Jump on the first good offer?

I remember last summer one of my son's first July offers was very good for incoming freshman or so many told us....(not that it wasn't)...but as tempting as it was...my son just didn't quite know why or what it was that made him not just say "yes"...

he waited...that school actually gave him a lot of time to decide...as others did...

then others came in..some higher - some lower...and then his "fit" ...for him came in October...yes, October...on his 4th official visit...now we took several unofficial visits last summer/fall as well...

what surprised me was that "a coach friend" told my son when that first offer came..."take it...it's a great offer...good coaches and school.."

yes, that was true...but it was my son who was going to live there, play ball there, living on that campus day in and day out...

also, one thing I might make note of...3 of the colleges that my son seriously considered last year ...those coaches are leaving or have left the campuses for this next fall...

lots to think about...

Absolutely a great reminder!
I remember the first official visit offer which came in......we were scrambling around totally excited. Suddenly we got to thinking about the bigger picture and we said "WHAT are we doing? There's NO WAY he would go to that school" Our son called the coach and thanked him for his interest but declined the visit. It's VERY easy to lose sight of things during this process.
You'll hear it over and over again......make sure it's a good fit. Not just a baseball fit.

If it is a good fit take it. The chance to go to a "top 5 school" and play ball is more than most can ever realize. You are blessed.


Bob

A word of advice:

There may a great school out there that is not on your sons TOP 5 List--- don't wear blinders because there are a myriad of opportunites out there if you take the time to find them--- and what if the Top 5 schools do not have openings at your sons position--Has he checked that out!!!

If you have not visited a certain school do not write it off--the visit may allow him to see the school in a different light

I won't touch the "we" statements--been there before---just make sure the decision is HIS decision not mom and dads

TR - Not sure I'm interpreting you correctly, but I believe in the "we" when it comes to selecting a college, whether it be for baseball or not.

We have one son already in college (not playing sports) and yes, "we" selected his college. That is...his mother, himself, and me. Had it been entirely up to him, another school would have been his #1 choice (with his current school being #2). We selected #2 (with his concurrence) based on a number of factors that all amounted to "fit." Our multiple factors weighed more heavily than his one reason for choosing the other school. It was never a fight and he hasn't looked back. It turned out to be a great fit. Maybe we were lucky?

We have another son entering college this Fall and he will play baseball. "We" selected that one too. It was #1 for all three of us. Hopefully it will work out as well as son #1's selection did.

I understand and largely agree with your point about it being "his" decision...just don't think he gets the only vote.

The player may not be the only vote but he is THE VOTE that counts

Justbaseball,
I understand the "we" in your post. There are a lot of factors when choosing a school that need to be taken into consideration (such as $$$$$$) that are beyond our sons understanding (like how are "we" going to pay for tuition, travleing expenses, housing etc that is not covered by the scholarship).
Finding the right fit was important for our son, but some things had to be decided between hubby and myself (us) first!

TR - Not always is he "the vote" that counts. There are many scenarios I could paint that you would certainly agree with where he is not the vote that counts. The most simple has to do with cost. If his vote is for a $40K/year school without any aid and "we" cannot afford that, well then his vote doesn't count at all, does it?

Tiger Paw Mom - did you have a name change recently?

When one of my 4 kids (two already in college saping me dry) decides to write a check, then it is THIER decision....

But as long as the dollars come from my blood, sweat and tears, it will remain a WE decision.

Technically it is always "his" vote.

Pretty simple: "we" the parents decide what "we" can and cannot afford; what "we" are and are not willing to do. That's the "we" part.

The kid then has "his" vote. He either picks a school that fits those limitations OR he invokes "his" vote and goes elsewhere, at "his" own expense

Most often when folks talk about the "we" vote it is a matter of their son CHOOSING finanacial assistance from mom and dad over final say.

For most kids that is a pretty mature decision.

Yes, parents have a lot of say about the decision, because we write the checks. But if we want school A and he wants school B and the finances are roughly the same, we have little else to say about it.

Specific to this thread, WE have to help HE make the decision that is best for him.

