BLD is spot on on being careful about hearing what you want to hear. No coach on my son's final list promised him playing time, or even a roster spot. In fact, one of the schools on his list had a rep for over-recruiting. Son knew this when he went on an official visit after the initial summertime offer, so he made a point to ask the coach where he thought he fit in with the team. He said the coach chuckled and said "I'll know more after tryouts." The clear message was "No promises." and my son (and I) were grateful to hear it spoken so plainly. The other schools he was interested in weren't quite so direct about it , but my son had no illusions: he would make the team and get playing time based on performance in the fall and spring, not because of any honeysuckle words he (or I) wanted to hear.