Offer/Thoughts

Congratulations to your son. I can't help you other than to say it sounds good to me (my son is 2014). I am interested to hear what everyone says.

Eastside - We talk a lot about the right academic and baseball fit on this website when deciding on a school....Is this the ideal fit for your son? Is the academic, baseball, NAIA vs. NCAA or JuCo, etc the best fit that your son is looking for? If your answer is "yes" then it sounds like a good offer, if your answer is "no" then it may not matter what percent they are offering. I can't speak for others but I know in my son's case he did not accept the offer with the highest percent financial package.

I would bet there have been many other players as well that have gone with lower offers to get the best fit so that is a question for your family to ask yourselves.... what is the priority? If it is $$ and this is the best fit then you may have your best offer, if it is not your best fit then you may find yourself continuing to look.

Also, I don't think NAIA has the same restrictions on number of scholarships available to give that the NCAA currently does - NCAA Division I are allowed up to 11.7 scholarships and they can have up to 27 on scholarship with a minimum of 25% required for scholarship athletes so you can see that for D1 they are dividing up the scholarships quite a bit. As far as merit aid that is available, that will vary from school to school.

For your checkbook's sake I am hoping it is a good fit for your son - best of luck!

quote:

Originally posted by EastsideRHP12:
I'm curious as to what some of the old timers here thought about this. Good offer? Great? Common?

It's not how we feel about it, but rather how does he feel and you feel.
Cheapseats brings up good point, the best fit doesn't always include the scholarship amount.

If he is not 100%, tell them he is not ready to committ, consider other interests, I don't know the rules on the NAIA.

I guess what I was trying to find out is, is this about as good as an offer as you can get financially speaking?

The catch here is he likes the school, coaches, campus and such. They saw him at a summer showcase then followed up watching him pitch in a tournament. He then was invited to a winter camp there and was offered shortly after. First a verbal then in writing. He's was very excited getting his first offer. The first thing he said was, "do they expect me to decide now. I haven't even looked at other schools yet". There is a firm date in the letter to sign by, so that does concern me a little. It's possible that he could look around, entertain offers and still decide this place is for him. BUT...will the offer still be there for him?

Eastside:

I think it is a great offer -- a very competitive offer. I don't know if it is the right offer. That is a question that can be answered only by you and your son. I have found it common to have an expiration date on the offer, but not always for every player. Best of luck.

So...help me out, your son is a 2012 so he has the entire 2011 season to play, the summer, fall and the 2012 spring season.

That is a lot of time to find a home, unless this is the program you have been waiting for, however good an offer it may be, it would be tough to commit so early. But, it is a nice offer...that should tell you something.

All offers come with an expiration date. And letting an offer expire does not mean the program will not offer again.

quote:

Originally posted by EastsideRHP12:
I guess what I was trying to find out is, is this about as good as an offer as you can get financially speaking?

You can expect a 100% offer from the service academies but it comes with a 4 year service requirement.

After that I would say the likelihood of a better offer depends on the following:
* HS grades/test scores to determine amount of merit aid (varies by institution)
* Financial aid available after completing FAFSA
* What type of college - D1, NAIA, JUCO, DII
* What other institutions are willing to invest in your son via an athletic scholarship.

All that to say, there are too many variables to answer your question.

If you check the Recruiting Tips section of this website you can get to the LOI FAQ's that explain that you could sign the NAIA LOI and still continue the recruitng process with an NCAA school and tehn sign a LOI with an NCAA school. Copied below.

If I sign a letter of intent with a junior college or an NAIA school may I sign a National Letter of Intent?

Yes. You may sign a National Letter of Intent if you have already signed a letter of intent with a junior college or an NAIA school. The National Letter of Intent program is a voluntary program with over 500 participating institutions. By entering the National Letter of Intent Program, participating institutions agree to honor one another's commitments. Make certain you understand the difference between a NAIA or junior college letter and the National Letter of Intent before you sign more than one letter.

It is true that you can do those things, however when a coach recruits you and you accept an offer, you are in a way giving your word, and signing a document outlining your intentions.

