I understand from personal experience, that as an athlete it is sometimes difficult and confusing to try and find the “right” college or university. There are the few high school athletes that D1 schools are actively pursuing but what happens to the majority of athletes who get lost in the shuffle?
I played volleyball in San Diego, among other sports, all throughout high school. Now, if you know volleyball you have to be amazing or very tall to get playing time in many of the top D1 schools. Once I started thinking about college I knew that I wanted to continue my volleyball career, but I also was realistic in that I knew I wasn’t going to get playing time on a D1 team, especially in Southern California. I pursued a D2 school on the east coast called Bentley University. I took a starting position midway through my freshman year and continued to have a great experience throughout my 4 years there.
What is so sad about this issue is that most high school athletes that want to continue playing their sport in college think that they are just not good enough. Believe me, if you are passionate about playing, no matter what your skill level is, you can find a perfect fit in a college. Just be realistic about your skill level; if I didn’t care about riding the bench for 4 years, then yes I would have found a D1 school to go to. Instead, I really listed my priorities and among other things on the list, playing time was definitely up there.
The point of this article is to get high school athletes aware of how many colleges are actually out there and to start actively researching these schools to see if there is a fit or not.
I did not go to a D1 school but I was a starter at a great volleyball program at Bentley University. My athletics also helped me to get into the school and gave me an opportunity to come out of there with an amazing business education. I now work at a market research firm in downtown San Diego called Luth Research. They specialize in qualitative, quantitative, and online research for many other firms. I don’t think I would have gotten to where I am today without pursuing my dream of playing volleyball in college.