Lost Interest?

I'd say call the coach. What has he got to lose. He may hear something he doesn't want to hear - no one likes rejection. But it would give him an opportunity to let them know he was very interested and wondered if they still had interest in him. Are his grades and scores good - maybe they were hoping he would get academic money or something and saw that wouldn't happen??

Fortunaly his grades and scores are good. Based on that, the coaches said the academic money would bring down the athletic contribution considerably. It just seems to be a compelt 180.

I may be wrong, and I hope I am, but I'm wondering if your son was this school's Plan B prospect. They wooed him and said all the right things while waiting to get an answer from the guy at the top of their list. Then, when they got a verbal commitment from him, they lost interest in your son.

By all means, have your son call the coach to determine if there is still any interest. But if I were you, I'd be actively investigating your son's other options.

If things don't work out with this school, rest assured that God's perfect plan is in the process of unfolding. He doesn't want your son at this school. He wants him somewhere that's even better suited for him. Best wishes!

As usual, Infield08 has great advice. Your son may well have been the "Plan B" guy. There is no shame in that...the school thought enough of him to recruit him to begin with.

My '09 has verbally committed to a Big 12 school. I don't know this for certain, but I am fairly certain he was the "Plan B" OF for this class. There was a kid local to their campus that verbally committed to another Big 12 school shortly after mine committed to his, but there was word that the kid was going to commit.

What matters is what he does on the field when he gets there.

By all means, have your son call the coach and see if they are still interested. If not, move to his "Plan B" school...who knows....it may be the "Plan A" school he should have been at all along.

Definitely have your son communicate with the coach. Also I think dad needs to communicate with the coach also, and see how firm the offer is.

OK, so my son got up enough nerve to email the coach. I know, not the best but better then nothing. The coach actually replied that he would call him the next day to "discuss". Call never came. It has been almost a week now. I know everyone is busy, but I expect adults to be held to the same standard that I am trying to instill in my son. If you say you are going to do something, then you better follow through. I know it may be old fashioned, but in our family, your word really means something. After this, I know he does not want to go to the school anymore. Unfortunaly, his twin sister is dying to go and I now have a bad taste in my mouth for the school in general. Fortunatly, he is in the process of negotiating an offer. Hopefully it will work out to his benefit. Unless of course, this is the pattern of coaches and it is all talk. I'm sure this has happened to many, but it is still extremely disapointing on many levels. Any advice as to how to negotiate for the best deal?

catcher25mom,
Your posts are so poignant.
First of all, as it relates to your daughter, what happened/is happening with the baseball coaches probably isn't reflective of anything other than baseball coaches. If the school is a dream for your daughter, the baseball coaches should not contaminate the process. We have some experience in CA and would be happy to share it.
For your son, I am a very strong believer and have stated many times that the way your child is recruited is the way he will be treated as a player. I don't believe that coaches recruit one way, such as what you are experiencing, and coach another way. There may be exceptions but, at this early stage, actions speak at least as much as words. The words your son has heard have no sincerity for him as a recruit.
As hard as it might be, I would move on. If those coaches come back later, and that can happen, then your son can make his decision when the coaches recognize they made a mistake and are in "need." Of course, I still would likely not be thrilled about accepting what they are selling based on the way they sold things to date.

Shared information about players amongst college coaches "regionally" is very common. Programs have needs that constantly change season by season.

Imagine a pool of recruits in your area. In that pool are 4 top shortstops. All four of them will not be signing with the same college, but all 4 are probably being recruited by all the programs in the region, and are being told they are "their guy".

I can also say that in this sharing of information, coaches may stop recruiting a certain player as a "courtesy" to another coach/program??

Information is shared among coaches that are friendly as well as competitive. I know of a few circumstances where a player did not fit the needs of one coaches program, but was then recommended for another and made the team, even within the same conference or from different regions. I also believe that coaches stop recruiting some players out of courtesy to others. I know that this happened to son.

I think that infielddad has made some great points, how coaches act during the recruiting process may not always be indicative as to how they are as coaches, and that works both ways.

By calling the coach (though nothing wrong with that), you have placed him in a difficult situation, and for many, telling the player or parent they will get back to them is easier than saying they are not interested. I think that this is human nature and if you are familiar with the process, you should realize it's time to move on. This happened to me this past week in a job interview, I was told they would contact me the next day, they did not. Time to move on. I essentially see it as the same process.

quote:

Originally posted by TPM:

I think that infielddad has made some great points, how coaches act during the recruiting process may not always be indicative as to how they are as coaches, and that works both ways.

I would highly recommend attending a Fall practice in a stealth manner if possible, that meaning, don't get seen or noticed. Observe what a practice is like where no recruits are present/invited!!

There is a huge difference in behavior(for some)during the courtship(recruiting period) and the marriage(rostered).