Early Commit

Ran into the same thing this past weekend. Sent you a PM.

didn't get the PM..

Not sure if there's a question there or if you're just stating an observation.

 

Of course, you're correct.  If you have an offer and haven't accepted it, you run the risk of losing it.

 

As you mentioned, it's been beaten to death, but the early commit, or any commit that wouldn't include signing an LOI on the spot mostly favors the school.  Since baseball seems to hold a verbal commitment in higher esteem than football or basketball, it all but ends pursuit of a player by other schools, so a player falls out of contact with other schools and can find himself behind the 8 ball should the commitment fall through.  However, not accepting an offer and making a verbal will leave a player free to all options, but those options may shrink as schools do look to pencil in their recruiting classes earlier and earlier.

 

My son is an early commit.  Feel free to PM me if you have any specific questions or feel I can help in any way if your son is in a similar situation.

I think the question would be is the coach committing due to what he sees now, or what he THINKS he will see in 2-3 years? 

 

If a 2018 was 6'4, 190#'s throwing 88, I wouldn't be too concerned with him committing if the school really was on his short list (heck, if he even had a list!).  If a 2018 was 5'11, 170#'s throwing 83, I would be VERY concerned with him committing. 

 

There is a local 2016 catcher that I know pretty well.  He started getting offers in 9th grade, by 10th grade he was being stalked, by 11th grade (with his PG score of 10), well they need to come up with a harsher word for stalked! He just committed in August because he knows they are committing him for what he can do now, not what they think he will be like in 2-3 years.

In the OP's case, his son is that kid throwing 88 (and higher) with size. His worry, I believe, is jumping in before other offers he might want to consider come through. His case is unique, though. He'll be a hot commodity even if he waits.

roothog nailed it...., lets say the school wants a decision before we leave campus.... we would never know what the other schools are thinking.  Then again I might be putting the cart before the horse and they might not offer.

Does anyone wish to give an opinion on the respective windows for pitchers versus position players?  My impression is that they will always (up to a point) find money for a good pitcher - who doesn't need another good pitcher.  Contrast that with a SS - one really good SS at a time is all you need so if your dream school sees a need in 2-3 years, they are going to fill that need (going down the list until they get the commit) and then be done.  While there are numerous early pitching commits, they do not seem to be at the same percentage as the team composition (i.e. 50% of roster players).  I seem to see lots of catchers and SS going really early.

This is the order I've noticed:

1) Pitchers (blue chip)

2) Catchers

3) Power Hitters

4) SS

5) Next Line Pitchers

6) CF

7) Utility

 

4 & 2 can flip if catcher is not a need; SS usually are versatile; a power hitting one could go higher

 

This order surprises me.  Does anyone else agree or have a different order?

I do a lot of negotiating as part of my job. The worst place to negotiate from is a position of weakness. if your 2018 is what you think they will stick around for you to decide and if they don't you probably are better served somewhere else anyway. If your son doesn't develop like you and they expect they aren't going to want him in the future years anyway...plus if he does become that guy you will have many many offers.

 

it is hard to negotiate with your childs future, it is essentially a weakness in your position, that is part of the reason why schools are able to pressure younger kids so easily. Commit when your son is ready, not before.

Generally, you shouldn't ask for an offer unless you're ready to commit (provided the money meets your needs).

 

There aren't a whole lot of unsolicited, out-of-the-blue offers out there.  If a kid gets one offer and someone else wants him to know he has options, I can see that happening.  But teams are usually not willing to leave money hanging out there indefinitely on the off chance a kid will accept down the road, so they tend not to extend offers until there have been mutual expressions of interest.

 

Now, if you take an unofficial visit and you get the red carpet treatment, someone might get peeved if it turns out you're not really that ready and you're just enjoying soaking up the attention.

 

A player should enter this process prepared to do his homework, knowing that he is going to be called upon to make a decision much earlier than his non-athlete classmates.  Coaches also know that freshmen and sophomores may well just not be ready. 

 

But if you're twiddling around in your junior or senior year when you should know your own mind by now, you can expect people to move on.  It has been my experience that a lot of people are quite practiced at avoiding decision making and providing all sorts of reasons why they want more time, then more time, then still more time.... It gets exasperating to deal with.

 

In the end, if you're a high level pitcher, it'll probably work out.  If you're a hitter who's not the next Bryce Harper, the door could well close on you.

 

 

What would be considered a high level pitcher?   We went on the visit, all went well... we go back next week to sit down and talk numbers.  I think an offer is imminent , but you raise a good point, is he ready to commit or does he want to see what's out there.  I think at this point we are not going to push the commit issue and see what happens. thus buying some time by not giving the feeling we would commit right away if offered. 

Your son is in Canes organization correct? they should be able to provide accurate guidance but ultimately it is going to be up to you and your son to confirm.

 

At a minimum I would be discussing this with your top people in whatever organization you are a part of.

Well I am doing what you suggested,  but I thought the conversation would help others as well. 

It's tough. Mine did the early thing...late fall before his Junior season in HS. He changed, got better and options were abundant but no one would talk to him because he was committed. I would say do not commit early unless it's the offer and school that checks all the boxes for him and your family. The schools have the leverage if you do commit and most leverage "your word is your bond", "honor, integrity" and things of that nature to keep you committed.

