Recruiting Tips for Parents Just Starting the Process

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?
 
Why
eastbaysoccer said:
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?
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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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Real Deal said:
Why


Why is it ridiculous to commit in 10th, or even 9th, grade? 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.
 
Real Deal said:
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.
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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.
 
espola said:
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.
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I was really only referring to getting admitted to the school in the first place.
 
Real Deal said:
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.
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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.
 
Justafan said:
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.
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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.
 
Justafan said:
Because who the F knows where they really want to go/fit in/major/career at 9th or 10th grade? Did you?
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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.
 
beachbum said:
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.
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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).
 
Real Deal said:
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.
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Commit with money in 10th grade is illegal under NCAA regs.
 
Real Deal said:
I've stated before that I think sophomore year (10th) is the optimal time. 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.
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I agree. My player committed as a sophomore and from that point on she focused on working on what her future coaches wanted from her. It worked out. She graduated in the top 10 in her graduating class academically and took classes that were transferable to her university which will help her to graduate as soon as her season is over her senior year. Now I know that my player had a pretty unique situation (the is attending the school that she has loved since she knew what college was) but it was still a relief to her and us.
 
espola said:
And people get tickets for it.
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It's called a verbal commit, Espola. I hear they are giving those to 7th and 8th graders. No one actually signs anything until 11th. I'd say just get rid of the middle school verbals and let them commit in 10th and up.
 
Don't yell but what is the rule that you are referring to, I don't know it. Verbal commitment and acceptance constitutes a contract, correct? The colleges reinforce that contract when they ask for the players to post their commitment online and post it on any recruiting materials that are handed out by their club team. My daughter has also been on campus's where they have put the offer on paper and although we were not allowed to take it with us we did take a picture of it. From what i have gathered these verbal commitments/contracts are very rarely broken by the college's. Do you have evidence to the contrary. Am I naive? If the conversation is recorded does that make it more binding. I hear what your saying but to my knowledge it's more of a contract then what you are saying and would not think it is illegal, enlighten me.
 
A coach can offer a scholarship "promise" at any point and a student-athlete can accept it. It's non binding on anyone's part, but it isn't illegal. Why do you keep saying it's illegal? It isn't. What IS illegal is coaches calling kids directly before their junior year, paying for them to come on visits, and the like. But offers and commitments are not illegal.

The new rule proposal is ehhhh to me. Sept 1 is a terrible time (for coaches) to unleash the floodgates of recruiting. That's week 1 into the season or close to it, right? I'd agree with above that sophomore year is fine. I'd change contact and visits allowable after Jan 1 of sophomore year would be fine for all involved. And I would change that if you are on campus on your own dime, you can talk to the coaches. We were staying with family in a random city last summer and walked through the campus and met the soccer coaches...and our kid is young! Super nice to chat with them and for our kid to put some foundations and specifics under a nebulous dream of "play college soccer."

We will see if it passes. These things only pass if it benefits the big 5 schools and jury is out for me if these changes help them.
 
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