Every kid has that dream school he aspires to reach and some kids work hard enough or are fortunate enough to enroll and join that school. But this is a rare case for most high school athletes who are trying to play at the next level regardless of sport. Getting to your dream school is tough and getting into most schools is a challenge, but what happens when you get thrown into recruiting situations, the right school may not be the right school.
Picking the right school is always easier when the choice is yours, but athletes listen here, the schools you want may not want you back. End of story, it happens and it sucks. It happened to me, but it couldn’t have ended up being a better situation. Of course, I began my sophomore season knowing I wanted Division I offers and I had the schools lined up in my head to pick from: Arizona State, Michigan, UCLA, and Vanderbilt. Those schools never came calling; in fact, only two schools recruited me and both were Division III schools completely focused on my academics. Yeah playing ability mattered as well, but not as much as me being able to get into the actual school.
It wasn’t until my senior year of high school in February, on my 18th birthday when I took a visit to this tiny little school in a town I had never heard of in Oregon and I fell in love. I had gone to a camp there two months prior but I was still more set on quitting ball and staying at home in Arizona instead of continuing the sport that changed my life. I committed senior year, in March, just five months before college started, and it was without a doubt the best decision I could have ever made. I had preconceived thoughts about the game and skill of D-III athletics and I was wrong, this is as competitive as it gets, and it's as fun too.
Parents, this part is for you. Yes challenge your kid to succeed and want them to go to the best school they can, but don’t pressure the kid into over-working themselves to get to your dream school as opposed to theirs. What you think is best for them they might hate; let the kids make the choice. It is their life and their future, and there are too many cases where the kid ended up hating something because their parents forced them into it and/or pressured their child into creating the future the parents wanted. The fact that the game we get to play remains a game for as long as we can make it is what creates the love we feel for it. Added pressure from parents and coaches and numerous other third parties, is what ruins the future we have in our sport. Let the kids play their way, and their level, and live the experiences.
To the athletes who are scared that they won't be recruited or found, recruitment is a two-way street. Reach out, to all levels and divisions, junior college, NAIA, divisions one, two, and three. Go to camps when you can, showcases as well, but know your level of play. Don’t go into a big time school’s camp expecting big things when you’re a middle of the pack player; be honest with yourself and parents this goes for you as well. Be honest with your child, let them know where they belong and support where they are. Let the game remain a game for them, not something they have to do in order to secure a future. Every school has a different opportunity to offer, and thousands of people for you to meet. Explore the country, don’t fall in love with locations, divisions, “swag” the team can offer you, or the party scene or girls on campus; trouble follows those if that’s what you base your decision off of.
Be open to any and all opportunities, take as many campus visits you can, and get to know the team you might be joining. Every little piece of exposure to the school can help frame your decision. The right fit can be a surprise to you. Take it from the kid who goes to a college with student size smaller than his high school in a town no one has heard off outside of it, in an area where the weather is the opposite of the kind he’s experienced the first 18 years of his life. It's also never too late in your season to commit. Don’t give up, don’t be set on a school before they show interest, and don’t put your eggs in one basket.
The point is this, to all high school athletes of all grades and sports don’t let the division or conference of a school be the deciding factor in where you go. Yeah, the bigger schools can give you nicer stuff and promise you the world, but there are numerous cases where kids leave for the big school and then find themselves somewhere smaller, more fitting to them. Just because school "A" can give you free clothes and three pairs of cleats while school "B" can maybe give you half-off on certain items that cannot fool you. School "B" can still be a better fit for you, the kids, the atmosphere, and the classes; after all we are still going for an education.
