Truths / Misconceptions / Advice about D1 Recruiting

[ref11]

It is July 3 and your Daughter has just completed her junior year at High School and has been anxiously been waiting by the phone for D1 schools to call. (Most D3 wait until after Labor Day to see who is going D1. She has been to the summer camps, gotten some exposure at the nationals, and holiday tournaments. You have logged enough miles between rinks, think Christmas is always spent in Connecticut with the Polar Bear tournament, and your whole social network is other hockey parents. You are about to enter the roller coaster of being a D1 recruit. This forum might be a good place to post facts and myths about the recruiting process. As background for perspective, my Daughter was a successful recruit to the Ivy of her choice. I’ll get it started.

Here are some generally accepted facts:

There are approximately 150 combined slots for forward / defensemen position each year in D1.

Between thirty and forty percent will go to Canadians.

Grades matter.

Advice:

Get you Daughter away from waiting by the phone – It’s a holiday weekend some coach’s won’t start calling until they are back from a well deserved vacation.

Do not rule out any school at this time – Yes it OK to have a favorite, but you want to keep your options open. Your view may change when you go for an official visit or she is ultimately not one of the top 5-6 recruits at the school.

Be realistic – Each school may contact (via the coach, player, school) 50-60 players. Don’t kid yourself into thinking you are clearly one of the top six recruits as this number is always moving.

Do the official visit – The view is always different when you can meet the team and school is in session.

Mom and Dad – This is not about you. We all influenced the decision about what club or school she should play for. Now it is all her. One coach told my wife after an official visit “You did everything right in this process”. My wife replied “But we didn’t do anything?” He replied “That’s right”. There is a message here, we have to let go. Politely decline to accompany her on the visit. Drop her at the door, and if you must, go on a tour of the school separate from your Daughter.

Have a ready shoulder to cry on – Many Daughter’s will not supported at their “dream” school. Be supportive and give her a day or so to get over it. It is not the end of the world.

Musical Chairs – After September 1, many schools will be looking to get girls to commit. The coaching community is a bit of a big fraternity. They all share information about who has committed where. Hence your Daughter might have been number 18 on one schools depth chart, and two weeks later she is number 4 once word of commitments leaks out. Some schools are attempting to get players to commit before September 1 (not a great practice in my view).

Financial Aid / Scholarship - Deal with it separately from the recruiting process. If it is imperative, be honest up front, but do not let it be a dominant part of the process. If you are truly in need there will be the financial aid to assist you.

Early Decision – Coach’s want to fill their need for the next year as early as possible. They do not want to be wondering where they are going to find “a defensemen” in April. The big recruiting push is all over by November 1 when most early decision applications are due. Hence re-read “musical chairs” and “shoulder to cry on” it is a emotional roller coaster.

Parents of Goalies – My condolences. I can’t imagine how tough it must be.

I have left many areas uncovered. Your coach’s involvement and their guidance; the verbal and letter of intent process etcetera. Thought this would be a good start for discussion.

[teresa greene]

do the Ivy league schools start with the recruiting phone calls in July? If you are called by a Div 1 coach on July 1 is there a strong probability you may be on the "A" list and possible scholarship offer? What can the Ivy coaches offer as encouragement before the Early Decision Admissions in Nov??

When your daughter was recruited to the Ivy league school of her choice, did she decline any Div I scholarship offers???

[Gamer]

TG...
i) Do the Ivy league schools start with the recruiting phone calls in July?... yes big push is then for prime prospective recruits, similar to other D1s.
ii) If you are called by a Div 1 coach on July 1 is there a strong probability you may be on the "A" list and possible scholarship offer? ... again very possibly yes... at least likely in top dozen or so (but ask coach then how your daughter ranks).
iii) What can the Ivy coaches offer as encouragement before the Early Decision Admissions in Nov?? They may advise how interested they are, expected role for your daughter, how great an Ivy education is (which is usually true), etc. Re Ivy financials, do your own on-line financial aid estrimate, but ask coach to assist your contact of FinAid dept to get accurate cost estimate.
iv) Not sure of ref11's situation, but there are many examples of D1 scholarship offers rejected in favour of an Ivy educaton.

