Verbal offers aren't worth the paper they aren't written on. The reason the are "verbal" is because they are illegal.
Recruiting Tips for Parents Just Starting the Process
- Thread starter MakeAPlay
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Verbal offers aren't worth the paper they aren't written on. The reason the are "verbal" is because they are illegal.
Dos Equis
GOLD
Incorrect. NCAA does not recognize verbal offers. To them, they do not exist. Call it ostrich method, but current rules allow for a verbal at any time. It is non-binding and non-existent to them.
Interesting way to agree with me.
Dos Equis
GOLD
Perhaps. But illegal would imply a violation. That is all I quibble with. It is a handshake that has no legal standing. It would only be illegal if the coach contacts the player in a way not allowed by the rules. The current rules are swiss cheese. The changes proposed would make this illegal.
As I said...
Junior high was too early... But Junior year of high school just seems too late. The players should be allowed to make their visits, get to know the coaches, and openly discuss their options during sophomore year. They have an INCREDIBLE amount of pressure on the Junior year with all the testing etc anyway-- the stress of an even quicker decision and the confusion of not knowing where they stand in regards to their sport will send a few more over the edge. Plus, on the other side of the coin, if coaches "aren't allowed" to scout in 8-11th, when exactly are they to do it? Senior year? Just doesn't seem realistic does it? It only helps the players for the coaches to scout throughout soph year-- otherwise seems they'd have to rely on word of mouth/reputation even more-- and do we really want that?
So basically with this scenario, it all has to go the way of floppy hats and sunglasses, hush-hush convos with youth coaches out by the Norco porta-potties, stressful uncertainty for some kids, and for others, the ultimate teen-torture of not posting their "Unofficial" verbal commitment announcements for up to two years.... Joking aside, as you suggest Soccerminion, this just seems like somewhere in the murky middle of change and no change.
9th grade is too early to commit. I've seen plenty of kids entering high school thinking they are geniuses in math and science only to struggle in high school Chemistry and Physics. It is a wake up call for career choices and college majors. And I have also seen kids go in the reverse direction falling in love with a class such as Biology, Computer Sciene or Political Science. Until a person knows what general area they would like to major in, it is not advisable to pick a college that might not have a major you're interested in pursuing. Some people make the wrong assumption that schools like Cal and UCLA have every major and they do not. Other schools like Oregon don't even have engineering at all. Kids need time to develop interests before committing.
Beginning of 11th grade is an optimal time to commit. As said above the pressure of school is a lot during this year so removing the soccer burden would be a plus. Also if a kid commits to an Ivy and they need a certain test score to bump up their merit scholarship, they can focus on that goal.
Beginning of 11th grade is an optimal time to commit. As said above the pressure of school is a lot during this year so removing the soccer burden would be a plus. Also if a kid commits to an Ivy and they need a certain test score to bump up their merit scholarship, they can focus on that goal.
Sophomore year is 10th grade. Much easier to know your SAT/grade requirements for an Ivy if you know you are going to one when you are in your sophomore year.
Frankly Im not trying to be argumentative. Actually committing Junior year is ok (isn't that basically how it is now anyway?). I just think they should be able to explore their options, talk to coaches, go on unofficials, know where they stand and fit in and what will be necessary to achieve admittance prior to Junior year if that is when they are to decide. Then they know the benchmarks they have to hit to be successful (as in grades and test scores). In other words, start the process in early Sophomore year (10th grade).
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Sorry to sound like a broken record, but is the legislation set on making unofficial visits start of Junior year? I read somewhere that it was Sophomore year. If it is indeed Sophomore, it would make more sense to me, with official visits starting Junior year. Still unclear how this will shake out.
eastbaysoccer
GOLD
committing in Sept/Oct is the best time to commit. Why?
1) The junior (hardest year) is just getting started
2) the should already have taken the ACT or SAT late in the Sophomore year or in June.
3) they are older
committing in 8-10th grade is ridiculous for most. So if you commit to Stanford but by the time you reach junior year you realize you gpa is only 3.5 and Sat scores are 1200. You really think you will be bale to compete against other students who are near perfect and not playing soccer?
1) The junior (hardest year) is just getting started
2) the should already have taken the ACT or SAT late in the Sophomore year or in June.
3) they are older
committing in 8-10th grade is ridiculous for most. So if you commit to Stanford but by the time you reach junior year you realize you gpa is only 3.5 and Sat scores are 1200. You really think you will be bale to compete against other students who are near perfect and not playing soccer?
