Wow...DD's HS team seems to be struggling academically

[JAD]

I will have to admit that I am amazed by the number of HS students who struggle academically. If you ask college coaches what are their top priorities when recruiting a player, grades will be in the Top-3 for every one of them. Softball is not a revenue generating sport, and there are only 12 scholarships for a D1 school, therefore coaches cannot take chances on students who cannot cut it academically. Softball is a Spring sport, so Fall semester grades are reported BEFORE the season starts and that STUD freshman pitcher will NOT see the circle if she is academically ineligible.

I will also point out that while the NCAA sets minimum admittance standards for D1 shools, the various schools within the university (nursing, engineering, education, business, ect) have their own standards. So even though your DD may get into the university of her choice, she may be stuck in a major that she does not like if her grades are not where they need to be.

 

[NorthMS]

My dds softball team was an All State Academic team last year. I have to say the kids in our school who are in sports, tend to do well at the academics as well. The district has a very strict stance on academics and if your class average slips you are not eligible to play until it is back up. When I was in school it was only looked at at the card markings, now its every week.

I'm thankful that DD1's school puts a huge value on academics. It may not be fair, but I believe the athletes get more attention than the other students. It was explained to me that they spend so much time out of school in their sports, it's too hard to catch up if they get behind. Having 2 coaches and the AD watching their grades gives 3 extra set of eyes on their progress. They don't wait until its a noticeable drop, like 9 week average. They will talk with the student after one test if it's a significant change from the students norm.

 

[redhotcoach]

I will have to admit that I am amazed by the number of HS students who struggle academically. If you ask college coaches what are their top priorities when recruiting a player grades will be in the Top-3 for every one of them. Softball is not a revenue generating sport, and there are only 12 scholarships for a D1 school, therefore they cannot take chances on students who cannot cut it academically. Softball is a Spring sport, so Fall semester grades are reported BEFORE the season starts and that STUD freshman pitcher will NOT see the circle if she is academically ineligible.

I will also point out that while the NCAA sets minimum admittance standards for D1 shools, the various schools within the university (nursing, engineering, education, business, ect) have their own standards. So even though your DD may get into the university of her choice, she may be stuck in a major that she does not like if her grades are not where they need to be.

 

[NorthMS]

I will have to admit that I am amazed by the number of HS students who struggle academically. If you ask college coaches what are their top priorities when recruiting a player grades will be in the Top-3 for every one of them. Softball is not a revenue generating sport, and there are only 12 scholarships for a D1 school, therefore they cannot take chances on students who cannot cut it academically. Softball is a Spring sport, so Fall semester grades are reported BEFORE the season starts and that STUD freshman pitcher will NOT see the circle if she is academically ineligible.

I will also point out that while the NCAA sets minimum admittance standards for D1 shools, the various schools within the university (nursing, engineering, education, business, ect) have their own standards. So even though your DD may get into the university of her choice, she may be stuck in a major that she does not like if her grades are not where they need to be.

JAD, could you give a little more detail about this? I understand what you are saying and it makes perfect sense. I keep hearing that the softball recruits needs to have excellent grades. I would think that a HS student with a 3.5 avg would stand a real good chance at making it in college, but why is having a 3.8 or higher so important? I see football and basketball players get schollies that can barely read.

When I was recruited for baseball, I was offered a partial scholarship. I needed the higher grades to supplement the scholly with an academic shcolly. The coaches never really pushed that issue. Of coarse, that was nearly 20 years ago and I had real good grades.

 

[BobInMadison]

The point about not always being able to get into your major is a real issue. The college DS attends is unusual, in that the students are accept at the undergraduate level by their major, and take classes in their major from day one. Not good for a student who needs a year or two to figure things out, but much better for the student who knows what s/he wants.

 

[Jquick823]

There are schools that give priority for classes to athletes to ensure they get into their major.

DD's middle school team last year took 22 girls. 7 of them were academically ineligible before the first game. I have a feeling the same will happen again this season.

My DD is yet to miss a practice because of Homework. I think that is one of the first steps of time management. She has learned that there will be late nights but the homework will be done. She works on it before and after practice. She brings it on tournament weekends and does it between games.

There are no makeups for bad grades around here and the standard for an A is 94% and up. 93.9% is a B.

 

[JAD]

JAD, could you give a little more detail about this? I understand what you are saying and it makes perfect sense. I keep hearing that the softball recruits needs to have excellent grades. I would think that a HS student with a 3.5 avg would stand a real good chance at making it in college, but why is having a 3.8 or higher so important? I see football and basketball players get schollies that can barely read.

In January we met with the academic adviser of the school where my DD is verballed. She had a very frank discussion with my DD about how her high school grades and ACT/SAT test score, along with softball, will get her into the university, but she still needed to qualify for a school within the university. The school of nursing for example can only take 40 students/year - if 400 students apply for those 40 spots only 10% of the applicants are chosen.

