The academic questions you’re not asking

Generic questions get generic answers. Here's what to ask instead.

Shortly after I began coaching club field hockey in the United States, a player told me how excited she was to go play for the D1 school she’d just committed to.

She vibed with the team, thought the coaches would help her grow, loved the campus and facilities, and thought she’d found the right level of competition.

I caught up with her over coffee that Christmas, after her first fall semester.

It didn’t take long for the tears to flow.

The hockey was great. She loved campus life. The head coach was who she thought they’d be. The team had outperformed expectations.

But the school didn’t have her major. She needed to transfer.

She never played college field hockey again.

Now, I know what you’re thinking: How could she go somewhere that was such a bad fit academically? Didn’t someone warn her? Surely she could have found somewhere that had everything she needed?

Yes, she’d been warned. Multiple times.

But this was the best Division 1 field hockey option she had.

It certainly wasn’t the best overall Division 1 option she had.

She convinced herself she could study something else, only to find that when that reality arrived, it was the opposite of what she wanted.

Now, most families aren’t making mistakes of that gravity.

You’re checking that schools have your intended major. You’re looking at class sizes, resources, graduation rates.

But here’s what you might not be asking: Can you actually succeed at this school while training 30+ hours a week?

Tuesday’s newsletter covered the time management challenge. Today’s about the specific questions that reveal whether a program is academically sustainable for you.

Instead of: “How do I balance athletics and academics?”

This is one of those questions that recruits have been coached to ask for years.

But as with so many of the ‘right’ things to ask, it’s too generic and not specific enough.

Generic questions get generic answers. Every coach will tell you their program values academics. Every player will say it’s hard but manageable.

Ask these instead:

“What happens at your school if a player is struggling academically?”

This reveals the support system. Good answers include specifics: mandatory study halls, academic advisors assigned to athletes, tutoring availability and how it works, mental health resources.

Vague answers like “we have tutors available” tell you nothing. Press for details: How many athletes use them? What’s the process to access them? Are there academic advisors specifically for athletes?

The coach may not have all those answers, but they should be able to set you up with an academic expert at their school who does.