College Recruiting

Delaware Shore has contracted with FieldHockeyRecruits.com to assist our athletes in their efforts to become a college field hockey team member. Your participation with FieldHockeyRecruits.com is part of your U16/U19 fee! Use the service as often as possible, put up video clips, search for colleges based on your educational interest and distance from home, and communicate with college coaches!

 

To view player profiles, visit our SportsRecruits.com page!

Recruiting Advice From Coach Skoglund

CASE SCENARIO:

College coach is looking for 1 player to fill the roster for the upcoming season.(Having coached at the junior high and high school levels for many years, where you can actually get to know your players, I can only imagine how challenging this must be-when there are so many choices!)

What a college coach can OBSERVE at a college showcase:

1. Player who demonstrates good hockey skills-speed, passing the ball, movement off the ball, passing with a purpose, good stops, "looking up" off the dribble, use of dodges to avoid a tackle, good defensive saves, goal scoring! Is the player holding the ball too long?

2. Player who exhibits "good sportsmanship" on and off the field- if a player is accidentally tripped, the player who caused the fall extends a hand to "help up" or says "I'm sorry!" Kindness is everything!

3. Does the player LISTEN when the coach is talking to the team, or is she having her own conversation with a teammate?

4. Does the player communicate in a positive manner with her teammates... or is she bossy or degrading?

5.Is the player hustling on the field all the time, or only when the ball comes to her? Does she hustle to help a teammate who may have fallen and needs back-up?

6. During the pre-game warm-up, is this player slacking or is she actually working hard?

7. Does the player follow the rules of the game or is she constantly getting a green or yellow card, which puts her team at a disadvantage?

While many aspects of the game of field hockey have changed over the 50+ years I have played and coached the sport, two things remain constant:

          1. score goals

          2. prevent goals

IT TAKES TEAMWORK!

-Coach Skoglund

Recruiting Information from Molly Geppert, February 6, 2022

Recruiting is a business. College coaches get paid to find the best players to fit their team in order to win games/championships. 

College coaches can be fired or move on to a different school.

RECRUITING WEBSITES: SportsRecruits.com

NCAA.org go to Eligibility Center to get an eligibility # for $90. All prospective athletes need this number to play college sports.

There are approximately 64,025 high school field hockey players in the US.

9% go on to play college field hockey= 5,763 players

Number of D1 D2 D3 field hockey programs.

D1=79. Largest schools. highest athletic budgets

D2=38. Medium sized schools. slightly smaller athletic budget

D3=168. Smallest schools. smallest athletic budgets

Ivy Leage= 8

Percentage of players based on division.

D1=29%

D2=14%

D3=57%

# of scholarships per team/amount of athletic $ per year

D1-12 scholarships/$400 per player per year + academic money

D2-63 scholarhips/$1500-$2000 per player per year + academic money

D3- no athletic scholarships, but can be made up for with academic money

GPA minimum

D1-2.3

D2-2.2

D3-I could not find any information

Schedule of a field hockey player:

Mid August to Mid November 7 days/week

5:30/6:00am. wake up/eat breakfast and hydrate

7:00-8:00. trainer

8:00-10:00 lift/conditioning

10:30-3:30 class

4:00-7:00 practice/film/trainer or games

Dinner shower trainer if needed, study

January to March/April spring season-5 days a week

Pros & Cons of being a college athlete

Pros:

  • coaches are family
  • instant friends
  • cool gear
  • road trips
  • pick classes first
  • trainer/physical therapist/nutritionist
  • athletic advisor/tutors/academic advisor
  • food
  • professional pictures/media days
  • forces you to be organized/time management

Cons:

  • tired
  • sore
  • serious commitment
  • time intensive
  • always have to be on your best behavior

Parents:

-Do not think your child is the best Field Hockey player ever. She is not.

-Do not live vicariously through your child. You already had your glory days.

-Encourage. Don't push or force college hockey.

-It is NOT the coach's responsibility to get your child committed. Say that twice!

-Do not call college coaches yourself. Do not email. Do not text.

-Let your daughter decide if she wants to play in college and at what level and accept her decision.

Players:

-It is NOT your coach's responsibility nor your parents' to get you committed.

-Grades are important, but not everything. Challenge yourself with tougher classes.

-It is better to get a B in an honors/AP class vs an A in a college prep class.

-Get involved in high school activities other than field hockey. Play other sports. Volunteer, student government, Jr ROTC, community or church/synagogue.

-Coaches want well rounded students. There is more to life than field hockey.

-Be smart with social media. Coaches will assume the worst with photos even if the content of the photo is innocent. 

-Don't be a mean girl/bully. Be humble and kind to everyone.

-Do NOT have a school disciplinary record/police record.

-Learn to take constructive criticism. Learn from your weaknesses.

-Verbal commitments DO NOT mean you will be recruited or committed. It is a nice ego boost.

Junior Year:

-Talk to coaches. Put on your big girl pants and learn to shake hands, look people in the eye and speak proper English slowly. 

-Take ACTs and SATs more than once. If you have decent ACT/SAT scores then your high school grades should be As and Bs and the high level classes, 

-Interview the coaching staff. What is their philosophy on academics? How important are grades? What major can you declare/not declare? Can you join clubs or a sorority? Can you travel abroad? 

-Fill out as many local scholarships as possible. It is a lot of work, but VERY worth it.

-Apply to a few colleges for field hockey and non-field hockey.

-PICK COLLEGES BASED ON ACADEMICS/A POSSIBLE MAJOR. other interests, how far from home, weather, surrounding area, social activities.

-Research the team. How many older players in your position? What are their majors? Are they allowed to miss practice if there are any class conflicts? How do the professors treat athletes?

-Research other forms of financial aid. Parent plus loans. Fannie Mae, grants, work study, merit-based scholarships, local scholarships.

Things to do this spring:

-Continue to update recruiting profile: pics, videos, biography info.

-Get a NCAA eligibility #. You cannot be recruited without a #. Cost $90?

-Go to camps, festivals, tournaments. Research attending coaches-they have video access even if they are not there.

-Shoot and send videos often. Just short 10-20 second clips. Coaches watch thousands of videos. Keep them short and sweet.

-Send emails often. 1 month, 1 week and 3 days before each event.

-Practice skills - especially weaknesses.

-Eat like an athlete.

-Train, but do not overtrain.

-Line up which teachers you want to write recommendation letters for the beginning of your Senior year. 

ENJOY THE PROCESS! You are only this age once and you will grow up fast. A lot of young ladies will never experience the recruiting process. Be thankful you get to experience the process no matter where you play. Don't get caught up in D1, D2, D3. If you become a college player, you're one of the 9 percenters. Thank your family for their support. Congratulations!

-Molly Geppert, Mom of Marlee Geppert, Queens University GK