u/Snorkellingisthelife

Hi everyone! Just completed my first section of the TRT and completed both Brockway Summit to Watson Lake and then did Picnic Rock Vista on 8/15/26 for a day 1 total of 10 miles. I plan on doing segments over the next year or two but am hoping to tag along on a group hike/overnight to complete either Desolation Wilderness or Relay Peak/Mt Rose back to Brockway Summit. Don't want to go it alone on those segments. 61 year old happily married Sacramento area dad of one DIII athlete who earned her Biology degree and my son the working towards future electrician. Any help greatly appreciated!

https://preview.redd.it/dytqmkp5czjh1.jpg?width=3088&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5f862d2324ff74b4ca8a8952d9bd162cd4bbb155

I have seen coaches encourage the conversation over the last week and it has encouraged me to take pause and look back at the mostly great with some cautionary tales of behavior you may witness or recognize along the way. All meant to be solid advice on how to approach the recruiting process and wishes for the best academic and athletic outcomes for your student athletes.

Athletes find the right college fit by evaluating five core areas: athletic level, academic match, financial aid, campus environment, and personal goals. They match their skills and test scores to the right tier through honest self-assessment, guidance from high school coaches and club coaches

Evaluating the Divisions

• Division I (D1): Highest athletic intensity, large campus sizes, and full or partial athletic scholarships.
• Division II (D2): Balanced lifestyle, competitive play, and partial athletic aid.
• Division III (D3): Focus on academics first, smaller classes, and no athletic scholarships (uses merit/need-based aid instead).
• NAIA / JUCO: Flexible alternative entry points, often with distinct competitive levels and regional focus.

 Key Steps to Find Your Fit

• Assess Athletic Reality: Get an honest review of your current speed, size, and skill from objective third-party coaches (club) to target realistic divisions.
• Prioritize Academics: Ensure the school offers your major and matches your GPA/test scores, keeping in mind that you are ultimately there to get a degree.
• Calculate Financial Reality: Check if you need athletic money (D1/D2) or if academic and need-based aid (D3) makes a smaller private school affordable.
• Build a Balanced List: Include a mix of reach, fit, and safety options across different divisions to maximize your choices.

 Cautionary Tales:

• Do not think of athletic divisions as necessarily Division 1 is better than Division 3:  Identify the type of student you are and where you want your focus to be.  
• Avoid the D1 or bust noise from parents: We can’t blame parents for wanting the best for their child but that pressure trickles down to 16 year olds who could be easily swayed and miss opportunities when they should have been analyzing themselves via the above approach
• Tiger Moms: The loudest of the bunch who find each other and conspire to cheer for their kids the loudest and exclude others who may be yours. Ignore them entirely or walk the tight rope of civility to ensure team chemisty is not affected.

 Our HS Girls Lacrosse Team's History from 5 years ago:  

• We had 1 D1 recruit commit.  Great player, great goal scorer, not the greatest attitude due to being coddled.  Heavy handed Tiger mom who swayed other parents to tie themselves to her horse and what ended up happening was the other girls waited to be “discovered" like "Jane" was discovered. We know the rest of the story of girls and their families who weren’t proactive in the process and missed valuable time as Senior year arrived quickly.  Now fast forward to this one D1 recruit who we were rooting for got to her school,  did not like the environment or the D1 time commitment, quit the team, transferred to a new school.  Never picked up a stick again. Cautionary tale of the coddled athlete
• Two D2 recruits:  1 went off and had a successful lacrosse career and graduated. The other had two solid years but suffered an injury (we hate to see that happen but it does), she gave up the sport to focus on academics and graduated on time.  
• One D3 recruit:  I’ll disclaim it was my daughter but you might recognize her.  Great player, humble, willing to play defense so more natural players and goal scorers (see D1 recruit above) can take the spotlight.   Very strong academic.   AP Biology, AP Chem, APUSH, AP Econ. Looked up to by underclassmen for just being an all around great leader.  Got early attention from well regarded D3 coaches.  We did our part, hosted team dinners and contributed on volunteer lists as needed and both of our HS coaches to their credit were very supportive of our daughter’s trajectory.  But that early attention brought out the envy.  Tiger moms did in fact conspire to not cheer for our daughter and another mentioned above. Fast forward to a successful D3 lacrosse career earning All Conference, IWLCA Scholar Athlete, Team Captain and a Biology degree in the process.
• Key lesson:  Understand you ability. Find your academic fit and for parents avoid the noise along the way. Understand the above and you remove much of the mystery out of the process.