If you tell the coach that you will sign his LOI but intend to keep looking for a bigger/better offer, I do not believe most coaches would extend you the opportunity to sign his LOI once he realizes that you have not fully committed to his program.

quote:

Originally posted by TPM:

quote:

Originally posted by EastsideRHP12:
I'm curious as to what some of the old timers here thought about this. Good offer? Great? Common?

Cheapseats brings up good point, the best fit doesn't always include the scholarship amount.

TPM hits a good point.....the mistake my son and I made was taking the best financial offer.... the "fit" wasnt right and he transferred after his freshman year.....

The advice that I have heard and wished we had taken, was to make sure the school would be the one you would want to attend if baseball wasnt in the mix...

This mistake, to put it into other terms cost my son another semester in college and me another $9,000 dollars.....

quote:

Originally posted by il2008:
If you check the Recruiting Tips section of this website you can get to the LOI FAQ's that explain that you could sign the NAIA LOI and still continue the recruitng process with an NCAA school and tehn sign a LOI with an NCAA school. Copied below.

If I sign a letter of intent with a junior college or an NAIA school may I sign a National Letter of Intent?

Yes. You may sign a National Letter of Intent if you have already signed a letter of intent with a junior college or an NAIA school. The National Letter of Intent program is a voluntary program with over 500 participating institutions. By entering the National Letter of Intent Program, participating institutions agree to honor one another's commitments. Make certain you understand the difference between a NAIA or junior college letter and the National Letter of Intent before you sign more than one letter.

Yeah, you can do this, but can you still look at yourself in the mirror in the morning? And what are you teaching your son about commitment and honor? All this is part of growing up and becoming an adult. IMHO, make the best decision for your son and stick by it.

A lot of good comments here. I know that the NAIA and JC LOI's are non binding when it somes to D1 and DII. There is a matter of ethics. I'm sure some people will play that game but he won't. Once he decides and signs, that is where he'll be going.

Floridafan: I don't think he/we want to wait until after his spring season of his senior year to decide. He plays football, so that eliminates fall ball and some of the Arizona camps he's been invited to. Aren't most DI and IIs done with 2012 recruiting by then? I know Oregon and Oregon St have already signed their 2011s. It seems to me your options would be cut in half or more waiting that long. Maybe I'm wrong.

I guess my question is answered; that this is a very good, competative offer. Weather it's the best fit for him remains to be seen. I just hope in the end, if he decides it's the place for him, that the offer will still be there. My guess is it will be....Thanks.

Offers vary greatly...Pitchers and Very Good Hitters don't have the same expiration time. How hard does your son throw and how big is he? If he is 6'2" + and throws upper 80's with an offspeed pitch you have a long shelf life.

Comming out of his 2nd year JUCO my son was offered spots all Fall, including an offer with an expiration date from the program he signed with. He waited to see what would come along and signed around April with UT after they sweetened the pot, even after that NC State came looking for him.

I understand not wanting to wait a full year, but you might give it the summer, if he is playing a quality summer schedule.

But you and he are the decision makers, if everyone is happy then go for it! Just don't assume other quality offers will not come. It was nerve wracking for us as well!

My son is 6'3", 210. He's has always played three sports. Even four back in the middle school days. In the past he would put his glove and bat away at the start of football doubles, not picking it up again until close to baseball tryouts. He decided last spring to make baseball more of a focus. Started in the fall with a pitching and hitting coach twice a week. Also doing strength and core stuff for the lower body, rotator exercises and ext. I've seen guys at tournaments with guns, but the only documented one I have was at a DeMarini Top 96 camp. He hit 87 with 84-87 consistant, or so the Demarini form says. They also told him to develope a change, so he's been working on that with his coaches.

In regard to your JC son. I would think a proven JC player would have more options then a senior coming out of high school. Looking at California's DII programs, most of them load on JC kids. One only showed 1 RS Frosh on the roster.

What do the coaches see your son as- a pitcher or hitter? Does your son prefer one or the other?

quote:

Originally posted by AntzDad:
What do the coaches see your son as- a pitcher or hitter? Does your son prefer one or the other?

I believe he stated his son was a RHP.

