Congratulations! You were invited on an overnight visit with your prospective college team. The overnight is one of the last few steps you take before finalizing your commitment. This is a great opportunity to meet and bond with the team to see if this program is a good fit for you. During your overnight visit you can expect to tour the campus, meet the team, watch a practice or game, and probably participate in some team activities. But, there is a lot about your overnight trip that they're not telling you.
Related: Rate your Coaches, Facilities and Campus Visits
You're going to be pushed out of your comfort zone: You're going to be in an unfamiliar place, sleeping in a dorm most likely, with a stranger. Talk about awkward. Try to make the best of this situation. It's normal to be nervous. Just be yourself and get involved as much as possible, especially with team bonding activities. You will get the most out of your overnight if you participate and try to make connections within the team!
Related: Dos and Don'ts of Campus Overnight Visits
Going out: Sometimes your host is going to bring you out drinking. Your host wants to show you what the college social life is like at their school. This isn't always necessarily a bad thing, and it definitely varies from team to team. The most important thing for you to do is communicate your feelings. If you don't want to go out, that's ok. If you don't want to drink, that's ok. Maybe you're afraid of potentially losing your offer/scholarship, but your safety is the most important thing. If your host happens to take you out, be safe and don't do anything to put yourself in a position to hurt yourself or affect your offer if the coach finds out. At the end of the day, your host is responsible for you and coaches understand that.
Related: RHS: Scarred by Shower Selfies on My Official Visit
Hazing: Hazing has become more rare over the years because of stricter regulations, but unfortunately it does still occur. Sometimes teams want to push boundaries and test your commitment. This can put recruits in an incredibly uncomfortable situation. Just remember that the odds of you experiencing any sort of hazing are slim, but if you happen to experience any, do not be afraid to say no, reach out for help, or even tell the coach. Don't let the fear of rejection from the team stop you from sticking up for yourself. At the end of the day, you don't want to be a part of a team that participates in hazing.
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* Originally published on January 20, 2022, by Madison Machado
