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Reply to "Do I stay or do I go?"

Congrats on your son's offer.  That is fantastic.

My wife and I were very much a "it depends" kind of parents in terms of riding shotgun to visit a coach and campus on unofficial visits. If the school was within a couple hours, first visit, and state school we let him go alone or with a teammate if that is what he wanted.  We wanted him to feel empowered and responsible, and to make a decision whether or not the college met his needs.  We knew there would be future opportunities to join him if he liked the college.

If it was a long car or plane ride, possible offer, Official visit, or private school ($$) we typically tagged on in listen-only mode.  There were also a number of times, our oldest son asked us to join him so the point was mute.

Young men hear what they want to hear, and they have little frame of reference.  Parents hear what they don't want to hear (college is expensive!), and have lots of life experiences.  From our view point, context is needed when making a life decision and making a large investment.   The only questions my wife or I ever asked a coach were related to finances and medical care.  Son handled everything else.   In a handful of cases, we made a point to stop by the Financial Aid office or follow up with FA via phone call.   Just our experience.

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