quote:Not to take away from meeting with the coaches..that's pretty important to. But it's interesting to see what the coaches show or tell you as "important" and what the players feel is important.
I disagree. The coachspeak far outweighs what the current players have to say, because....
I would think each player is "courted" differently, and many here have said each case is unique.
The best visits are naturally in the Fall. You get a good first impression of the campus and its vibe with students on the go as classes are in session.
Most dorms are, well, dorms. A bunch of crackerbox rooms, and I would guess the same holds true today that it did 30 years ago when I was in college. You try and spend as little time as possible in them.
Then, at the coaches request, you attend a practice, squad games, and most likely they will put you in the dugout.
On one of our visits, the campus and town were great. The freshman dorms were horrible, and the recruiter who gave the tour even mentioned that after the first year, you go to the baseball house.
Then lunch with the head coach, and off to the field. The head coach wanted my son in the dugout, and I opted for the bleachers. It was about 99 degrees in the shade. After a while, the HC insisted I spend time in the dugout with he and son.
Within one minute I knew it would be a horrible baseball FIT. The first available moment my son had a chance to express his thoughts to me, he said, "lets get outta here". Sensing our desire to split, the recruiter strolled over and asked us to stay a bit longer, and quietly said " he is screwin this up, ain't he".
We chuckled, shook our heads, thanked the assistant coach, and proceeded to head home. On the 4 hour ride back home, son got 4 weekly cycle calls from others.
Yes, we invested 8 hours of driving, the university passed all the FITS except the baseball one. Even a tremendous baseball grant would not have affected a change in decision.
I won't detail any of the conversations in the dugout or during the entire visit, but the questions were nothing but standard. It was some of the answers that were bizzare?