After You Verbally Commit

@Francis7 posted:

After he verbally committed and posted it on social media, there were some recruiting coaches who "unfollowed" him on social media.

Is this common?

I would guess they just need to narrow down what is served up to them on social media. Why would you care once you were committed somewhere else?

How did you know your son was unfollowed on twitter?

As far as the "unfollowing," I'm going off what he's telling me. He's much more savvy  with the social media apps than me.

As far as why do I care, it's just curiosity.

Personally, for the record, I have ZERO doubts that he made the right decision. I could probably list 20 reasons why I believe he made the perfect choice - right school, right campus, right part of the country, right coach, right baseball program, right conference, etc. Literally, I have zero concerns. If there's a box, it's been checked with his selection. And, I am very excited for him.

However, there's always the SLIM CHANCE that something could happen. Maybe COVID-19 wrecks the school funding and they drop baseball? Maybe the coach moves to another school? Maybe some super-duper Juco kid raises his hand and the school has no choice but to offer him my son's spot? All of this is unlikely. But, we've all heard of stranger things. Bottom line, until you sign the NLI, stuff can happen.

That said, I would think maybe it makes sense for a another coach to keep tabs on a kid. (And, some are...it's not all who have unfollowed, just a few.)

Only thing I can think of is maybe they no longer have the need at that position and year, or, they know their situation couldn't beat what he's been offered?

Anyway, I'm not losing sleep over it. Again, I was just curious if this is common practice and how it worked.

@Francis7 posted:

Only thing I can think of is maybe they no longer have the need at that position and year, or, they know their situation couldn't beat what he's been offered?

Francis,

There are probably a few reasons why they might have unfollowed your son.

But more than likely the answer is that they just have zero interest and have moved on.

It's not personal.

It is common.   My son was unfollowed by several after making his announcement.   They have so many recruits they are trying to keep up with that it helps them to reduce their social media feeds to the recruits that are "still in play" for them. 

Sorry I was just looking for an excuse to post this...

Francis,

Does your son continue to follow every school that he reached out to before he verballed?  Probably not.   

From my perspective, it is the same idea for the RC as well as for your son...focus on what matters.

JMO. 

@fenwaysouth posted:

Francis,

Does your son continue to follow every school that he reached out to before he verballed?  Probably not.   

From my perspective, it is the same idea for the RC as well as for your son...focus on what matters.

JMO.

He actually does still have some contact with A FEW of the other schools. 99.9% of the time it's the coach reaching out. He recently had one connect with him asking for a favor. "We really are interested in XYZ and we know he's in your area. Can you give us his contact number?" But, it's not often or with many. Just the few where he really hit it off with the coach and they made a personal connection.

That said, he's 100% focused on his school of choice. Even though he's 18 months out, it's like he's there already. He talks to the coaches, he's made friends with some on the team via social media, and he's training with one eye on the upcoming HS season but with another eye on where he needs to be for the college in 18 months.

@Francis7 posted:

He actually does still have some contact with A FEW of the other schools. 99.9% of the time it's the coach reaching out. He recently had one connect with him asking for a favor. "We really are interested in XYZ and we know he's in your area. Can you give us his contact number?" But, it's not often or with many. Just the few where he really hit it off with the coach and they made a personal connection.

That said, he's 100% focused on his school of choice. Even though he's 18 months out, it's like he's there already. He talks to the coaches, he's made friends with some on the team via social media, and he's training with one eye on the upcoming HS season but with another eye on where he needs to be for the college in 18 months.

Dumb/newbie question.   Do kids often decommit/get flipped?  Do coaches keep working kids that have verballed to another school? Does that really happen outside of the upper echelon of D1 players.  I know how it works in football...  I also always wonder when I see a player who has committed a school that seems like  a reach for them and they really aren't a draft player and they keep going to showcase after showcase and posting about it.  What do the coaches think?  Do they ever consider pulling the offer?  Is this typical or not a good look?

@KennieProton posted:

Dumb/newbie question.   Do kids often decommit/get flipped?  Do coaches keep working kids that have verballed to another school? Does that really happen outside of the upper echelon of D1 players.  I know how it works in football...  I also always wonder when I see a player who has committed a school that seems like  a reach for them and they really aren't a draft player and they keep going to showcase after showcase and posting about it.  What do the coaches think?  Do they ever consider pulling the offer?  Is this typical or not a good look?

No, it doesn't happen often.  When players call a coach to let them know they committed elsewhere, it is not uncommon for a coach to say, "If anything changes, let us know".  Most coaches will not contact a player after they commit.  Players that I know that continue to go to showcases are either doing them because they are an invite only, trying to challenge themselves, or working towards the draft.   It is also good to stay relevant.  Coaches may not be reaching out, but they pay attention and if something does happen, it's good to have a reputation as a good player and documentation to prove it.

