There’s a place for most

The colleges and universities vary, from the Division I level of the NCAA, to universities at the NAIA level. And while many are going to college to play, very few student-athletes are actually receiving athletic scholarship money. NCAA.org says only about 2% of high school athletes are awarded athletic scholarships. The Ivy League and Patriot League, both with sports at the Division I level, don’t offer money for sports at all.

So when athletes say they have signed a scholarship with University X, what exactly does that mean? One big misconception is that all sports are treated equal, which is far from the truth. While an NCAA Division I football team has 85 scholarships at its disposal, the baseball teams has to split 11.7 scholarships among 27 players on a 35-player roster. Women’s soccer has 14 total scholarships for the entire team.

Those would be the maximum numbers of scholarships a school could offer. Some can’t even manage that many because of a simple lack of money. So where does the scholarship money come from? Many of the local athletes who commit to playing in college are awarded money for their prowess in the classroom — not the field. Their athleticism gets them noticed, their work in the classroom pays for college.

“There is a lot more academic scholarship money than athletic scholarship money,” said Woodside girls’ soccer coach Jose Navarrete, who also coached at the club level for 23 years. He has seen athletes run the gamut: he has coached Division I players, coached athletes who are under the illusion they will play at the DI level, as well as those level-headed kids who are honest with themselves about their abilities and where they fit on the college athletic spectrum.

“You have to realistic about it,” said Navarrete, who has dealt with families who believe their daughter is destined for the upper echelon of college programs all while failing to even crack the Woodside starting lineup.

“Some try to go to DI schools. Some don’t make the team and that’s it, right there (the end of their playing careers),” Navarrete continued.

Jordan Seyfried, a senior third baseman and a four-year varsity player for the San Mateo softball team, was one of those players who initially thought she could play at a higher level when she was younger. She contacted schools and programs at the Division I and Division II levels, but did not get a lot of response.

“A few DII schools responded, but I wasn’t really interested in them,” Seyfried said.

But through her hard work, both with the Bearcats and her Nor Cal Blast travel-ball team, Seyfried found her spot, committing to Aurora University in Illinois Monday, where she will receive an academic scholarship. Division III does not offer athletic scholarships.

“After summer and (this past) fall, a lot of DIII and NAIA school started showing interest,” Seyfried said. “After I had time to think about it, DIII was a better choice for me, to have equal parts school and equal part sports.”

Navarrete said what many prospective college athletes don’t realize is the amount of time, work and effort that goes into being a college athlete, especially at the Division I level. All that and dealing with college classes on top of it becomes too much for some student-athletes to handle.

“Division I is a full-time effort,” Navarrete said. “You will not believe how many DI transfers (to lower college levels) there are.

“Every kid has their own agenda of what they want to do.”

And just like growing up, agendas change. What seemed important as a sophomore suddenly doesn’t hold as much weight during senior year. So while a student-athlete may believe they are destined for the highest levels, the reality is many will simply get in where they fit in.

“My sophomore year, I thought there was only DI,” Seyfried said. “But DII and DIII and NAIA or just club (sports in college), there is a spot for any athlete.”