This Board is way more accurate than what you hear around ballfields, schools or cocktail parties. Most everyone who posts has had first hand experience as a parent with a recruitable kid(s) for Ivy+ and/or academic D3. There is no agenda, just a retelling of their experience. What I found with both of my kids is that you have the following biases when talking with other parents and even coaches:
- Wishful thinking. Parents want to believe their kid has a greater chance than they really do, athletically and academically. Then things look even better as the rumor goes does the “telephone line”.
- Big fish, small pond. Amazing to me how many parents have such an unrealistic view of the athletic capability of their kid. The kid may be one of the stars in their small private school leagues but are overmatched when they go against kids from more competitive backgrounds, and some parents still don’t see it.
- Bragging. Parents will often exaggerate the status of their kids. Anyone who says their kid is getting a full ride in an equivalency sport or any athletic scholarship for an Ivy or most academic D3’s is lying.
- Coaches exaggerating. Paid coaches/travel teams have an incentive to lure you and your kids to pay thousands if not tens of thousands of dollars to get an inside edge in athletic recruiting (and that scholarship which is not worth as much as the parents’ think).