I will agree with Francis that some coaches still keep contact information and will randomly contact.  I had a HC that recruited my son heavily contact me to get an evaluation on a player in our conference and another that played on our travel team.  My son also has been contacted by several that wanted his opinion on a player that he played with as to how he was as a teammate because there were some rumors he was a bad teammate.  He also has had several stop him at tournaments after he committed to check in and see how life was going.  I think they were genuinely interested in him since they had gotten to  know him and us so well.  Others showed no interest in him after he told them he committed.  Some is just personality and make-up.

The interesting part is when he was being recruited there were some who recruited his brother 8 years earlier that were still RC's or HC's that remembered my middle son's baby brother.  It was amazing how many contacted my middle son to get him to put in a good word for them or get information from him about his little brother, like 20 plus.

@KennieProton posted:

Dumb/newbie question.   Do kids often decommit/get flipped?  Do coaches keep working kids that have verballed to another school? Does that really happen outside of the upper echelon of D1 players.  I know how it works in football...  I also always wonder when I see a player who has committed a school that seems like  a reach for them and they really aren't a draft player and they keep going to showcase after showcase and posting about it.  What do the coaches think?  Do they ever consider pulling the offer?  Is this typical or not a good look?

We know a kid who has been committed to a high level D1 for a while now. It's one of the top ranked D1 schools in the country. If you look him up now, it says he's committed to that school. (He can't sign until November.) Yet, "the gossip" is that he's not going to that school and will be attending a local D1 program. I've heard the rumor from more than one person and they all are much closer to the player than me.

Time will tell. And, it's just busy hens gossip stuff now. But, if it turns out true, then I guess maybe SOMETIMES things do change after committing. MAYBE?

.............knew who started this thread, just by it's title.  "I can name that poster in 1 sentence Alex....".

Enjoy the ride Francis.  Lighten up.  The hard work is over.

@KennieProton posted:

Dumb/newbie question.   Do kids often decommit/get flipped?  Do coaches keep working kids that have verballed to another school? Does that really happen outside of the upper echelon of D1 players.  I know how it works in football...  I also always wonder when I see a player who has committed a school that seems like  a reach for them and they really aren't a draft player and they keep going to showcase after showcase and posting about it.  What do the coaches think?  Do they ever consider pulling the offer?  Is this typical or not a good look?

No question is ever dumb!

Once the recruit commits recruiting essentially stops. It is unethical for a coach to try to flip the recruit. There are coaches out there that continually push it, and I personally wouldn't want my son or daughter to be involved with these coaches.

This is why for some players committing early is not in their best interest.

Football is a different animal so you cant compare.

JMO

If a coach continues to follow a prospect after committing its because it’s a player he really wanted. If something flips it will be in his social media posts.The coach will want to know and make contact. But baseball commits tend to stick, unlike many in football and basketball. Maybe it’s because NLI’s are signed before senior season in baseball.

Francis, it’s time for you to relax and your son to amp up bigger, faster, stronger, more skilled and keeping his grades up while enjoying playing the game.

I agree with TPM, as I typically do. ;-)    There is no dumb question, and it is unethical for a coach to try to flip a recruit.  I think it is fine for a coach to continue to follow a committed recruit.   There is no harm in that, and that is out of the recruit's control.  Frankly, the RC or HC should have much better things to do with their time.   Qualifier:  this coming from a parent who's son didn't really have to deal with social media 10 years ago.   Social media was just getting started and the advice we were given is to post only milestones, team/player accomplishments, and to stay away from anything resembling drinking, drugs, girls, and foul language.  Clearly, it is a different world today

Conversely, what is appropriate for a committed recruit.   My son had two HA HCs (who had previously offered) request that my son "stay in touch" and reach out if something happened that was unforeseen.   So essentially 2 coaches out of roughly 15 that had shown interest my son kept in touch with.   From the recruits perspective, I see nothing wrong with that especially if you are looking at elite athletic (P5) or elite academic schools...these opportunities are limited.   What I would have a problem with is if my kid was keeping in touch with 15 coaches that have moved on in their recruiting efforts, and he has a ton of work to do junior/senior year including AP, Honors or Capstone projects.  Again, focus on what matters today.

Thanks for all the thoughtful replies.

I'm going to flip this topic on its time axis ...

What does it mean when a coach or program starts to follow an underclassman in HS?

I have a 2024 that is picking up increased social media attention after the PG rankings for the class of 2024 were updated in late November, and after he completed several online college baseball Recruiting Questionnaires over the recent holiday break.

If a D1 P5 baseball program starts following my son on Instagram and on Twitter ... should we read into it that the school has identified him as a potential recruit?  Or, do schools typically follow all kids that fill out their Recruiting Questionnaire web form?

I doubt they follow everyone.