Thought I would briefly share my 2017 vs. 2019's recruiting stories as evidence that no two kids' experiences are alike. Sorry this is long, but it's my 2019's fault. He decided to take the most circuitous recruiting route possible. 2017 went to a few showcases, one camp, visited colleges in the summer where he met coaches and got offers before he left. Visited the schools he was serious about in October. Committed ED at his top choice after his pre-read came back positive. 2019's experience was not like that. Got what he thought were offers that were then rescinded. Took a lot of time to deal with what was or wan't an offer.
What we learned: Some high academic D3s have more slots available to coaches than others. If a coach doesn't look your kid in the eye and say, "I want you and admissions says you're in," then beware whatever message they're telling you. Just because we wanted him in at Big Fish U and the coach was encouraging doesn't mean that's enough.
Do a couple of showcases but also go to camps at the schools that are highest priorities. This made a huge difference. It's expensive but if we had told our son you have three camp choices and that's it, he would have dealt with it and it would have saved us a lot of money, especially after HF and Stanford let us understand what level he should be shooting for.
Pre-reads matter. A lot. If a coach asks for transcripts and test scores, they're serious. Get it to them quickly.
If your kid doesn't hear from a school within a day or two, a week at the most, after they've seen them at their camp, or at Headfirst, then they're not interested. It's that simple and that sudden, and it's been one of the hardest realities for me to accept. Coaches who were interested in both boys either wrote them emails or texts right after camp ended or came up to them between games at HF, or in the parking lot immediately after campus camps. I know the stories of coaches tracking down kids in parking lots seem like quaint urban legends but it's happened to both of my boys and I've seen it happen to other kids and not just Thor-like D1 players.
For the younger kid, the rep and recruiting experience of the older kid mattered. 2017 opened doors for 2019. Sometimes it was a s simple as the fact that when our 2017 took his college visit trip, 2019 hung around in the shadows, introduced himself, and in one instance, a coach asked him who was better, him or his older brother. He said he was, and two years later that 's the coach he's committed to. Another thing that helped is that the older boy had a strong first year and coaches learned who he was. That info served 2019's journey.
I could go on ad nauseum. Happy to answer any questions you may have.
Aloha, Scott
