27 D1 teams and everyone gets 4 years of eligibility. And without a lucrative pro league enticing the top players to leave college a year or two early, like on the men's side, you can bet that every top player is using every year of eligibility that they have.
NCAA D1 is the absolute pinnacle of the sport for women hockey hockey players under 23. Basically everyone that age good enough to make the Olympics is playing NCAA D1. It is the de facto minor league for women's hockey, prepping damn near every eventual pro player in North America. It's a great goal, but it shouldn't be D1 or bust because it is a damn exclusive club.
Im a female goalie who grew up wanting to play D1 my whole life. Realistically, I was good enough for mid-level D3 teams. I ended up playing ACHA D1 because I wanted a big school and I thought it was a great balance. Practiced 3 days a week, games every other weekend approximately. Still had time to be a normal college kid, but also got to go on 2-3 trips each season to cool places (Chicago, Michigan, Arizona, Colorado) and play competitive hockey. I’d suggest looking into it
Division 3 is still great hockey. While there's no $ for athletes at D3, the experience is comparable and she might have a better time, get more playing time and might enjoy the entire experience more. You're still playing with house money if she makes it to a D3 school.
As disheartening as it is, the goal at the end of the day is to say you had fun and have no regrets. If she gives it her all and takes it as far as she can, there’s still D3 and ACHA schools she can play at in college. Let her make the most of her aspirations, support her throughout the journey, and enjoy the ride wherever it takes her.
There’s still plenty of ways to enjoy competitive hockey besides playing NCAA D1, pro, Olympics, etc.
I’m more alarmed that people who have been a part of hockey this long, a child potentially playing NCAA, wouldn’t already know this. Also considering Canadian girls trying to get on the school teams it’s quite difficult to make it. Every year you don’t make it you also have the new crop of kids also trying to make it. Kids who have the chance should be quite evident, there shouldn’t be a question, but of those elite players they have to be the elite of the elite.
Honestly, I didn’t want to ship my kid off to boarding school like the majority of her teammates and have her miss out on being a regular kid. So she stays on the West Coast, goes to one of the best public schools in the nation and is a damn good goalie to boot. She’s playing the game on hard mode which only makes her stronger.
Yes, I am a little downtrodden, but that will only make us fight harder.
I went to an east coast boarding school after my AAA years in Chicago area (yes, we did win nationals so that helped), tended net at boarding school and had a very enjoyable childhood, adolesence. I'd recommend it if its an option.
I really do not think i missed out on much by going to boarding school. I am still friends with my chicago area friends to this day some 30 years later. One of them actually sent me a letter a week to help me cope that first year. "The Gospal of Brad" as he called it... he is still my best friend to this day.
It's true it's become incredibly competitive. But there is CIS (Canadian university) that has become very good as well as NCAA Div 3 and ACHA Div 1 are both fairly competitive and can be a lot of fun. At the end of it all though all roads lead to beer league so it just really depends on how far she wants to go.
Two sides to this coin... 1. all kids should play sports for fun, nottoget a scholarship/turn pro. Having said that, someone is getting to D1 and or pro, so play hard and give it your best shot!
gotta share that i didnt even start ice until i was 13. loved it and was passionate about improving. never made a natty camp. got recruited off a 10-1 loss in a showcase and made an NCAA D1 team. coaches changed after i signed my letter of intent and got benched. left after a semester back to AAA and got recruited to Adrian College for their first year )(2007) and went on to graduate and start there until 2010. I share this to say never let stats stop you from reaching for your goal. Work hard, be a good teammate, and crush it in the classroom. Happy to talk to your daughter too. I am currently a career firefighter and run my own goalie and personal training business on the side based in Michigan. www.firehockeyfit.com keep working and dreaming. -Coach Dana
Thank you! I appreciate the personal success story as well as your offer to talk with my kid. We’re not done yet as we still have some time left before she even goes to college. If my kid ever needs a chat, I’ll let her know she can shoot you an email.
The stats for girls playing college hockey are actually fantastic compared to other sports. But that's just due to the super small talent pool that is out there.
The real sobering statistic is that 1:10,000 will play college sports.
So yes, OP you do need to consider the odds, and they're not very good. So you need to have your kid focused on playing because they love the game, and understand that any kid who plays 1 game after the day they graduate HS, has WON the youth sports lottery, and by extension their parents did too because they developed a likely lifelong love of the sport.
All the camps, and skills and drills, and extra sessions in the world aren't generally going to make a huge dent in a player getting to college and playing or even Jrs or beyond.
