The dark side of recruiting...

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JAD

Feb 20, 2012
8,231
38
Georgia
Just heard that a player who had committed to a full ride scholarship as a 9th grader has either had her offer pulled completely or significantly reduced. This player was a phenomenal pitcher when she was in the 9th grade, tall lefty with plenty of potential. She was probably one of the first 2018 pitchers in the country to verbally commit to a school. Here we are 3 years later and while she is still a good pitcher, there are a lot of other 2018 pitchers who have surpassed her. She essentially plateaued shortly after 9th grade.

So now she is just over a month away from being able to sign her NLI and she gets dumped like a date the night before the prom. Not many schools will have athletic scholarship money available for the 2018 class, and she has been telling her friends and family that she is going to XYZ University for over 3 years. Does she look for other options? Pay a large portion of her own way and still attend XYZ?

Just a word to the wise that a verbal commitment is more beneficial to the coaching staff than it is to the player.
 
Dec 2, 2013
3,410
113
Texas
Oh boy! I know of a kid that committed to a Big12 softball program, went on her official visit and when she got home was told she wasn't a good fit. She is now going to a SEC school in another state as a student only. Pretty disappointing.

DD had a coach watch her play over the weekend and the coach told TB coach that he wants her. Okay that's nice and DD is interested. She has never stepped foot on campus or had a conversation with the coach. TB coach texts DD and asks her if the coach offers her will she accept. I'm like pump the brakes yo! How about we do an unofficial visit first to see what's up. Lot's of pressure on these kids to get locked in by these coaches. We'll see what happens.

edit to add: TB coach just called me to discuss. Apparently the coaches are good friends. It's starting to make sense!
 
Sep 29, 2014
2,421
113
Just heard that a player who had committed to a full ride scholarship as a 9th grader has either had her offer pulled completely or significantly reduced. This player was a phenomenal pitcher when she was in the 9th grade, tall lefty with plenty of potential. She was probably one of the first 2018 pitchers in the country to verbally commit to a school. Here we are 3 years later and while she is still a good pitcher, there are a lot of other 2018 pitchers who have surpassed her. She essentially plateaued shortly after 9th grade.

So now she is just over a month away from being able to sign her NLI and she gets dumped like a date the night before the prom. Not many schools will have athletic scholarship money available for the 2018 class, and she has been telling her friends and family that she is going to XYZ University for over 3 years. Does she look for other options? Pay a large portion of her own way and still attend XYZ?

Just a word to the wise that a verbal commitment is more beneficial to the coaching staff than it is to the player.

If it's the same coach that is a pretty crappy move and word will probably get around that the coach can't be trusted...that's really the only hope the players have if the coach does this too many times nobody is going to commit because they know the coach does not keep his word. The coach had to have known last year that the girl was not going to be a fit and he had better options why not tell her then when she has recourse to start looking around.

Going to be super tough even if she can find a spot it's not going to come with much money since most big school have all their commits lined up. This is another reason to really stay plugged in to what's going on. If the school had an ace pitcher already and a couple good backups, then signed a good pitcher last year and verballed another pitcher in that players year grouip I would ask the coach looks like when I arrive in two years you will have 4 pitchers already on the roster exactly where do you see me fitting in?
 
Jun 27, 2011
5,089
0
North Carolina
If it's the same coach that is a pretty crappy move and word will probably get around that the coach can't be trusted...that's really the only hope the players have if the coach does this too many times nobody is going to commit because they know the coach does not keep his word. The coach had to have known last year that the girl was not going to be a fit and he had better options why not tell her then when she has recourse to start looking around.

Hope so, but I don't trust that this form of justice will occur. Players are not going to bypass their best offer (ie their dream school, etc.) because of hearsay like that. The coaches will spin it. The players will take their chances if they really want to play there.

I'm sure the coach prefaced this news with a line like, ''We need to do what's best for both of us.'' What was best for the kid, however, was that the school/coach contact the player at the instant there was any doubt about honoring the scholarship offer. That didn't just happen. They've known for months there was a chance this could happen if they could find a better player.

But it's a competitive advantage to keep that secret, especially when most of your rivals are doing the same. For every 1 player who is dropped are 2 more that would've been dropped if the right players had fallen into their laps to replace them.
 

JAD

Feb 20, 2012
8,231
38
Georgia
If it's the same coach that is a pretty crappy move and word will probably get around that the coach can't be trusted...that's really the only hope the players have if the coach does this too many times nobody is going to commit because they know the coach does not keep his word. The coach had to have known last year that the girl was not going to be a fit and he had better options why not tell her then when she has recourse to start looking around.

Going to be super tough even if she can find a spot it's not going to come with much money since most big school have all their commits lined up. This is another reason to really stay plugged in to what's going on. If the school had an ace pitcher already and a couple good backups, then signed a good pitcher last year and verballed another pitcher in that players year grouip I would ask the coach looks like when I arrive in two years you will have 4 pitchers already on the roster exactly where do you see me fitting in?

The problem is that the players do not want to become "blackballed" for becoming disgruntled and the coaches usually promise to make some calls on their behalf. The coaches can also spin it that the girl did not work hard enough after she verballed and that is why they parted ways...
 
Jul 16, 2013
4,659
113
Pennsylvania
And coaching changes, which seem to be happening more and more frequently, further complicate this entire process. If you are verballing in 9th grade, and plan to play 4 years in college, you are counting on that coach to be in place for the next 8 years. And if that coach is gone within the next 4 years, there is no guarantee that the new coach will feel the same way about your place with the program.
 
Feb 17, 2014
7,152
113
Orlando, FL
Oh boy! I know of a kid that committed to a Big12 softball program, went on her official visit and when she got home was told she wasn't a good fit. She is now going to a SEC school in another state as a student only. Pretty disappointing.

DD had a coach watch her play over the weekend and the coach told TB coach that he wants her. Okay that's nice and DD is interested. She has never stepped foot on campus or had a conversation with the coach. TB coach texts DD and asks her if the coach offers her will she accept. I'm like pump the brakes yo! How about we do an unofficial visit first to see what's up. Lot's of pressure on these kids to get locked in by these coaches. We'll see what happens.

edit to add: TB coach just called me to discuss. Apparently the coaches are good friends. It's starting to make sense!

I have seen this happen before and it is a very good thing!
 

JAD

Feb 20, 2012
8,231
38
Georgia
And coaching changes, which seem to be happening more and more frequently, further complicate this entire process. If you are verballing in 9th grade, and plan to play 4 years in college, you are counting on that coach to be in place for the next 8 years. And if that coach is gone within the next 4 years, there is no guarantee that the new coach will feel the same way about your place with the program.

Most P5 schools are now offering 4 year scholarships, so as long as your sign your NLI you should have some level of protection.
 
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