Bobblehead...as I'm trying to accumulate all the information to make a decision, yes, if I decide that he won't make the team BECAUSE he is transferring, I would make that clear to his parents and him.
Coach May,thanks for the kind words. I have always been a coach who kept kids that, in my opinion, most other coaches might not keep. They were "under-talented" but they were hard working and s****** and their inclusion on the team did not reduce anyone elses playing time or make us feel like we had too many kids on the team. That really is MY ONLY concern in this situation (despite the protestaions of posters like Dub and Jimmy, who seem convinced that I have an ulterior motive,and some shocking lack of scruples)
Don't you find it interesting, May, that the same posters who say I am not acting in a Christian/Catholic way and say I have no morals and poor ethics, are the same ones who keep saying: IF HE'S TALENTED YOU KEEP HIM. YOU ALWAYS KEEP THE TALENT, etc?.......Whereas, I think I look at the big picture and try to keep the kids I feel I can RELY on in the future. Can I predict the future? OF course not. But that really is one of the things you have to look at, especially with Freshmen.
Despite what some have said, I think you have to consider MORE than just picking the 15 most TALENTED freshmen. I've found that the majority of kids are not, AS SENIORS, what they were as FRESHMEN....some of the big studs as Frosh were just that because they were bigger and stronger and more mature than the other kids. Some of the smaller weaker players get bigger and surpass those who were physically more mature. So yes, I try to look at those things that don't tend to change as much: work ethic, reliability, stability, good grades, etc......not IN PLACE of talent, but as a very important factor.
And I still consider a kid who can ONLY contribute his Freshman year as one who is inherently not as helpful to me as a kid who can play for all 4 years....doesn't mean I will cut that kid, but I think you are short-sighted for not considering ALL the factors of what a kid brings to your program
As for another question...if I told my AD that I was going to leave, and he felt it was best to get rid of me now because he felt is was best for the program, I might disagree, but I would understand and would accept that it was just an advance choice on what was going to happen anyway. Heck, I make less than $1000 a year as a head coach! It might even be profitable for me to get fired!