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Posted

I am finding myself doing what I said I would never do, that is exploring what it would take for my kid to play sports in college. I’m not talking D1 or anything, but after sending my oldest to college, I like the idea of a coach monitoring her attendance in class and her grades. She is a diligent student but has moderately severe dyslexia and average intelligence. Based on PSAT performance her sat/act scores will be below average, so I’m wondering if playing a sport could help her gain admission as well if she is a borderline candidate as I expect she could be.

 

1) how do we even know if this is possible? We often have strangers approaching us telling us that she should play in college, but we have always blown them off presuming they are trying to get her to play on their select team (a world we have never considered due to having five kids).

 

2) she goes to a newer small private school (c 200 alumni) and no one has ever played college sports. Is there something the school would have to do? To this point all of her coaches have been volunteer parents.

 

3) what sport would be a good place to start? She loves them all, and is almost immediately the best player on any team no matter how new she is to the sport. I can’t imagine her successfully competing against kids who have been playing select soccer, basketball or volleyball for years, but, then again, she does and she does great.

 

4) Im definitely not objective, and small private school sports is not that great of competition. So it seems like if we had college caliber athletes in our league, they would be going on to play in college, right? Should I just put this out of my mind? I don’t want to put any ideas in her head where she’d feel disappointment if it didn’t work out, or worse that she had disappointed us.

Posted

One sort of bizarre thing I stumbled across is the "post-graduate year" at eastern boarding schools, like Lawrenceville, etc.

The aim of this seems to be raising the profile of a student athlete for recruitment to college athletics.  Fairly obviously, this is not for P5 schools, but for lower tier schools.

The boarding schools themselves are astronomically expensive and have competitive admissions, but, if a coach is interested, kind of like actual college, things can happen.

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Posted
4 minutes ago, harpercollins said:

14, 9th grade.

Not too late, but she should probably pick a sport or two and play select.  Find a coach who has placed kids in college and listen to what that coach has to say.  I saw too many "seventeen D1 head coaches will be at this soccer tournament" that had zero actual reach to believe many club coaches know what they're doing.  And, go to camps at schools she's interested in by end of soph or early junior year.  This stuff moves fast.

I know the trepidation -- club sports cost money.  It doesn't always have to be horrible, but we paid ~ $400 for gear and something like ~ $300 monthly, and that was cheap, especially for the quality of club.

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Posted

I have some experience with this when my oldest went through college baseball recruitment in high school. He had multiple D1 offers for partial scholarships in mid-major conferences. Ultimately, the juice wasn't worth the squeeze. The schools interested didn't meet what he was looking for academically. His younger brother was actually better and had more interest but noped out of the idea the summer before his senior year. No interest in the commitment required.

The one thing I will mention is to be careful of the lower division sports. Those tend to be pay to play arrangements. Well, your kid doesn't exactly play but can be on a D3 team at a school with a high tuition cost.

 

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Posted
20 minutes ago, harpercollins said:


14, 9th grade.

What sport does she play and how does she compare against high competition at the club sports level? Even lower end college athletes at the DIII and NAIA are pretty talented and filled with good athletes.

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Posted (edited)
Quote
 What sport does she play and how does she compare against high competition at the club sports level? Even lower end college athletes at the DIII and NAIA are pretty talented and filled with good athletes.


She plays everything we offer. Volleyball, cross country, basketball, soccer, track, tennis, powerlifting. Her favorite is whatever season it is. She was state mvp for basketball but I don’t consider that her best sport.

I have no idea how she would stack up against high competition club sports athletes. I don’t even know if my smallish city has that. She is better than the other girls on her school teams that play club sports.

Quote
How tall is she?


Small. 5'4" and probably mostly done growing.

Edited by harpercollins
Posted
1 hour ago, F250 said:

I have some experience with this when my oldest went through college baseball recruitment in high school. He had multiple D1 offers for partial scholarships in mid-major conferences. Ultimately, the juice wasn't worth the squeeze. The schools interested didn't meet what he was looking for academically. His younger brother was actually better and had more interest but noped out of the idea the summer before his senior year. No interest in the commitment required.

Exactly the feedback i was looking for!! thanks. 

Posted
1 hour ago, jimmyjazz said:

Not too late, but she should probably pick a sport or two and play select.  Find a coach who has placed kids in college and listen to what that coach has to say.  I saw too many "seventeen D1 head coaches will be at this soccer tournament" that had zero actual reach to believe many club coaches know what they're doing.  And, go to camps at schools she's interested in by end of soph or early junior year.  This stuff moves fast.

