Anyone here have any experience with D3 sports?

[Northbound]

I should have been more clear - I have a company that operates in the Hs/college athletics space so I've got some perspectives that is be happy to share I sent you a PM.

D3 isn't all about small vans, long trips can be on planes or high end coach busses. Special meal times and dining tables to accommodate for practices.

Its different than D1, but perhaps not as much as you'd think, depending on the school. I did both so have a unique perspective and have guys on my board who are high major D1 athletes and guys we work with that we're D3 guys and while there are some big difference there are a ton of similarities.

 

[Northbound]

It still takes a lot of time to play a sport, but there are advantages to D3. Most D3s allow for greater class commitment (only attending partial practices due to a lab, etc.) which would never happen at DI. Another advantage to D3 is that when you are out of season (soccer in the spring, baseball in the fall), you are really out of season - there may be a weekend captains practice or something, but it usually isnt the year-round commitment that DI is. Depending on where you go, the travel demands can be much, much easier than D1.

Recruiting is trickier since D3s have small coaching staffs and won't go on the road much. It'll often be by video tape and word of mouth, and then since there are no scholarships, the role the coach has in recruiting is more helping with admissions and/or financial aid packages. Also easier to be a true walk on and just contact the coach when you're admitted - the hurdle of earning playing time over scholarship kids isn't there.

That's actually not the case usually. Staff members are responsible for specific geographies, those geographies are typically with tighter parameters than D1 schools, meaning that a school in NH isn't combing CA for recruits except for some rare instance (alumni connection). With the geographic boundaries coaches do travel to recruit. so the staffs from SUNY Cortland or Ithaca for example will got visit hs coaches in their geographic area of responsibility. it's part of their job. There are heavily recruited kids at D3 schools and walking on with the expectation of playing time is possoble, but not a good way to go at all.

If you think D3 is a part time deal its not - it's morning practice, pm practice, dinner, weights, study hall. Off-season is weights and study hall.

There's a ton of ways to manage the "no scholarship" part of D3 where you essentially get school paid for but its just not called a scholarship.

it is not a word of mouth game, coaches in D3, let me say any good D3 program, don't just stumble upon kids - that's not how it happen.

 

[Gurleyman]

That's actually not the case usually. Staff members are responsible for specific geographies, those geographies are typically with tighter parameters than D1 schools, meaning that a school in NH isn't combing CA for recruits except for some rare instance (alumni connection). With the geographic boundaries coaches do travel to recruit. so the staffs from SUNY Cortland or Ithaca for example will got visit hs coaches in their geographic area of responsibility. it's part of their job. There are heavily recruited kids at D3 schools and walking on with the expectation of playing time is possoble, but not a good way to go at all.

If you think D3 is a part time deal its not - it's morning practice, pm practice, dinner, weights, study hall. Off-season is weights and study hall.

There's a ton of ways to manage the "no scholarship" part of D3 where you essentially get school paid for but its just not called a scholarship.

it is not a word of mouth game, coaches in D3, let me say any good D3 program, don't just stumble upon kids - that's not how it happen.

Yeah - a lot depends on what D3 and what type of sport. The OP was talking about an academically challenging institution, which I interpreted to mean more like a NESCAC/MIT/NYU type of place, which is more my familiarity. Odds are, there is no such thing as study hall at those places. You're expected to handle your academic responsibilities on your own. If you're struggling in something, you find the same peer tutor a regular student does.

I'm good friends with a D3 baseball coach at a top liberal arts college who has been in a bunch of NCAA Tournaments. Most of his roster he didn't see play live before they arrived as freshmen. There just isn't the chance to get out and see most kids compete when you can't just recruit your own neighborhood and find enough players good enough who can also get admitted.

 

[Northbound]

We interact with high major d1 schools, Ivies and all manner of d3.

It's really rare for coaches to have no sense of guys that are coming in. The assistants have talked to all those kids if they're slated to play.

Your friend is an anomaly.

 

[Paesano]

We interact with high major d1 schools, Ivies and all manner of d3.

It's really rare for coaches to have no sense of guys that are coming in. The assistants have talked to all those kids if they're slated to play.

Your friend is an anomaly.

I responded to your PM. Based on some stuff you said here, it sounds like you and I may actually be pretty close. Are you in upstate NY in the Ithaca/Cortland area?

 

[8893]

you might want to repost that without the link you included there...

I havent laughed so hard on the boneyard in a long, long time (maybe at BigErn's misfortune), but this was so so good. Opened it in a Starbucks, and was like...whooops!! ahahhaa Good catch Matt.

NB: to be fair, you should probably take the link out of your reply so as not to be hypocritical. JMO

Holy crap that's funny. And troubling.

 

[August_West]

Holy crap that's funny. And troubling.

you might want to repost that without the link you included there...

What the heck?

 

[8893]

What the heck?

What don't you get? Scooter's a freak.

I mean, in more ways than we thought.

 

[August_West]

What don't you get? Scooter's a freak.

I mean, in more ways than we thought.

How the heck does a Bondage link end up in a D3 post?

Man, Im dying here.

The Boneyard is the gift that never stops giving.

 

[8893]

How the heck does a Bondage link end up in a D3 post?

Man, Im dying here.

The Boneyard is the gift that never stops giving.

 

[Matt (Chicago)]

@8893 @August_West - its too bad this thread will probably be pretty low in terms of hit count... freescooter aka fetlife would have a lot of explaining to do!

 

[John]

you might want to repost that without the link you included there...

oh great, now I get to explain to IT why that website is in my internet log. Thanks.

 

[8893]

@8893 @August_West - its too bad this thread will probably be pretty low in terms of hit count... freescooter aka fetlife would have a lot of explaining to do!

It definitely deserves it's own thread imo.

 

[8893]

oh great, now I get to explain to IT why that website is in my internet log. Thanks.

Nah, if they didn't ask about all that NAMBLA stuff you're into they should be fine with this.

 

[HooperScooper]

One thing to be careful about that I saw happen. A student athlete was being recruited by a NESCAC school. The coach pre-screened the kid (GPA, test scores, etc.) and told the kid he could get him through admissions. There's no question that if a kid is being recruited for sports they can get into a higher level school than if they weren't being recruited. But the coach doesn't make the ultimate decision on who gets admitted. The coach told the kid to apply early decision and he did. And didn't get admitted. The parents were livid that they had used their one early decision shot on a school that didn't admit the kid even though the coach said he'd get them in. So keep all options open and don't burn any bridges.

The commitment level to D3 sports is way more involved than when I was in college. Today it's a year round commitment with training and extra stuff. I do know that at the highly selective academic D3 schools they all say that academics come first and most coaches do adhere to that. But it's still not easy to balance the academics and the sport. You have to have discipline and manage your time well.

 

[NJHusky]

The commitment level to D3 sports is way more involved than when I was in college. Today it's a year round commitment with training and extra stuff. I do know that at the highly selective academic D3 schools they all say that academics come first and most coaches do adhere to that. But it's still not easy to balance the academics and the sport. You have to have discipline and manage your time well.

I think this post hits it perfectly. One nephew played fb @ Hopkins...it definitely helped with admissions,...and they worked off season lifting, etc and harder during the season...but school came first-and the coaches respected that. I also think it helped with social life...he was in the baseball/fb fraternity which gave him a more balanced college experience IMO. My other nephew got a full D1 ride...that was a job where you had school work to do too

My guess is that it varies by school....and I assume the better the academics, the more leeway they give you with sports.