I'm sure he's being recruited as an RHP. He has a good bat but hasn't found a home in the field other than picthing. He's played LF, RF and 3B. There's some talk about trying 1B now. He was DH most of the time last summer. He was a cather and pitcher in youth sports through 8th grade. Had to choose one of the other in HS. Caught a few innings last summer in an emergency basis one game. Hadn't had the gear on for a couple of years up till then. NAIA school says they'll use his bat if he can show he can hit.

An offer this good this early means it probably won't be the only one your son gets.

I agree with all those advising your son to proceed carefully and make sure he's sure before he takes himself off the market.

Congrats and best wishes to you both!

quote:

Originally posted by TPM:
I believe he stated his son was a RHP.

He also said his son goes to a hitting coach.

quote:

Originally posted by AntzDad:

quote:

Originally posted by TPM:
I believe he stated his son was a RHP.

He also said his son goes to a hitting coach.

He said he was an RHP, and hasn't found a home on the field other than pitching, a DH.

But he did state that he thinks he's being recruited as a pitcher and they would use his bat if he could hit.

Sounds like a pitcher to me, but good question, what does he want to do.

If he really likes the team and the school, and it is solid in the areas he wants to major in, and has a good academic reputation, then take the offer. If he is unsure needs to look a little longer, then go look at a few schools and programs and decide.

However, it's hard to imagine an offer that is much better than that. But if one does come, I agree with staying with your commitment to a point. However, if Miami comes knocking, I'm pretty sure you can talk to the NAIA coach and he'll have no problem with your son moving on. What kind of coach wouldn't? This isn't marriage. And if not, shame on him. . .he'll get over it. But barring a dream scenario, then go with the one who loves you.

Yes, there are lots of other schools who might be interested, provided you can market correctly. But if you aren't good at that, there may not be many offers at all, and there may never be a better offer. It could be that this school sees something that other scouts coming to your son's games won't. Baseball scouting is notoriously inaccurate.

First I'd like to thank everyone for responding. There's an amazing wealth of information on this site. I'm fortunate to have been directed here by a friend.

A quick follow up. My son and I spoke with the coach over the weekend. He said the date on the LOI was standard and his offer is good until he decides. He encouraged him to look around. Even though they want him, they want him to want to be there. Basically, they said all the right things to him. He has a few invites to some junior days, including some NW D1s. We'll be attending two for sure. Hopefully by fall he can narrow a few things down. It should be interesting for him non the less.

Great News!

First off, congrats to you and your son! I know the recruiting process can be a fun, challenging, and eventually a rewarding experience. From my perspective as a student-athlete in college, I would say that it is important to find the right fit before committing. Many athletes (especially in football) verbally commit and then go back on their word by "decommitting". I understand that there are some situations in which the player needs to find a different home, but a scholarship offer is much like a business deal. I've been taught that one's word is good for something. If you told a family member or coworker that you intended to do something, wouldn't you follow through? I believe that a verbal agreement is to be upheld, unless extraordinary circumstances dictate otherwise. There is still plenty of time for your son to make a decision.

It is an exciting time for you and your son. Enjoy it and I wish nothing but the best for your family!

A friend of ours son was offered by a JUCO this past fall. He also had a D2 offer and felt that he might also still see some D1 interest. He told the coach a few colleges he was interested in playing at. The coach told him he could sign with him and if he got an offer from one of them, he would have no hard feelings if he didn't honor his LOI. However, if he signed with another school other than the ones he mentioned..... well,

How long does one have to decide on an offer?
Are you talking several weeks or months?

Thank you.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by im647f:
How long does one have to decide on an offer?
Are you talking several weeks or months?

Thank you.[/QUOTE

Probably depends upon your talent level and position. If you are a blue chip pitcher your offer will be open indefinitely since schools recruit multiple pitchers. On the other hand you may be given a deadline with the caveat of saying they need to know in x # of days before they move on to the next prospect on their list. They may also offer two people at once and tell both that they will take the first one that commits.

quote:

Originally posted by cheapseats:

quote:

Originally posted by EastsideRHP12:
I guess what I was trying to find out is, is this about as good as an offer as you can get financially speaking?

You can expect a 100% offer from the service academies but it comes with a 4 year service requirement.

5-year, but who's counting?