junior commitment

A better questions is how does junior feel?

guess i should have elaborated. This was the first college my son has visited, and i think he was awed by the coach showing so much interest. He is ready to commit today if i let him, but i think he should visit others before he makes a decision.

The key is "fit" AND the offer.
I don't expect you to tell us what kind of offer this school is willing to make. But you can certainly do some search on this board to get a gauge. Make sure you are comparing like positions...

Take some time to think/talk about fit....academic, social, baseball.....sounds like your son is excited about the program/coach.....just curious what did he think about the school? Did he visit any classes take a campus tour? I don't want to assume but you did say it was an unofficial visit.

In any case, that is great that your son is receiving interest! Just remember what many have said on these boards,,,,,,all the talk means nothing.....until you get the actual offer.

GOOD LUCK AND ENJOY THE RIDE!!!!!!!

First of all welcome to the HSBBW and congratulations to you and your son. He obviously has talent.

I would suggest you put a short list of schools together and if you can swing it do unofficial visits at those schools before any decision is made.

If your son is anything like mine, almost every school he went to was "the one" until he actually visited the school that actually was "the one" for him.

This has been discussed many times before and you can do a search on the HSBBW and you will come up with quite a few good discussion on this subject that should be helpful.

Bottom line, IMHO you should take your time and not feel pressured to make any decision until you and your son are ready.

Good luck!

Obviously you and your son are interested in this school, or you wouldn't have taken the visit. So this is all good news.

Whether you like or don't like the trend towards earlier and earlier commitments, they are here to stay. My suggestion is that your son express (in an e-mailed thank-you note) to the coach how excited he is about the offer, but that it honestly took him by surprise; then ask plainly when the coach would need his answer.

I would be concerned about someone who would rush you too much, but he's already suggesting at least three more months, so that's not too bad. And if you ask, they may well be able to give you still more time.

The problem is that, with the HS season upon you, there isn't much time left to take unofficials, except maybe on weekends. The good thing is, you are in the catbird seat. Most players wish they could get just one offer. Your son, in contrast, does not have to send out hundreds of letters or e-mails. He can look at schools from afar and narrow his efforts to only those schools that could conceivably be as good for him or better for him than the one that just offered.

I would bet that approach will narrow you down to maybe 3-4 schools tops. Now, identify who those schools are, and contact them ASAP about junior days or other unofficial visits. They might give you a campus tour, tickets to a basketball or baseball game, or a chance to watch them practice and spend time with the current players. You get to meet the coaches and get a read on them. You get to see the schools and consider which ones offer the best educational fit for your son.

If you reach the point where you know which school you really want, the only remaining question is whether they've made their best offer.

Three months is plenty of time to get this done, but it takes steady effort by your son between now and then.

Do remember that in the end, it has to be your son's decision. On the other hand, it is entirely appropriate for you to coach your son through the decision process. Make sure he is considering all the angles before he jumps. Most 17-year-olds are not experienced at making major decisions and need the benefit of your years of experiences. Don't tell him what to decide, but teach him how to go through the process of making his decision.

Thank you all for the advice. It is great to know that there is a place like this to go to help out parents, who at times are overwhelmed by these situations. Once again thank you.

what is the value of a verbal offer? can the coach rescind that? what/when does an 'official' offer look like? is it mailed to you with scholarship info?

iow, could you say "yes" to this offer, and then the coach walk away?

ohiobbdad - Welcome! You'll enjoy the the site more and more every day! There's some great people to learn from (which is why I come here), tons of information already posted and you might even make some friends along the way.

I'm not sure where in Ohio you're located but there are several NEO posters on here who'd be happy to help out since their sons have gone through all of this already and there's one that I can think of from the SW part of the state.

Also, if you're nervous to ask a question publicly, you can send somebody a "Private Message"...aka a PM... and they are the only one you converse with on that matter.

Again, welcome aboard!

