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My son has started talking on the phone and via text with a HA D3 college coach who seems pretty interested.  This is one of the schools on my son's "top 15" list, but it is early days.  He doesn't have any clear favorites yet.  Over the last month or so, coaches at other schools on his list have told him in emails that he is on their "board" or "list."  And another HA D3 just emailed our son's travel coach about him, but has not yet reached out to our son directly.  Any advice about how to handle things going forward, especially in this weird Covid19 environment?  My son is interested and flattered, but not ready to pull the trigger on one school yet.  We are concerned this might start moving quickly.  

In thinking about it, we're not sure how any of these coaches are going to be able to "follow" our son this summer. As coaches start to come to that realization, they may accelerate things rather than wait and see if some baseball gets played later this summer.  An "early bird" approach, as it were.  

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Has your son been asked for transcripts and test scores?

The usual timeline is that coaches make transcript requests during the summer, then after the big HA showcases in August, after seeing what admissions says, they make offers, then recruits visit in the early fall.  HA D3 offers either involve binding Early Decision with coach support in admissions, or they don't.  If they do involve ED, then "commitments" are expected; if not, then you generally don't have to decide anything until May of senior year.  It really depends on whether you think your son needs coach support with admissions.  If your son was seen last year and impressed coaches, then possibly they don't feel they need to see him again this summer (given how unusual this summer is).

If your son is in an ED-coach-support situation and is given an ultimatum about when to make a decision, then I guess you can go read threads about D1 offers and ultimatums.  In that case, you have to be prepared to lose offers if the coach doesn't want to wait, and you do.

Some of the HA D3 parents on this board have had their kids wait until spring of senior year, but I think most have taken the early decision route generally with coach support.  Of the latter group, I think most have deferred their decisions until fall campus visits, while others (including my 2017) have decided early in the summer. Anecdotally at least, it seems that coaches tend to tell kids there's no reason to hurry, so your son's desire to wait before making a decision should not be an issue. But OTOH, if another kid who plays your son's position accepts an offer first, that could be a problem, so if the perfect school offers, I wouldn't wait too long.

Like anotherparent says, a request for test scores and transcripts indicates genuine interest. When that's followed by an invitation to visit, then it's getting serious.  Though who knows if and when visits will happen this year; obviously it will vary by school.

All of these schools already have his test scores and transcripts.  Actually, many HA schools now ask recruits to upload  them (and sometimes your high school profile) when they fill out the recruiting questionnaire, so the coaches have that information from the get go.  In any event, my son has generally sent his transcript and test scores in his introductory email along with his video, so the coaches can see right away if he is or is not wasting their time.  In response, some of them had asked for his summer schedule (now up in the air, of course) and said they wanted to see him play this summer.  Some of those schools have since emailed to say that, in light of the pandemic, they may only be at HeadFirst and Showball events.

I guess I'm not sure what admissions support means for recruited athletes at D3 schools.  Some of the schools on my son's list are more of a "match" and some are more of a "reach."  Some he would have little chance of getting into without baseball.  But, very few high school students can be sure they can get into a college that has a 20% or less acceptance rate.  My son's high school provides Naviance, and we can see from the scattergrams that admissions at high academic schools seem willy nilly from the outside. 

My son is a straight-A student in all honors/AP classes, and his test scores fall at least at the low end of the middle 50% for all of the schools on his list.  In any event, I would assume that any coach that is actually talking to him on the phone has decided he can get in (either with or without support) and is now trying to decide whether he wants him on the team.  Am I wrong about that?

We fully expect to apply ED if he is fortunate enough to get an offer from a school he likes.  But, the usual routine of "flirting and dating" over the summer and early fall is probably out the window at this point.  If coaches are going to end up making decisions based on video and their network of travel/high school coaches and other trusted connections, they can go ahead and do that now if they are inclined.  

I guess what I hear ya'll saying is that D3 coaches don't press for commitments.  If that's right, that is a relief.  We just want our son to have the time to explore any schools that might be interested in him.

