With three NCAA field hockey games left to play tomorrow, there are lots of you among my readership who are looking forward to tomorrow’s season denouement with anticipation, but others with questions. The questions range from, “How do I get to be a Division I/II/III athlete?” to “Was it all worth it?”
I came across a couple of blog entries from our friends at Field Hockey College Path, a site which uses metrics to give people a roadmap to how they can pursue their passion for the sport.
The site’s has published a number of blog entries, showing the amount of playing time that first-year from several NCAA Division I conferences were able to earn.
This is from the Mid-American Conference, this is from the Big East, this is from the Ivy League, this is from the Big Ten, and this is from the ACC.
The data does not lie. You’re looking at a number of players who were highly recruited out of high school and have received negligible playing time, but a number of offshore players have become critical parts of their current teams.
I’ve seen this since the 1990s, with players from Holland, England, Canada, and Argentina coming over into the U.S. collegiate system and changing the game with their talent and skills.
The pipeline has ramped up over the last quarter-century, as U.S. college coaches fly out to Europe for combine camps featuring U-19 players with the express purpose of coming to a U.S. college.
The foreign influence in NCAA field hockey has never been greater, as athletes from around the world have shown up on not only top Division I teams, but have even shown up on Division II and III rosters.
Kudos to FH College Path for their data-driven approach to this issue.