Discussing offer

As a standard negotiating tactic, I would not tell them any numbers. Let them make an offer if they are interested. You tell them a number, and I can guarantee their offer will be a "little" bit more or equivalent to your present offer. You let them make the offer, and it could be much more than the previous offer. If they offer less, you can then reveal your offer if you think it is necessary to get them to budge. Be mindful that they may not be able to budge based on their present budget. If it is someplace your son is dying to attend, try not to kill the golden goose over pride and money - unless money is a paramount issue to your family.

Certainly OK to let them know you have an offer on the table however in "their" conference.

bballman,

Congrats on the offer! Great question.

First, is the offer time bound? If it is time bound I think you have a serious offer and not a placeholder offer. Some schools will offer placeholders to show they are interested, but offer the minimum with the promise of increasing. If it is a placeholder offer, and this is your son's first choice then you may need to play this very carefully.

Second, I would probably not bring up the offer unless they asked directly. If they ask if your son has been offered, I would tell them "yes" we're in "detailed discussions with a school in the region". I would not share the offer details unless they provide a good faith counter offer. IN which case I may provide some info. Only your son knows where he really wants to go. So depending on that answer that is how I would play it. Do you like poker? If so, you're inthe right place! I would absolutely try to keep control of the situation by not providing too much data. These coaches talk like chickens in a henhouse. Good luck. I'm also interested to see what others say.

Thanks guys, I'm not really sure exactly what a "placeholder offer" is, but I'm pretty sure that it is a solid offer. I think the offering school wants us to make a decision before early signing period, but not sure how much before. I told them we would probably be making a decision sometime right after the end of the month and they seemed good with that. Not to get into too much detail, this school had seen son pitch a couple of times and needed to see him once more in the fall and let the HC see him. We went there as part of a team showcase and were going to do a campus visit at that time. Well, turned out we were there on Labor Day weekend so the school was pretty dead and most buildings locked up, so we didn't get a chance to do it. So they still want us to come for the tour before we give them a definite answer. I will say the offer was for a good bit more than the minimum 25%, so I don't think it was a placeholder offer. Although we've never been through this before, I would say it's the real deal.

I appreciate the advice so far. I'm thinking we would like the school that has offered over the other in conference we are going to and I don't see how they can offer son much more than the other school, but it will be interesting to see how this plays out. Both schools know the other is interested because we have told both that we were visiting the other, but school B doesn't know school A has made an offer yet (unless they found out through the grapevine).

There are 2 other schools that have shown interest and that son will be in front of before the end of the month, so that is part of what we are waiting on before we give a definite yes.

It should be interesting. Bottom line is, son really got what I consider a very good offer from a top 20 D2 school. It is not a bad place to start at all.

Its a good question bballman that a lot of players/parents face.

I don't really know if there is a 'right' answer. We kind of treated offers and scholarship amounts similar to how I would treat my salary. Its our business and no one elses.

However, I never thought it was a problem if they knew that there was in fact another offer.

We advised our son(s) to give the following answer if asked (and they did):

My parents have asked that I not give the amount of my offer to XYZ U., but I do know that it is enough that if I want to choose that school, my parents have said that it is just fine.

No one ever asked our sons to go any farther than that answer.

bballman,

Sounds like a great situation with the first college. Your son wants to go there, the coaches want him to go there, and they've offered a good deal by what you've shared.

You're playing with "house money", so I would go to the other school to listen to what they have to say. If your son is interested in the second school, you can try to press the issue. If your son still like the first school best, I'd take their offer.

Also, I love the quote by justbaseball.....My parents have asked that I not give the amount of my offer to XYZ U., but I do know that it is enough that if I want to choose that school, my parents have said that it is just fine. That is a perfect response IMHO.

