when an offer isn't really one

Tough story.  I can feel the pain and I empathize.

Good luck.  I hope it works out for the best for your son.

I'm sorry ChefMike.  Honoring your word is very important.  At least you found out ahead of time.  You can also advise others to beware if they ask about school. 

As for the walk-on spot, make sure you talk to people close to program, and/or people that were in program, how they treat walk-on players.  I have found there is a wide variety of treatment from program to program.

I also agree tough story, and reality is this is recruiting reality. This happens all of the time.

Don't have your son take an offer just to take one, he has time, he doesn't have to sign or commit in the early signing period.

Your son was a B or C recruit to this coach, he had most likely given the others an ultimatum and this is the result.  Just remember that they do this hundreds of times and some of us once or twice.

Only thing we have to go on for walk on is coachs word. He is a brand new HC, though he has been at the school as assoc HC for a number of years. The one upside from a non scholarship playerspoint of veiw is he was a walk on at his college when he went and told us that, I verified , and said he had a "soft heart" for  non scholarship players

chefmilke7777,

Sorry to hear about your son's situation.   Reading between the lines, it looks like the coach was playing games with the initial offer vs real offer (have to be on campus) bulls*it.  He was stalling because he had another offer out there, and he was going to require your son to be on campus accept his offer.   If this Coach is going to do this to your son in the recruiting process, you don't want to find out what he is capable of with renewable athletic scholarships that determine whether or not your family can afford the school.   JMO.    

I hope your son makes the best of his situation with the other school.

Fenway, After the fact, I agree with you completely. My son is done with that school. so no worries about renewalables. I did call one dad of a LHP we know that had been offered to warn him to be careful

This is the classic bait and switch.  No way do you want to play for a coach who is pulling those types of shenanigans.  That coach never intended for your son to get ahold of him - he only wanted it to appear that way. 

TPM, I get conflicting information on there is time. I keep being told the money is gone or almost gone, then I keep being told there is time. I do know a couple of his friends that are a year older that signed in mid spring to play at a D1, but very few. If you are talking about D2 and 3, yes there is time. But I am not sure about D1. Any insight would be great.

He might be a D2/3 player. He keeps being told he is definitlely D1 pitcher by prospect camps, etc (RHP sits 84-88, has hit 90 several times, up to 93 once that I know of. these are all documented by somebody else, not a Dad mph ). So we (he and his Dad- me) are confused.  

Chef, I am so sorry to hear of this experience with this school. Keep his head up.

That just sucks!  He doesn't want to be part of a program like that anyways.  The right fit will come along...

Let me get this straight, you were ready to send your son to a school he and you had never even seen before?  

Would you buy a house after speaking to a realtor without doing multiple visits, a home inspections, sleeping on the decisions, etc?

Perhaps this was a blessing in disguise.  Like others said above, you still have time, but I'd suggest visiting a bunch of schools this fall.

Rich

www.PlayInSchool.com/bus_tour  <---  2014 NC & VA Tours Posted

www.twitter.com/PlayInSchool

Guess I wasn't clear, we had seen the school grounds just not the inter workings of it. That is what was supposed to happen today. We had talked to several students that go there (they work for me and I connected he and them) about student life etc. We had done the research on his major etc. 

I guess from a house point of view we had been by it and really liked it. Today was the day we got to see it inside and talk about the financial part in detail. If he liked what he saw, we would have made "accepted" the offer to buy. Then, of course, we would go thru the process of inspections "getting admitted to the university".All of it was pending on today. No worries on that now though.

He/we has visited I think 7 colleges since beginning of summer, Those that showed interest and some he was just interested in. To be honest they weren't much more seeing the grounds and talking to a few people, much like the above college. This college came on fast because of camp which they asked to him to attend. Maybe it should have been on his radar but since it was out of state, he hadn't really looked at it closely.

