favorite, since she's been playing club level in both sports since 7 years old.

FWIW, UMD field hockey is #18 this year after a few loses, but they finished #4 or #5 last year and recruit international players, so it's more like a top 10 softball program.

Regardless, UMD is top 15-20 in the country when it comes to computer science programs which is what's most important. Now, whether or not ANY div I athlete can succeed in a top 20 computer science program is a whole other question for another thread. ;-)

Many thanks for your insight!

 

[Greenmonsters]

I wouldn't be so quick to rule out D3 options. DD's teammate was a D3 All American in field hockey (multiple times) and softball her senior year. Then went to grad school to be a PT.

 

[vicimus]

I wouldn't be so quick to rule out D3 options. DD's teammate was a D3 All American in field hockey (multiple times) and softball her senior year. Then went to grad school to be a PT.

Not ruling anything out, but believe in teaching her to always aim high. ;-)

 

[Orange Socks]

I wouldn't be so quick to rule out D3 options. DD's teammate was a D3 All American in field hockey (multiple times) and softball her senior year. Then went to grad school to be a PT.

And there is lots of money available in the D3 world...it's just not called athletic money.

 

[Bob516]

And there is lots of money available in the D3 world...it's just not called athletic money.

Problem is DD1 is not simply interested in money for college, she wants it to be called an athletic scholarship. One recruiting coach, said in a Q&A, getting 95% of your scholarship from academics and 5% from athletics, a player can still say she is on an athletic scholarship. That wasn't good enough for my DD1.

 

[BobInMadison]

Problem is DD1 is not simply interested in money for college, she wants it to be called an athletic scholarship. One recruiting coach, said in a Q&A, getting 95% of your scholarship from academics and 5% from athletics, a player can still say she is on an athletic scholarship. That wasn't good enough for my DD1.

One of the reasons my DD 1 quit softball was to participate in a time-intensive program that gave her a full academic scholarship. But then, my DD 1 plans ahead in a way that is unusual even for adults, let alone teenagers. She is a pre-med, and while she was in high school she was working part time to save money for med school.

 

[BobInMadison]

And there is lots of money available in the D3 world...it's just not called athletic money.

Very true.

My DS rows for a D-III school. His coach was actively recruiting him. This particular school has their admissions and scholarship policies pretty much set in stone, but DS was a borderline case. His ACT scores were good enough for a substantial scholarship, but his grades were slightly below the cutoff point (although he raised his grades above the cutoff by the time he graduated HS). The school decided to give him a chance, since his JR and SR year grades were substantially higher than his frosh and soph year grades. Or maybe it was because of his ACT scores. Or maybe because the coach really, really wanted him on the team, and went with us to the admissions office.

All I know is DS was a borderline case, the coach spoke highly of him, he was admitted, and got academic scholarship money.

 

[vicimus]

One of the reasons my DD 1 quit softball was to participate in a time-intensive program that gave her a full academic scholarship. But then, my DD 1 plans ahead in a way that is unusual even for adults, let alone teenagers. She is a pre-med, and while she was in high school she was working part time to save money for med school.

My DD's former pitching coach told her of one of his players that always dreamed of playing for U. of Florida, but she wanted to also do pre-med; apparently, they told her that if she was going to Florida to play softball, then softball was her number one priority, and there was no way she's be able to do pre-med in 4 years. Instead she took a full ride to a top 200 div I school (U. of Binghamton?) where they said pre-med was fine.

 

[riseball]

My DD's former pitching coach told her of one of his players that always dreamed of playing for U. of Florida, but she wanted to also do pre-med; apparently, they told her that if she was going to Florida to play softball, then softball was her number one priority, and there was no way she's be able to do pre-med in 4 years. Instead she took a full ride to a top 200 div I school (U. of Binghamton?) where they said pre-med was fine.

That is pretty typical in the SEC. But usually they offer a 5th year.