Release from NLI

It depends on the reason and the school. If the school that he signed with sticks to their guns, he may have to sit out a year.

Think about it. If a school allows one player to change his mind, it would set a dangerous precendent. At my son's school, a player that signed with them changed his mind and he is sitting out a year at his new school.

At the risk of seeming like I'm on a soapbox, I'll answer your question. If your son has had a change of heart, then no, they should not release him. That is my opinion. If the coaching staff has changed, or there is some problem on the school's end, then it might be appropriate to ask for his release. If he wants his release so that he can go to a different program, I would hope the school stickes to their guns and doesn't let him out of his signed commitment to attend that school.

You should realize that college coaches job security depends on having a stable program that wins its share of games. By signing and then losing prospects, they've also lost out on the opportunity to get someone else who may have contributed to their program had your son not committed, but who is now playing for a different college. Players backing out of signed NLI commitments is a significant problem for the college program, and should not be taken lightly at all. I counsel every player in my organization that if they have even the slightest doubt about their ability to live up to even a verbal commitment, to not make a commitment at all. Once they've signed, then I tell them that unless the coaching staff changes or there is some problem that is very significant, then they have no legitimate reason to back out. Of course, there are a few exceptions like family tragedies and illnesses, but that stuff doesn't enter into 99% of the times these things happen.

If he wants out of his commitment bad enough, he can go to jr. college for a year or two and then see if anyone wants him after that. Personally, as a coach, I have a very dim view of any player who doesn't live up to his commitment.

You asked, I hope that answer doesn't hurt too much.

4seam,

You have a PM.

quote:

Originally posted by 06catcherdad:

If he wants out of his commitment bad enough, he can go to jr. college for a year or two and then see if anyone wants him after that. Personally, as a coach, I have a very dim view of any player who doesn't live up to his commitment.

You asked, I hope that answer doesn't hurt too much.

While I would tend to agree with this sentiment the fact of the matter is that colleges don't always hold up their end of the deal as well. The repercussions for a player having a change of heart are far more punitive than the school deciding to make a change.

At the end of the day this young man needs to do what he and his family feels are in his best interest and if any potential future coaches have a dim view of him, so be it. For every coach that tends towards passing on a player that has a change of heart, there's a coach who may be interested in taking a closer look at the circumstances before deciding to give the kid a chance.

Cali Dad, welcome to the high school baseball web, I hope you find it to be a great resource, as so many of the rest of us do.

To respond to your comments, I have to disagree for the most part. Remember that the colleges are the ones 'employing' the player, so to speak. Most college coaches take a very dim view of players who de-commit, unless there is a very good reason for doing so. Most college coaches I know tend to not trust a player who has walked away from a commitment, and most of them are not as short-sighted and opportunistic as you might think. Trust me, they talk amonst themselves, a lot, and word gets around quickly on a guy that a program has a problem with.

A player may de-commit and have it work out fine, but much more often, he's going to find a tougher road to navigate afterwards. That's been my experience.

quote:

Originally posted by 4seam:
This is a tough one. How difficult is it to get a release from a NLI? My son signed a NLI in November and has had a change of heart about his college selection. Anyone out there with exerience with this? Your insights would be appreciated.

My question: Does he want a release because he feels the school will not be a good fit, or is it because he has found potentially "greener pastures"?

If it is a "good fit" issue I think he needs to sit down and look at how his deduction came about.

Was it someone who said some negative stuff?

Was it the the way the team has played this year and he doesn't want to be part of a "bad" program?

Was it a "girl" thing?

Was it a different outside occurrence that caused the "about-face"?

When all is said and done he made a commitment and any reason to approach a coach asking for a release had better be a life and death reason IMO. Now, if the reason is for "greener pastures" my opinion is a little more straight forward.....

Suck it up, be a man, and start your adult life out by standing by the commitment you made to the coach. We all make mistakes in our lives with wrong choices looked at in hindsight, but, IMHO the young man has no experience to make that determination "real-time". My gut says many young men that have signed NLI's have these same feelings after signing but have sat back, let the dust settle, made a plan to make it work, and went on to have a great college experience. A knee jerk reaction is the wrong approach IMO.

This is typical of the players who do not do their homework in selecting their college---take the time to search out what you want---do not be pressured

quote:

Originally posted by Cali Dad:
At the end of the day this young man needs to do what he and his family feels are in his best interest......

Cali Dad, welcome to the site. In response, I'd say that should have been the thought process in November when the player signed early. Just sayin... GED10DaD