 

It is a cat and mouse game within the game, i would just offer this and we're certainly no experts...go with your gut and commit to that school that is on the short list and extends a great offer. 

 

Good luck.

 

 

Just a quick count of 2018 commits as of today for two large states. I have to say that I'm surprised by the number of 1B. Didn't seem like anyone wanted 1B when my son was on the market. 

 

California
1B 3
2B 1
3B 1
C 1
LHP 3
OF 6
RHP 6
SS 7

 

Florida
1B 2
2B 1
3B 1
C 4
LHP 1
OF 5
RHP 4
SS 4

 

Consultant, aka Bob, would likely say, "Hit three-run homers and you'll be at the top of every school's list."

I have given him the same advice when he has sent me pms, seek advice from the organization that obviously knows what they are doing and knows the player best. Its obvious that his son has got what it takes to be a top D1 player, but maybe, just maybe he doesnt think his son is ready.

Ready to commit?  yes I'm not sure early commit is smart... still letting it play out a bit

bacdorslider - We went through something kind of similar with our younger son.  For us parents, it was 'early' back in 2010...Fall of junior year, top-3 choice school asked for us to take unofficial visit, attend a football game, etc...

 

So we did.  Offer didn't come right then and there, but shortly later.  They did tell us on the visit that an offer was coming.  So we spent the time, like you, figuring out what we wanted to do with that information.

 

I like the advice to lean on your son's travel org for advice and help.  We leaned on both our and our son's HS coach who had sent a lot of players onto D1 and beyond.

 

They were fantastic help!!  They contacted every school on our son's list and told them, 'the boy is probably getting an offer soon, while the parents prefer not to commit so soon, they may allow it because it is a school he's very interested in.'

 

Some schools sped up their process.  Others said, 'we're not ready, can he just wait?'  And others said, 'not interested.'

 

In addition, our son had multiple conversations with the HC of that school as well as the others that either sped up or asked to wait.  I had some with the recruiting coach and eventually with several of the schools on subsequent resulting unofficial visits.  I believe we were able to get as much as possible on the table to enable a higher probability of a good decision.

 

The point is, I believe using that process got us all the data we needed about 5 or 6 schools and where he stood with them.  It helped him to make a decision and it helped us parents to feel comfortable with it (he committed a short while later to the first school).

 

Use the advice above.  Lean on your resources (you said you are) and don't be afraid to ask any question you want to hear answers about.  You do, in fact, have at least a little bit of control of this situation right now.  Use it!!  And good luck!! 

I agree with you in theory but ultimately nobody can decide but you and your boy. I can tell you my son was not close to ready as a sophomore 

2018 could be a little more ready due to having three brothers that have gone through this at some level.

> On Oct 30, 2015, at 4:22 PM, HS Baseball Web <alerts@hoop.la> wrote:
>

A player should enter this process prepared to do his homework, knowing that he is going to be called upon to make a decision much earlier than his non-athlete classmates.  Coaches also know that freshmen and sophomores may well just not be ready. 

 

I can't agree more with what Midlo describes here.  It has been a two steps forward one step back process with my son because he looks around at his other jr. classmates, sees where they are at in the college search process and shrugs at my "encouragement" to keep moving and says "Why?"  It can be really hard to get a kid up to speed on the search, even if his school's college counselors, like my son's, are pretty on it and thorough.  I think my son is about six months behind in his interest level for the baseball search, but right where he should be if it weren't for baseball.  He's getting low level, intro interest from schools he's never heard of and wondering why he should bother following up now.

My 2018 committed to Vanderbilt today .....

Congrats bacdorslider and 2018!!!  Nashville is a fun city, and Vandy is a great school!  

Congratulations!

Amazing news. Congratulations to Ethan and family!

Wow, that's huge.  Congrats!

My son's experience was that once he committed (Fall of his junior year to mid-major D1) that there was no more communication from other schools. He was a strong commit from beginning to end. I felt very strongly that once he committed that he needed to honor that commitment and there were no changes with the coaches/school. They were men of their word so all went well and he signed his NLI last week. From his experience there was no continued contact from other schools once he verbally committed. I'm sure you could find other experiences but his was pretty textbook.

Congrats!!!

I have 4 sons as you know and each one's recruiting was unique, as they are individuals. Ethan and family have spent many many hours and days, doing our homework and speaking to many people close to this situation. We could have waited, we could have opened up recruiting to many schools and taken as many trips and visits as we could afford.

But that would have been misleading to many schools.  We narrowed to 4 then 2 then 1 based on a lot of information.  Waiting would not have been the best thing to do in this case.  I can tell you I feel very blessed to have 4 sons playing college baseball.

Congrats to the bacdorslider family.  That is fantastic!

Fantasmogopoulis!!  Such great news to hear ~ Congratulations!!

Very happy to hear it. Now, on to bigger and better things.

Congrats. You guys made an excellent choice. It just doesn't get much better. Now your son and family can focus on health and getting even better so he can have a difficult decision in a couple years.

WOW.  Congratulations!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Congratulations. I'm excited for all, you, your son, your family, and myself as a Vandy fan hahaha.

Congratulations!!!

Congrats backdorslider!  

 

He'll enjoy playing with the kids from Ga in the Vandy class.  Good, hardworking kids from great families.

 

Awesome opportunity both academically & athletically!  I'm sure that you are very proud!