As Ref11 advises, you need to be open/show your commitment and interest in other prospective programs as well. Good post Ref...

[notfromaroundhere]

Parents of Goalies – My condolences. I can’t imagine how tough it must be.


ROFL.

I would think goalies are more cut and dried. Nobody ever brings in more than 1 in a year (intentionally). I would think if you get that early July call and the situation looks right (only 2 retuning goalies - not 3) that would be as good as it gets especially if the 2 returning goalies are 2 and 3 years ahead of you.

Now later on in the year, it could get quite interesting. First one who grabs has to make sure to clear out the competition.

Now I understand that it is very rare for a freshman goalie to ever get real game time (mop up duty maybe), so the old addage about selecting a prep school on "go where you will play" gets thrown out the window. I guess it turns into "go where you think you can beat out the youngest goalie there".

[sk8happy]

Excellent post with some very accurate and enlightening observations.

I'd add a couple of thoughts.
1) To the Musical Chairs point. The opposite situation that you outline is also very very true. Your daughter may be one of several elite positional players that top schools are recruiting. If your competition however moves their process along faster than your daughter, they may wind up with the scholarship that she wanted in the end.
I've seen a number of girls vascillate over schools, extend their process with "one" more visit, only to discover that school X decided to take the commitment from another player who they had equally highly rated, but who moved her process along more quickly. This is especially true with some of the most attractive programs. They don't need to wait around while some kids vascillate, while others are more efficient with their process.

2) Kids who have Ivy options but aren't sure they want to go that route over scholarship schools, have another challenge. The Ivies move much more deliberately than scholarship schools. They have to deal with the Index and clearly a more rigid admissions process, not to mention financial aid packages that vary greatly depending on the individual families financial status.
I've known several talented kids who while weighing Ivy versus non Ivy, lost scholarship opportunities with excellent non Ivy institutions simply because other equally talented kids stepped up and moved their process along while these individuals angonized over the Ivy route. And of course we all know families who were told they were a strong admissions candidate early in the process, but by mid year discovered that admissions was a long shot at best.
Parents need to familiarize themselves with the Ivy Index, ask tough questions about where they fall on an Ivy league schools priority list, and really press to get an early financial aid read so they have some idea of what the true costs look like.

[lovetowatch]

Not From Around Here,

Things are not so cut and tried for goalies. There are several instances where two goalies have been recruited for the same team in the same year: SLU, Brown, Union, Minnesota, UMD, Wayne State, UNH, and Maine to name a few teams in the last two years. This year, both Dartmouth and North Dakota have two incoming goalies. Lots of competition for precious few openings.

[Travelingman]

Some great advice on here. Let me add:

Recruits and parents need to be completely honest with coaches. Don't lead a coach on just because you want ALL your options opened come Sept - April. You just might end up settelling on a school that was not one of your top choices to begin with.

Have 5-8 schools that are your top choices and go from there. If you are not a top recruit be realistic about where you can play and where you can contribute. Don't kid yourself. If you love hockey you won't be happy if you are not playing. This has led to many kids transferring or leaving hockey all together. (this can especially happen with Ivies if you have great academics and are at the top of the index, but you are a so, so player) The Ivy will take you to raise their index but you may not play much at all. In fact, I will go even further to say that I have seen top Ivy schools commit to kids, have them apply (taking them away from their recruiting process at other schools) only to not take them come March because they filled their quota with other players that they thought were better for their program. Then that recruit is left to find a school that still has spots opened, has money to offer, or available financial aid. Not an easy task in March, not a good recruiting experience.

If you are a top recruit than you should be half way to your decision by now. You should have done your homework, taken unofficial visits and asked many questions. You should have a good idea were your official visits will be by now. If you are sure about 3 of 5 right now, schedule them. No player has to go on 5 officials. In fact, I recommend only officially visiting schools that are your top choices. Don't waste a coach's time if you know where you want to go and let coaches know what schools you are visiting. If you are visiting 5 schools do it in the max of 5 -6 weeks so they are all fresh in your mind when making your decision. Keep notes of your visits and keep an opened mind. Don't be shy, ask many questions, and have fun interacting with the team. Because you can love the school all you want but you spend 75% of your time (if not more) with the hockey team. The coaches will be your mentors for the next four years and the players will be your friends, your mentors and your support over the next four years.

