Got an offer, kind of too soon.

I would suggest that there might be two reasons to go ahead and have the offer presented - with the idea of accepting if it in fact it is a "good" offer.  One - if something simply jumps out as remarkable that you (or maybe more correctly your son) feel you simply will not be able to secure somewhere else.  I suppose this may not be the case or you would have mentioned that this particular school is a top choice.  This also assumes that many of the other aspects of the school already line up (academics, location to include weather and rural/urban, etc.).  I guess it could be a coach (pitching coach in particular), but they do move around.  Second - I guess once the school is deemed acceptable and some other schools are identified, you may need to get a really good grasp on what these schools' recruiting calendars actually look like.  For many top teams, this summer is will be active for the top 2019 pitchers.  Does the school in question already have multiple 2019 commits (and are they pitchers), or do they simply want to entice you into an early decision so as to lock him down.  Not exactly sure how you go about getting a really good idea on how early/late they typically get commitments, but a quick look at 2018 and 2019 commitments on PG would be my default.

I can't think of any good reasons not to have the offer presented.  If nothing else, it gives you a reading as to where your son stands on the meter.  

Seems to me most of your questions will be how to decide whether or not to take it at this early stage.  Is he throwing 93?  A legit 93 (i.e. not just tipped it once, but the rest is at 88)?  If he is, I'd suggest there may be more offers to come.  

No, he's not throwing 93 yet, I'm projecting him to his first year in college.

KilroyJ posted:

So since my 2019 son started HS we've been working on the recruiting game;  Lots of sage advice from HSBBW and other sources- a few showcases (both PG and PBR), one college camp so far and a few "high profile" tournaments, many emails and youtube videos,  a few unofficial visits and did i mention emails? lots of emails. This summer was shaping up to be a fun recruiting summer, a few college-specific showcase workouts, the PBR futures games, and still waiting/hoping for a AC Games invite.... Then the unexpected happened, an RC from an in-state D1 school (from a top 10 conference) came to a game and let us know through his coach that there's an offer if we want it. a very good offer, from what I've been told by several that have knowledge of such things.

Now we are wondering what we should do, and what my son ultimately wants to do. We are asking a kid who just turned 16 how far away he wants to live from home, and how big a consideration that is. Sure he might kick ass at the Futures Games, and get an offer from a top program, but he might not, and even if he does, will his decision hinge on that, or will he still want to be closer to home? Does he want to be a big fish in a smaller pond, or sit in a dugout where he's  1 of 6 kids throwing over 93? I can't believe so many freshman and sophomores commit under these conditions- i can't imagine my 16YO is unique in his lack of perspective when it comes to a future still 3 years away.

Of course, the RC is saying he needs to decide "soon" (didn't really give a deadline)  in order to ensure the money will be there, and I get that.  We're planning another visit to the school after the season is over to get a better look at the school itself, not just the baseball.

I'm not really asking for specific advice but rather to hear others stories of early commitments, for some perspective. What made the decision easier/harder? If you decided to wait it out, did that work out for you? Are we just suffering from a case of FOMO?

 

First off congrats and I'm sure these are exciting times for your family.

My son has several friends ('19's & '20's) who have committed. I think every situation is different and each family has their own decision-making process. 

For us, we've made it clear during the initial conversations with schools that he is not ready to commit. Every school that we've talked to has respected that and not applied any pressure. 

Full disclosure - some schools won't offer until you're ready to make a decision and have said let us know when you're ready or make sure that you talk with us before you make a decision. 

I could be absolutely wrong but based on the information provided in your email, it sounds like this school may be trying to 'bag' him before he's fully exposed to the masses. 

Best wishes to you guys on finding the right fit. 

A good friend of my sons is committed to a top 25 school, he has a good body and the "projectable" he is currently sitting high 80's and touches 91...they are 95 for college...LOL I will take the under but you obviously need to be more aggressive in your projections!

I would take the under on the projection of 95...so 94 and down would be under.

If you have your son projecting 93 IMO you should think higher...because that is the world we live in, I would also then take the under on him.

it isn't personal but IMO project the highest end of the range just be advised it is doubtful.

Again in my opinion that is the current state of evaluations when it comes to pitchers...I am a business guy and a money guy. I would be willing to short the market place on every projected MPH total that scouts assign to a kids.  I think it would be a winning bet by a fairly large %.

Gotcha- actually after reading again I figured out what you meant (I can be slow....) I project 93, based on adding 2 miles an hour this year, 2 more next year, then subtracting one because I also like to hedge a bet. But of course I'll always hope for more and prepare for less!

hshuler posted:

KilroyJ posted:

So since my 2019 son started HS we've been working on the recruiting game;  Lots of sage advice from HSBBW and other sources- a few showcases (both PG and PBR), one college camp so far and a few "high profile" tournaments, many emails and youtube videos,  a few unofficial visits and did i mention emails? lots of emails. This summer was shaping up to be a fun recruiting summer, a few college-specific showcase workouts, the PBR futures games, and still waiting/hoping for a AC Games invite.... Then the unexpected happened, an RC from an in-state D1 school (from a top 10 conference) came to a game and let us know through his coach that there's an offer if we want it. a very good offer, from what I've been told by several that have knowledge of such things.