When you are considering colleges I HIGHLY recommend talking with the academic advisers about the various schools within the University. Your meeting with the academic adviser is more important for the long term success of your DD than your meetings with the softball coaching staff! Different schools are known for different things and the admissions standards can vary year to year, but if your DD has a 3.5 PGA coming out of high school and let's say a 24 on the ACT, and she is competing with 400 students (who got into the University for their academics, not for athletics) for the 40 slots in the nursing program, what do you think your DD's chances will be?

Schools will make exceptions for football and basketball players because they are revenue generating sports, but while those athletes are in school the school does whatever it can to keep them eligible, which means putting them into the easiest curriculums. When they graduate in 4 years with a degree in "underwater basket weaving" ($1 to my dad, God rest his sole), where are they going to find a job?

I will never forget, I was on a snow skiing trip a couple of years ago, and during lunch we sat at a long picnic table and four college girls at the other end of the table. We struck up a conversation with them, and learned they were on Spring break. When I asked one of the girls, who was white as rice, what was her major, she replied...."African American Studies". My jaw dropped and I thought to myself WTF does one do with a degree in African American Studies, and if she could find a company looking for someone with that major WHY would they hire a pasty white girl for the position, and why did her parents PAY for her college education???

 

[BobInMadison]

There are schools that give priority for classes to athletes to ensure they get into their major.

DD's middle school team last year took 22 girls. 7 of them were academically ineligible before the first game. I have a feeling the same will happen again this season.

My DD is yet to miss a practice because of Homework. I think that is one of the first steps of time management. She has learned that there will be late nights but the homework will be done. She works on it before and after practice. She brings it on tournament weekends and does it between games.

There are no makeups for bad grades around here and the standard for an A is 94% and up. 93.9% is a B.

DS' school gives athletes an advantage in enrolling for classes (since they are all already in their major anyway). He enrolled for his spring quarter classes on Tuesday. Had he NOT been an athlete, he would've had to wait until Wednesday. That makes it easier to get classes that don't interfere with practice.

 

[BobInMadison]

In January we met with the academic adviser of the school where my DD is verballed. She had a very frank discussion with my DD about how her high school grades and ACT/SAT test score, along with softball, will get her into the university, but she still needed to qualify for a school within the university. The school of nursing for example can only take 40 students/year - if 400 students apply for those 40 spots only 10% of the applicants are chosen.

When you are considering colleges I HIGHLY recommend talking with the academic advisers about the various schools within the University. Your meeting with the academic adviser is more important for the long term success of your DD than your meetings with the softball coaching staff! Different schools are known for different things and the admissions standards can vary year to year, but if your DD has a 3.5 PGA coming out of high school and let's say a 24 on the ACT, and she is competing with 400 students (who got into the University for their academics, not for athletics) for the 40 slots in the nursing program, what do you think your DD's chances will be?

Schools will make exceptions for football and basketball players because they are revenue generating sports, but while those athletes are in school the school does whatever it can to keep them eligible, which means putting them into the easiest curriculums. When they graduate in 4 years with a degree in "underwater basket weaving" ($1 to my dad, God rest his sole), where are they going to find a job?

I will never forget, I was on a snow skiing trip a couple of years ago, and during lunch we sat at a long picnic table and four college girls at the other end of the table. We struck up a conversation with them, and learned they were on Spring break. When I asked one of the girls, who was white as rice, what was her major, she replied...."African American Studies". My jaw dropped and I thought to myself WTF does one do with a degree in African American Studies, and if she could find a company looking for someone with that major WHY would they hire a pasty white girl for the position, and why did her parents PAY for her college education???

The most famous athlete to come out of Madison, WI is now an orthopedic surgeon. (Eric Heiden). There was a really interesting shot on TV during the 2002 Winter Olympics. They showed Casey FitzRandolph of Verona, WI (a suburb of Madison), crossing the finish line for the gold, with another Wisconsin skater close behind for the silver. The camera backed up so they could show the team doctor, Eric Heiden, cheering them on.

 

[JAD]

DS' school gives athletes an advantage in enrolling for classes (since they are all already in their major anyway). He enrolled for his spring quarter classes on Tuesday. Had he NOT been an athlete, he would've had to wait until Wednesday. That makes it easier to get classes that don't interfere with practice.

Every University I am familiar with gives athletes preferential treatment when it comes to registering for classes. And a good athletic academic adviser know which professors are "athlete friendly" and which ones aren't. Between that and the tutoring and other assistance provided by the athletic department (thanks to Title IX), an athlete who becomes ineligible is usually not giving 100% to their academics.