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Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 149
goal kick
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goal kick
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 149 |
I think coaches have been honest for a while. And, I think the players have known what level they belong at for a while. The problem is parents. Parents' expectations, their translation/perception of what a coach actually tells them and the image of the decision play big factors in the college process. You can tell from this thread that some want you to know "my kid was good enough for conference or school X but chose Y because........" Who cares? As long as the kid is happy, who cares? Justification is not needed.
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Joined: May 2008
Posts: 88
throw in
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throw in
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 88 |
ROH - your post is very insightful. Kids need to remember the main reason they go to school is to get an education. You are "spot on" in knowing a kid's athletic career can end at any point - and WILL end someday.
I've seen your daughter play and admired her talents. Among other quality soccer traits, she has "court sense" - can't imagine where she gets that from?!?! Clemson has a strong club soccer program - your daughter is probably already aware of that. Plenty of kids who are capable of playing D1 soccer are involved in the club program and do it because they love the game. It's easy to see your daughter loves the game.
Looking forward to the HS/Clemson discussion, assuming "HS" is Hershey Strosberg and not "high school". We know some quality kids who left the program this year and wonder what happened. It would seem that lots of folks are watching HS to see how successful that program will be.
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Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 678
goal
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goal
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 678 |
Quote:
At the end of the day how much is pure talent versus contacts and relationships. Sweet Feet, if your daughter had stayed in SC and not made the contacts, relationships, and exposure from IMG do you think she would have had as many offers from your "majors"? Are there any 2011,2012 SC players being sought heavily after by the majors or making the region III team. SC has a U17 and U16 club team that have done decent in the region III premier league which have some of the top teams in the nation but no player good enough to make the region III ODP team? My guess is the same skilled player has more opportunities playing for a club out of Ga, FL,TX, or NC then out of SC. Maybe USC's success will bring more attention to SC but it appears the better USC gets, the less they seem to look at SC players even with their star player coming from SC. Remember they recruited her when they weren't doing very well. Look at the 2011 commits so far for SC and Clemson. SC commitments are from Canada, NJ, Penn and Clemson are from California and NC. I would assume by now the 2011 verbal commits are where the colleges have invested their scholarship money. Some already have their 2012 commits.
I think also sweet feet might have misspoke slightly when he said that we all help our daughters to make the best personal decision that individually matches her soccer talent because I'm guessing 99%, including sweet feet, are helping their daughters make the best personal college decision that matches not just her soccer talent but her academic, personality and financial situation. She has to feel good about the school with and without soccer. 99% of the players will need a means to support themselves in a way besides soccer when they graduate.
scwame:
You have brought up an excellent point about academics. One of the factors that helped my daughter make her decision was the academic resources set aside for the athlete's at her university. In addition to the normal assistance that a regular student receives, as a soccer player my daughter has
access to a multitude of academic services. The soccer team enjoys a full time academic advisor with a full time staff of tutors that are available 24/7, yes 24/7, and a spanking new technology center only available to athlete's. So maybe delta dog is right, it doesn't matter whether you attend a mid major or a major soccer program as long as they provide the academic assistance that you'll require as a student athlete. So now that we have discussed the academic side of things is it time to start discussing soccer facilities (fields,practice fields,housing etc.,,) and the different levels of support (not just financial) certain programs receive from the administration.
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Joined: May 2010
Posts: 32
kick off
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kick off
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 32 |
I know I'm months late but I'm bored and I find it interesting.
1. I think we should work on titles of posts as this thread deals with females.
2. Neither Dempsey nor Clark graduated from Furman.
3. SEC is not a major soccer conference for the men as they do not even sponsor a championship. Only USC and Kentucky have teams. Off the top of my head, I would say the only traditionally strong womens team is Florida.
4. I was searching for a thread about in-state vs. out-of-state recruiting because I was talking with a friend who works at North Greenville. Being curious, I checked their men's soccer situation. The majority of their players are from SC and I think they only had one foreigner. This past season they lost to Anderson 3-2, but conversely, Anderson had something like 16 foreigners and only one player from SC. I find it hard to believe that SC schools couldn't be competitive with local players. As a matter of fact, it bothers me that some state supported schools don't have more sc players. Maybe it's just that they don't want to go there. Just a thought.
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