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Post by Strikermom on Mar 10, 2016 8:50:26 GMT -5
Freshmen daughter participating in first ID camp at Berry College this Sunday. Anyone have any experience with Berry and its program?
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Post by spectator on Mar 10, 2016 9:23:03 GMT -5
They won their D2 Conference last season so it looks to be a decent program.
Has their coach seen your daughter play at any tournaments or is the ID camp her first encounter? Reason I ask, be wary of some ID camps - they are moneymakers for the school's program and depending on how many players are there, it can be a cluster. Think tryouts only more competitive. Players will be out there to be seen and will hot dog and hog the ball to look good. Not all ID camps are like this but for the most part, it's super competitive for the players - especially the younger ones. Remember, too, no college coach can contact your daughter directly until summer before her Junior year. Some will respond to an email but most will reply with a 'Per NCAA regulations, I cannot respond ..." email back.
Best case scenario, the Berry coach likes your daughter and indicates interest while she's there to continue the process. it will be INTEREST not an OFFER because this is a long(ish) process to secure any scholarship offers. If the coach is interested, schedule a visit during the season to meet with the coach, players, watch a session or better yet attend a game. Get a feel for the style of play - do they kick and run or play possession. Match your daughter's style to the style of play of the school she is interested in. If you can get on the radar of a school she likes early on, just keep the lines of communication going for the next year and a half. Don't commit - even verbally - as a freshman because a lot can change in 3 years (coach may move, program may get cancelled, your daughter may pursue other interests).
And don't get sucked into the D1 or nothing mentality. If it's a good program - which Berry seems to be - AND (most importantly) has the academics your daughter may be interested in pursuing (she's 14 - if she knows, you're already ahead of the curve) - then definitely consider the D2 schools We've visited D1, D2 and D3 schools this year already and other than the size of the school, very little differences in the overall soccer programs at each - but we're targeting schools we know play the style that best matches my kid - and that have what she says she wants to major in. Right now her number one choice is a D2 school out of state because she really liked the coach and program there. The D1 school is also out of state and she got a verbal offer but she didn't fall in love with the program or the school. Her club coach told her to go with what she liked not the stigma of a D1 school. All that means is the school pays the NCAA for more sports than a D2 school does.
While I haven't had first hand experience with Berry College, I have never heard anything negative about the program or school. Good luck to your daughter - enjoy the journey. Let us know what you think - I'd prefer my kid stay in state to capitalize on Hope money too so we may end up looking there ourselves
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Post by Strikermom on Mar 10, 2016 9:49:19 GMT -5
Thank you for this. Yes he saw her at the Atlanta Showcase and D2 tournament. Berry is a private school, so Hope doesn't help much there. It is fairly low cost compared to some others $85 and offers college and admissions tour in the mix. Only a day trip so looking forward to the drive and scenery. Will let you know how it goes.
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Post by atlcoach84 on Mar 12, 2016 16:00:47 GMT -5
To clarify, Barry University is a very good D2 school in Miami and Berry College is a D3 up in Rome-I presume you are heading to Berry in Rome as they do have a camp tomorrow.
Berry is a good school with a beautiful campus and is fairly competitive in the SAA. They finished 4th in the SAA (http://www.saa-sports.com/sports/wsoc/2015-16/standings) and lost to Centre in the 2nd round (Centre actually made the D3 Final Four this year).
The coaches on both the Men's and Women's side at Berry are very nice and do a good job of developing players as well as being competitive in their conference each year. Definitely a good academic school and a good in-state private school option.
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Post by spectator on Mar 13, 2016 16:58:05 GMT -5
To clarify, Barry University is a very good D2 school in Miami and Berry College is a D3 up in Rome-I presume you are heading to Berry in Rome as they do have a camp tomorrow. Berry is a good school with a beautiful campus and is fairly competitive in the SAA. They finished 4th in the SAA (http://www.saa-sports.com/sports/wsoc/2015-16/standings) and lost to Centre in the 2nd round (Centre actually made the D3 Final Four this year). The coaches on both the Men's and Women's side at Berry are very nice and do a good job of developing players as well as being competitive in their conference each year. Definitely a good academic school and a good in-state private school option. Correct. My mistake mixing the results but the rest applies. Never heard a bad thing about the program.
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