Last edited by LuckyCat

For context can you tell us where his ACT-SAT scores are at?  Also, what level of D3 schools are you looking at?  Any high academic like Tufts, Johns Hopkins, Swarthmore, Pomona, Virginia Wesleyan etc....Some schools require minimum 32 ACT to get Coaches support through ED admissions.  Other schools require a 26, a 28 etc along with being phenomenal D3 baseball schools.

What are you looking at??? We can help if you can provide more detail. 

Last edited by Gov

Coach support means different things at each different school; "HA" as defined, say, by Headfirst/Showball rosters have a wide range, from 7-60%.  At schools with admissions rates below 20%, it's probably essential to have one of the coach's slots.  The school is committed to bringing in those players, it doesn't need more smart athletes in the regular pool.  At less selective schools, need for coach support will be a sliding scale depending on your son's athletic and academic credentials.

Coaches at the very selective schools are usually pretty clear about what they are offering; your son needs to hear "admissions has green-lighted you," "I have four slots, and I'm offering you one," etc.  If coach doesn't say this, your son has to ask what is meant.  Look at these great posts by smokeminside:

https://community.hsbaseballwe...a-a-tale-of-two-sons

https://community.hsbaseballwe...21#54660024904380521

(not trying to steal whatever else you might want to say, smokeminside, but these are so useful!)

No offense meant, Gov.  I'm happy to share specifics privately, but I don't want to post them here. I think my son has the grades and test scores needed for many HA schools as a recruited athlete and that it is really a matter of whether the ones he has targeted like what they see baseball wise.  Some of the schools you mention are on his list.  

I think my rambling posts may have gotten things off track.  I'm just trying to get a sense of how my son diplomatically handles a clearly interested coach while waiting to see if other coaches are also interested.

Coach support means different things at each different school; "HA" as defined, say, by Headfirst/Showball rosters have a wide range, from 7-60%.  At schools with admissions rates below 20%, it's probably essential to have one of the coach's slots.  The school is committed to bringing in those players, it doesn't need more smart athletes in the regular pool.  At less selective schools, need for coach support will be a sliding scale depending on your son's athletic and academic credentials.

Coaches at the very selective schools are usually pretty clear about what they are offering; your son needs to hear "admissions has green-lighted you," "I have four slots, and I'm offering you one," etc.  If coach doesn't say this, your son has to ask what is meant.  Look at these great posts by smokeminside:

https://community.hsbaseballwe...a-a-tale-of-two-sons

https://community.hsbaseballwe...21#54660024904380521

(not trying to steal whatever else you might want to say, smokeminside, but these are so useful!)

Thank you anotherparent!  I will read over those.

We're not at the offering stage yet, I don't think.  The coach has been very complimentary and has said my son is one of his top recruits and that he could see him having playing time as a freshman.  

@LuckyCat posted:

No offense meant, Gov.  I'm happy to share specifics privately, but I don't want to post them here. I think my son has the grades and test scores needed for many HA schools as a recruited athlete and that it is really a matter of whether the ones he has targeted like what they see baseball wise.  Some of the schools you mention are on his list.  

I think my rambling posts may have gotten things off track.  I'm just trying to get a sense of how my son diplomatically handles a clearly interested coach while waiting to see if other coaches are also interested.

Absolutely understood.  Only share what you're comfortable with.  It's just kind of vague...trying to figure out where I can help.  Quite a few parents on this site w kids at a lot of the HA D3's.  Diff kids fit for diff schools independent of baseball and what others think to be cache for career positioning.

My kid had a 31 super score 32 and was very competitive at the schools I mentioned, which made the lesser academic standing schools a layup.  Separate thing was fit for school, demographics, geography, facilities, baseball coach, strength of team etc.

Feel free to PM

Most D3 HC's don't get aggressive until Aug-Sept of incoming senior year.  So, it's early.  These D3 HC's realize most of their top picks are vying for Ivy's...so they're very patient.  The exception would be if your kid knows he's D3 bound, likes the school, coach and program, and the HC has seen your son a few times and knows he's a fit for a particular position he's recruiting for.  Outside of that , the communication should be: I'm very interested in your school and playing baseball for you. I hope to visit soon to sort how the school fits as one of my top 3-5 picks (etc.). Keep it simple, it's early 

@Gov posted:

 

Most D3 HC's don't get aggressive until Aug-Sept of incoming senior year.  So, it's early.  

