^^ I agree that looking on a website is the best way to find as club team. Occasionally, though, they exist and aren’t listed. The reason is that they require tryouts and aren’t "open to all students " which disqualifies them from official club status. Definitely less common, but we found this at a couple of schools DS considered. In his sport, these club teams were often made up of recruits who had lost their playing time and quit the varsity team. But none of this helps the OP with recruitment questions.
Thank you @gardenstategal. While club sports is maybe not strictly a recruitment question, I really do appreciate getting an insight into the secret world of college sports. Whether there are other sports options at an appropriate level does factor in to the decision of whether or not seeking recruitment is an option or essential. At least for a school where no scholarship is happening either way.
A robust club culture may be the answer for fit for a kid who doesn’t succeed in recruitment. That is great to know when picking schools.
Club Sports are a great option though as some have noted, unlike intramurals, it is not a given that even a good HS athlete will make a club team. Depending on the school and sport, there are some club teams that are very good; for example there are elite club hockey teams that some say are better than some NCAA school teams.
That aside, even with try-outs some club teams may only take a few new players, and sometimes none. It can be a bit of who you know and how many spots are available, especially if the students/players are selecting the new players as they may not want to give up potential playing time to a new player.
I’d not heard that having to try out eliminates a team from Club status. That’s not how it worked at schools I’m familiar with. My niece played club lacrosse at her school. She had to try out and had to pay to play. My daughter played club hockey and didn’t have to try out (if you were human you could play) and the cost wasn’t too high. The men’s team at her school required try outs and was quite competitive.
Club lacrosse (men’s) in the west is as competitive as it gets. Only a few schools have varsity teams (DU, Utah, Air Force) and the rest all play Club. They have a season and a tournament to determine a champion. Try outs required and the cost is pretty high. They also may not get the benefits of other athletes like priority registration or being excused from classes to travel.
Agree with@twoinanddone…depending on the school, team & sport, some club sports can be very competitive and it can be difficult to make the team. Some parents may not realize that and just assume their child will be able to play a club sport.
My understanding is that generally, “club” at D1 programs – especially those which have strong NCAA teams in the sport – is often very very competitive to get onto, it functions almost as a JV for the athletes who were close to being recruited but didn’t make the final cut. At LACs, “club” may be closer to rec league. And some sports may be designated “club” because the sports is not an NCAA sport, but is still competitive. So, be specific when asking questions, because “club” can mean all kinds of things!
Often a Club is at a D1 school that doesn’t offer that sport and doesn’ want to add it. Example, SUNY Buffalo has 2 club hockey teams but no varsity. Very competitive. In the Pac 12, only Utah has a men’s varsity team so the other schools have a very competitive club circuit. They have paid coaches. They aren’t the JV for a varsity team because there is no varsity team.
DU does have a varsity lax team and a club team, but those club players have no hope of ever making the varsity team. They don’t have a club hockey team but I’m sure a lot of students play in the leagues around town.
'If you are a 4 year starter on a small private school team that is mediocre and plays in a mediocre league, you’ll get no love from a coach until he sees you."
Let me paraphrase it: In our state, the best pitcher is from a small private school whose team is mediocre. He probably will get drafted right away because he has FB of 97 as a junior (verified by coaches own speed gun) . The point here is the most important for coach is to SEE it. So regardless how small or how big, how good or bad your high school/club team is, if you are good, show up at the showcases and demonstrate it. My son has gone to 4 showcases this recruiting season and none of the coach asked anything about his school, club team or varsity team.
Showcases are also a great place for kids to calibrate where they stand in the pool. A star in a district or even state might be shocked to learn he’s just in the middle of the pack - this helps align expectation and strategy.
The spread in D1 is as big and there are overlaps between D1, D2 and D3:
The top D1 Vanderbilt, UCLA produce many draft players.
100ish-ranked D1 Harvard recruit players of similar quality as D3 powerhouse Chapman (e.g. pitcher 89-91).
Bottom of D1 league is no competition to the top 25 D3 teams.
Thought I would add my Ds experience to address this part of your post “I realize that the admissions process is very different in all of the D3 schools, sports and coaches. But is there advice out there (or better yet success stories) for how that kind of kid goes about using sports as a boost in their application? Are they “recruits”? Or are they “walk ons”? And if they are walk ons, how do you use that in an application?”
