Letting 'em down easy

Good question. Can't wait to hear the answers. We've had a couple of coaches that we thought were interested a while ago "go dark" and break off communications with no explanation. Maybe they'll resurface but who knows. One thing we're finding out is that as some doors close, others open. We aren't in panic mode just yet.

There should never be a panic mode

quote:

Do these recruiters ever gut it up and come out and tell a kid they are not or no longer interested? Or do they just either keep stringing 'em along or go to radio silence never to be heard from again?

In our experience - all of the above.

Remember that coaches are real people. They have different beliefs, personalities, and comfort levels just like we parents. It varies a bit from coach to coach - program to program IMO.

Just remind your son that regardless of how a coach responds, he should ALWAYS handle himself with utmost maturity and manners. The coach he's not interested in today may be the one he'd love to play for in a few months. Things change!

Son's an 06, And From are experience this last year I say have Patience.
If the Recruitor is contacting you, Then your on there short list.
Son was not contacted at all in person are by Phone by any D1.
Alway's only by letter's to come to there Camp's.
Went to a few camp's and D1's showed Interest, But nothing was offered.
We made Know Promises are Verbal's to any School(D1,2,3,NAIA, are JUCO).
We did keep in contact with the school's that showed interest in him.
As the year went on, And he had a real good Senior year in Baseball. The Interest was still Slow.
So we said to Ourself's, Let's see what happen's after the Draft.

Well Patience payed off, and he will be going to a Team that really need's him, and a Top 25 D1 College team in the Country.
And they had not even contacted him until after the Draft.
It's would have been easy to have said yes to the first contact, and even gone on as a Walk-ON just to say he's going to College.
I'm not saying this will happen to you, Just have a back-up plan
and have Patience it will all work out. EH

Lafmom,
Great reply!

Most coaches will not make a phone call to tell you that they are not interested anymore.

I think that you will know the real answer to your question when it's all over and done. It is so very hard to understand when you are going through the recruiting process. What you are experiencing happens to most everyone. Sons first choice school called the first week, then dropped off the face of the earth only to resurface again in August, at which time he was no longer interested. I am not sure what would have happened had they shown greater interest from the start, he probably would have said yes if they asked him to commit early. Heis very happy things turned out the way they did.

It is July 26, the early signing period (if that is what you are looking for) is not until November. For many coaches, they will zero in on the top players they would like to have verbal before they can proceed with the rest of their plans. Some of them are going through a waiting period, just like your son is. If not, your son has plenty of time before the right school comes along. Most players DO NOT sign during the early signing period.

Some coaches are more aggressive at recruiting than others, in fact most are better at coaching then they are at recruiting. I also think that coaches look for players who are VERY interested in their programs. Has the potential recruit ever visited the school , gone to a camp, sent a summer schedule, or made a phone call himself to the coach (remember son can call them at any time). Your son might have to be a better sales person than the recruiting coach, but not in any way that might hurt the chances (like phone calls on a daily basis). I have often heard stories where players never heard from a particular school they were interested in, made a phone call to find out that the coach thought the player wasn't interested.
Remember, it has to work both ways.

The story of EH's son is a great example of the process, it takes time, for the right opportunity to come along.

It will all work out in the end.

Our experience was much the same... some were up front and others tried to fade into the woodwork. We happened to run into one of the "faders" at another baseball event and had a chance to talk to him about what happened... why the interest waned. He gave us an OK answer - "just didn't see a spot on the team for you". OK - but why not just return a phone call? (Son had received a full academic scholarship to coach's school, thought he might be interested in knowing that). No good answer... reminded me of the bad dates who take your number and then never call you. Whatever - it is what it is, I guess. Some are just better at dealing with people than others I suppose. Personally I think they should all grow up, but that's just me!

I guess the frustration on my part is not so much whether the kid winds up signing somewhere, etc - i figure that will work itself out - but i feel like in my old, skeptical age i know stringing along or "teasing" when i see it. Just hate to see grown men intentionally misleading kids just to cover their bases [no pun intended].

That's exactly what I meant when I said they should grow up... it may not be fun to tell someone you're no longer considering them as a recruit, but it sure seems like the right thing to do. We NEVER ignored a phone call from a coach - seems like they could do you the same courtesy. Reminds me of the All-Star coaches who didn't like calling the kids who didn't make the team... it was "too hard"... well, geesh, how do you think the kid feels?!

Most coaches that do the recruiting will handle it the same way that they handle their players on the field. THERE ARE EXCEPTIONS, BUT LET ME MAKE MY POINT BEFORE BEING BOMBARDED!!! If a player on his team is not performing and the coach decides to no longer play him, the coach has the choice of having a meeting w/ the player and explaining this to him, or just doing it and not explaining it at all. Totally up to the coach, and it's his call being the coach. You can agree or disagree with his approach, but until you are the head coach or AD you have no say in how he runs his program.

We would all appreciate ample notice before being laid off or fired, but not all companies do so. It is the nature of the business, nature of the recruiting process. In my experience with dating before I met my wife, if a lady was not interested, more often than not she just did not return my phone calls. I learned that after a couple of attempts I needed to move on, and if she decided she was interested, she would call me back, but I wasn't going to sit around waiting for her.

Rcmax29, The coaches have to cover their bases. It’s just the nature of the beast. Don’t panic but instead try to understand the process. And like lafmom says, coaches are just people and no two are alike. We can criticize the coaches for not being up front with their recruits but the coaches have a lot of players that haven’t made a firm commitment to them also. Coaches have to recruit more than they need just to come out in the end. I’m sure there are coaches that recruit too many people and there are those that don’t recruit enough. Bottom line you have to execute your recruiting game plan and not get caught up in theirs.
Unlike business, baseball recruiting is on a “clock” that all coaches have to adhere to and when the bell rings it is over. Employers historically don’t call applicants and tell them they are no longer interested until they have offered and hired another person. But in baseball many time the baseball player is not actually “hired” until he walks into the classroom in the fall. The coaches could call at that time but that would serve no purpose since all “job openings” for college baseball players are closed until next year.
Fungo