Why
Why is it ridiculous to commit in 10th, or even 9th, grade (verbally as the rules are now that is)? It is liberating to commit. Unless it is Stanford or maybe an Ivy, you will not have this problem as a student athlete ^
If you are committing for athletics, you are not competing academically against the general population in any case at all.
Why is it ridiculous to commit in 10th, or even 9th, grade (verbally as the rules are now that is)? It is liberating to commit. Unless it is Stanford or maybe an Ivy, you will not have this problem as a student athlete ^
If you are committing for athletics, you are not competing academically against the general population in any case at all.
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Once you get into class you will be.
Yes, well, you need to make your choices wisely and be realistic... No matter when you choose. That has nothing to do with which grade you are recruited and when you commit.
Sometimes you need to look at things from the other side. My daughter, who was not recruited at all for her athletic ability, ended up being a calculus tutor for student-athletes who needed help to stay eligible, paid by the athletic department.
I was really only referring to getting admitted to the school in the first place.
Her take on that was "I can't believe some of these people got in here" (she was waitlisted before she got in to her first choice).
Because who the F knows where they really want to go/fit in/major/career at 9th or 10th grade? Did you? So many things can change between 9th and 11th or 12th grade. The soccer recruiting paradigm is backwards and that’s why you see the excessively high transfer rates.
The girls with the most leverage, the unicorns, are the ones who have to pigeonhole themselves the earliest. It should be the other way around, just as it is in football where many 5 stars don’t commit until signing day. This assures you are older when you make your decision and have taken all of your official and unofficial visits so you can make the best decision for you up to that point.
When a top football recruit makes a choice at the very end, the school always has room for that player even if it means taking someone else’s offer or having another recruit grey-short. Nick Saban is notorious for doing that.
Are you telling me that if Mal Pugh waited until signing day to decide whatever school she chose wouldn’t make it happen? Of course they would.
I know that is not the current reality but it has always blown my mind that the 5 star soccer recruits, the ones with the most leverage, have to make a decision so early.
Another thing that blows my mind is that schools seem to have to honor offers they made to kids in the 9th grade when they have not continued to develop as projected and would not have offered the same kid at the 11th or 12th grade (especially if they think they have spotted a better player later on). In football it happens all the time and there is very little blowback to a school that has cooled on a kid after making an early offer. USC offered an alleged QB prodigy in the 8th grade (David Sills) and had no problem taking back that offer later on. That kid ended up playing receiver in college.
The difference is that football and basketball are "head count" sports and scholarships can't be divided (full ride - 85 for football). All other sports are "equivalency sports" where they can be divided and there are no restrictions on how many athletes can be on scholarship. So when football or basketball scholarships are offered they are full no matter what, assuming they are available. For soccer, because of the current system, the unicorns can get more scholarship dollars the earlier they commit because those dollars are more available the earlier they verbally commit. If they wait those dollars may not be available. Agree with your premise but not realistic with current environment.
I've stated before that I think sophomore year (10th) is the optimal time to start the process. And honestly, I'd have to argue that they don't know much more about what they want in 11th grade than they do in 10th. You are talking the difference between a few months. And since you asked, I didn't declare my major until sophomore year in college. If I had been lucky enough to have a verbal commit, with money, in sophomore year of high school, I would've been ecstatic. It takes so much pressure off. For an athlete, for the ones who care, it allows them to focus more on their sport while also exploring what it is they want to do besides it in life. With some exceptions (math genius, star debater, violin virtuoso), any major decision like choosing a college, for a 16,17 year old, is just taking a flyer. Who knows if it'll work out? Why not have them benefit from the hours and hours and hours of hard work put into their sport with a little relief from the tension of high school? These kids are under constant pressure from the competitive environment of athletics. Why can't they verbally commit in 10th grade? This is the one break we can give them.
PS- it takes pressure off the parents to know the financial situation as well.
MakeAPlay
DA
You are 100% correct. There are very good players that decided late and got what money was left over and "promises" of more money down the road when it becomes available. Stanford spends their money so far in advance that all-PAC 12 players transfer for their 5th year instead of paying 100% out of pocket! I think that the system sucks and it is the NCAA and the coaches like Anson Dorrance's fault. Even Mal Pugh committed early (Feb/March of her sophomore year).