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32 replies

The Full Ride Myth - URRRG

J joes8710,000+ posts
Hi All - I mostly lurk out here.

I have a 14U son who is a better then average player and try to keep track of things in case he continues to show promise as he moves into High School. Having been through the recruiting process myself in another sport (track) years ago I am familiar with what it entails and how things work. I find it unbelievable the amount of misinformation out there regarding the process and the amount of money avaliable. It seems like everyone who goes to college to play sports is doing it "on a full ride".

Just this weekend I attended a business function and some guy was rattling off how his neighbor has 6 kids and all are on full rides. Funny thing is two of them are attending D3 schools, another an Ivy league school and the other ones are playing secondary sports (not football or basketball) at smaller schools. I wanted to call him on the line of BS he was throwing out there but it wasn't the right venue.

Our HS is known as one of the better athletic schools around (we have a number of players in the pros right now). Every time someone starts talking about who is playing sports where its always on a "full ride". As my wife happens to be an administrator in the district we tend to know who is getting what to play where, I can tell you that 99% of the time its not a full ride, heck in most cases the money is so small it wouldn't matter if you were on scholarship or not.

For the most part I just keep my mouth shut and let the person spout off, but recently I started to think that a lot of the issues revolving around youth sports are driven by this mentality of my kid is not good enough unless he gets a full ride. I'm wondering if others feel this way and if they speak up in these situations or if they just let it blow by like I do.
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PISPIS1,000+ posts
I hear you.

On one hand, if your buddy has football or basketball players or girls volleyball they may be on "full rides".

Obviously not at the D3 level.

BUT... His kids sound pretty smart. Depending on what private D3 program they attend he may not be fibbing.

I often want to call out parents who say their kid is on a "full ride" when I know they are not and I know they dont have grades either.

But to a parent who's kid is getting BIG academic money from a private D3, I say congratulations. I know parent with a kid at an "Ivy equivalent" D3 private school who is getting 90%. I can tell you that this is 1 father who doesn't care that the kid isn't getting Athletic money!

This topic was brought up recently in another thread. It was suggested to allow the myth to continue. Those parents of younger players that are naive enough to believe will be shell shocked when the bill comes, or rather when that 25% scholarship gets offered from a school that costs $55,000 per year!

Rich
www.PlayInSchool.com
www.twitter.com/PlayInSchool
J joes8710,000+ posts
Im inclined to just let it ride but I do like myself a good debate. As fenwaysouth suggest I may just ask some leading questions.

FYI, the example I used is not a friend of mine. He is someone I had met for the first time at a business function I attended. He knew who my kid was from some tournaments we played in (baseball and basketball). For some reason he felt obligated to tell me about his neighbors kids. And I agree they could have been on academic scholarships or some type of financial aid but he insisted they are all related to sports.
T twotex1,000+ posts
Depending how pathetic the person comes across, I might have a little fun with it.

And I would probably brag about the 35% merit scholarship my son is geting. Have I mentioned it lately? Would you like to know more? Big Grin

Hey wait, if I compute the percentage off of tuition alone, it would be a higher percentage. Let me do some math...
BOFBOF10,000+ posts
The number of full ride athlete's are inversely proportional to the number of years away from High School graduation. It is also a logarithmic function in that there are an unlimited number of full ride athletes at 12 and then progressing toward December of the Sr year, where reality sets in.

Just smile and say congratulations.
StaffordStafford5,000+ posts
While a full ride would be nice, I tend to think of those almost only in regards to basketball and football. I believe there are tremendous benefits to playing collegiately, even if receiving little or no money.

These would include priority registration, medical, some meals, required study hall, a regimented time schedule, much less idle time, built in support system, etc.... I'm sure there are others I'm forgetting or not thinking about, but there are great benefits to being on a team.
RJMRJMHSBaseballWeb member since 2007
I concern myself with what affects my family. If someone wants to learn I'll share knowledge. If someone wants to blow smoke I'll be amused. If some asks how can X be true when they know Y, I'll explain what smoke is being blown.

My kids are on a full ride. They don't pay anything. It's coming from either scholarships or dear old dad. My daughter was just offered a full ride to law school. I guess they want her to help win moot court competitions.

I've never had an issue saying my kids are getting more academic money than athletic money. I'm proud of their academic ability. It's the meal ticket to starting their careers.
Last edited by RJM
J joes8710,000+ posts
@stafford -
agreed. I ran track and loved every minute of it. There is nothing that could replace that experience. As you mentioned there are other benefits that come as part of being a scholar-athlete. I received no money my first year and by the time I graduated I was up to $500 a semester. As my family was rather poor and I had a great ACT score the amount of athletic money I received was inconsequential. Whatever they gave me was subtracted from the financial aid package the school put together for me. The coach was able to work with the FA department and get some of my loans knocked out if he gave me some money. It was more of a token for my effort, but much appreciated. I've come to find out coaches love kids like me because we can be on the team and not cost them anything opening the money up for others.

It just seems to me that everyone is talking full-ride full-ride and walking around spouting misinformation. This leads those that don't know better pick up on it and buy into it believing that everyone gets a full ride and if you don't there is something wrong with you. Thus it fuels the pressure they put on their kids to feed their egos.
EdgarFanEdgarFan500+ posts
I would probably just let it go, especially at a business function. No need to embarass anybody or burn any bridges in that setting.