Best of luck.

bballman,

That's a nice problem to have, congratulations to you, and especially your son. All of his hard work is beginning to pay off. I don't have much to add, you're receiving very good advice from people that have been in your shoes. I will say that my son chose to attend the school that offered the least amount of scholarship money. They had a large incoming frosh class the prior year and most of the team is returning for 2012, so they didn't have much wiggle room. We felt they were genuinely sincere in their interest for my son, and they had all of the important factors we were looking for from an academic and baseball standpoint.

Once bballkid makes his decision, please share the good news with all of us...we're happy for you!

bballman -- Congrats to your son on his offer!

Generally speaking, I don't think you will gain any favor early on, by telling Head Coach "B" that you have another offer to consider OR, any details about it. If Coach "A" sees enough potential in your son to offer legitimately and early, you can be sure he will expect him to be offered by other schools and conferences. Don't use that offer to "put him in a corner" as it could back fire. Remember, he too has other options that he will quickly move on to.

I believe that we know each other and I'm pretty sure I know who your son is and where he's played H.S. ball. I wish him all the best in this. The D2 Schools and conference that I think you are entertaining offers from; is top notch. There are some high character coaches and well respected staffs among them. PM me and perhaps I can share more detailed info about the schools you are considering, based upon our experiences.

Our experience was that the Coaching Staffs that offered early, with strong offers, had the best records, had programs with great reputations and proved to be the most open with us from the get go. They made a fair offer and wanted, in return, a well thought out answer in a respectable amount of time. They want to tie players up before the bewitching "signing" hour.

Probably the difference in our approach, was that we had done our homework, knew about the various coaches programs and their reps, and knew a good offer when we saw it. That coupled with it being a program and school he wanted, made that commitment an easy one.

Many offers, even D1, came later but none, in retrospect, were any where nears as valid as the one we felt strongest about.

Prime, you have a PM.

Congratulations.

I feel a bit differently, you don't have to volunteer the info but if a coach asks, I would tell them. You shouldn't play poker either because they are much better at the game than any of us would ever be.

I also believe that the best offer isn't always the one who offers the most.

Best of luck.

Thanks guys. I am not the best poker player or negotiator either. I would probably just prefer to be honest about everything that is going on. If asked, I would let them know that school A has made us an offer. I would not volunteer how much. If they asked, I would be up front how much they offered. Sounds like, regardless of the approach, it would be OK to do that which is what I was wondering. That is basically, if they asked is it good etiquette to tell them or to say "I'd rather not say".

The more we, as a family, talk about it, we really do like the school that offered. So, to go there would be a very good thing. Of course we don't know what the other schools have to offer - money wise or academic or lifestyle wise or anything else until we meet with them, talk to them, visit the campus, etc... Which is why we haven't said yes or no yet. I think this is also why school A wants us to talk to these other places before we give a yes or no. I think everyone involved wants this to be a good decision all the way around. Of course school A has already given us their pitch on why they are a better choice than school B in their conference Wouldn't expect anything different.

I appreciate all the advice so far. Everything is going in the old memory bank and will be filtered and applied in some manner. I'll keep you up how things go over the next few weeks and give you a final decision. Keep the advice coming. I could use it and I'm sure there are others following who could use the insight as well. Big couple of months for all us 2012 parents here.

Just as an FYI, went to School B today for the campus visit. I believe School B asked if School A offered, but never brought up or asked what exactly they offered. They made their pitch, made son an offer and left it at that.

Offer was good, although not as good as School A. Still a consideration though. Really one more school to go see and we will make a decision. I really want to leave most of it up to son since it is where he will be spending the next 4 years. It is a real growing up time for him with big decisions to be made.

Both schools really want answers before early signing period, which I have no problem with, but found it interesting. Coaches today talked about with the Big D1's grabbing players earlier and earlier, it is forcing the D2's to get earlier as well.

I asked about Jupiter and he pretty much said they don't go there anymore because they pretty much have their recruiting class wrapped up by then. And that makes me wonder if Jupiter has more become a place for pro scouts to be looking for next year's draft? Are the D1 schools using this event to look for the following year's recruiting class? Not too sure. Doesn't seem like the big D1's or anyone for that matter will have room for anyone new in this year's recruiting class by end of October. If you have committed already, as a senior, is there any purpose to going to Jupiter? Unless you are looking to be drafted?