If his heart isn't into it, if he isn't comfortable there, if he isn't in the best position to do the best he can, he often won't be as successful.

WE might get him into a great school. But if HE doesn't graduate, was it the right choice? Would that mean WE blew it?

OldVaman

I would say yes - "we" would have blown it if "we" convinced our son to go someplace where his heart was not in it.

Sure we write the checks, and have a right to say just how large a check we will write.

But, once that is determined there is no reason NOT to let your son pick for himself. After all "he" is the one who will live with it.

Great advice from everyone. We went through all of it this time last year. We were there to advise our son and help him look at the big picture. After his first official visit to a great school just an hour from home, he told us, as well as the coach that he wanted to wait and sign in the spring because some coaches had not yet seen him pitch. We told him that was fine and left it alone. Two days later, out of the blue he told us he was ready to commit to that great school an hour from home. Me and his mother could not be prouder. Again, be there to support and give advice, but let the final decision be theirs if at all possible. Go BSC Panthers!!!!

My son will be a junior next spring and has recieved letters from a few colleges wanting him to attend their summer camps. What is the offical month that the schools can make contact with the students?

Hawks11 -
For your son who is an '06 graduate, here are just some of the D1 contact rules:

• Now - coaches can have general contact by mail or e-mail providing information about their college and baseball program.
• Now - you can call coaches and talk with them about their programs any time, however they will not be able to return phone calls
• Now - On campus contact during camps, etc. is permitted, other contact off campus is restricted.
• September 1st, recruiting contact by mail or e-mail where information is more personal "we are interested in you ..."
• July 1st, earliest start for direct telephone contact
• November, early signing period; April, start of next signing period.

Other Divisions will have different timelines. More detailed information can be found on the NCAA site. Hope this is helpful.

Check again, RHP05Parent...coaches can return phone calls - they just cannot initiate calls other than the one call per week following July 1.

Buddy Baseball:
I believe RHP05 was directing the answer to an 06(rising junior} not an 05, therefore the reply was right on the money!!!
There has been a few changes to the NCAA guidelines as far as contact for the next coming year. Something to the effect of a phone call around April, but I am not exactly sure.

My son is in a similar situation. He has received an outstanding first offer (80%) from a D1 with a top academic record. His grades and test scores will bring the remaining 20%+ in academic dollars. School was not on our list due to lesser strength of baseball program. He has received calls from the top schools on our list, but no offers yet. His dream is to play pro ball, so he is concerned about not playing in a stronger conference. Any suggestions?

Modad05 -
Our son is also in the midst of recruiting. My feeling is that it all gets back to the "right fit" question for your player. What would he (and you) rate as more important in his search for the right school: school name recognition for academics; strength of baseball program and chance for playoffs/CWS; amount of the financial assistance; chance to play as an underclassman; position specific coach & their tenure and probability of staying with the program; strength of position-specific development programs to improve his skills for the next level; availability of his academic major; size/location of school; etc. etc. There are tons of variables and each family is going to rank these differently. I know this doesn't answer your question. The problem is that each of us will place a different value on the great scholarship offer vs strength of baseball program. Good luck to you & your son in finding the right answer!

From a parent that went through this last year I highly recommend that your son take his official visits. My son ended up going to a D1 that was not his top pick before his visit. Once he made his visits he realized that he was going to be happier at the school he ended up choosing because it was "The Right Fit". Don't let scholarship money be the guiding factor (easier said than done). Remember, your son will be attending his school for at least three years (at D1) before he can be drafted. You can have a 100% scholarship and be miserable. You can have 40% and be happy. Take the visits and let your son decide which school is the right fit.