Now we are wondering what we should do, and what my son ultimately wants to do. We are asking a kid who just turned 16 how far away he wants to live from home, and how big a consideration that is. Sure he might kick ass at the Futures Games, and get an offer from a top program, but he might not, and even if he does, will his decision hinge on that, or will he still want to be closer to home? Does he want to be a big fish in a smaller pond, or sit in a dugout where he's  1 of 6 kids throwing over 93? I can't believe so many freshman and sophomores commit under these conditions- i can't imagine my 16YO is unique in his lack of perspective when it comes to a future still 3 years away.

Of course, the RC is saying he needs to decide "soon" (didn't really give a deadline)  in order to ensure the money will be there, and I get that.  We're planning another visit to the school after the season is over to get a better look at the school itself, not just the baseball.

I'm not really asking for specific advice but rather to hear others stories of early commitments, for some perspective. What made the decision easier/harder? If you decided to wait it out, did that work out for you? Are we just suffering from a case of FOMO?

 

First off congrats and I'm sure these are exciting times for your family.

My son has several friends ('19's & '20's) who have committed. I think every situation is different and each family has their own decision-making process. 

For us, we've made it clear during the initial conversations with schools that he is not ready to commit. Every school that we've talked to has respected that and not applied any pressure. 

Full disclosure - some schools won't offer until you're ready to make a decision and have said let us know when you're ready or make sure that you talk with us before you make a decision. 

I could be absolutely wrong but based on the information provided in your email, it sounds like this school may be trying to 'bag' him before he's fully exposed to the masses. 

Best wishes to you guys on finding the right fit. 

 See bolded

KilroyJ posted:

Gotcha- actually after reading again I figured out what you meant (I can be slow....) I project 93, based on adding 2 miles an hour this year, 2 more next year, then subtracting one because I also like to hedge a bet. But of course I'll always hope for more and prepare for less!

Is he a RHP or LHP...because a lefty sitting at 90 as a 2019 is going to have coaches salivating. A lot of coaches.

RHP. no drooling yet. He's topped at 90, sits closer to 86-87.

As others have mentioned all players and all recruiting situations are different. I certainly don't have all the answers, but my son is a recent 2020 committ and I am happy to share some thoughts.  Process started for him in 8th grade and we proceeded with caution, excitement and a lot of help from this forum.

Son had visited probably 10+ schools via camps, tournaments or showcases so he had a pretty good idea of what he liked/disliked about various college towns, campus settings and baseball programs.  It was important to us that he look at various settings at face value so when the time came (whenever that was)  he could make a good decision.  Very quickly it was apparent places at the top and bottom of his list had a lot of similarities which indicated he had set criteria. That would be my first suggestion, after you son makes his list of preferred schools, have him develop a list of evaluation criteria of sorts. Of course, it does not have to be stated that formally, but you get the idea. 

Entertain all conversations and offers. It helped us get an idea of what was a good offer and to some extent level of investment from the schools. Also, important to us was how the offer was made. Was it a general % or a much more detailed breakdown of amount by specific cost?  

If you can swing it I would definitely recommend more than one visit to a school before an offer.  We made a point to spend time not just on campus, but in town. Go to dinner, shop, look at off campus apartments for after freshman year. Also, get a full campus tour and talk with an academic advisor. These aspects will all matter down the road regardless of when an offer is given and accepted. 

It is a tough situation if your son gets an offer they are not ready to accept. Ours had that happen and he listened to the offer, thanked the coach and explained that he was not ready to accept an offer yet, but did want to learn more about the school and baseball program. The coach was very supportive of that decision. He did not end up committing to that school. The school he ended up committing to was very respectful of his age as well. They communicated their general approach to recruiting and let us know there was interest, but also told us the process could go at our pace. They were just as concerned about our son having enough info to make a decision that was good for both parties. In fact, how they treated him throughout the process was a major reason we were comfortable with him making a commitment at this stage. 

My 2018 got his first offer last fall from a D2 that is probably his favorite academically, but lower part of list on baseball. The coach basically said he was trying to get in early and let us know that he really wanted my son. Son plans to commit in September when he turns 18, unless he gets perfect offer from perfect school earlier. He's very honest with coaches about that and so far most are respectful, although a couple have suggested he might want to decide a bit earlier — maybe July or August.

Keep in mind, his junior season starts next week here in Iowa, so people understand he at least wants to get on the field this season before narrowing down his choices.

In the meantime, we visit the schools, do the academic tours, meet with advisors, and he tries to watch the schools he's interested in on television or online, or go see them in person, without the coach knowing he's there. Gives him an interesting view of how things go when they aren't trying to impress a recruit. I won't say it's knocked any schools out, but it has made him aware of things he might have to do differently at one school over another.

Division, conference and the player's position range also play a factor in the timeline. There appear to be different timelines based upon those aspects, as well as others.