Like others have said, this guy may have had a kernel of truth, depending on the situation. In my experience, anybody whose kids get academic money combined with athletic money (or even without athletic money, just tied to a roster spot in some way) usually will imply that their kid got an athletic scholarship. This guy very likely has no first-hand information about what his neighbor's kids got or didn't get.

And, if the neighbor's kids are girls and/or play football or basketball, they very well *might* have full rides. If they are baseball players, I think we all know how unlikely it is that there was an athletic "full ride" involved.

I will say this, though, just from talking to people who ask about my son's situation (which is, honestly, still a few years away as he is a 2015): almost nobody understands how little athletic scholarship money is involved for the average baseball recruit. Almost everybody thinks all college scholarships are like football or basketball.

Yes, I do think some of the issues with youth baseball are driven by a desire to get a nearly unattainable (at least for most folks) athletic "full ride" but the antidote is education at places like the HSBBWeb and not calling people like this blowhard out in public places, IMHO.
bballmanbballman10,000+ posts
I would probably let it ride. I think all of us know the reality, but it does bother me most of the time when I hear it. It gives everyone a false impression and I think most people do it just to bolster their ego. In my mind I totally separate athletic money from academic money. People will combine the two and then brag about getting a full ride or a 90% scholarship. It's just not there.

I talked to a former member of the South Carolina staff a few weeks ago. He was their recruiting guy until a year ago and was there for like 10 years. I asked him how many of their guys were ever on full baseball scholarships. His response - none, ever. And that is from a school with 2 consecutive WS Championships and a third finals appearance. He said a couple guys were 1st round draft choices and their combined baseball money was 80%. It just doesn't happen.

Everytime someone says that to me, I just cringe inside. Come on man!! Let's just be honest.
Rick at Informed AthleteRick at Informed Athlete5,000+ posts
joes87, since your HS is one of the better athletic HS's in your area, your school may already do this, but do you bring in an athletic compliance administrator from one of the area Div. I programs to give talks on eligibility and financial aid to dispel some of the myths? If not, I'm sure you could get somebody from NIU, Northwestern, DePaul, UIC, or one of the other area schools to come out and give a presentation. Many Div. I schools do that on a regular basis.
Last edited by Rick at Informed Athlete
J joes8710,000+ posts
Rick not a bad idea. I do know that they do have some programs for the perspective college athlete. I think it has more to do with filling out the NCAA clearinghouse info and the mechanics behind things more then talking about realistic expectations. My older son is a good athlete but was not at the level where we expected him to continue his playing days beyond HS. Let me look into this. We have a new AD this year who I have yet to meet. Hopefully I will get to meet him soon at one of the district administrator get together. If I do I will suggest this to him. If not I will probably champion something like this as my younger goes through HS.
D daveccpa1,000+ posts
We just held a seminar on this very topic in our area that had coaches from each level speak. It certainly was a wake up to many many parents. The coaches also stressed the need for good grades. One D1 coach said that if your kid doesn't have a 3.0 don't bother with his time cause he won't talk to that kid.

He also blasted parents for being overly involved saying that he gets emails from parents about playing time. Guess what, he said that those kids typically get cut!

It was a great seminar and certainly a great thing for our community to set some folks straight
S smalltownmom100+ posts
I don't understand why anyone would be bothered by the claim of "full ride", but it does bother some so I guess there is merit there. In my mind, money is money, whether it is academic, need based, athletic, legacy, etc., if it adds up to 100%+ it's a full ride. Whose business is it anyway? "Celebrate your friend's success!" Smile I will be honest, with the exception of a JuCo, no one has ever told me they had a free ride (baseball) except for a few based on academics, National Merit, etc.
CoachB25CoachB25Honorary "Old TImer"
I will admit that it bothers me when someone says that their child is on a full ride giving the impression that it is an athletic ride by other portions of the conversation. Why? Because one part of me wants to call them out on it for thinking I'm so foolish. Sure, some are on a full ride if academics are taken in to account. That number is STILL very few. My child has an offer that her coach declared was, "an offer we could not refuse." It is a nice scholarship and so my wife and I don't pay much. Still, we pay. I get somewhat angry when these discussion come up, I tell the truth, and then they go on about how their child has a full ride. Of course you can tell that certain parents are "those parents" and should expect that. JMHO!
bballmanbballman10,000+ posts
quote:
Originally posted by smalltownmom:
I don't understand why anyone would be bothered by the claim of "full ride", but it does bother some so I guess there is merit there. In my mind, money is money, whether it is academic, need based, athletic, legacy, etc., if it adds up to 100%+ it's a full ride. Whose business is it anyway? "Celebrate your friend's success!" Smile I will be honest, with the exception of a JuCo, no one has ever told me they had a free ride (baseball) except for a few based on academics, National Merit, etc.



Maybe because it's bragging and and if they give the impression that it is a full athletic ride, they are lying. I also kind of feel like they are insulting my intelligence because I know it's not true. There have been very few people outside of family and very close friends that I have told what percentage athletic scholarship my son has. When I'm talking to people, I may mention that my son is on a baseball scholarship at xx University. No need to go into how much.
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