D plays vball, c/o '21, and wants to continue playing vball at a top academic college. Last year (when she was a soph) she did the research of identifying top schools (used US News Report) in geographic areas of interest that had vball programs. She filled out recruit questionnaires and began emailing video highlights. Some coaches came to watch her at large tournaments. The summer before her junior year she went to vball camps of her top schools (and whom she’d received contact back). Now in her junior year she has it narrowed down to 4 schools - 2 D3 and 2 D1. She continues communicating (phone and email), sending video, etc.
All of this leads to me - even though D3 is technically walk-on - don’t wait. The athletes are recruited prior to senior year - a preferred or recruited walk on. The coach then gets admission and financial aid office to perform a pre-read / pre-approval. Then the athlete applies during the application period in senior year (which is more of a formality).
Funny thing about baseball is that you can catch some attention by being in the right place at the right time and performing well. College scouts may be at a game or tournament to look at another player or players, but your kid goes 4 for 5 with two doubles and a dinger. Betcha he’s on the radar after that.
My sons story: He’s a HS senior and was recruited by a D3 program. The coach really wanted him (my son had some D1 and D2 offers, as well). The coach first got all his academic info & ran a pre-read, which came back positive. Then he arranged a visit where all our fees were covered/reimbursed & once there, made him an offer, backed up by the financial aid office, and before we left the campus, he had been accepted by admissions (binding ED, before the official notification date). We view him as a committed, recruited athlete even though it’s d3. My son preferred every aspect of this D3 school compared to the other D1 & D2 programs we’ve been to
Can a D3 coach reimburse an athlete for a visit?
Yes D3 coaches can offer Official Visits…but many coaches (maybe most, outside of football) don’t have enough budget to fund OVs. Additionally, the nice thing is that D3 OVs are unlimited…an athlete can take as many as they like, unlike DI/II schools which have OV limitations.
League rules vary. The NESCACs can reimburse very little:
"Meals: An institution may provide meals (not to exceed three per day) to a prospect in the institution’s on-campus student dining facility. If a prospect visits campus during a vacation period and the dining facility is closed, a meal may be provided to a prospect (and the prospect’s parents/legal guardians) in a local restaurant. The meal must be comparable to the type of meal provided in the on-campus dining facility.
Lodging: Lodging may be provided for a prospect. If provided it shall be in a manner similar or comparable to that of student housing (e.g., dorm room).
Transportation: Transportation to/from the local bus/train station and/or local airport is permissible.
The NESCAC does not permit colleges nor organized alumni athletic associations to pay the travel costs of prospective students to the campus for the purpose of athletic recruitment. However, NESCAC rules permit coaches to pick up prospective students from and deliver them to local airports, bus stations and train stations. Per NCAA rules, providing such transportation is permitted but only for and during an official visit. If an institution chooses to provide a prospect with such transportation the visit is classified by the NCAA as an official visit and may not occur until the opening day of classes of the prospect’s senior year, may not exceed 48 hours and may only occur on one occasion."
Also, there’s this, if you were interested.
“Entertainment: Although permitted by NCAA rules, NESCAC rules state it is not permissible to provide a student host with funds/cash to entertain a prospect on an official visit (or unofficial visit).”
Other high academic D3’s have similar policies. You need to check with each coach to see what they can do. All of S’s OV’s (NESCAC and nonNESCAC) only included local transportation, meals and staying with a team member.
The schools can also set rules. My daughter went to a D3 visit and stayed/ate on campus. The coach was the one who said there is a 48 hour on campus limit, and that was clearly her rule, not an NCAA rule. I think a 48 hour visit would be hard on the visitor and the host; My daughter stayed from Friday at noon until Sat at about 4, and that was more than enough time.
The 48 hour rule is written for NESCACs, if that was a NESCAC OV.
"A prospect may not make an official visit until the opening day of classes of the prospect’s senior year.
An institution may provide only one official visit to its campus for a prospective student.
An official visit may not exceed 48 hours."
Thanks everyone for the info. I was really hoping for airfare! lol.