Have fun with the process, be honest and continue working hard in school and on the ice because once you are committed the hard work begins.

[notfromaroundhere]

Not From Around Here,

Things are not so cut and tried for goalies. There are several instances where two goalies have been recruited for the same team in the same year: SLU, Brown, Union, Minnesota, UMD, Wayne State, UNH, and Maine to name a few teams in the last two years. This year, both Dartmouth and North Dakota have two incoming goalies. Lots of competition for precious few openings.

Interesting...

I could see a school recruiting 2 (or more) goalies when there isn't a definite committment up front from their first choice. In that case, I guess if I were the coach, I'd take the NASA approach (always have plan B ready). I can't imagine that they would scholarship more than 1 goalie in a year though. With an in-state student at a public university, the FA may not mean much of a difference in school choice, but I couldn't imagine shelling out up to $40K per annum knowing that I'm sitting behind that many goalies. I guess they would truly be going for the education.

I wonder how these 2 goalie in 1 recruiting year situations work themselves out... I would think that this net isn't big enough for both of them, especially considering the upperclassman competition that is already there, but stranger things happen.

I guess the prep school recruiting is more cut and dried - at least from our experience. We had a coach who told us that they weren't even looking at goalies that year. We had a coach who said he really liked what he saw, where we were admitted, but didn't get any FA. Perhaps we were too needy or perhaps my D was not his #1 choice, so he kept his options open giving us the admit letter.

And we had 2 schools that admitted and made FA offers. One at a terrific school being reasonably generous, but being a #2 on a team with a longer than usual schedule. The other school being very generous and with the opportunity to be a #1 up front (a very unusual situation for a freshman - not expected to be replicated in 4 years).

Sorry to drag the discussion slightly OT, although comparing the Prep School and D1 recruiting cycle is interesting for those of us who will be looking that way in a few years.

Thanks for the input.

[Justamom]

Being recrited as a goalie is different than as a player. Most schools carry 3 goalies and as a freshman unless you are the next coming of a goalie means you will more than likely sit most of your freshman year.

Be prepared for the phone not to ring off the hook come July 1, we recived only 1 call, did the visit, one official one unoffocal was told we were one of the top 2 choices, then found out from the coach of another school they had signed someone else totally diffrent.

So do your own homewwork and really pay attention.

BTW, my daughter is playoing D1 and loving her school and team every step of the way.

[notfromaroundhere]

Being recrited as a goalie is different than as a player. Most schools carry 3 goalies and as a freshman unless you are the next coming of a goalie means you will more than likely sit most of your freshman year.

Be prepared for the phone not to ring off the hook come July 1, we recived only 1 call, did the visit, one official one unoffocal was told we were one of the top 2 choices, then found out from the coach of another school they had signed someone else totally diffrent.

So do your own homewwork and really pay attention.

BTW, my daughter is playoing D1 and loving her school and team every step of the way.

Glad to hear your daughter has found a favorable D1 situation!

I don't expect to hear the phone ringing off the hook in 3 years at all. Just hope to make things work out for my daughter educationally and athletically. I've already told my daughter about the fact that college teams carry 3 goalies and the freshman rarely (if ever) gets to see game ice.

Getting back to the school that did call you, I am assuming the goalie they did sign probably called them (if they weren't one of the 2 called goalies). Perhaps a goalie they didn't think they could get? Or someone whom they hadn't had an opportunity to scout?

With our prep experience, we called all of the schools, found opportunities for their coaches to see my daughter (the ones who were looking at goalies) - not an easy task when you live in a different part of the country, and kinda did it ourselves, not knowing whom we were competing against.

Since my D is not going to one of the "big name" prep schools, should we figure on a similar approach (having to approach the schools), or is the more passive (attend lots of off-season events (HNIB/NAHA Showcase)) the better way to get on the A-list? :confused:

[ref11]

When your daughter was recruited to the Ivy league school of her choice, did she decline any Div I scholarship offers???

