D3 Parents Want to Know...
📬 We answer a question from the 'Ask D3Direct' Mailbag
👋 Good Morning and thanks for spending part of your day reading Recruit to the Real World, the go-to source for reliable information on D3 athletics recruiting & admissions.
Today, we are answering an ‘Ask D3Direct’ mailbag question from one of our longtime subscribers who is now a first-year D3 Parent.
The Topic: Adjusting to college, especially once a student’s first season of D3 Athletics starts.
Ask D3Direct is our response to (anonymized versions) of questions we get asked via email or on our socials. You can submit your own questions here.
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Now, it’s Mail Time… 📬
Dear D3Direct,
“Are you aware of any mentorship programs for new DIII student-athletes that connect them with recent graduates or current upperclassmen?
I ask because I have watched my own son having to really work hard to navigate the initial experience of a high-academic school and all the demands of playing college basketball. For the most part, he is doing very well, but he is kind of on his own because there is only so much help parents can provide. Most of us haven’t been there, or haven’t been there in 30 years, and the experience is profoundly different.”
From,
First-Year D3 Parent
Dear First-Year D3 Parent,
There are no two ways around it: The first year for a D3 student-athlete is usually a big adjustment.
Not only are they playing their sport at an intense level (Practice & games ~5-6 days a week) but they are also likely taking their most challenging academic course load yet.
In an ideal world, every D3 school would have a big enough budget to provide formal mentorship programs to new athletes.
But in reality that just isn’t possible.
Our short answer to your question: There is not a structured mentorship program at the vast majority of D3 schools.
Here’s why that is actually a good thing 👇
Trials are a Teacher
College is supposed to be a time for incoming recruits to face adversity, problem solve, and grow.
The fact that your son is going through this big adjustment and doing well is a great sign.
No one looks back on life and thinks to themselves – “Wow, I really grew and learned so much about myself from that calm, easy period of my life.”
By embracing the challenge of having to figure out the adjustment to school and his new basketball schedule, he’ll undoubtedly find out new things about himself. Things like situations when he’s at his best or what he needs when he’s tired or has an off day in the court or classroom. We have no doubt that he’ll emerge from this moment a more resilient and confident individual.
We wrote a post on a similar topic to kick off the year that he might find useful: How to Cultivate a Challenge Network.
With that said, your son does not have to face this moment entirely on his own. In fact, there are a number of informal and formal resources he can (and should) utilize during his first year on campus to make the most of the moment.
Here are the Top 5 in our view…
Where D3 Athletes Can Find Support
1. Upperclassmen
No one knows what a first-year student-athlete is going through like the people who have already gone through it: Upperclassmen athletes.
That goes for almost every aspect of the college experience. From time management and insight on what classes to take to effective recovery strategies and skill development.
They’ve successfully navigated the pitfalls you’ll encounter in your first year on campus, and if they didn’t they’ll probably have some pretty good stories that you can learn from.
Academics
From an academic standpoint they can help you understand what professors are good in your major, which ones are willing to work with an athlete’s schedule, and which ones are challenging to take in season.
Your team captains usually work with coaches to create a practice schedule so that players can take the afternoon labs or seminars they need to graduate. But just know that an underclassman might not get preference on these unless they are necessary prerequisites for a major, like Pre-Med.
Nutrition
Since most teams will eat at least one meal a day together, watch what the older team members are eating. Over time, start to think about who is always able to make it through workouts and practices with energy and who struggles, and then see if there are any patterns with how well those individuals fuel themselves at meal time.
Beyond seeing who makes good choices, it can be fun to see how others navigate on-campus dining options. Maybe someone has learned a trick to make something that you’ll like to cook up or a better way to spend discretionary dining dollars during your next three years.
2. Office of the Registrar
When you need formal assistance with initial class choices and the registration process, visit the Registrar’s office.
Class Choices
Your teammates can help a ton with class choices, but they will not have the detailed understanding of what you need to graduate that the Registrar will. So before you lock in your choices for the semester, make sure to check-in and ensure you’re taking care of your pre-requisites.
Registration Process
If the semester starts and your son doesn’t like what he’s taking, the Registrar can assist with adding, dropping, or withdrawing from courses. There’s no shame in dropping a course to pick up something else!
3. Academic Advisors
Professors and other members of campus faculty are often big fans of a school’s sports teams.
In some cases, they will offer to serve as academic advisors for the team to provide general assistance to the athletes - even if their area of expertise is not a direct match.
Your son can utilize this relationship to talk through academic questions or just to get exposure to a new (non-athletic department) perspective on campus. We always encourage athletes to lean into things other than sporting events on campus. Getting to know campus faculty can be a great way to learn more about events and other campus happenings.
4. Tutors
Most D3 schools will not have formal study halls for athletes, but they will have ample resources when it comes to Tutors. These can be older students who are majoring in the subject or even grad assistants who are connected to the athletic department.
Whoever they are, it is important to remember that there is no shame is asking for help! If you need some concentrated time to work on a subject or have questions you haven’t been able to get answered, go get a tutor. It will be free to you and will likely help you accelerate your progress in the subject.
5. Office Hours
Last but not least, here’s an extremely underutilized resource: Professor Office Hours.
Most Professors host regular office hours every week that rarely get foot traffic. If you know you’re about to encounter a busy stretch in the season and want to get ahead on a few assignments, go to office hours and do a run through with the professor.
This is especially helpful when writing papers as you can pre-test ideas with the professor to see what they think before you dive in to write. This will save you time once you actually sit down to write and help you work efficiently while in season.
Conclusion
This is not an exhaustive list, but we hope this shows your son a few of the resources he can tap into on campus to ease his adjustment to being in season. What goes without saying for all of them is that he has to have the courage to ask for help. This again is another area where parents cannot assist (for the better!) and the D3 athlete will grow into themselves as a person and decision maker.
Best of luck to you and your son and thank you for your continued readership of Recruit to the Real World!
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Thanks for Reading!
As always, we hope you learned something from today’s newsletter.
We are looking forward to digging into your questions and answering them in a future edition of “Recruit to the Real World” - so ask away, we’re here to help!
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Until next time ✌️
-D3Direct
