Summer College Start date?

I think its pretty common among the power 5. Probably at the mercy of when summer 2 terms start. Most start end of June which is why you are seeing players back.

Players are allowed to work with the strength and conditioning coaches and most will have captain led soccer practices.

 

That’s about right. End of Summer I, beginning of Summer II.

 

Ivy school players don't return to early/mid Aug

 

My daughter, mid major D1, reports 7/18 for "bonding" week. Official coach led team stuff starts 7/25.

 

My daughter, Mid Major D1 on West Coast reports / starts July 11th for Captain practice before official practice. We also have friends going Big East, P5 - they all report July 5th/July 6th. I will say one of those schools didn't even ask freshmen to come in the past so this is the first year. We also have another friend in Mid-D1 in mountain range who reported June 28th. First time for that program to be so early but they learned freshmen adjusting to the altitude took longer for most so moving it up (I don't know if practicing per se or just on site to get used to altitude). Lastly - I think all these programs the freshmen were officially listed as optional.......but seriously you'd have to be pretty strong/confident/almost arrogant to skip it right?

 

They have to list it as optional. I would be curious to know how many players skip it and if there are subtle or not so subtle consequences.

 

There’s a push to move the official start date earlier (from august 1 to mid July). As it stands 9 days isn’t enough time to be prepared for the season. All it would take is the womens college soccer players to start vocally protesting the unfair, inequitable nature of this to get it changed. As it is the basketballs keep getting more and more summer time allowed and football as well.

soccer remains an outsider in the ncaa eyes.

 

This is something that I've wondered about for years. It makes no sense to have such a short period of time from the start of the first official practice to the first game that counts. It seems that 3 weeks should be about the minimum amount preseason practiceeee.

A few years back I asked Danny Sanchez (U of Colorado) about this, and his response was something about how schools like the University of Northern Colorado couldn't afford the costs of the housing and food required for more preseason practice.

 

Summer housing costs, weather (cannot start the regular season any later), and players needing a break between the spring and fall seasons, make this challenging. I agree it is too short. I would propose adding one week earlier than the current start date.

 

I have the least athletic kids on the planet. For the reasons you mentioned, it hasn't bothered me day in my life as a parent.

 

Not all players want to start earlier because they want a summer to do internships. It is another example of why division 1 needs to split. The Ivy, Patriot, and other academic kid don’t want earlier starts for the most part (not all). They actually want be able to do a full internship so that they can have a competitive resume beyond just kicking a ball.

It may help win more games, but it may not be the best thing for the student-athletes who aren’t going pro.

 

Some of these coaches ask/require the incoming freshman to take a class in the summer before their first semester. They use this to get them on campus. Most women's soccer players are good students so they do not need a head start academically. Its a ruse to get them there to train.

 

I ironically I work at one of the largest professional services/ consulting firm in the world and heavily involved with recruiting and interviewing in my area. I can tell you being an athlete (unfairly D1 has more eliteness) while in college has its own special trait to make you stand out. It also tells you this person understands sacrifices, time management, dealing with high stress situations, working closely with team for an end goal and truly being/building culture around them. If framed right by the interviewee, these individuals have more true life lessons/working ethics/drive to succeed than most people. On a side note - One of the best people I interviewed worked from high school to college at fast food being one of the youngest managers - he knew about business and client service than anyone. Of course having the grades is the underlying start. Grades get you the interview.

As for burn out on surface - maybe? But many, many of them are playing for these 'local, professional teams that have summer leagues' from girls in my area to my daugthers college teammates who got together and joined a team in a different part of the US.

 

This is not allowed? Unless by 'coach' you mean strength & conditioning coach.

 

I don’t think it’s a ruse at all. Coaches aren’t deceiving players when setting that expectation. It’s a pretty honest and straightforward way to get them building strength and doing fitness in a controlled environment with certified strength and conditioning coaches for a full month before official training begins. Also definitely helps cut the cord with parents for incoming freshman and helps freshman and transfers build those bonds with the existing team without the pressure of performing under their actual coaches.

If you’re a division 1 coach, would you prefer to have your kids on campus in a controlled environment doing prescribed fitness in good facilities while supervised by professionals in that field and taking one class so they can knock out an easy three hours so maybe they can take three fewer hours in the fall semester when travel is crazy? (These classes are 99% of the time paid for)

OR

Would you rather trust that your kids are doing what they’re supposed to do on their own (many do, for sure!) and not move in til literally a day or two before practice begins etc.

I, personally, don’t know a ton of 18-22 year olds after that after a month or two at home aren’t pretty ready to go back to college, internships and work notwithstanding. No brainer to me. Not to mention not at all a “ruse”

Plenty of low/mid majors don’t require players to do this. And there’s always lower levels, too. But it’s sensible for serious soccer players that have high aspirations and I see, experience, and have heard of very few drawbacks.

 

Maybe ruse was a poor choice of words, but you just confirmed what I was saying ... that they use encouraging/requiring them to take a summer school course to get them on campus to train.

 

I had my dates off. Next week is the captains practices and workouts with strength coach. The following week is when coach led stuff happens.

 

Here on the West Coast, the most successful NCAA Division I women's soccer head coaches are more open and flexible with their incoming freshwomen, who are either working, in an internship, attending college or university, traveling, or serving as a volunteer overseas, or on vacation with their parents. It's not unusual to see them juggling a soccer ball like Tobin Heath in a park in Amsterdam, Barcelona, Bergen, Cape Town, Copenhagen, Buenos Aires, London, Melbourne, Nairobi, Paris, Oslo, Santiago, Stockholm, Sydney, or Tokyo.

 

I know one top 20 west coast program that doesn't have their team coming in until August 1, freshmen included.

 

I don't think this is all that unusual. If you want your players coming in a month early, then you have to deal with the headaches of housing that comes with that. A ton of ACC players were still playing with their W League teams in their hometowns this past weekend. I don't think there's a lot of full teams on campus right now.