Just some thoughts as a result of talking to coaches again.

Since most of you guys have asked, thought I'd give an update. Son called the coach at School A last night and gave his verball committment.

Just to let you know, School A is Columbus State University. We are very excited and very relieved. A lot of hard work and a lot of baseball has finally paid off. Thanks to all on HSBBW for all the advice and insight into the whole process.

One part of our journey is over and the next leg is beginning. We are proud of our son and are looking forward to following his college experience.

Congrats!!

I know how hard you all have been working just from our chats on here. Glad it all paid off!

bballman- I have a feeling your son is going to do very well in the PBC. Congratulations!

Congratulations bballman to your son and to you! What a great feeling!

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!

Great news. Congratulations!

bballman,

Congratulations!

I guess you know we have another regular poster whose son goes to Columbus State.

Congratulations! I still remember the elation from sons signing. Your part in this long and winding road is almost finished. Now you just have to enjoy senior season and in the fall start paying for any college bills he incurs.

The rest is up to him and I'm sure he'll do great with lots of hard work on and off the field. Enjoy this very special time with your son.

Congrats! I remember how relieved my son was when things fell into place.

Thanks for the update, and congratulations to your son!

Great News! Congratulations!!!

Congratulations! Sounds like a great opportunity he has worked hard for.

I'm very happy for you and your son. Congrats!

Congratulations!!!

Congratulations. Also, have a great senior year.

Thank you everyone for your kind words. As I said, we are very proud of our son and what he has accomplished.

Talking about senior year. Every year through HS, I would sit around starting in the summer and just couldn't wait for the HS season to start. Seemed like it took forever. This year is a whole different deal. Last year playing HS ball. It can take an eternity to get here as far as I'm concerned. It sure goes by quickly. Can't imagine what it will be like watching that last game in a few months. At least I know he will be able to continue playing.

One of the good things about where he is going is it's only about 2 hours away from home. It will not be the same as going to HS games across the street, but it's close enough that I can scoot down to watch games.

Once again, thanks for all the kind words and congratulations.

Woo-Hoo. Moving on.

Congrats to your son and all the effort that he and the family put in to make it happen.

Enjoy senior year.

One thing to possibly think about for potential discussion with coach is the renewal of his scholarship each year. Specifically what criteria is used in determining whether his scholarship goes up/ down or possibly eliminated? You might be surprised (hopefully pleasantly surprised) by what you hear.

The cold hard fact of life is that the scholarship as we all know, is a one year guarantee. Regarding renewing it some coaches take one approach and some coaches take another and I might suggest it is good to know what type of culture you're getting into prior to entering the school.

Again, congrats and best wishes.

ig, we did discuss that with them. Coach essentially acknowledged that it is a year to year thing, but is not revoked or changed easily. You essentially have to be really screwing up to have it taken away or reduced in any way. Things like not going to classes on a recurring basis, getting in trouble to the point where it looks like you really don't care. Not putting in the effort to continue to get better in a very obvious way.

Overall coach sounds like he understands kids make mistakes and will need to be worked with at times, but you really have to go out of your way to do poorly to have it revoked. I know that it is totally at the coach's discresion, but I was pretty comfortable with what the coach had to say.

Thanks for the heads up.

Congrats bballman! You have a talented son. Struck mine out at the Underclass showcase. Good luck to him!

Sorry 'bout that Dad.

Congrats!!! Great Conference too!!! You have a PM too...

Congrats to bballson. I hear that CSU is a great program.

Congratulations, bballman and bballson! Way to go! Enjoy that final HS season!

bballman,
Congratulations to baseballson and to your entire family.

Now go out and enjoy your son's last year of HS!

And have fun!!!!!

Congrats, bballman. I hope he has a phenominal senior year.