I'm just curious what the different divisions of college want in a runner such as times, consistency, mileage, high school progression. Any input is welcome.
I'm just curious what the different divisions of college want in a runner such as times, consistency, mileage, high school progression. Any input is welcome.
Largely depends on the school, but if you're looking to compete in college I would start with D3 and work up from there.
D3 is great if you are looking to continue competing and contributing to a team while getting a solid education. There are no athletic scholarships and it is amateur in every sense of the word. Pick wisely based on your individual needs, a select few schools are athletic powerhouses akin to mid-major or small D1 schools and some are like solid regional high schools, and some are crap. If you love the sport but want your degree to also hold some weight, start here. Teams will mostly accept everyone within reason, as long as you could race in HS and feel you could improve in college you have a shot here.
D2 is great if you're definitely more of that "athlete-student" type but not quite D1 level. Teams tend to be more solid in D2 with absolute top level performances akin to mid-major D1. Education at Directional U will be decent at best, more of that small to midsize campus, classes might feel like an extension of high school in some cases. Athletic scholarships are available in D2 and talent is probably around top-quarter to top-half in a decently competitive state.
D1 has the widest range. At worst, they're like decent large high school teams. At best, they're like national-class training groups. Will definitely want to be at the very least competitive on the state and regional level if considering D1. If you never made it to the top tier of your state championship, even if you brought up the rear, you're probably going to have a tough time making the average D1 team.
All coaches will look for positive trends in performance from year to year. Big drops indicate a jump in training dedication. Stagnation indicates a need for change or possible burnout depending on the intensity of the program. Decline means a drop in enthusiasm for the sport, injury, or some other health issue. You'll want to be dedicated to getting better year by year and do XC/indoor (where applicable)/outdoor if possible, though if you can maintain a solid training level while doing other sports that's fine too.
Don't fret over mileage. Lower mileage with better times compared to runners doing more mileage with the same race times probably means more in the tank for the low mileage athlete, but times are the number one thing that coaches will look at besides finishing place at state championships.
It’s all about speed, hot nasty badass speed.
Zante wrote:Don't fret over mileage. Lower mileage with better times compared to runners doing more mileage with the same race times probably means more in the tank for the low mileage athlete, but times are the number one thing that coaches will look at besides finishing place at state championships.
Finishing place at State XC meet is much more important than any XC times due to differences in courses.
I’m a D2 female runner. Our coach explicitly told us not to visit LetsRun forums.
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