I know the trepidation -- club sports cost money.  It doesn't always have to be horrible, but we paid ~ $400 for gear and something like ~ $300 monthly, and that was cheap, especially for the quality of club.

time is the primary reason we have not considered club sports. are club sports in cities with <100000 people really legit? 

Posted

Another thing that has me scratching my head--

I went to a giant 6A school in Texas that had multiple DI athletes in a few sports and even multiple professional athletes. I knew literally zero kids on any varsity sports team as they were celebrities. Here in our smallish city all of my friends' (white, upper-middle class) kids play varsity sports at the 4A and 5A schools. I'm guessing there's a huge difference in the large metropolitan schools vs the schools in smaller cities, and less of a difference in the 1-3A schools. 

Posted

Isn't NCAA rowing getting like 80-something fully funded scholarships?

Just throw her in a boat and tell her to figure it out 

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Posted
14 minutes ago, Js1 said:

Isn't NCAA rowing getting like 80-something fully funded scholarships?

Just throw her in a boat and tell her to figure it out 

Yeah this is the way. 

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Posted
3 hours ago, Js1 said:

Isn't NCAA rowing getting like 80-something fully funded scholarships?

Just throw her in a boat and tell her to figure it out 

 

IMG_1906.gif

Posted
5 hours ago, immamac said:

Yeah this is the way. 

Not sure if serious but in the town hall CDC said there's a 3 year plan to get up to that number provided the coaches want to deal with a roster that large...didn't sound like a sure thing 

Posted
6 hours ago, Js1 said:

Isn't NCAA rowing getting like 80-something fully funded scholarships?

Just throw her in a boat and tell her to figure it out 

Yep, that is how my school did it. That was the Title IX scholarship balancer. 

Posted
36 minutes ago, Dennis Taylor said:

Not sure if serious but in the town hall CDC said there's a 3 year plan to get up to that number provided the coaches want to deal with a roster that large...didn't sound like a sure thing 

The roster is already 66 lol 

Posted

I worked at a place in Austin that had a PM analyst who was a recent grad that rowed for UT. She was into fitness competitions and would often wear hip huggers to the office. When you walked passed her cubicle you could see the top of her thong and upper booty meat.

Once I was walking by her area with the head of risk management and he said with exasperation "I've reported her for inappropriate attire several times and nothing has been done."

I told him "No one in this office is going to take that complaint seriously."

Rowing is good for the booty meat.

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Posted

Golf, the cutoff to make a DIII or NAIA team is doable for a female that picks it up late and has some natural ability that will put in the time.

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Posted
On 3/12/2025 at 11:24 PM, harpercollins said:

Another thing that has me scratching my head--

I went to a giant 6A school in Texas that had multiple DI athletes in a few sports and even multiple professional athletes. I knew literally zero kids on any varsity sports team as they were celebrities. Here in our smallish city all of my friends' (white, upper-middle class) kids play varsity sports at the 4A and 5A schools. I'm guessing there's a huge difference in the large metropolitan schools vs the schools in smaller cities, and less of a difference in the 1-3A schools. 

A few decades ago I was in a 4A school and my graduating class was <120. No one on varsity sports was a celebrity even if they went on to college. They were just the kid you knew since elementary school and you probably knew an embarrassing story about them.

But I also recognize that I was in varsity sports (not a starter in anything) so maybe others felt it was a bigger deal to be on the team. 

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Posted
On 3/12/2025 at 11:02 PM, harpercollins said:

Small. 5'4" and probably mostly done growing.

Yeah, that's going to be a major challenge for college athletics.

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Posted (edited)

It usually ends up like this- They’ll play in a small town probably in NE Arkansas, you won’t see any of their games, and they’ll have a four year degree that means nothing that you pay for with someone being pregnant.

Edited by StassneyHorn
Posted
11 hours ago, F250 said:

Yeah, that's going to be a major challenge for college athletics.

5’4 - softball, rowing or libero/DS for volleyball

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Posted
31 minutes ago, Js1 said:

5’4 - softball, rowing or libero/DS for volleyball

That's big for a coxswain.  I am highly skeptical anyone could get far enough in volleyball at this point.  The golf thing might not be a bad idea.  Might want to take another angle besides sports . . .

