3-Target Schools

3-Target Schools

Once you have decided what level of program would be the best fit for your daughter, it is time to start thinking about what type of college your daughter would prefer. The good news is that if she wants to play field hockey, your list is already narrowed down considerably since there are only 279 schools that have varsity field hockey teams. Depending on the division, that number can become much smaller. In 2017, there were 78 DI, 35 DII, 165 DIII, and 1 NAIA programs. Having a list of must-haves in a school will make your process easier and keep you on the right track. You won’t be tempted by a fabulous offer at a school that may not tick all your boxes and you won’t waste time looking at schools where your daughter would not be happy.

There are the usual factors that everyone needs to consider when looking for a school such as size, location, cost, setting (urban, suburban, small town), and majors offered. In addition, your athlete has other issues to think about. One of the biggest is playing time. If your daughter is using field hockey as a way to get into a certain school, playing time may not matter as much to her. Some girls may not mind sitting on the bench for the first year or two if there is a good chance that she would play a lot in her later years for her dream team. Other girls may not be happy unless they are playing from their first year on. Only you and your daughter know what will make her happy.

No coach can guarantee you how much or what position your daughter will play. Once you receive an offer, then you can talk more specifically about what role the coach sees your daughter in. Until then, you may be able to get a good idea of what is possible by looking at the current team and their website. There is usually a breakdown by game of who started and which players went in as subs. Often you can also find number of minutes played as well. At one of the schools we looked at, the freshmen who did play, played a lot. The others not at all. Some of the other schools on our list seemed to rotate everyone into most games. The playing times were not equal between players but at least almost everyone got some action. If the current freshmen bios aren’t up to date with number of minutes played, you can look at the older girls’ bios for their freshmen years. Past performance is no guarantee of what will happen in the future but it can give you a general idea.

Another aspect to consider is what the team makeup is now and what it will be when your daughter starts. On the team’s website, you can see how many spots on the roster will need to be filled her freshman year. Will the school be losing a lot of seniors or will there only be a need for just a few players? Are they losing no starters so the potential for a lot of freshman playing time is limited? Does it look like your daughter could be one of ten or more freshman recruits or one of only a few? Does that matter to her? One good tip I heard from several other parents is to look at how many girls started as freshmen and how many are still there as seniors. There may be any number of reasons why a girl may not return that have nothing to do with hockey but a low number of returning players may be a red flag. The number of foreign players on a team is also something to consider. Often the foreign players that come over to play are very good and very likely to play a lot.

Probably the best resource and the one that may be the most difficult to find is the girls who are playing or have played there. They can tell you what they perceive about the team atmosphere, coaching style, collegiate support for the team, and other factors that you may not be able to tell from the website. Remember though that what matters to one person may not have the same weight for you and an isolated bad experience for one person may make their assessment less than objective.

Have an honest discussion with your daughter about finances at the start of your search if that is an issue. If she knows ahead of time what the budget for college is, she can be realistic in choosing schools to look at and not be disappointed later if she falls in love with a school that is out of reach. Very few girls get full athletic scholarships to school. Some colleges work very hard with the families to make their school affordable whereas others have more limited options. If you have your budget set, then you can realistically consider every offer to see how acceptable it is.

First and foremost, your daughter is going to college to get an education. Very few girls go on to play on the national team and even if they do, that career is short-lived so be sure the college she chooses fulfills her academic needs. Some majors are extremely hard to do with busy field hockey schedule. Be sure to ask if any majors are prohibited for the athletes. None of the schools we looked at absolutely forbade a major. Some said that nursing and engineering were particularly hard to do. One suggested that if nursing was a possibility, a student should major in something else and plan on getting a master’s degree in nursing. Having a supportive faculty and academic advisors for athletes is a must with the amount of time that the student athlete will miss due to games and road trips.

Only you and your family can decide what and how important the other factors on your list are. Keep in mind that, if your daughter wants you to come to many of her games, distance and ease of traveling to the school are also considerations. Remember parents, although we can guide and offer advice, this is ultimately your daughter’s choice. What makes her happy may not be the same as what you would want in a school. And after all, don’t we all want our daughters to be happy?