Last year at this time my son was being invited for official visits to top D1 programs that were VERY expensive. It was all very flattering and very exciting. However reality was that even though they were making offers that were very good before the official visit (I think they do this to prevent sticker shock) the costs to send him to the schools were just way out of reach for us to ever consider, so we sat down with our son and set perameters as to which schools that he was interested in would be within reason.
A lot of people ask this question ,should you or should you not take the first offer, will it be the best offer the only offer, what do you do? Reality is that if you visit and pass up the offer for a few weeks, the next player may say yes and they could withdraw the offer (unless they are willing to wait). There is no right or wrong answer even after going through the process but I can offer a suggestion.
During your sons junior year, try to visit as many schools as you can, unofficially if your son is being recruited, and try to go to as many junior days as you can. Try not to wait until the official visit to see the school for the first time. Get your ducks in order, do your homework on the costs (do they give academic as well as atheletic, etc.) let your son walk on the field (oh, that can make a difference), go to a game. Talk about it as a family and narrow down your choices first, make sure you have a variety of choices available, D1, D11, D111 whatever your son qualifies for, etc even Jucos. It sounds like a lot of work, but will take a lot of the stress out of the situation.
Things worked out well for my son in the end, he knew where he wanted to go after his first visit, but he had been traveling around the country and played at different schools, met differeent coachs and "felt" that his first official visit was the place for him. If he had visited one of the more expensive schools and wanted to go and we could not send him, well that would have been rough on all of us.

How early do players get invites for official visits? Just curious

After July 1st of HS Junior year (will be a senior in Sept.)

Ballfan,
123Mom is correct, although since some schools (divisions) can only invite 25 (and actually want to invite less than half of that)they use other strategies. Some attend camps during the summer or visit on their own.
On one official visit we went the other 4 recruits had already committed but they came for their "earned" visit.
As I tried to say earlier, most of the work has been done before the visit.

One of the reasons we have taken to playing on college campuses with our travel team is so that the boys and their families get to see the campus we are playing on as well as those in the area.

The boy may not necessarily be interested in any of the schools but it gives him a frame of reference in comparing collge campuses

Good advice, bt. I agree.

Kids have to be happy in college.

TR,
Good for you. That is what the coach does during the summer. In fact his program is modeled for college experience. Bus travel, airline travel, curfew, info posted on coaches door each night while on the road and reading assignments (sports news from USA Today, fun stuff but forced reading).And a 68 game schedule, one of the toughest in the country.

Playing and visitng the campus' is an important aspect of the program. In fact, when they played last summer at UM and my son pitched, it was after that game he decided that he didn't feel comfortable on the mound or cared for the stadium, regardless of the reputation. No need for the official visit after that one!

Thanks all.

This thread has gotten better as it has gone along. Couple of things:

1 - Parents need to establish with their child what, roughly, the budget is. You will have significant sticker shock, regardless. But come up with a realistic figure of what you think you can afford.

2 - I think the FAFSA web site has a calculator function that you can use without actually filing anything, so you can get the all-valuable expected family contribution. It might be available in other places, perhaps on some of the college search sites.

3 - Do your homework independent of your child. This way you might be able to answer each other's questions.

4 - Somebody earlier said they got an 80-percent offer and he had the goods to get the rest with academics. That is an spectacular offer. If they're that serious and all of you like the school, why wait? Visit. And if he feels right when he comes back, why not commit?
Folks are correct in preaching patience. But sometimes the stars do align right away.

5 - Are you waiting for a better offer or are you hesitant for other reasons? Be honest with yourself. Read the thread about early commitments. I absolutely agree with folks that say if he isn't convinced it's not the right feel for him, wait. But if it's right, don't be afraid to say yes.

OldVAMan

Example-- one of our players dads called the other night to let me know his son has verbally committed--- he, the son, loved the school,liked the coaches, the offer was what they liked, and he has a chance to play right out of the box--what more does he need-- he had no doubts about making the decision and telling other schools he was off the market so to speak.

Each case is different--keep that in mind

TR...Welcome back.

How did Binghampton go?

Ryan and I enjoyed it when we were there in 2002.

Looking forward to meeting with you again when the Tigers play the Crimson next spring.

Who would have thought it but for you and NYMom and its and a few others.

Wow...thanks.

TR

I think we're pretty close on this. It's kind of like buying a house (because it costs about the same, in many cases): It's got to be right, but don't start the process not prepared to say yes. There is a certain level of you snooze-you lose to the game. But if you're well prepared, you can comfortably make the best choice.

OldVa Man

Amen to that!!!!

Been
It went real well--lots of talent, lots of coaches, great parents and great weather