I agree about seeing some more coleges this fall. Just trying to narrow down the choices to viable candidates. Those that we thought were and visited (except the one with roster spot offer) seem to not be choices anymore 

Rich, if there is more I should do to see thE colleges please advise. He is my 3rd child to go to college. The other 2 didn't play ball in colleges so that part wasn't an issue. On other 2 we simply went to a few colleges they were interested in, walked the grounds, met with admissions, saw they buildings were their major was, dorms, cafeteria, rec building etc.. From that we did bit more research for financial reasons, they applied to where they were interested and away they went. I don't know any other way, This time we had simply added the baseball coach (if available) and baseball facilities to the mix. Is there more we should do? 

OK... Thanks for the clarity.  Sounds like you are doing your due diligence.  Things will work out.

Rich

www.PlayInSchool.com/bus_tour

www.twitter.com/PlayInSchool

The fact that college tuition is often times a families largest investment outside of their home makes it seem like tons of research should be done.

Just shooting from the hip... 

Sit through a class.

Stay a night... keep in mind that every college on earth is fun on a Friday night, perhaps visits during the week wouldn't hurt.

Talk to athletes, non athletes, ex athletes.

Talk to professors.
Talk to alums.

Eat the cafeteria food.

See some dorm rooms.

Visit during warm and cold months.

Sit in the dugout during practice.  

Watch a practice without announcing you are coming.

Watch some games or scrimmages.

College is a big decision.  College is expensive.  

I'm not exaggerating when I say I see families do more research on car purchases then college decisions.  

There are not a lot of "bad" choices at this level.  But don't you want the "best" choice for your sons?!  The best choice academically, socially, athletically, financially, etc.

This type of research is exactly what motivated me to do the College Bus Tours.  Should a kid "like" a school just because a coach "likes" them?  Kids should see lots of schools to be able to figure out what THEY want in a college.

Again, not a lot of "bad" choices.  Your boy will be fine.  Sounds like he has some other things cooking.

Best of luck.  Keep us posted.

Rich

www.PlayInSchool.com/bus_tour  

www.twitter.com/PlayInSchool

Soon you will read posts about the players that went to the D1 school and got cut in the fall and are transferring to NAIA and JUCO.   Just this fall my sons team has had a player come in from a D1 school to his JUCO ... they also had a player that has already quit/booted off the team. 

The player is a commodity used to  help the schools baseball team win, and keep the coaches employed. In return you get to hopefully play baseball, make good friends and hopefully get a degree. 

  I know of a top level D1 school that is sitting on 42 players this fall, the coach knows he has to trim that number to 35.... He is also actively recruiting trying to better his hand...

Have a plan B , C, D

Those are great ideas. yuour right, did some (see dorm and go during week) of that but not much esle. DID eat the cafeteria food. As a chef, kept my thoughts on that to myself most of time and let my kid decide since he would be one eating there.

son will start to regroup tomorrow for other colleges and find out time frame on roster spot college. He had stopped looking since he thought this was going to be the one and had no other offers pending. I let him just be from Friday when he got the news until after today when he was supposed to have his dreams realized. He wasn't in the mood to hear move on.  

Bacdor, we are learning that the hard way

As hard as it is , don't let it get you and your son.  I know it's tough... one thing my 2013 learned was that he would rather go to a JUCO where his "stock" was higher , than a D1 and fight and claw for everything. 

He felt that going where they liked his style of pitching, where he could go for free, and get to play the first two years was more important than the level , sitting and waiting to play.  I mean wow at a D1 school you have to make the team, then the travel team, then get on the field... 35 on the roster  9 on the field.  all that glitters my friend.

Yup I said that!

Money becomes available in the spring.  Drop outs of program, ineligible, transfer out, draft, commit changes mind, etc.

Why are parents and players so down on other programs, D2,D3, NAIA?  Do they feel that D1 will prepare them more for the next level (which most likely may not happen)?

Folks, take a good look at D1 rosters these days, there usually are not too many seniors left, ever wonder why?

If your son wants to play baseball beyond HS, he has to be able to consider all options.

Whatever, NEVER settle!  Your son will know when the time is right, and not just because everyone else is committing!

