Recruiting letters

The last statement should have been, what, if anything can be read into the letters and questionaires? Thanks,

33'sdad -
Recruiting letters are really a mixed bag. There are colleges that are great recruiting machines who will mail out tons of letters, while other schools will send out only very few. Just to look at letters received is impossible to tell who is really interested in your son. It only tells you which schools have your son's name in their recruiting database. Now, hand-written letters and letters that are personalized, "We saw you play at xyz showcase last week", do give you a better indication that the school may have some interest. But, the real bottom line is "Will this coach call after July 1st of their junior year and make a scholarship offer?". No real correlation. Some will call who have never or rarely sent mail and others who sent tons may not call at all. Enjoy the letters as they are a big deal to our sons and they should feel good about the recognition. My best advice is to attend reputable showcases and camps so that your son's skills can be seen by the widest college audience possible. Then, junior year, pro-actively contact coaches from the colleges you are interested in; find out whether your son's position and skill level fits their needs; and hopefully get an idea of their real level of interest. A positive response still doesn't mean they will actually make an offer, but it will help you to narrow down the the schools where the interest is mutual..... and then hope for the best.