I realize it’s impossible to generalize across divisions and teams. And I’m not asking in terms of could this team beat that team. And I know (I think anyway) that the experience and emphasis on sports as opposed to academics may generally be different across divisions. But in terms of trying to get a feel for level of play and where a player may garner interest from schools, how does top 20 (soccer not academics) D3 compare to middle of the pack D1? If a player is garnering some interest from top top 20 D3 schools, should they expect they might be of interest to D1 teams below the top 100? Or are those still very different levels of play? I haven’t been able to find any relative comparisons or games in common across divisions and while I’ve come to love the game through my kids and feel I’ve learned a great deal, I don’t generally have the ability to look at different decent teams across different levels of play and draw conclusions about how they’d fare against each other.
Level of Play Across Divisions on Women’s Soccer Side
- Thread starter Publius
- Start date
top D3 could very well beat middle level D1 schools - depends on the program. I would much prefer my DD play on a top D3 school, play every minute, win the conference and go to D3 NCAA tourney. What is the fun in playing D1 if your program is at the bottom of the conference game after game and season after season or if you are spending most of your time on the bench? Pick the school she wants to go to and get a decent coach that is a good human being.
I’m guessing we’re likely thinking much the same way. The question isn’t because want to play D1 soccer per se, but wondering whether soccer might be helpful in admissions process and provide an opportunity to be on the team to some D1 schools fitting that middle of pack or lower profile that are of interest academically. I think we were initially of the unresearched opinion that anything “D1” was automatically too high level to even put in time expressing interest.
eastbaysoccer
GOLD
Attend a school that provides a great experience. D1, D2 or D3. IMO putting in lots of practice time and not playing is not a good experience for most.