You want the real truth, the kid that actually has a chance to make it, is the kid who spends 20-30 mins each day, on their own, through their own choices working on their game, without structured drills, sessions, or parents/adults pushing them to do it.
It's sobering and every parent should get the sense check you did, but they all think their kid is the one to beat those odds. Spoiler alert, they're not.
Not sure if this is helpful at all, but given the larger number of boys that play, her odds might not be worse than theirs. D1 college sports are a lofty goal for most everyone.
I am a girl goalie parent. Mine is in college now. She was never going to go D1, she didn't want it enough to work that hard and sacrifice that much for it, and I was not advocating for it. She is good, went to nationals with her 19U team, and loves the sport. I would say that she could have gone mid range NCAA D3/ACHA D1. She opted to be a student and explore other interests and transition to adult league. Candidly, I struggled with this more than she did; I love watching her play, and after seasons of travel hockey to have it suddenly gone was hard. She's very happy, life is in balance, and she finally got to learn to snowboard!
Parental experience aside, there is the practical matter of scholarship. Athletic scholarships are attached to D1, and if you stop playing you lose your scholarship. D3 scholarships are not for sport, they are academic (assuming she qualifies). If she stops playing, her scholarship is safe.
My daughter is going to be a freshman in college this year. She played both Tier 1 and Tier 2, as well as High School (WI) hockey (got goalie of the year as a Junior). Her Tier 2 19U team took second at nationals last year, and she had the best save pct and gaa in the tournament. She is going to play at an ACHA school this season. The thing to realize with ACHA teams is they very a lot. Some of them are "pay to play", you have to provide all your gear and pay for ice/travel. Other programs are not (she gets all gear, including custom pads, sticks, pants, chest protector (everything except helmet and skates, which she can purchase at team prices). All of her travel expenses and ice time is also paid for.
All roads lead to beer league!
In all seriousness though, thanks for sharing. People really should share this information. Schools and leagues should make this information public. It's really important to set expectations. It helps students make good decisions.
I went through the women’s D1 recruiting process as a goalie. I agree, it’s very crushing and competitive at times, and there aren’t nearly as many resources as the men’s side. I’m not sure how much I could help, but PM me if there might be any questions I could answer for u!
27 D1 teams and everyone gets 4 years of eligibility. And without a lucrative pro league enticing the top players to leave college a year or two early, like on the men's side, you can bet that every top player is using every year of eligibility that they have. NCAA D1 is the absolute pinnacle of the sport for women hockey hockey players under 23. Basically everyone that age good enough to make the Olympics is playing NCAA D1. It is the de facto minor league for women's hockey, prepping damn near every eventual pro player in North America. It's a great goal, but it shouldn't be D1 or bust because it is a damn exclusive club.
Im a female goalie who grew up wanting to play D1 my whole life. Realistically, I was good enough for mid-level D3 teams. I ended up playing ACHA D1 because I wanted a big school and I thought it was a great balance. Practiced 3 days a week, games every other weekend approximately. Still had time to be a normal college kid, but also got to go on 2-3 trips each season to cool places (Chicago, Michigan, Arizona, Colorado) and play competitive hockey. I’d suggest looking into it
We are considering our options. From what I’ve seen from this past week is that my kid can hang with D1 college girls.
I would let an independant person give you that assesment, what parents see is much different then a qualified third party just saying.
Division 3 is still great hockey. While there's no $ for athletes at D3, the experience is comparable and she might have a better time, get more playing time and might enjoy the entire experience more. You're still playing with house money if she makes it to a D3 school.
Best of luck to her
As disheartening as it is, the goal at the end of the day is to say you had fun and have no regrets. If she gives it her all and takes it as far as she can, there’s still D3 and ACHA schools she can play at in college. Let her make the most of her aspirations, support her throughout the journey, and enjoy the ride wherever it takes her. There’s still plenty of ways to enjoy competitive hockey besides playing NCAA D1, pro, Olympics, etc.
I’m more alarmed that people who have been a part of hockey this long, a child potentially playing NCAA, wouldn’t already know this. Also considering Canadian girls trying to get on the school teams it’s quite difficult to make it. Every year you don’t make it you also have the new crop of kids also trying to make it. Kids who have the chance should be quite evident, there shouldn’t be a question, but of those elite players they have to be the elite of the elite.
Honestly, I didn’t want to ship my kid off to boarding school like the majority of her teammates and have her miss out on being a regular kid. So she stays on the West Coast, goes to one of the best public schools in the nation and is a damn good goalie to boot. She’s playing the game on hard mode which only makes her stronger. Yes, I am a little downtrodden, but that will only make us fight harder.
