Junior Days

I look at it as a means of getting to see who they are looking at and get a chance to take a tour of the school and the campus

You will run into players there that your son knows which can give you an idea as to the talent level they are looking at.

It is all plus in my book but on the other hand I dont see it as hurting anyhting if you dont go provided your son calls them and tells them he cannot make it

RC, I agree with TR's assessment and how to handle it when the Junior Day is far away. My son has been invited to two that we just could not make due to distance (would have to fly) and timing (Sundays when he had games the day before). He emailed the coach and let him know that he is interested but that he could not make it because of distance and his high school schedule. The coaches have all responded positively to that, and it keeps you on their radar screens.

RC: what you described is exactly what you can expect.

If you can afford to go, you should do it. If you can't let the coach know of your continued interest in his program.

If you havent visited the school this is a good chance to get a tour of the facilities and get an idea of the coach's personality.

Your odds of being recruited are not increased by your attendance or decreased by not attending. But it's nice to know that they have you on their radar.

some great posts above.

Go if you can. As the original post suggests, there will be lots of other players, you'll get a minute with the coach, get a tour, see a game and bye-bye.

But, it's a very positive experience. Gives you a chance to see the school, see the coach and his staff "in action". Can give you a good or at least an expanded view of the program, campus, etc. Also the invite shows you are on their radar and to that end, as suggested above, if you can't go, let the coach know of your interest, reason(s) you can't attend and so they'll know that you have interest in the program. Definitely do not just ignore the invite or "no show" without an explanation to the Coach if there is interest in the program.

"YOU 5 GUYS are not here for a tour. You are here because I want you on my team"

Some D1 coaches are pretty forward, which is good. How's that for a Junior Day experience?

My son is a junior as well. Based upon advice from recruited players/parents before him, we definitely plan on going to the junior days he is invited to! In addition, to the schools he is most interested in and that have shown interest in him, we plan (or have already gone) to their baseball games.

We don't expect much except to show that, "Hey, we're interested too!"

Is there any NCAA rule limiting the number of "Junior Days" you can attend?

quote:

Originally posted by Midlo Dad:
Is there any NCAA rule limiting the number of "Junior Days" you can attend?

Your pocketbook is the only limit!

We found that Junior Day formats can vary tremendously from program to program. I'd suggest talking with a player or family member from the prior year's class, if convenient, to get as realistic a picture of the event as possible.

Ours ranged from 6 players and their families to 28. At the latter level, it took a motor coach to get the ~100 people around the campus to see the various things they wanted us to see. That was plenty big for us and influenced us later to decline an invitation to a Junior Day known to attract 50+ players and their families.

Can you enlighten us as to what the situation is like at UNC? That is one of the schools my son is looking at.

What takes place at Junior day.
What do the kids do?

Listen to the coach talk to the invited group.

Other speakers may talk about the academic programs offered at the school.

A tour of the facilities and campus.

Then go and watch the team play a game.

Go home.

There are no private conferences with the coach.

Midlo Dad: I'm always glad to hear that players are considering UNC. If your question is a specific follow-up to my Junior Day comments, it was UNC's Junior Day that was limited to 6 players and their families; at least, that's how it turned out.

What they did was invite a total of ~12-15 players and gave them a choice between two dates: one date featured a practice, while the second date featured a game. Being the "field rat" that my son is, he chose the practice-oriented date; as did some 5 other players.

In that instance, we arrived just before an afternoon practice and ate dinner, afterwards, in the baseball offices. Parents ate with the coaches and players went to the players' lounge, where they ate with that year's freshmen players. It was a good, casual way to get to know them.

The following morning, we toured the athletic facilities and academic resource center, meeting people like the strength coach and baseball's academic advisor in the process. After that, 3 or 4 upperclass players participated in a panel discussion, answering our questions. Finally, the day ended with tickets to the NCSU-UNC basketball game.

While UNC's approach may have been the most intimate of those we attended, generally speaking, they all accomplished essentially the same thing: they were a good way of acquainting ourselves with players and coaches, seeing the facilities, getting a feel for the environment, and sizing up the quality of players being recruited.

Because all Junior Days stand as "unofficial visits," we paid our own travel and food costs (including something for the picnic-style, catered meal in the baseball offices). The game tickets were allowed by the NCAA.

If your question is broader, Midlo Dad, why don't you private message some of your questions to me? I'll be happy to try to answer them.

Thanks. I'm just new to this and trying to get an idea how it works.

How did you manage to schedule this around the HS season? Did you just go on a day they didn't have a game scheduled? Or before the HS season got underway? (Since you went to a hoops game I'm thinking you went in Feb.)

You're right, it was in late January or February (The UNC team begins practice almost as soon as they return from the holidays.); and, I think we attended a Friday afternoon baseball practice and Saturday night basketball game.

His high school team hadn't begun its season yet. He may have been excused from practice on the Friday we went to UNC.

Do most colleges do "Junior Days" or only the larger D-1s?

I'm afraid I don't have a good feel for the percentage of DI's that have Junior Days. My recollection is that both majors and mid-majors held them. I wouldn't hesitate to ask someone associated with a program of interest; whether a player, family member, or coach whether their program organizes one.

(One mid-major held one on a Saturday morning that coincided with one of the most popular SAT dates. Go figure!)