Ohiobbdad - welcome! As our friend Beezer said there are several of us who have been down this road. I'm probably the one from the sw part of Ohio that Beezer was talking about. Feel free to PM anytime! In the mean time the previous posts all a right on the money with their advice. I know every stop we made was the one but in the end as Midlo Dad said we stopped at the one!

quote:

Originally posted by BuckeyeCat:
I'm probably the one from the sw part of Ohio that Beezer was talking about.

Oooops....before I get yelled at we have a very knowledgeable mom in the Columbus area that's a webster too!

quote:

Originally posted by goMO:
what is the value of a verbal offer? can the coach rescind that? what/when does an 'official' offer look like? is it mailed to you with scholarship info?

iow, could you say "yes" to this offer, and then the coach walk away?

The verbal offer is a handshake deal. That being said, yes, it can be rescinded, but very rare. Coaches who would practice that would have the word get out rather quickly.

The true official offer doesn't arrive until the week of Fall NLI signings, during the players senior year, and doesn't become binding until it is signed and faxed back to the school. Until that time the coach may email or somehow document the particulars of the offer they intend to make official when you sign.

All the scholarship info and questions you may have can be discussed from the time the coach makes the offer up until the actual signing. If someone makes and offer, ask all your questions, the coaches expect it.

In our case we were told face to face the offer they were making, and the following day we received an e-mail with an "offer sheet" attached. We were able to do some negotiating and eventually got another offer face to face, which we shook hands on, on the spot. The coach e-mailed us another offer sheet to confirm and we confirmed by return e-mail.

The NLI came in November, exactly matching the deal we had struck. We signed it and returned it, and that was that!

As noted, the coach could have backed out, or sought to change the deal,anytime before the NLI papers were shipped. (So could we have.) But I know of only one case in Virginia out of about 75 this year where that has happened, so it is very rare, and quite frankly it is going to raise so many questions for the program that did it that I suspect they may never do it again.

All in all I think you can take your verbal offer as being firm, even if there is a legal "out".

Thanks!!

When can the coach send the "offer sheet"? At any time? As early as the Junior year, or is it just verbal that early? I assume a player can get multiple offer sheets, but shouldn't (just like the coach) say "yes" when they haven't decided.

When you negotiate the offer (without getting too personal) what is there to negotiate? Assuming its scholarship money, can that only get negotiated in 25% increments? For example, if they offered 25% scholarship, you can negotiate to 50%. What other types of things can be negotiated?

Also, an offer sheet would obviously be contingent on getting accepted to the school, so if a junior hasn't taken the SAT, it would be very hard to say if he would be eligible to be admitted, right?

A player can recieve an offer sheet at any time. In basketball, some are being extended to Junior High kids.

I'll let someone else handle the negotiation question. We did not negotiate any offers.

The school making the offer sheet will do it's homework and research your sons transcripts to see the likelyhood of qualifying for admissions. I have always maintained that the GPA required is directly relative to the ERA recieved. Coaches are given a fair degree of latitude with admissions.

There is a 2009 pitcher in Virginia who committed to U. of South Carolina back in June -- i.e., right after the conclusion of his sophomore year. I have heard a report that Max Stassi, a phemonenal young catcher in CA, committed to UCLA as a HS freshman. So, I think these commitments can be made whenever both sides are ready. Though it seems to me, the earlier you do it, the more likely it is that one side or the other will change their mind before it's done. Heck, by the time the kid gets to the NLI time, he may be dealing with a whole different coaching staff!

As for negotiating: It has to be at least 25%, but above that it can be anything you both agree on. It is not in 25% increments. Some will negotiate, some are more "my way or the highway". Do what you can to find out which type you're dealing with before you open your mouth. We were fortunate to have several people on this site who knew enough to give us some good suggestions via PM's, for which we are very grateful. If you have picked up on certain people here having ties to the school of interest to you, try a few PM's yourself.