Yes, She was very candid with the coach’s about her wish to go Ivy, but even with the grades and ability it is tough, and she wanted to stay on good terms if it did not work out.

[QUOTE=Travelingman] Don't waste a coach's time if you know where you want to go and let coaches know what schools you are visiting. If you are visiting 5 schools do it in the max of 5 -6 weeks so they are all fresh in your mind when making your decision.

I’d take it a step further. If you Daughter gets the “wow” factor look in her eyes, loves the school and coach after the visit. Call the coach in a few days and be willing to commit. For the reasons listed below:

[QUOTE=sk8happy] If your competition however moves their process along faster than your daughter, they may wind up with the scholarship that she wanted in the end.

Some really good posts being made. :cool:

[Atlantic Puck]

Just a thought
Take a video camera and notebook to record visits and thoughts of each school and make a list of +/- for each school. Certainly comes in handy later when you're trying to separate schools in your mind.
Definitely helps if you make visits official or unofficial in a short time span.

Parents ------Most of all this decision is about them, to be made by them and a bit scary for them be there and be supportive.
They will make the right decision :)

[rpi_fan03]

The best advice I ever got (surprisingly enough, from a coach who was recruiting me at the time)...

When it comes down to the final decision, when you have 2 or 3 choices of school that you have ranked equally hockey (playing time, team chemistry, etc) and education wise, make the decision based on this one question:
If you were to blow out your knee the first day of practice and could never play hockey again, would you still want to be a student at that school?

Thankfully I didn't have to deal with a real situation like this, but it was probably the most honest way of looking at the recruiting process for me. A lot of people want you to come to their school and many will say and do a lot to get you, but in the end you're going to school to get an education. You may have the awesome perk of being able to play hockey, but at the end of the day hockey is not going to be your profession(with the exception of the very few lucky ones). For me it was good that someone posed such an honest question to me at the very beginning...it helped me to sort the stuff that was "cool" from the stuff that was really important to me.
If your daughter is being recruited I strongly suggest you pose this question and just tell her to think about it when making the final decision...it also might help her to make the decision sooner rather than later (as Travelingman notes can be an important factor) :D

[Black Bear]

Glad to hear your daughter has found a favorable D1 situation!

I don't expect to hear the phone ringing off the hook in 3 years at all. Just hope to make things work out for my daughter educationally and athletically. I've already told my daughter about the fact that college teams carry 3 goalies and the freshman rarely (if ever) gets to see game ice.

Getting back to the school that did call you, I am assuming the goalie they did sign probably called them (if they weren't one of the 2 called goalies). Perhaps a goalie they didn't think they could get? Or someone whom they hadn't had an opportunity to scout?

With our prep experience, we called all of the schools, found opportunities for their coaches to see my daughter (the ones who were looking at goalies) - not an easy task when you live in a different part of the country, and kinda did it ourselves, not knowing whom we were competing against.

Since my D is not going to one of the "big name" prep schools, should we figure on a similar approach (having to approach the schools), or is the more passive (attend lots of off-season events (HNIB/NAHA Showcase)) the better way to get on the A-list? :confused:

First, God Bless you for having a goalie in the family. Not sure that I would have had the endurance if either of my kids had been goalies. This is certainly an interesting topic and I'll bet that as people respond, you'll see that there is no ONE way to go about trying to land a spot on a college team. My daughter, going into her sophomore year, has the luxury of learning from her brother's mistakes and misfortunes.

Probably the first lesson that she has learned is that there is a lot of luck involved. Unfortunately for my son, his luck has been consistantly bad and where two years ago he was receiving questionaires from D1 schools, he's now fighting to get back on the radar in his last year of Juniors. Even though we did our homework, thought things through rationally, my son essentially lost two years of quality Junior experience due to politics. Very ugly stories, both. My son always believed that it was OK to wait until tomorrow to get things done and my daughter is much more focused on laying the groundwork now for where she wants to be in three years. While you can never eliminate bad luck, you can certainly put yourself into position to take advantage of good luck if it comes your way. And, that old saying, "the more you practice, the luckier you get", applies to hockey too.