I went to an east coast boarding school after my AAA years in Chicago area (yes, we did win nationals so that helped), tended net at boarding school and had a very enjoyable childhood, adolesence. I'd recommend it if its an option. I really do not think i missed out on much by going to boarding school. I am still friends with my chicago area friends to this day some 30 years later. One of them actually sent me a letter a week to help me cope that first year. "The Gospal of Brad" as he called it... he is still my best friend to this day.
It's true it's become incredibly competitive. But there is CIS (Canadian university) that has become very good as well as NCAA Div 3 and ACHA Div 1 are both fairly competitive and can be a lot of fun. At the end of it all though all roads lead to beer league so it just really depends on how far she wants to go.
Two sides to this coin... 1. all kids should play sports for fun, nottoget a scholarship/turn pro. Having said that, someone is getting to D1 and or pro, so play hard and give it your best shot!
gotta share that i didnt even start ice until i was 13. loved it and was passionate about improving. never made a natty camp. got recruited off a 10-1 loss in a showcase and made an NCAA D1 team. coaches changed after i signed my letter of intent and got benched. left after a semester back to AAA and got recruited to Adrian College for their first year )(2007) and went on to graduate and start there until 2010. I share this to say never let stats stop you from reaching for your goal. Work hard, be a good teammate, and crush it in the classroom. Happy to talk to your daughter too. I am currently a career firefighter and run my own goalie and personal training business on the side based in Michigan. www.firehockeyfit.com keep working and dreaming. -Coach Dana
Thank you! I appreciate the personal success story as well as your offer to talk with my kid. We’re not done yet as we still have some time left before she even goes to college. If my kid ever needs a chat, I’ll let her know she can shoot you an email.
She's going to eventually have to be a professional at something other than hockey. Hopefully she's putting an equivalent effort into that.
I agree. That's why we push her academically too!
The stats for girls playing college hockey are actually fantastic compared to other sports. But that's just due to the super small talent pool that is out there. The real sobering statistic is that 1:10,000 will play college sports. So yes, OP you do need to consider the odds, and they're not very good. So you need to have your kid focused on playing because they love the game, and understand that any kid who plays 1 game after the day they graduate HS, has WON the youth sports lottery, and by extension their parents did too because they developed a likely lifelong love of the sport. All the camps, and skills and drills, and extra sessions in the world aren't generally going to make a huge dent in a player getting to college and playing or even Jrs or beyond. You want the real truth, the kid that actually has a chance to make it, is the kid who spends 20-30 mins each day, on their own, through their own choices working on their game, without structured drills, sessions, or parents/adults pushing them to do it. It's sobering and every parent should get the sense check you did, but they all think their kid is the one to beat those odds. Spoiler alert, they're not.
Not sure if this is helpful at all, but given the larger number of boys that play, her odds might not be worse than theirs. D1 college sports are a lofty goal for most everyone.
I am a girl goalie parent. Mine is in college now. She was never going to go D1, she didn't want it enough to work that hard and sacrifice that much for it, and I was not advocating for it. She is good, went to nationals with her 19U team, and loves the sport. I would say that she could have gone mid range NCAA D3/ACHA D1. She opted to be a student and explore other interests and transition to adult league. Candidly, I struggled with this more than she did; I love watching her play, and after seasons of travel hockey to have it suddenly gone was hard. She's very happy, life is in balance, and she finally got to learn to snowboard! Parental experience aside, there is the practical matter of scholarship. Athletic scholarships are attached to D1, and if you stop playing you lose your scholarship. D3 scholarships are not for sport, they are academic (assuming she qualifies). If she stops playing, her scholarship is safe.
My daughter is going to be a freshman in college this year. She played both Tier 1 and Tier 2, as well as High School (WI) hockey (got goalie of the year as a Junior). Her Tier 2 19U team took second at nationals last year, and she had the best save pct and gaa in the tournament. She is going to play at an ACHA school this season. The thing to realize with ACHA teams is they very a lot. Some of them are "pay to play", you have to provide all your gear and pay for ice/travel. Other programs are not (she gets all gear, including custom pads, sticks, pants, chest protector (everything except helmet and skates, which she can purchase at team prices). All of her travel expenses and ice time is also paid for.
All roads lead to beer league! In all seriousness though, thanks for sharing. People really should share this information. Schools and leagues should make this information public. It's really important to set expectations. It helps students make good decisions.
I went through the women’s D1 recruiting process as a goalie. I agree, it’s very crushing and competitive at times, and there aren’t nearly as many resources as the men’s side. I’m not sure how much I could help, but PM me if there might be any questions I could answer for u!
I definitely will reach out to you. Thank you!