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Posted

I wonder outside of "big-time" college sports, how much a coaching staff really monitors academics.  Although it is a sound idea generally, I think the stakes of ineligibility and the optics of graduation rates at "big-time" schools make it more of an issue than at smaller institutions.

I'm relatively certain, though, that the time commitment is substantial even at smaller schools.  And that can be a plus (forced time management) or a minus Ibig distraction from academics).

Perhaps it might be more of a sure thing to look into "student support services" at prospective schools.  As far as I know, most schools have some kind of assistance for the "learning disabled." If any of that survived the DEI hysteria.

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Posted

My $0.02, and it might be worth even less.

The rowing suggestion makes sense and could be considered.  My company once hired an EE major from Texas who was a rower.  She was around 5'2" and was one of the actual rowers.  That was around 15+ years ago, so the sport could have changed, but...  I just looked and Texas offers a rowing camp, but its pricey at $1500 for 4 days.

Another thought - use sports to encourage health, physical fitness, time management, and discipline.  Avoid thinking about the possibility that "my kid will go to XYZ school on $ABC scholarship."  Many parents get wrapped up in that and lose sight of the bigger picture - get to a good college to get a good education.  And they spend a ton of money and time traveling all over the region and US trying to "get there."

Another anecdote - a buddy's daughter was a very skilled soccer player.  She loved it, and eventually earned a scholarship to play at the college she actually wanted to attend.  Was injured in freshman year; then coach changed.  She continued her studies and graduated.  She played club ball through MS and HS, and her parents gladly did it because she loved the game and competition.  The objective was not a scholarship.  The buddy mentioned that many other parents were there for the scholarship only - and some kids would end up at some NW USA private school with a 25% scholarship.  The school did not have a major the kid wanted, etc.  He often noted that the family would have been better off spending all that money on tutoring and test prep.

A few more thoughts to summarize it all - again, all worth what you paid

  • If she's passionate about a certain sport, support it to the extent you are willing, time-wise and financially
  • Avoid making the sports about the path to college - also, I am not that sure about academics monitoring across sports; much of it is "keep eligible.
  • Athletics will push you toward majors they are comfortable with - in my example above, the coach/support staff said, "We've never had anyone major in that.  We do not know how it works."  This was a D1 school.
  • If you have the spare $$, spend it on test prep and tutoring.  
  • Look for smaller schools - not unlike what you did for HS.  Do tours and understand the level of support, help, monitoring, etc. you can get.   

You know your kid, so feel free to ignore all of the above.  I am a random internet person :)

Good luck with it all!

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Posted

15 or so years ago, I read that women's golf was the best sport for getting a scholarship in college. The premise was that they had so many schollys to give away and nowhere near enough golfers. So there was going to be a full ride available somewhere. I tried to get my 2 girls into golf and they declined. Hope you have more luck. 

Posted
4 hours ago, Sandman said:

15 or so years ago, I read that women's golf was the best sport for getting a scholarship in college. The premise was that they had so many schollys to give away and nowhere near enough golfers. So there was going to be a full ride available somewhere. I tried to get my 2 girls into golf and they declined. Hope you have more luck. 

My niece turned down a full ride golf scholarship at Baylor and made her parents pay for UT, because fuck Baylor.

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Posted
2 minutes ago, Judge Roybeanbag said:

made her parents

That's the parent's fault. If my kids had turned down a full ride, they would've paid their own way. The fucking nerve.

Posted
7 hours ago, Sandman said:

That's the parent's fault. If my kids had turned down a full ride, they would've paid their own way. The fucking nerve.

How much would you pay to not have your daughter raped by the football team?

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Posted
3 hours ago, jimmyjazz said:

How much would you pay to not have your daughter raped by the football team?

However much a nice 9mm pistol and handgun training costs. Say $2000 or so?

Posted
15 hours ago, Judge Roybeanbag said:

My niece turned down a full ride golf scholarship at Baylor and made her parents pay for UT, because fuck Baylor.

In Art Briles' Baylor, you don't fuck Baylor, Baylor fucks you!!

Posted

In my limited experience of friends,coworkers or family with kids getting athletic scholarships to smaller schools, they all end up quitting the sport. Maybe they get 2 years of full or partial paid school, but they get sick of the grind and lack of a personal life. I imagine that going from a top high school athlete to a middle of the road to struggling college athlete also comes into play.

