Recruiting Tips for Parents Just Starting the Process
- Thread starter MakeAPlay
- Start date
MakeAPlay
DA
It is crazy how many committed high school freshman there are. These kids haven't completed one semester of high school work yet are committing to a college that is 4 years down the line! No wonder why these offenders for the most part aren't contenders. It's hard to judge a teenager's developmental arc 2 years out let alone 4 years out!
Sheriff Joe
DA
What year did your daughter commit?
MakeAPlay
DA
February of her sophomore year. At that point she already had 12 college credits and had visited all 3 of the schools that she considered and she had gone to two camps with the school that she committed to. This wasn't some random decision. My player picked the school the school didn't pick her...
MakeAPlay
DA
All I am saying is the transfer rate is so high among women's soccer players. Part of it is picking a school simply for soccer reasons. Part of it is not thoroughly vetting the coach or the player's potential fit with the team. Part of it is picking a school when you are 13-15 years old.
Sheriff Joe
DA
Nice, but many in here won't have that "problem".
Good info for my current freshman.
MakeAPlay
DA
All that I can say is wow. Coaches talk and this may backfire...
I am glad you said that because it made sense to me as well to have that impression. I didn't pursue the line of questioning because admittedly my player isn't not in the same boat so I don't understand the nuances. Elite of the elite kind of have their own rules anyway 
and I am ok with it!
and I am ok with it!Wishing NCAA Would act but don't believe they will. There was talk in April but I have not heard any since so I don't think they will raise the recruitment age to Junior as other sports have done.
MakeAPlay
DA
I am glad you said that because it made sense to me as well to have that impression. I didn't pursue the line of questioning because admittedly my player isn't not in the same boat so I don't understand the nuances. Elite of the elite kind of have their own rules anyway
Offers get pulled when coaches realize what is going on. Look at it this way. If you were a coach would you want a player in your program that is unethical? Team chemistry and culture are probably more important than individual talent in an athletic environment (and why I think my player's coach is so good). The most talented player in the NCAA on the women's side has equally high character and so do her parents. Bad chemistry can doom even an extremely talented side. I can name 3 California schools that this elite player will not be going to. They don't play that game and all of those coaches talk.
MakeAPlay
DA
The NCAA will not act. The only reason they made their recent rules changes regarding the true cost of attending college and schools being allowed to provide additional stipends for their athletes is because the Power 5 conferences threatened to pull out of the NCAA and form their own organization (does this seem familiar?) if they didn't make the concession. The only reason that the NCAA has any power is because the Power 5 conferences give it power.
But how common is it for coaches to pull offers because the player did not develop as expected or because they found somebody better? It happens in college football all the time.
MakeAPlay
DA
I'm not sure how often it happens in football but that is a completely different animal. With girls soccer I have only heard of it happening once and that was due to the player's "shopping for a better deal" activities. I have never heard of an offer being pulled in any other circumstance.
So if a player doesn't turn out to be what they thought (i.e. by their jr. or sr. yr in HS) do they just eat it and chalk it up as a lost scholarship?
Sheriff Joe
DA
How about when a coach leaves after recruiting a player? I have heard that happens.
CaliKlines
Well-Known Member
I think it is a very rare occurrence, but I know of a goalie from a San Diego club that committed during her sophomore year of high school to a large Div 1 school in the middle of the country (Big12). Her offer was pulled during the summer before her senior year due to an injured redshirt that recovered sooner than expected and came back to the school instead of transferring. Unfortunately, it put the keeper back to square one at the start of her senior year of high school to find a program that was a good fit for her. I felt very sorry for the kid because it seemed as if it was out of her control. This is the only instance that I have heard of a retracted offer.
MakeAPlay
DA
That happens multiple times every year. That is why I recommend picking the school not the coach.
It's business for the coaches. Unless they are at their dream job and are getting paid really well for it then if a better opportunity comes knocking they are gone.
soccerobserver
GOLD
Building on MAP's point I was told that men's soccer coaches don't talk so much but in contrast Coaches in womens soccer talk and share information about recruits.