Welcome back to Koa’s Field Hockey blog. Congratulations to Koa’s U14 and U16 club field hockey teams on a great finish to their 2015 indoor season. This week’s blog will be slightly different than blogs past for over the next couple of weeks we will be discussing everything related to college recruiting and being a student-athlete in college!
Deciding to play a sport (or sports) in college is a big deal and can be somewhat daunting when you haven’t had any prior experience in being recruited. But no need to worry because very few people have had prior experience in this situation, so you are far from alone in this new and exciting process! That said, we at Koa want to give you a glimpse into some of the more important aspects of becoming a collegiate-level student-athlete. From high school recruiting all the way up until your first day of preseason, we hope to prepare and excite you for all of your future athletic endeavors in college sports.
Questions to Ask Yourself Pre-Recruitment
Before you begin to look at colleges there are a plethora of questions you need to ask yourself in order to determine what type of school will be the best fit for you. Questions such as: Do you want to attend a large or small school? Do you want to go to a school where the climate is perpetually warm or one that varies season to season? Does the school have the major you are looking for?
And in regards to athletics: What kind of commitment do you want to make to the team? What are the fitness expectations? What do the fall, winter and spring seasons look like? What types of scholarships are available?
In addition to these questions, it’s vital to know what level of intercollegiate athletics you hope to join. Determined by the NCAA in the early 70s, there are 3 divisions of college athletics to choose between—D1, D2 and D3. Each division is based mainly on a school’s size and its ability to provide sports-based scholarships to athletes. For instance, a bigger school, such as the University of Miami that has roughly 17,000 students, is a D1 program that can offer scholarships to their student-athletes. Where as a smaller school like Dickinson College, which only has about 3,000 students, is D3 and cannot provide athletic-based scholarships.
Choosing a college is a crazy adventure with a myriad of moving pieces involved. Your selection should include your interest in playing sports in addition to what kind of environment would make you happiest outside of athletics. Remember to follow the age-old “broken leg” rule. It sounds rather depressing, but the message is key. If you happened to break your leg and were no longer able to participate in your respective sport, would you still be satisfied attending the school you chose? Hopefully the answer is yes, but think carefully, because your happiness is always first and foremost!
