How bad is D2 and 3?

[Battle]

:? WE can totally relate to what Stan is saying. Our DD is in the same boat.
Probably the "better" school is D2 with little money and the other is D1 with A LOT
of money. DD's are only 16/17 and do need parental direction.
SO..will someone please answer THE Question...HOW good are these D2 programs??

I don't think anyone can because nobody really knows and to mask it (that they really don't know) it turns into some kind of life lesson for the poster about ego and usually throws their DD in the valuable lesson somewhere.

It was a good question though.

Maybe it should be asked " How does D2 and D3 schools compare to D1?" but it will probably be the same result or you will get bashed for asking a repetitious question. I suggest you do the leg work yourself. Your DD is worth it.

Good luck
Newb

[Battle]

Stan:

Good luck to you and your DDs.

[ECSB]

My daughter is only looking at D3 - she is small and wants to study nursing, which is quite academically challenging with softball. Instead of dissing the schools - go look. The girls are having just as much fun if not more than D1.

I think of the experience of a girl she played with in H.S. The mom wouldn't let the girl look at anything but D1- she was 6' 1", 180 - huge and a good high school player. Did not get recruited to D1 - she turned down many D3 programs that tried to recruit her (her swing wasn't as good as her mom thought). She walked on at a D1 and played for a year. Rode the pine and almost flunked out. My husband says if she just went D3 she would have been a star.

And by the way - just because your DD has been recruited to D1 doesn't mean there will be room left if she wants to go D3. We met with a D3 coach Tuesday. He is getting letters from 2012's and 2013's, just like D1's. Just like D1's - if you commit early, there may not be space for someone else. We are on the coach's radar, visiting the school and showing lots of interest - for my DD the school is a first choice, not a concession - which kid do you want playing for you?

[noclu13]

SO..will someone please answer THE Question...HOW good are these D2 programs??[/quote]
I don't think anyone can because nobody really knows and to mask it (that they really don't know) it turns into some kind of life lesson for the poster about ego and usually throws their DD in the valuable lesson somewhere.

The reason no one has answered the question is because there is no easy pat answer.
Are the DIII schools the same competition as the DI schools? No. But there are some very good DIII softball programs across the country.

As for DII programs, there are many across the country that can and do kick DI programs all over the field. Are they as good as UCLA, Texas or schools like that? No. They don't have the money or scholarships to compete.

The correct answer to this question is you have to evaluate the competition at each school and its conference on an individual basis. While at the same time evaluating the needs and requirments of your DD.

There is no way to rate how "bad" or good an entire division is. I have seen some awful DIII, DII and DI programs. I have seen some DI programs that would get run ruled by an average high school program.

So there is no real easy answer to the question. That's why no one has given you an easy answer.

[Gone in 2.6]

:? WE can totally relate to what Stan is saying. Our DD is in the same boat.
Probably the "better" school is D2 with little money and the other is D1 with A LOT
of money. DD's are only 16/17 and do need parental direction.
SO..will someone please answer THE Question...HOW good are these D2 programs??

Hard to come up with an accurate blanket answer since everyone's perception of "how good" is going to vary depending on expectations and skill/experience level.

[ASoftballfanatic]

As stated by others, tough to answer. My daughters top 25 D-III school could compete with many D-II institutions that I have seen and even some D-! schools! My experience is mostly with west coast D-III schools. Check out the history of the program as well as the conference! Check their schedules to see who is on their non-conference schedule and what tournaments they go to. Best of luck to you and your daughter!

[ECSB]

OK, since you are talking about being recruited now, this probably won't help, but for others with the same question, go to a play day in the fall. We went to one last fall with three teams

Hartford (mid-major D1 - did not do well, didn't even make AE tournament)
New Haven (D2 - ranked 16th in final NFCA poll - went to east superregionals)
Eastern (D3 - went to D3 world series - ended ranked 4th I think).

Now this was in the fall, so they are letting everyone play but this was the impression

Hartford girls were big and fast. They played Eastern and were dominant. I don't think Eastern threw their good pitcher against them however. They were bigger, faster and threw harder.

Eastern beat New Haven. New Haven made a ton of errors and looked awful - dropped pop ups and all. I was surprised at how bad they looked against Eastern. It was the fall however, and they obviously pulled it together.

We did not see New Haven/Hartford.

The kids got smaller from D3 to the biggest and fastest at D1. The softball all looked good and it was competitive between the three.

Go look for yourself if your kid is a freshman, sophomore or junior. It will help your DD (and you if you are not wearing your daddy goggles that day) figure out where she fits.

My kid is small (5'4 120) and not especially speedy. She left that day and said - no more messing around - D3 for me.

[Surehitter]

My older daughter will be a senior at a major D1 program next year. Her Freshman year they used her as a utility non starter after that a full time starter. She is on course to graduate with her degree and the toughest part of her Pre Dental is over. She has mentioned to me how many of the players are going a 5th year to finish.
The other thing she told me is how many of her teammates are stressed out because they took a marginal major and the degree and education they received will not allow them to pursue a graduate degree in careers they are interested in without taking more school. I can only say the girls need to keep an eye on the education and what your goals are or they will end up back home after graduating - giving batting, catching or fielding lessons.

[AuState Sports]

I have been working with young baseball and softball players for nearly 19 years now. I currently am a college coach so I am familiar with the athletic side of your situation. My advice to parents is to decide on a school in which they would attend even without athletics involved. And also keep in mind that the more interest and commitment a school shows your daughter, the higher the liklihood that she will play right away. The whole D-I thing is great, particularly at the elite levels i.e. Arizona, UCLA, Florida, etc...however, it is what is best for your daughter that counts.

[BenAround]

I'll pile on, and add a bit of new info:

Yes, the potential education is far more critical than the softball played.

and

Just because it's a D1 program, don't assume it will be well run. DD's at a D1 with a coach that couldn't tell ..... well you know the rest.

and to all the sour grapes theorists out there. DD get loads of playing time.

It was just a sad surprise to hear of the coach getting drunk at Spring Break, the girls getting injured from pushing a heavy football sled, running bleachers till half of the team puked, and having every academic based promise by the coach reneged on once DD was there. Just for starters.........

Here's a clue for the next parent/DD to help avoid getting duped. If the team is very light on Sr's and Jr's, there is most likely a serious issue under the wraps.

Fortunately we both made the decision based on academics, so the SB program is no longer a significant problem for us.