Yes, that's what I thought, but I wasn't sure. 

I wonder if this early communication is only because of Covid 19.  If so, I also wonder if more coaches will figure out there isn't much point in waiting because there won't be any opportunities this summer to see the kids they have on the lists play.  In other words, they have all the information they are likely to get right now.  If that's the case, some coaches may decide it is better to express sincere interest early.

I will PM you.

D3 has no roster limits or scholarships.  If your son has a coach say directly, "I would like to offer you one of my slots, but I need to know within a week, because otherwise I'll offer it to someone else," then that requires action.  Or, a coach could say he was only taking one player at his position, so whichever of his recruits accepted first would get the position (this happened to my son).  In either of those cases, your son might be asked to make a decision right away.  Otherwise, just keep the conversation going - remember it is as much about the coach trying to recruit your son, as vice versa.

For the coach who "has said my son is one of his top recruits and that he could see him having playing time as a freshman," your son can ask him what that means in terms of admissions.  Or wait for him to tell you, because eventually, he will.  It's a dance.

Most coaches, when they want you, are very clear about it. They offer you a spot, and keep coming after you till you say no. It's the vaguely complimentary things that you don't want to set store by. Many parents and players hear what they want to hear, and can find themselves w/o a dance partner. 

The tricky part is when the a coach blows hot and cold, or a RC indicates one thing, and the HC another. Thats when you want to provide some mature oversight, as a parent. I was very lucky with my 2018, as he is a smart, personable type with "street smarts", who was able to handle most all of the recruiting contact himself. Even then, we would discuss different schools, and we both got one situation wrong.

I would just handle it as you normally would. Continue having conversations and keeping options open. At this point it really isn't all that early for these coaches to start identifying potential recruits. There is still a process that is going to take time, conversations turn into send transcripts, which turn into come to a camp, which then turns into an offer. 

There's a really good chance they're getting started now because they know how limited this summer will likely be. So if they can make a short list of kids they want, qualify academically, and fill their needs they will probably want to get started now that way if/when baseball does happen they know what they're working with and not scrambling. 

D3 has no roster limits or scholarships.  If your son has a coach say directly, "I would like to offer you one of my slots, but I need to know within a week, because otherwise I'll offer it to someone else," then that requires action.  Or, a coach could say he was only taking one player at his position, so whichever of his recruits accepted first would get the position (this happened to my son).  In either of those cases, your son might be asked to make a decision right away.  Otherwise, just keep the conversation going - remember it is as much about the coach trying to recruit your son, as vice versa.

For the coach who "has said my son is one of his top recruits and that he could see him having playing time as a freshman," your son can ask him what that means in terms of admissions.  Or wait for him to tell you, because eventually, he will.  It's a dance.

LuckyCat - Agree with anotherparent.   In my way of thinking, there has to be a coach's offer, support and commitment to a slot or tip with HA Admission in exchange for your son's commitment and ED application.   Otherwise there really is no value or reason to apply ED, or commit to a school that has no skin in the game.

As others have mentioned, D3s tend to run the gamut of how they do things.   The more academically competitive the more clearly this quid pro quo communication needs to be, and understood.  

At this point it seems to me that some of your son's school are on the cusp of going from interest to serious interest.   This is the natural progression of recruiting.   I would keep doing everything you are doing to maximize your offers and options until your son is ready to accept and offer.  Never take your foot off the gas pedal.

Good luck.  

@fenwaysouth posted:

LuckyCat - Agree with anotherparent.   In my way of thinking, there has to be a coach's offer, support and commitment to a slot or tip with HA Admission in exchange for your son's commitment and ED application.   Otherwise there really is no value or reason to apply ED, or commit to a school that has no skin in the game.

 

I agree too, Fenway.  He will not apply ED unless: (1) he has an assured roster spot and, if needed, support with admissions; or (2) it was the school he would have applied ED to anyway.  I know NESCAC schools have slots/tips and I suppose other HA D3 schools do something like this as well.  When we get to that point in the process, we'll definitely be asking the coach directly where he stands and making decisions accordingly.  He has a plan B if this whole baseball thing isn't working out.

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