This past year, my daughter, who had always been a rushing defenseman, played as a stay at home defenseman as her team had some D that could really move the puck. Statistically, she was a blip on the stat sheet. Luck though when she took the time to participate in a goalie evaluation session at NE Festival. She skated as well as she ever has, maybe better, and shot the puck better, by far, than I'd ever seen her shoot it. Result? Her school coach received a call from the coach of what would be her 1st choice of schools, in Hockey East, asking for info to start a file on her. An assistant had been there to see someone else but wound up taking down my daughter's name as well.

But, far and away the best lesson she has learned, and really taken to heart, is how important it is to be fit. While my son has always been in good shape, he's still cut a lot of corners and avoided the work that is outside his comfort zone. Listened to the wrong people and had lazy workout partners. This year he has done a top shelf job of working out and, lo and behold, he's now skating better than he has in years. Shots are rockets and more battles are won. The light went on for my daughter when she tried Crew for the first time this past year. She loved it and took her fitness level to new heights. She's seen that it is easier to stay in shape than it is to get into shape and she's working very, very hard this summer to get into even better shape. Tell your daughter to read John Wooden's book, They Call Me Coach, and you'll see that the foundation of all his great teams was fitness. Practices were much harder than games and his teams knew that they would never play against players who were in better shape than they were. That has become one of my daughter's top goals, never have to play players who are in better shape than you.

We're not going to contact any schools this year, just let things run their course. My daughter's school will have nine seniors this year so there will be plenty of people coming to see the team play. As far as Showcases, my daughter will only be doing the U16 section of Beantown. Personally, I think a lot of players make a mistake of going to Showcases when they aren't yet ready to showcase themselves and instead wind up looking like they are in over their heads. Tell your daughter to work to maximize her skills and then go out and showcase them. Do your homework on Showcases, there are lots of them out there and if you can find some that have representatives from schools that your daughter is interested in, give them an extra look as, let's face it. contacts are important. Coming East, from the Midwest (?), if I were you, I'd probably at least send a cover letter/resume and school schedule to schools your daughter is interested in. And, last but certainly not least, tell your daughter to KEEP HER GRADES UP. Look at it from the perspective of a coach who has two potential players of equal talent. One is a so so student and the other is High Honors. Which one would you gamble a scholarship on?

I'm sure our daughter's paths will cross on the ice some time and believe me when I say, Good Luck to your daughter.

[pal7]

Ref 11..good post

One thing I would add for the goalie parent asking the questions, is the need to consider "all schools"..D1 and D3 alike.

Hockey at at D1 level is hockey 24/7..all year round..a bus and a rink is what the player sees most other than their classrooms and the team is a tight knit group, with players mostly socializing with other players. (PS most women don't go on to play professionally in this sport, and that should be strongly pointed out to the prospective student..college is for knowledge!)

D3..other than Ivy league at the D1 level..some great schools at this level of competition are available to players. Practices are still intense at the upper tier, but the schedule isn't as demanding allowing for a more "all round" college experience.

Goalies...most schools carry three, but only two will dress..that means someone is sitting out in the stands..a lot!!!! Of the two, there can be a rotation or there can be one dominant and one waiting her turn and filling in on odd games. It is important to know what the policy of the coach is, and that is assuming the two vying for positions are of the same skill level and ability.
And then there is the matter of seniority..same skills - the more senior will usually get the nod for most of the games. Playing D3 doesn't automatically mean that you will play, especially for goalies. But I have seen a Freshman or two who have come in and taken the spot..at D1 and D3, but usually the coach has specifically recruited the player for just that reason and the player knows it and knows what is expected of them.

Sometimes goalies that are highly recruited can have fantastic stats because they are on high profile travel teams and the goalies who are loosing by two or three goals don't have the numbers but have more experience handling a *rap load of shots.
But if a coach knows what they are looking at, then it won't matter what type of team they are on..but that they handle themselve under pressure..a lot of pressure, so sending in films to show highlights of shots and saves would be a help...PLEASE DON'T SEND IN A TAPE OF A WHOLE GAME..the coaches don't have that much time to review Cindy Sue in the net. Just highlights..good shots and good saves.
And don't think that every coach puts a high priority on goalies to begin with..some just love those fast and high scoring forwards and coach the season with that in mind.."just get someone big to fill the net and let the forwards handle the scoring"..believe it or not that is how some coaches feel about the netminder..