Hitting 93 doesn't necessarily make one a D1 player.  Pitchers getting offers for top programs can throw successfully 4-5 pitches for strikes (at their HS level). They may not use them all later on but the coach determines that and builds upon what he feels the pitchers strength is. 

I think some parents feel that D1 is a status .. and it is to a degree, but not every D1 player is going to sign a contract.... I think Parents want D1 for other reasons than baseball, such as big campus life, football games, tv espn, the whole exp. 

Not really thinking about the important things. 

Sit through a class.

Stay a night... keep in mind that every college on earth is fun on a Friday night, perhaps visits during the week wouldn't hurt.

Talk to athletes, non athletes, ex athletes.

Talk to professors.
Talk to alums.

Eat the cafeteria food.

See some dorm rooms.

Visit during warm and cold months.

Sit in the dugout during practice.  

Watch a practice without announcing you are coming.

Watch some games or scrimmages.

Wow! You said you were shooting from the hip, so okay. But even from the hip, if this is due diligence, I'd bet 99% of kids in college are negligent. I'm shooting from experience. Realistically:

Do research online

Talk to students

Talk to guidance counselors

Visit the grounds

Study the athletic program inside and out if you're planning to be an athlete

Make a decision

The truth is you are probably right...99% of kids/families don't do that.

Luckily, like I've said before, there are not a lot of "bad" choices at this level.

I just feel that if a family is preparing to spend $100,000 to $250,000 for 4 years of college why wouldn't they want to find the "BEST" choice for their child.

I bet when you bought your house you visited over 10 houses.  I bet you spent hours combing through MLS listings.  I bet you got feedback on the investment from friends and professionals.  I bet you had the house inspected and you did multiple walk throughs. Etc, etc.

It doesn't take that much more effort to do the next level research on schools.  But you are right, most people don't go there.

I hope to make it much easier through the bus tours.   Our tours visit 18 to 20 schools in 4 days.  We are shown the academic and athletic facilities by the baseball coaches.  We see dorms, class rooms, libraries, cafeterias, weight rooms, training rooms, locker rooms, baseball fields.  And we workout twice.  But the trip is not about recruiting.  Its about scouting a variety of options to figure out where the kid feels at home.

Rich

www.PlayInSchool.com/bus_tour

www.twitter.com/PlayInSchool

I like PIS' list.  Our son plays D3 baseball at a great school, now a Junior.  In high school, he decided he wanted to go "away" to school.  We applauded that, but said we'll setup overnight visits at your top choices (which were heavily researched), but stipulated, you make the trip on your own.  So I dropped him off at the curb at the airport each time, and said "good luck!".  Our thought process was that in under a year, you'll be dropped off at the airport curb to leave home for freshman year over a 1,000 miles away, if you have a hard time dealing with the travel now.....  Turns out, son was extremely discerning and perceptive on his own, and made a great college choice that he fully owned.  His visits were richer and more informing, partly because his parents were not there, I believe. I think there is too much helicopter parenting regarding college selection in many cases.  I do understand the D1 NLI process adds a bit of complexity to the decision..

College Recruiting Specialist, welcome.

Before some of the old-timers get on your case, you may want to read about advertising on this site:  http://www.hsbaseballweb.com/advertise.htm   See Informed Athlete's advertisement in the top right on this page.  Rick contributes here often.

And as you hopefully know, "free tuition" is not the norm in baseball.  At the minimum 25%, and teams with 7+ walkons, partial scholarship is the better phrase to use.  (and that would be for D1 and D2 only).  We wouldn't want to mislead anyone with "free tuition", would we?

I did just that, when I surprisingly got an acceptance letter from Virginia Tech in Spring 1985. Non-baseball, but yes, some people do go sight unseen. I "knew" I'd love it. And I did. But yes, that sort of thing really shouldn't happen anymore...

True, and the reason it doesn't happen is exactly Rich's point.  College is vastly more expensive now (as a % of household income) than in years past.  Here's how much college tuition has risen since 1980...   http://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=76. 

