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.