Was this at one of the schools up my way?
D1 College Coaching Merry-Go-Round
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Was this at one of the schools up my way?
- Nov 18, 2013
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Good information in this post. Verbals mean absolutely nothing. If you only knew how many verbals a D1 coach receives every year you would be stunned. They are a good recruiting tool for the school but not for the player. It instills a sense of loyalty to a school because Mom and Dad already posted it on Facebook, so the coach can go look at other players. It's like an Ace in the Hole. Coaches can back out of your verbal over a text and you're done. Dried ink on paper is the only thing you can slightly Bank on in recruiting
I wouldn’t say they mean nothing. A few coaches over commit, but the majority enter into verbals in good faith. A verbal means that coach wants you and if a player continues their development they’ll likely sign at that school. There’s just so many factors that can come up it would be foolish to think after you verbal you’re all done. I fully agree they benefit the coaches far more than the kids.
The system was definitely broken. It’ll be interesting to see if/how the new recruiting rules change things.
Yes it was
As softball becomes more popular athletic departments are paying more attention to wins/loses. 10+ year coaches with sub-.500 records are probably a thing of the past. Coaches are given 4 years to prove themselves or they are released. Successful coaches move up to more prestigious programs.
- Nov 3, 2012
- 480
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Good information in this post. Verbals mean absolutely nothing. If you only knew how many verbals a D1 coach receives every year you would be stunned
I would say that the coaches name and his/her reputation on the street mean something. If you pull the old bait and switch-a-roo, a few times word would get around to travel coaches and even recruits. That would be counter productive and you're not going to get the commits. I have heard coaches don't pull their verbal offers, but they sometimes modify them by reducing the scholarship amount, or over recruiting a certain position.
I'd like to think that, and a lot of coaches are genuinely nice people who are 100% about the kids and softball, but not all - and probably not most - or not most in certain situations. This is their living - they can't afford to be too nice about it and keep their jobs (or keep prospects for a next job alive) long term. They may not publicly take away a verbal - but they will make it so the player does it for them.
Parents will say something along the lines of "My daughter decided that school X really wasn't for her" - that can be translated into the coaches at the school no longer wanted her or the actual offer presented was not what they were expecting or they did something else that basically forced the player to decommit so they didn't have to do it... and so on.
Also unfortunately most parents are blind to the whole process as long as they think their DD has a commitment. Most parents are not coming on line and reading DFP or similar or don't have a trusted person who truly knows the process on-hand. Chasing the dream and pressure to make a decision or 'find a home for the kid' or keeping up with teammates who have already committed or 'Go D1' or whatever makes people make bad decisions and overlook a lot of very obviously bad situations or ignore a bad reputation and so on.
College and professional coaches do what's in the best interest of the team. What the word on the street is means nothing to them. It's a tough game, but someone's got to do it. Again, verbals don't mean anything and being concerned about what a travel coach thinks doesn't mean anything either. Ball players come from all over the world and there's always someone willing to say yes.
Travel coaches have done a beautiful job of convincing parents that they have the enroute to universities. That's simply not the case. They may have some pull with D2 or D3, but nothing is on the table with D1 regardless of what they tell people. I've been around the game a long time.
It's also very easy to get out of a written contract because of grades, position availability, or just simply wanting to run someone out of town by not playing them. Full rides are very hard to come by so they use them sparingly
I thought D1 coaches signed long term contracts. When they leave is it because the contract ended, they broke their contract, or the school fired them? Or, do they not all have contracts? I believe the coach at the D1 my DD starts at in the fall just signed another 5 year contract so I was assuming that generally means she will be there for the next 5 years.
Coaches like to tell recruits they have long term contracts, but just about every contract has a buyout clause if things do not work out as planned.
Having a coach on a longer length of contract has many purposes:
- As this thread shows, this profession has high, high turnover. Part of negotiating a contract is to ensure that you will get some financial coverage when they (or you) decide your time is up at the program.
- While it may not give you job security, it does give you a level of comfort to do the job. You can go run the program and recruit without having to negotiate your employment and spend time on that at the same time.
- The bigger the buyout, the more leeway you have as a coach. If it is going to cost the university a significant amount of money to get rid of you, they will think twice before pulling the trigger and basically pay you 'not to coach'.
- As you said - it also gives a recruit some indication that the coach is valued by the university and could be around for awhile. Trying to recruit someone when it is known you are year-to-year or your contract is up at the end of the season makes "What are your coaching plans for the future" a tough question to answer. And it is a question your DD should be asking.
Buyout and contract dissolution clauses are many - often allowances for better job (most D3/D2 and even D1 contracts have a clause about leaving for a D1 job or for a specific school (generally the school they attended themselves or had previous jobs at), dismissal for cause, terms for negotiating mutual separation, terms and responsibilities for either side ending the contract and so on.
Few coaches get to the end of their current contract and then get renewed. Most renegotiate with 2 years left or if they hit certain criteria in the contract (such as winning conference, making the NCAA tourney, hitting academic team goals, etc, etc). If the school lets your contract run its course, that is probably a bad sign for you as a coach.
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