The most important thing is that the player has the grades to get in first and formost. And Ref11, I think the ratio for canadians vs americans may be even higher than you quoted... and it is going up every year.

[Black Bear]

Ref 11..good post

One thing I would add for the goalie parent asking the questions, is the need to consider "all schools"..D1 and D3 alike.

Hockey at at D1 level is hockey 24/7..all year round..a bus and a rink is what the player sees most other than their classrooms and the team is a tight knit group, with players mostly socializing with other players. (PS most women don't go on to play professionally in this sport, and that should be strongly pointed out to the prospective student..college is for knowledge!)

D3..other than Ivy league at the D1 level..some great schools at this level of competition are available to players. Practices are still intense at the upper tier, but the schedule isn't as demanding allowing for a more "all round" college experience.

Goalies...most schools carry three, but only two will dress..that means someone is sitting out in the stands..a lot!!!! Of the two, there can be a rotation or there can be one dominant and one waiting her turn and filling in on odd games. It is important to know what the policy of the coach is, and that is assuming the two vying for positions are of the same skill level and ability.
And then there is the matter of seniority..same skills - the more senior will usually get the nod for most of the games. Playing D3 doesn't automatically mean that you will play, especially for goalies. But I have seen a Freshman or two who have come in and taken the spot..at D1 and D3, but usually the coach has specifically recruited the player for just that reason and the player knows it and knows what is expected of them.

Sometimes goalies that are highly recruited can have fantastic stats because they are on high profile travel teams and the goalies who are loosing by two or three goals don't have the numbers but have more experience handling a *rap load of shots.
But if a coach knows what they are looking at, then it won't matter what type of team they are on..but that they handle themselve under pressure..a lot of pressure, so sending in films to show highlights of shots and saves would be a help...PLEASE DON'T SEND IN A TAPE OF A WHOLE GAME..the coaches don't have that much time to review Cindy Sue in the net. Just highlights..good shots and good saves.
And don't think that every coach puts a high priority on goalies to begin with..some just love those fast and high scoring forwards and coach the season with that in mind.."just get someone big to fill the net and let the forwards handle the scoring"..believe it or not that is how some coaches feel about the netminder..

The most important thing is that the player has the grades to get in first and formost. And Ref11, I think the ratio for canadians vs americans may be even higher than you quoted... and it is going up every year.

You are certainly right about the three goalies scenario. One of my son's best friends is third goalie at a Hockey East school. While it was exciting the first year........all the free stuff, first class treatment, travel, it was less exciting after the second year of being third goalie. Sadly, this kid will give up hockey next year and try to pull his academics up. While his goalie coach has told him that he can hook him up with another D1 team where he would play, he's had enough and just doesn't want to do it anymore.

[notfromaroundhere]

Ref 11..good post

One thing I would add for the goalie parent asking the questions, is the need to consider "all schools"..D1 and D3 alike.

Hockey at at D1 level is hockey 24/7..all year round..a bus and a rink is what the player sees most other than their classrooms and the team is a tight knit group, with players mostly socializing with other players. (PS most women don't go on to play professionally in this sport, and that should be strongly pointed out to the prospective student..college is for knowledge!)

D3..other than Ivy league at the D1 level..some great schools at this level of competition are available to players. Practices are still intense at the upper tier, but the schedule isn't as demanding allowing for a more "all round" college experience.

Goalies...most schools carry three, but only two will dress..that means someone is sitting out in the stands..a lot!!!! Of the two, there can be a rotation or there can be one dominant and one waiting her turn and filling in on odd games. It is important to know what the policy of the coach is, and that is assuming the two vying for positions are of the same skill level and ability.
And then there is the matter of seniority..same skills - the more senior will usually get the nod for most of the games. Playing D3 doesn't automatically mean that you will play, especially for goalies. But I have seen a Freshman or two who have come in and taken the spot..at D1 and D3, but usually the coach has specifically recruited the player for just that reason and the player knows it and knows what is expected of them.

