To pursue or not to pursue?

[jacketsfan]

And, as far as those schools with the dealt commitments - maybe you are too late, but contact them anyways. Just remember, though, you and a million other people are. You may or may not hear back, but it doesn't cost you much to make contact.

Once you have traded emails, hopefully they come see you play. If so, then you can ask them where they stand with your class - what they are still looking for, and how many spots are open.

You should cast a wide net, though, just in case.

 

[softballninja]

In college, you can play sports, have a good social life and get an education. But, you can do only two of the three.

Well that's a relief, because I barely have a social life now thanks to school and softball, so it won't be too hard to drop it when I get to college

 

[EP Dad]

In college, you can play sports, have a good social life and get an education. But, you can do only two of the three.

I know a guy who played D1 College Hockey. In some ways he regrets playing hockey in college because he missed out on the social life aspect.

It's like anything in life. It's all about choices and the choices you make.

 

[knightsb]

In college, you can play sports, have a good social life and get an education. But, you can do only two of the three.

I don't know... It has been almost 30 years since the ole College days, but I don't remember College life being all that time constrained. In fact, just the opposite, it seemed like I had plenty of time on my hands. I earned two Bachelor degrees, one in Computer Science and maintained a 3.5 GPA. I was fortunate in that I did not have to work a full time job and go to school. I worked summers and semester breaks (Spring Break, Christmas Break, etc...) for my spending money. My parents paid the difference in my tuition and room and board after my ACT scholarship. I played Rugby in College, there was a fall season and a spring season. We trained all year around cardio and weights. I was in a fraternity, and did more than my fair share of supporting the local night life.

If a student does not have to work while going to school, I see no reason why they couldn't have a decent balance of all three (sports, social, and education).

 

[EP Dad]

I don't know... It has been almost 30 years since the ole College days, but I don't remember College life being all that time constrained. In fact, just the opposite, it seemed like I had plenty of time on my hands. I earned two Bachelor degrees, one in Computer Science and maintained at 3.5 GPA. I was fortunate in that I did not have to work a full time job and go to school. I worked summers and semester breaks (Spring Break, Christmas Break, etc...) for my spending money. My parents paid the difference in my tuition and room and board after my ACT scholarship. I played Rugby in College, there was a fall season and a spring season. We trained all year around cardio and weights. I was in a fraternity, and did more than my fair share of supporting the local night life.

If a student does not have to work while going to school, I see no reason why they couldn't have a decent balance of all three (sports, social, and education).

That's what I would want for my kid. I'd be willing to foot the bill and not have them work if they could have all 3 of those things as long as they worked hard and kept their grades up, did what the coach told them to do, etc.

 

[softballninja]

If a student does not have to work while going to school, I see no reason why they couldn't have a decent balance of all three (sports, social, and education).

I agree knightsb. I went to the Harvard winter camp, and the whole team was there to answer questions. When we were broken up into smaller groups, we were talking to three of the players about their social lives (if they exist or not). To my surprise, one player said that in general they don't have boatloads of time, but they usually have a decent amount of time to go into the city or hangout with other friends that aren't on the softball team. Yes, they do sometimes have crazy weeks when a major essay and project is due the week before a big game, but those don't happen every week.

And this was Harvard. If those girls have free time, I bet a good amount of the college girls have a decent amount of time too. And the Harvard players could not stop raving about how great the school is, how great the coaches and the teammates are, how great Cambridge/Boston is, etc. So it seems that with some time management skills, one could have a bit of a social life apart from softball.

 

[sluggers]

knightsb, how you equate playing on a club rugby team with playing a D1 sport is completely beyond me...

The rugby games in the 1970s and 1980s (and probably now) were followed with a big party by both the teams, with plenty of booze and 'games' for everyone. Please, don't pretend that playing rugby for a club is even close to playing a D1 sport.

 

[knightsb]

Sluggers, what I failed to mention was I played on the football team for one year before being cut (because I was not good enough, I was a little embarrassed to admit that). I also had many friends who played D1 sports. One former teammate went on to have a successful career in the NFL.

When you make statements like:

In college, you can play sports, have a good social life and get an education. But, you can do only two of the three.

… I disagree because I have seen sports, education and social life balanced by many D1 athletes.

Of all the athletes I was friends with; it was a cross country runner who seemed to have the greatest constraints on his time and schedule. He went on to compete in ½ marathons professionally until he retired to his full time job as a money manager for a mutual funds company.

Obviously during the season of your sport the demands on your time are much greater, that’s when you take a lighter load and less socializing. During the off-season, you take those harder classes and you are able to socialize more. It is not an either or situation.

I would argue that with the technology advances it is easier for today’s athlete to keep up with the class load than it was years ago before laptops, iPads, electronic text books, and Streaming lectures.

My point is, if today’s athlete is an effective manager of time, sports, education, and a social life are possible.

 

[JAD]

I agree with Sluggers.....there is no multi-million dollar MLB contract awaiting your daughter when she finishes playing softball....therefore, concentrate more on the education and less on the softball when making your decision on which schools to pursue. Winning the college softball world series is great, but the only person I know making a really good living off softball is Jenny Finch and that has a lot more to do with endorsements and book sales than it does with playing.

To answer your question regarding 2014 commitments - if your daughter has her heart set on playing for a particular school it would not hurt to reach out to the head coach to ask some questions. I would also HIGHLY recommending seeing if the school offers a summer camp. A lot of players get 'discovered' at summer camps!

 

[SBFAMILY]

D1's for the most part are done with 2013 and like the above post get the coaches attention for 2014. Attend a camp that you are invited to attend after making contact. Showcases are good but e mail coaches and tell them you are attending softball showcases like the Queen of Diamonds , NFCA camps, or other camps.