SOFTBALL: Scholarship offers are coming early

The race to sign elite players is driving offers and commitments at younger and younger ages. This is a good look at the dynamics of recruiting today.

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"College softball coaches around the nation have been making rounds this summer, and the time has come to begin thinking about their future recruiting classes.

The targets of most of these scholarship offers will not be part of the 2014 or 2015 recruiting class, mind you. No, the coaches took care of those classes long ago. The majority of players who will be receiving offers in coming months will be from the classes of 2016-18.

The college softball recruiting landscape has changed over the past decade, with many of the elite players accepting an offer between the ages of 14 and 16."

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Full article

 

CHANGES NEED TO BE MADE IN THE RECRUITING PROCESS

Great article.
As I see it;
as the process takes a turn towards younger ages "committing", I personally would like to see "teeth" put into the "verbal" commitment process.
The following, in my opinion, would make everyone stop and think.

The NCAA should make a "verbal commitment" binding on both sides of the spectrum.
The college would have to honor the "verbal" or face a reduction in scholarship monies and the player would have to honor a "verbal" or risk ineligibility.
That would put the "commitment" part back in the "verbal commitment".

 

Great Points!

As pointed out in the article sometime the coach is no longer there at a moments notice and some schools don't honor what the prior coach did. I also would like to see both sides have something to lose when dropping a commitment. Unfortunately the situation is what it is right now and players need to find themselves in a top level program long before 16U/18U.

 

Early Verbals

If you are going to allow all the early verbals, I agree with Cardcoach make it binding in some form. Colleges are offering scholarships some times based on the future potential and when it doesn't pan out the athlete is left with nothing when they go a different direction. Don't tell me it doesn't happen, cuz we all know it does. Also, players back out due to better offers from bigger schools too.........right now early verbals aren't worth anything, schools still pursue those that have committed, because they haven't signed on the dotted line. If you penalize either side for not going thru with their commitment, then you won't see all these early verbals. There are schools who get early verbals that put them way above their allotted scholarships knowing full well they won't end up signing all their commitments!!!

 

Curious

Im wondering what the verbal commit to actual signing ratio is? Meaning how many girls verbally commit to a school early that dont actually sign with that school?
My guess is it wouldnt be much but considering that they could verbal at 14 and then decide that was not the best choice leaves a range of options for that player.
The number would be seemingly higher to me from the other side. A coach gets a verbal from a girl to the school then finds a better player and is not obligated to sign that player then. Unless Im not understanding the rule?

 

The early verbals are never gonna have any teeth.... Until you sign the NLI,
all bets are off....
If anything, it increases the recruiting heat...

Kid A commits to School A,
Schools B, C, and D all will put eyes on her,

Let the real recruiting / madness starts.......

 

So what's your advice? Should a young lady verbal if she has the opportunity?

 

In the past several years, players, parents and coaches have all witnessed a number of significant changes with how the recruiting process works throughout the world of softball. The most obvious change has been the rate at which players commit to schools. Many of the top 25 programs have all of their commitments before the prospects begin their senior year in high school. While this is not true for all recruits, it has become common enough.

NCAA rules allow prospects to visit campuses at their own expense anytime. These campus tours are referred to as unofficial visits and can occur even when the prospect is very young (8th, 9th, 10th grades for example). The main benefit to a prospect making an unofficial visit is the opportunity to meet with the coach. NCAA rules allow coaches to meet with prospects on campus during unofficial visits regardless of the prospect’s age or year in school. This face-to-face meeting is a great way to learn more about the school and softball program, the coach, his interest in recruiting you and how the recruiting process will unfold.

Once in 11th grade, recruits will receive letters and emails from coaches who are interested in recruiting them. This is the first opportunity for coaches to make any contact with a prospect. Phone calls from the coach can only occur once per week after July 1st following the prospect’s junior year in high school. Prospects and their parents, however, are allowed to call coaches anytime. This is a key step in making arrangements to meet with a coach during an unofficial visit. Although coaches cannot return calls prior to July 1st, they do like prospects to call them especially in cases where the prospect is a potential fit in their softball program. In other words, do your homework first before calling a coach. Make sure the prospect has the necessary academic and athletic qualifications to attend the school.

A top junior player should arrange several unofficial visits during her junior year in high school. Every prospect should visit the school(s) they are interested in. This cannot be over emphasized since it will be four years of their life. During these visits, coaches can offer prospects roster positions and/or scholarships but only in a verbal manner. Official signings occur first in mid-November during the prospect’s senior year in high school. The key is to be proactive and arrange the unofficial visits, especially if letters and emails are being sent from the school during the prospect’s junior year.

A word of caution for anyone who is interested in making an early verbal commitment: THINGS CHANGE! While you may think a school is right for you, what will happen if the coach leaves or your game improves to a level where you could play for a better team? Be slow and careful to make the right decision. Once you give the coach your word, make sure it is final. This is what you should expect from the coach as well.

While the word “commitment” sounds steadfast and secure, in college athletic recruiting, a commitment is anything but! Coaches may be genuinely interested in having an athlete on their team, and thus, lead the player to believe she has a spot. But, when it comes to colleges — especially highly selective schools — it’s the Admissions Offices that have the final say, not the coach. The coach can only advocate to Admissions for a certain, usually small number of players. So, if an athlete is not a great student, and not at the top of the coach’s recruiting list — which, by the way, might be very long — then the player might find whatever commitment was made to be meaningless, because Admissions won’t approve the application. Why do coaches lead all of these players on?

A coach’s goal is to field a winning team with the best possible players that the coach can find. Unfortunately, this goal means that the coach doesn't always really focus on the best interests of the individual high school athlete.

If a player is “promised” a roster spot in her sophomore year in high school, that means that the coach still has another year and a half, at least, to be exposed to other players who the coach may ultimately prefer. What if the committed player gets injured or doesn't develop on the early potential that the coach originally saw? The player will drop on that coach’s list, and the coach will not push for that student to be admitted because he will be less interested in having the athlete play on his team.

As a student-athlete going through the recruiting process it’s important to know where you stand in the coach’s mind at all times. Even if you've “committed,” you should regularly ask the coach where you are on his list of potential recruits. If you’re not near the top, don’t get too comfortable with your commitment. It may be time to look beyond that school.

Hope this helps.....

 

Thank you so much for your response. So much insight, wisdom and great advice in there!