Sometimes goalies that are highly recruited can have fantastic stats because they are on high profile travel teams and the goalies who are loosing by two or three goals don't have the numbers but have more experience handling a *rap load of shots.
But if a coach knows what they are looking at, then it won't matter what type of team they are on..but that they handle themselve under pressure..a lot of pressure, so sending in films to show highlights of shots and saves would be a help...PLEASE DON'T SEND IN A TAPE OF A WHOLE GAME..the coaches don't have that much time to review Cindy Sue in the net. Just highlights..good shots and good saves.
And don't think that every coach puts a high priority on goalies to begin with..some just love those fast and high scoring forwards and coach the season with that in mind.."just get someone big to fill the net and let the forwards handle the scoring"..believe it or not that is how some coaches feel about the netminder..

The most important thing is that the player has the grades to get in first and formost. And Ref11, I think the ratio for canadians vs americans may be even higher than you quoted... and it is going up every year.

I am somewhat familiar with D1 sports being affiliated with a large well known D1 school (that does not have D1 mens or womens hockey just mens club). Exposing a young person to the lifestyle (hours in the gym on and off season, limited free time, etc) of the D1 athelete is one of those things on my checklist.

I am certain that she can tolerate the travel as we have been on the road the last 2 years, with the last year racking up 20K miles just for games, not playing a single game in our home state, being gone almost every weekend from the beginning of October until April. A couple of weeks after nationals, she was getting the itch to hit the road again and has been pestering me ever since. Ugh!

The decision of where to go to school hinges on lots of things (educational, financial, social, and atheletic) and by no means are we ruling out D3 play. I didn't mean to imply that. The title of this thread is dealing with D1.

That brings me to a question not just for goalies, but what is the difference between the D1 recruiting cycle and D3 recruiting?

[allbrosca]

Not exactly on point but related - Scholarships to D1 programs. Does anyone know how many are available? I have a list, but it's a few years old now and probably way out of date. Schools with a ? following their name were not D1 at the time the list was compiled. Some of the numbers for the other schools are probably wrong now too. Anyone who can update it for me? Thanks and here it is:

HOCKEY EAST DI
Boston College - 0
Boston University - ?
Connecticut - ?
Maine - 0
New Hampshire - 0
Northeastern - 18
Providence - 11
Vermont - 0

ECAC DI
Brown - 0
Clarkson - 18
Colgate - 0
Cornell - 0
Dartmouth - 0
Harvard - 0
Princeton - 0
Quinnipiac - 18
RPI - ?
St. Lawrence - 0
Union - 0
Yale - 0

WCHA DI
Bemidji State - 8
Minnesota - 18
Minnesota-Duluth - 18
Minnesota State - 18
North Dakota - 18
Ohio State - 18
St. Cloud State - 0
Wisconsin - 0

CHA DI
Mercyhurst - 18
Niagara - 18
RMU - ?
Wayne State - 0

DI Independent
Sacred Heart - ?

[brookyone]

WCHA DI
Bemidji State - 8
Think I read the Beavers were at 16 for the '06-'07 season, then 18 thereafter. I think there was / is an article in this regard linked in the "WCHA Off Season" thread.

Edit: Sorry, no article that I can find...just this...

I'm stealing from Moose...

Moose97 posted over in the Men's CHA thread that Bemidji State has committed to offer 18 scholarships for both men's and women's hockey for the 2007-2008 season. The men will be at 14 and the women at 16 for this season.

[Ralph Baer]

Wisconsin should be 18 scholarships, All the Ivies should be at the very least 12 with some at 18. - words from an NCAA Administrator

I know we wouldnt be getting any where near the quality of talent we are at wisconsin without the scholarships being in place. It would probably be all Minnesota and Wisconsin kids.
The Ivies do not give athletic scholarships, only need-based aid.

RPI will eventually have 18 scholarships. They are now two years into the four year process of ramping up to that level. They are probably at about 10 now.