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Posted

There is obviously a lot to this.  There is really only one sport now that is tied to high school, and that is football.  All of the other sports are much more oriented to club/summer as that is when the college coaches have time to recruit.  High school sports are mostly a step down in competition and organization from high level club.  Without being attached to a well known club, it will be very difficult to get noticed and recruited. 

Our experience was with our son, who is a freshman in college.  He plays 2 sports in D1.  First, you will know if they really want to play or not.  With my son, there was never a doubt he felt differently about it than others.  He was truly focused.  There is nothing wrong with just playing to have fun, but that gets flushed out very quickly college.  Basically, the kid will most likely show you their path. You have to really want to play in college because it is a structured grind.  

All that said, athletics is one of the greatest ways to get into a school you most likely would not have gotten into.  It truly opens up a myriad of opportunities.  Happy to share more if it helps.

 

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Posted
17 hours ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

In my limited experience of friends,coworkers or family with kids getting athletic scholarships to smaller schools, they all end up quitting the sport. Maybe they get 2 years of full or partial paid school, but they get sick of the grind and lack of a personal life. I imagine that going from a top high school athlete to a middle of the road to struggling college athlete also comes into play.

Take away a potential pro career and all the adulation big-time D1 athletes get and your left with love of the game, and I'm not sure how far that goes.  For D1 athletes without pro prospects, my observation is not very far.

Posted
On 3/13/2025 at 8:16 AM, Js1 said:

Isn't NCAA rowing getting like 80-something fully funded scholarships?

Just throw her in a boat and tell her to figure it out 

A friend of mine whose daughter was in the "rowing" scene called it the cheat code for getting any kid into a decent college.  It's a lot though.  His daughter burned out by the end of her junior year.  Now's she's a NARP (non-athletic regular person) and is going to Wake Forest next year.  She probably wouldn't have gotten into Wake for rowing, but she was recruited by several schools her junior year.

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Posted
1 hour ago, dcbc said:

A friend of mine whose daughter was in the "rowing" scene called it the cheat code for getting any kid into a decent college.  It's a lot though.  His daughter burned out by the end of her junior year.  Now's she's a NARP (non-athletic regular person) and is going to Wake Forest next year.  She probably wouldn't have gotten into Wake for rowing, but she was recruited by several schools her junior year.

I imagine there are more than a few athletes, who perhaps are not as worried about the paid scholarship, who use athletics to get in, and then quit. Once you are accepted, is there any condition that you have to remain on the athletic team? Could you quit before Day 1?

Posted
11 minutes ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

I imagine there are more than a few athletes, who perhaps are not as worried about the paid scholarship, who use athletics to get in, and then quit. Once you are accepted, is there any condition that you have to remain on the athletic team? Could you quit before Day 1?

If your grades are acceptable, UT isn't gonna kick you out.  No idea about other schools.

Posted (edited)
1 hour ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

I imagine there are more than a few athletes, who perhaps are not as worried about the paid scholarship, who use athletics to get in, and then quit. Once you are accepted, is there any condition that you have to remain on the athletic team? Could you quit before Day 1?

Ivy League example from a close friend:  Harvard about 7-8 years ago, highly touted DL comes in (4* I think).  Goes through the motions of the first hour of practice and hangs them up.  Got into Harvard and he was done with athletics. According to our friend, the guy was not gifted intellectually (in fact, he was one of the least intelligent kids he had ever met).  But, played the game, just not the game of football.

Edited by Nigel Tufnel
Posted
1 hour ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

I imagine there are more than a few athletes, who perhaps are not as worried about the paid scholarship, who use athletics to get in, and then quit. Once you are accepted, is there any condition that you have to remain on the athletic team? Could you quit before Day 1?

To clarify, she quit after her junior year in high school, but was recruited by several small schools before she quit.  She got into Wake Forest on academics.

Posted
12 hours ago, Nigel Tufnel said:

Ivy League example from a close friend:  Harvard about 7-8 years ago, highly touted DL comes in (4* I think).  Goes through the motions of the first hour of practice and hangs them up.  Got into Harvard and he was done with athletics. According to our friend, the guy was not gifted intellectually (in fact, he was one of the least intelligent kids he had ever met).  But, played the game, just not the game of football.

A 4 star ranking might have had something to do with that which most don't have.

Everyone I knew that played for an Ivy was a shit athlete but top tier academics.

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