what are advantages or disadvantages to committing to a school early. Early being going into senior season. Neither party really has to stick to anything and both can still try to better deal the other it seems.
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If the school is your first choice. For some players and their families, it's not about the "best deal."
While no one is asking for sympathy - highly recruited players are under quite a bit of pressure during the recruiting process. Getting the college decision out of the way and getting back to a focus on playing the game is a definite plus for many.
whit23,
I presume you are referring to D1 baseball. A very timely question considering this is probably the busiest time of the (d1) recruiting year that the players & parents experience. In our experience, I would NOT consider committing (D1) as a rising senior EARLY. I would consider committing as a rising junior early.....I guess some recruits have a dream school/coach/program in mind and they decide early (rising junior) that they want to go there....or they may have other reasons. There are some on this site that have done that, and in most cases they also happen to be very talented baseball players. The recruiting timetable for most D3 schools is somewhat different (right now through the Spring), and I don't have practical experience with D2, JUCO or NAIA..
Understand that almost all coaches and recruits understand that the verbal committment is a bond, and frankly I know only a few times where a verbal offer or acceptance has been rescinded. The advantage for the coach is knowing that you are off the market, and committed to his program. The benefit to you is that you know you have a place to play, and a place where you are wanted and needed. In some cases, baseball recruits gain access to a school that would have been a stretch or off limits to them as students only.
Yes, a player or a coach can back out. News travels real fast in college baseball, so a coach/program that backs out of a commitment to a player would get a bad reputation among travel coaches, high school coaches and the baseball community. The same can be said for a player. Sites like this can help you research a program and coach. If you have concerns about the integrity of a coach or program (or their recruiting practices), I would absolutely start asking alot of questions.
Best of luck.
I presume you are referring to D1 baseball. A very timely question considering this is probably the busiest time of the (d1) recruiting year that the players & parents experience. In our experience, I would NOT consider committing (D1) as a rising senior EARLY. I would consider committing as a rising junior early.....I guess some recruits have a dream school/coach/program in mind and they decide early (rising junior) that they want to go there....or they may have other reasons. There are some on this site that have done that, and in most cases they also happen to be very talented baseball players. The recruiting timetable for most D3 schools is somewhat different (right now through the Spring), and I don't have practical experience with D2, JUCO or NAIA..
Understand that almost all coaches and recruits understand that the verbal committment is a bond, and frankly I know only a few times where a verbal offer or acceptance has been rescinded. The advantage for the coach is knowing that you are off the market, and committed to his program. The benefit to you is that you know you have a place to play, and a place where you are wanted and needed. In some cases, baseball recruits gain access to a school that would have been a stretch or off limits to them as students only.
Yes, a player or a coach can back out. News travels real fast in college baseball, so a coach/program that backs out of a commitment to a player would get a bad reputation among travel coaches, high school coaches and the baseball community. The same can be said for a player. Sites like this can help you research a program and coach. If you have concerns about the integrity of a coach or program (or their recruiting practices), I would absolutely start asking alot of questions.
Best of luck.
quote:News travels real fast in college baseball, so a coach/program that backs out of a commitment to a player would get a bad reputation among travel coaches, high school coaches and the baseball community. The same can be said for a player.
fenway, I sure wish what you were saying were true. I think most who post to this site might all hope that integrity alone, rather than a "bad reputation" would mitigate and minimize both sides bargaining after an early verbal or commitment.
Unfortunately, recent examples, including both coaches who are getting promotions and players who back out of verbals(some without ever telling the coaching staff) and signing NLI's with lots of publicity, suggests integrity on both sides is getting rationalized by winning, by money, and by publicity.
Apparently,for some, a "bad" reputation can be overcome by winning or publicity, or tweeting, and/or college recruiting class rankings.
Right up front, I agree with infielddad's and fenwaysouth's comments.
I will echo one of fenwaysouth's comments..."early" anymore is not a rising senior. It would be a rising junior or sophomore. Those are now the "early" commitments. Rising senior? Now is about the time (or fast approaching) for a commitment for signing in November.
I am not a fan of "early commitments"...meaning junior or sophomore year. Having said that, our 2nd baseball playing son did commit "early" in his junior year. Why did he do it and why did we allow it?
The answer to both questions is pretty simple...he had offers from 2 of his top 3 school choices (the 3rd probably being a little out of reach for him and we knew that) and we went over the list of 'other' possibilities and realized there were no other schools that he would be more interested in. So, in effect, he had his 'dream school scenario' in front of him, it was a pretty good fit academically, his HS and summer coaches both thought it was a good scenario for him...so he made the commitment.
Once the commitment was made, that was it and he knew it. A few other schools asked 'how committed' he was, but that was quickly dismissed. Our belief is, once you give your word, you're gonna keep it and despite a position coach change that will affect him, he never wavered. He leaves for college in about 5 weeks.
I will echo one of fenwaysouth's comments..."early" anymore is not a rising senior. It would be a rising junior or sophomore. Those are now the "early" commitments. Rising senior? Now is about the time (or fast approaching) for a commitment for signing in November.
I am not a fan of "early commitments"...meaning junior or sophomore year. Having said that, our 2nd baseball playing son did commit "early" in his junior year. Why did he do it and why did we allow it?
The answer to both questions is pretty simple...he had offers from 2 of his top 3 school choices (the 3rd probably being a little out of reach for him and we knew that) and we went over the list of 'other' possibilities and realized there were no other schools that he would be more interested in. So, in effect, he had his 'dream school scenario' in front of him, it was a pretty good fit academically, his HS and summer coaches both thought it was a good scenario for him...so he made the commitment.
Once the commitment was made, that was it and he knew it. A few other schools asked 'how committed' he was, but that was quickly dismissed. Our belief is, once you give your word, you're gonna keep it and despite a position coach change that will affect him, he never wavered. He leaves for college in about 5 weeks.
Question for Just Baseball/Fenway or anyone that had a son that verballed early. When you verbal how detailed is the offer? For instance does the school say we will give you between 25% and 50% or is the verbal offer specifically detailed as to how much? Also is the verbal offer ever written out in an email? I just wonder if their are instances where a school may say we will give you 40% but the final offer sheet shows less?
I also agree that it is not about the best deal but the best fit for the kid. Good Luck to your boys this year.
I also agree that it is not about the best deal but the best fit for the kid. Good Luck to your boys this year.
BBoy400,
You have a PM.
You have a PM.
BBoy400 - At least in our sons' case the offers were very specific and the one he committed too was received at the exact same amount nearly a year later at signing time.
BBoy400,
For D1 schools, a new rule instituted last year prohibits colleges from making a written offer before August 1 of the senior year. Of course, the player can not sign anything until the NLI early signing date.
My son's experience was that early offers were exact percentages, or in one case, an exact dollar amount.
For D1 schools, a new rule instituted last year prohibits colleges from making a written offer before August 1 of the senior year. Of course, the player can not sign anything until the NLI early signing date.
My son's experience was that early offers were exact percentages, or in one case, an exact dollar amount.
Our son's offer was for a specified dollar amount.
quote:Originally posted by YesReally:
While no one is asking for sympathy - highly recruited players are under quite a bit of pressure during the recruiting process. Getting the college decision out of the way and getting back to a focus on playing the game is a definite plus for many.
In Hamilton's book he states he committed for this reason, even though he knew would never step foot on any college field. Pro-prospects still do this, but since one never knows what will happen, they had better commit to a school where they want to play.
i saw a 2014 kid committ to a d1 school this month..that is real early isnt it?
Yes, that is real early. Hope both he and the college coaches keep their word.