lhiob posted:What is a reasonable time to evaluate an offer? What if an offer comes after a camp or showcase but without an "official" visit? Is it reasonable to request an official visit? What is the role of parent here? Should all contact be through HS/Club coach and son or is it appropriate for me to want to meet the coach and ask questions about the program myself directly before accepting an offer?
If you ignore the baseball part, how would you handle your kid saying I want to go to school X? You'd probably want to be ok with that decision - academics, social, financial, etc. So I would certainly want to visit with son and make sure it was the right place for him.
Regarding the baseball side, once my son established a relationship with the coach he handled all communication and kept us and his travel & HS coaches informed. When things looked like an offer was coming from a school on his short list, we visited the schools and met with coaches. We never asked for an OV and later learned that OVs are used to bring the recruiting class together for a group visit during senior year.
Regarding timing... I'm sure it's all over the map. One coach who told son to take whatever time he needed to get comfortable with things (several months it turned out). Another coach told him during rising senior summer that time is pressing and he needs to move on if son didn't want to accept so please let him know within a week. Since this was late in the process and he knew what he wanted this was not unreasonable.
I was in the meetings with son when offers were presented (really glad I was since they aren't always straight forward). The only questions I asked related to admissions support (what does "support" really mean at an Ivy and how rock solid is his track record), and at a non-P5 D1 what happens to the scholarship offer after year one. I was glad I asked because the coach not only promised to at least match the first year offer in subsequent years, he offered a 5th year if my son needed it.