By Jason Lauren
ScoutU

I’ve seen it happen many times. The dreaded disease of D1-ightes. Athletes want to play at the D1 level so bad, that’s all that is on their minds when deciding what school to go to. They get one D1 offer and they take it, no matter what school it is.

What usually happens with these athletes? They transfer out of that school, oftentimes back to a D3 school close to home, after just 1 year.

Athletes dream of playing at the D1 level and want that so bad, they forget about the other factors when picking a school. These athletes want the bragging rights of being a D1 athlete while in high school, but that doesn’t matter the split second they graduate from high school.

Then, reality hits when they get to that D1 school. That athlete, likely an all-conference and all-state player in high school, expects to dominate as a freshman in college, just like they did in high school. They get to college and realize EVERYBODY on the team dominated in high school, and they’ve already been there for up to 4 years. Those are the players that the coaches know and trust and they are going to get the playing time. As for the freshman athlete? That athlete may have to redshirt his/her freshman year and may not get regular playing time for 2-3 years. That’s when it hits the athlete that had D1-ites, and they realize the school is not a good fit for them.

There’s nothing wrong with wanting to play at the highest athletic level. But it shouldn’t be the only factor when choosing a school. I always tell kids to ask themselves this question before picking a school: “Would I go to this school if I didn’t play my sport there?”