People have to visit these schools because it is too expensive not to.

TPM, yep I agree on MPH not being the only indicator for any level. Just a number, reality is he sits 84-88 most of time, and has multiple (4) pitches he throws well though I am not sure how well from a colleg point of view. Anyways, for him the D1 experience is just as much if not more about the campus than the status of playing D1. He likes the size campus that is generally D! at least in Ohio 15-18k students. There are a lot of them here, roughly 10-12, the D2 and D3 tend to be much smaller here. But for instance he had no real interest in Ohio State which of course is a D1, but huge. worked out well in that they had not interst either It,also, happens that these are all state schools (except 1) and make it much more affordable for our family.

We are taking a couple of college visit that we are setting up in next couple weeks to the biggest D2 and 3 colleges we can find, regardless of baseball, although they have shown interest but I think they thought he was going D1 so have just been on the "we are interested if you are list of thiers". They all have his major which of course is first on the list   

I know personally that a DI would work better financially for our family.My 2014 LHP

could go to an in state school for 4 years with what we have saved in his college fund.

He could get in based on grades and ACT -we are proud of our B student that has LD's and ADHD .Baseball wise he is not D1 material. 

Unfortunately DIII schools and NAIA's are Liberal Arts. The majors all require extensive writing which is my son's deficit.One school we visited talked about  in addition to classes they have guest speakers. Which is great but the students are required to write reflections!Easy for some-but not my son.His twin sister who excels

at writing and everything else is applying to  liberal arts colleges for pre-optometry.

She is expected to get tons of academic merit money.My son though a hardworking LD

B student would get none based on ACT score of 19.Most liberal arts give merit for 22 or higher.He is retaking ACT this weekend.

There in lies the difference.

My son also needs a hands-on degree , industrial technology which DI schools offer

as do JUCOs.We did found one out of state DIII(that does reciprocal tution)that offers

industrial technology.He has applied there based on academic program,location,and

the possibility he could maybe play ball there if we contact coach or he tryouts next fall.

Your son will be fine and he will discover someone who really wants him to come to play for their program and will make him feel good about himself.

If it doesn't happen now it will happen.

FWIW.I have found that many parents/players who post here do not have sons that commit as early as everyone thinks that they do.  I don't know why that is but it is something that I have found interesting over the years. I think that a lot of people coming here for answers end up putting a lot of thought into it and recognize that there is so much more to it than just saying yes. 

Good luck and keep us posted.

I don't know anything about their academics, but in terms of the baseball, you probably could not do much better in the D3 baseball realm than Marietta College in Ohio. 

Marietta is a very good baseball school. academically it doesn't have his major unfortunetly

update - college that offered guaranteed roster spot no money called Saturday. Asked 2014 what it would take to get him to committ, "They really wanted him". This was a school that had shown the "love" and quite frankly we were shocked when they offered only roster spot the way they had talked all summer long. Reflecting back, my guess is they were waiting for someone else to decide too.

He told them he loved the college and everything about it, It would be his #1 school if there was money available. But money was a factor in his decision to help with finances for family. We had done all the research fo this college beforehand. In fact, it is where his older brother goes a well, so we know this college.

Sunday they called and offered athletic money. He committed on the spot.

He knows who else has committed in his position (RHP) and who will still be there. He feels he can compete for his place. He said "it will be hard work Dad, but I can earn my time" 

Time to rejoice

Things DO have a way of working themselves out.

He has the right attitude, knows that it is going to take a lot of hard work!

Congratulations and enjoy the ride!

TPM

Congratulations Chef!!!!   Awesome news.  It's great when things come together.  Best of luck to your son.

Congrats to your son ! Sounds like everything worked out after all. I'll bet you are happy that this grueling process is finally finished

That's awesome! Congrats to your son and family!

Gotta admit a weight was lifted. One of first things I did was take all teh contacts off my and his emails, and "unfollowed" a bunch on twitter. I think I cut in half those I followed LOL