SC Soccer Forums SCSoccer.com Forums Club Soccer & ODP How important are grades ?

Good players get soccer money and lots of playing time good students get academic money and earn playing time. Everyone will agree soccer players for the most part due well in the classroom.

Funny; I was just having this discussion with a couple of my club players just last evening at practice. Of the ones who want to continue playing after high school, some were looking at large, state-supported schools (Clemson, USC, VT, etc.) and others were looking at more academically rigorous colleges (Brown, Duke, etc.). At the larger state-supported schools, not many are going to look at grades as a draw for scholarship money--you get athletic scholarships for athletics, academic scholarships for academics--as long as the grades are sufficient for entrance requirements.

At a university with very rigorous academic standards, though, I think grades will come more into play when evaluating players; with the higher academic demands, athletic programs seem to be less likely to invest scholarship money in players unless their grades indicate that they will be able to stick with and complete the academic program while playing a sport. It would be risky to invest in players who are likely to (A) not pass courses and therefore not remain with the university for their years of eligibility or (B) have to drop out of a sport in order to meet academic requirements. So, some athletic programs will be looking for blue chip players regardless of grades, and others will be looking for blue chip players who can also make the grade.

Coach Chass:
Excellent post, however wouldn't you agree most female soccer players you know that are looking to play college soccer are for the most part excellent students.

I would agree that most are indeed better than average. I've often said (and had evidence to back it up) that soccer has the best overall academic average of any varsity sport on our campus. Still, there is also that player here and there who excels at the sport, but who struggles in the classroom...that player who would really shine on a college athletic team, but not so much in the college academic environment. It's those on-the-bubble players who will see the most difference in opportunity when looking at colleges with different levels of academic rigor.

Now that we decided that for the most part..soccer players do better than average in the classroom..The next decision to make for a player would be..Go to a smaller school and play more or choose the larger program and play less..I guess the first decision should be what school is going to be best for the career field that one wants to follow in..Soccer will come to an end after college for most female players..unless they go into coaching the sport

Agreed. The vast majority of players will not continue a soccer career beyond college, therefore the first consideration would be how to be best prepared for the years that follow. I tell my players to first pick a college that suits their academic and career needs, and then choose the best playing options from within that group.

I agree with Coach Chass to a certain extent.... Having gone through this process, grades are very important.

1- they determine the seriousness of the player to the coach
2- they provide a long term view of the player in the program. i.e. will be able to perform in school and be available for the sport
3- You have to take footbal and basketball comparisons out of the equation they are not comparable.
4- having good grades means higher state assistance and therefore lower need for athletic money
5- for private schools, good grades means lots of available money. Thus Furman, Wofford, Davidson, etc. can have athletes attend a school that charges $38000/year without large athletic assistance....i.e. grants, etc.

So if you believe that grades are not important you are wrong.

No school offers a full ride on athletic money alone for soccer. If you have this enviable situation, your kid should consider turning pro as obviously he/she is extremely gifted in the sport and playing college ball would take away from earning potential.

Agree totally with futbol. Grades are very important and can make a huge difference. Also allows the coach to put together a complete scholarship package for the player. It shouldn't matter what percent is from athletic vs academic. You must realize women only have 11 and men 9 scholarships to give and they roster 24-32 players. Do the math.

we all know grades are important.that is a no brainer.i think we all know that good grades get you more in state money.you cant get into school with bad grades.now that we have that out of the way,i do not think sweet feet is talking about the same thing some of you are.