Offers

You don't have to rush into this. It seems to me that the pending offer is from a school that isn't high on your list. We had more than a dozen offers and my son made his decision based on how the school matched up to his criteria. Location, baseball program, coaching, academics and the money offered. IMO I wouldn't advise trying to start a bid war as I believe most coaches would be put off by this.

Hi ducbollea,
you asked "Should you tell the other schools that you have received an offer and see if they bring their offer to the table?"

I believe GoodPitching is right in that you don't want to come off as trying to start a bidding war. Trying to tell another school you are interested in that you have an offer from another school can be a little difficult. I always like to suggest visiting the coaches but that can be hard if they are a good distance from you. If they are/have been calling your son and it is on a somewhat regular interval wait for them to call again. If they don't ask about you recieving other offers you probably want to try to work it into the conversation, but not right up front. Let the conservation develop and see if they ask. If they ask respond that you do have an offer. Be prepared to answer where, but I would not answer how much. That is between you the the school that offered and the other coach should respect that.

I believe your question is more to the point that you want to contact the school that you prefer to see if they will offer now knowing that you have another offer. If they are not contacting you on a routine basis you may need to initiate the contact. Have you been contacting the "target" coach on a routine basis? If so, keep the routine and if they don't ask, work it in to your conservation as a "O by the way" type comment. Try not to make it the reason you called. You might want to add that you are really interested in their program and just wanted let them know. But if they are not contacting you you need to wonder why. They may be trying to get their 1st choice and you are their number 2 or 3.

I say the best way to get coaches to put their offer on the table is to visit them, OFTEN.

Time line to accept will differ and you should ask each coach upon offer if they do not tell you.

I found most coaches asked if they were competing.

I will dissent from the previous opinions. Although I agree that the intent should not be a bidding war, most offers are not open ended for time, they come with a specific time frame in which you have to act. If the offer is from a school that is high on the list, then I would absolutely let other schools that were high on the list know that Junior had received an offer.

Recruiting is weighing one opportunity against another, and this holds true for coaches also. Coaches who are waiting on other recruits decisions before they offer you, are counting on you being there to make the offer to. If they sense that they could lose you to another offer just because they were distracted in other directions, that may refocus them on their true desire, or lack of desire, to recruit Junior. You'll may get a sense of where you stand.

I don't know of a coach that would take it the wrong way, they want to be informed and you'd hate to hear, "man, if we would have known, we would have offered too!"

I am not an advocate of either divulging offer amounts, or using offers from schools not truly in Juniors top tier to do this with though. If the coach were to ask what the offer is, a response of "worthy of consideration", seems most appropriate.

It's a high wire balancing act at times, but isn't every negotiation in life!

Wishing you good luck and good fortune.

CPLZ,
I was trying to figure out what you are dissenting on in previous opinions?

Many offers do not come with a specific time line. My son's offers didn't have a time line attached when offered.

Every offer does have a date that you must reply, signing day in November of your senior year.

Many offers may come with a time line. I do not believe there is a general timeline. They come with one or not? If you get one they may be trying to pressure you into a decision.

It doesn't hurt to let another school know that you have an offer and need to decide by a certain date or within a reasonable time. You don't have to blurt out how much the offer is because the other coaches will ask you. Some say you shouldn't divulge the amount and let the coaches guess, however, we did tell the other coaches how much was being offered when they asked.....and they all asked. I think its ok to tell how much is being offered, some coaches might not appreciate a vague answer, where others may not care or just assume it was a 25% offer.

If a school tells you they need to know by "next Friday" you can always ask for more time. My son got an extra week or so from the school he ended up at as he was making an official visit to another school the day after they wanted to know.

This sounds like it's not the highest on son's list, or you wouldn't be asking that question.

I would only mention that an offer was given unless you feel that the other coaches are seriously going to make an offer, or they have asked what other schools are interested or discussed money. Just because they are calling or watching doesn't mean an offer is going to be made by other coaches.

Never accept an offer unless one is certain this is the right choice and someone really wants you to play for them, not just because another player said no. And if the time frame doesn't work, then take a pass, tell them you aren't ready.
Be honest.

JMO.

Actually this school is one of the schools at the top of his list, I was wondering what to do when you are waiting for the other school near the top of the list to send an offer. Thanks for all the advice.

The first thing to do is to try to rank the schools in which your son is interested. And if you don't know enough to do that, then he's not ready to commit yet.

If you can rank them, and this offer is not from # 1, then I think there is absolutely nothing wrong with sending an e-mail along the following lines:

"Dear Coach:

"As you know, I am very interested in your school and your program. I would like nothing more than to play for you.

"Recently, I received a very strong offer from another program. While they are not pressuring me, they do want to hear my answer soon.

"I would appreciate it if you could give me your candid assessment of your interest in me. If you think you would ultimately be willing to offer me a spot on your team, then I would be inclined to pass on my other offer in favor of your team.

"But if you do not think you will be extending an offer to me at any time, I would appreciate your letting me know that, so that I can make the best of my other opportunity.

"Thank you for your consideration and your courtesy,

"Sincerely, Player"

Midlo Dad, you gave an excellent recommendation. I can't see how any college coach would be offended by the wording of that email. If he wants the player, he will most likely jump on the information and convey his interest. If the player is the school's "C" choice, he most likely will say, "That's great that you got such a good offer. Good luck and best wishes to you." Either way, the player will have an improved idea of where he stands and can better evaluate his options.

Midlo Dad, great example thanks!!!

Midlo, excellent advice. I hope many read it and follow it if they are in this situation.