Mandatory time devoted to softball in College?

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Hi everybody!
Concerning the amount of time per day / week that a student athlete is required to devote to her sport or physical conditioning:

Is there a difference in activities or level of committment between D1, D2, and D3 schools? Is it even possible for a student who's on the high honor role in High School to achieve a similar GPA in college while committing to her sport? Thanks.

 

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While it will always depend on the program/coach, I think there is a fairly significant difference between the amount of time commitment expected at D1-2-3 schools. Keep in mind that the D1-2 schools have also probably made a financial commitment to the student athlete and there must certainly be more pressure on those coaches to run successful programs. I don't have any numbers on this, but noticed the difference when we visited colleges, and that should be a factor in the athlete's decision making process.

And yes, I think it is possible and I know examples of students who have achieved similar GPA's in college, but it is no doubt more difficult and less likely.

 

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Absolutely there is. D-1 it's a full time job after and before classes They own you. D-2 almost as bad but not as much, D-3 still crazy off hour practices, but there are off times during the off season where the ladies are to work out themselves on their own. But 6:00 am field tarp removal and practices are not uncommon in any of the three.

Even one D-3 coach just told our one being recruited, "Oh we never had anyone doing pre med make it and balance both"... That drew the wind out of DD's sails and put some doubt even in her own mind. She wants to be a cariologist, so school is the key for her as she needs a minimum 3.5 for Med school after pre med.

We know she can do it and some doctors we know told her to do it as she will regret not playing in college....You can't go backwards on what ifs...

 

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I don't remember the actual hours, but there is a difference at the different levels as far as maximum hours coaches can have the players practice. That said, there are also extremes. I remember last spring when my daughter was having practices three times a day--one being conditioning. I don't think they all counted--maybe some of those hours were "player initiated." The Ashland coach told us that the school is very strong with academics and that they do not practice as much as allowed due to the academic emphasis.

 

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Great replies. Thanks. There's info on our High School's web site which doesn't seem real world. It says the NCAA sets a limit of 20 hours per week for practice. It's the other "voluntary" conditioning that I was hoping someone could quantify. My girl already lifts and runs on a weekly program. She recognizes her sport as a means to an end. Meaning, education first; softball second. And she is shying away from the D1 ball because she questions if she'll be able to do as well in the classroom! Oh my goodness, have I created a monster? Or is this a good thing?

After the QDSN she started to seriously consider life after high school. She wants to go to college. Like a true competitor, I think she's set her new goal on winning a scholarship. There's a couple questions in this reply; and these are good questions to have. No?

 

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She really needs to talk to the coach when visiting. Each coach is different. Make sure your daughter asks questions about how much time they practice. I would also recommend that she spend the night with players on the team so that she can ask more questions.

 

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There are NCAA rules and guidelines that coaches have to follow concerning the amount of time they can require of players during the school year.
The rules are different for Div. 1, 2 & 3. I have heard that every coach is different, and I would encourage this to be an important point of discussion with the coach and team players when being recruited by a school.
I can only speak about the Div. 1 MAC program by DD plays for.
Her coach is very good about communicating their practice, game & travel schedules well in advance and in writing.
They have practice the 1st day of school in August and they go non-stop until their season is over sometime in May - depending on how far they go in tournament play. They do get off Thanksgiving weekend, and Christmas break. But they are expected to work out and stay in top shape year round, their trainer sends them home for Christmas break with a detailed conditioning program, and they had better be in shape when they go back, or they will be sorry. They usually only get one day off per week. It is a very demanding schedule, but not impossible. It is often difficult to schedule their classes around the required practice times, but since they get priority scheduling that helps. If they cannot avoid a conflict between a class and practice, then the class wins. My DD was a 4.0 student in high school and so far she has a 3.96 GPA half way through her Sophomore year. If you play sports in HS and are a good student, then the likelyhood of them being a good student athlete in college is high. If they are not good students in HS - then playing Div 1 sports in college will be difficult. Another thing to consider is - NOT having time for any form of employment (except for the summer and Christmas breaks), if the athlete has a scholarship, then this hopefully off sets this, but if they are getting limited or no scholarship $, then this can be a very important factor. Another thing that is difficult for the athletes is missing class due to their travel schedule. My DD's team travels out of state for 5 or 6 tournaments in Feb & March and they usually leave sometime on Thursday and don't get back until very late Sun. PM or early Monday AM. Durng the MAC season, they usually have away games every other weekend, and leave Thursday evenings and get back Sunday nights. The girls try not to schedule any classes on Friday's during softball season, but sometimes it's not possible. The coaches work very closely with their players and make sure their professors are informed ahead of time what classes they will miss due to softball. In my DD's case, most professors have been very accomodating. In summary, it's definately not easy, but my DD thrives on the busy schedule and competition (and appreciates the significant scholarship $), and I think this experience will help prepare her for "adulthood" and the real world.

 

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It is important to talk to the coaches, but it is also important to talk to the players. If you don't get the chance during your visit, ask the coach for a phone number or two from players that would be comfortable receiving calls from a recruit with questions. Of course, the possibility for this to happen depends on the level (big no-no at D1, D2 & D3 I'm not sure). Make sure you ask about the majors of the players & try to talk to some taking a similar direction. I played D1 with a teammate that was pre-med. She almost always got As & her gpa was never in question, but she didn't have the free time to prepare for the entrance exam into med school & it took her 2 attempts (i think you only get 2 on the medical exam).