Candrea gets commitment from 14 YO, invites 10U AllStars to the stadium.

[Amy in AZ.]

Yes, this is an oral agreement, but the university is unlikely to break their end of it, unless the student just bombs out.

Evidently, this young lady was highly recruited before she was out of 8th grade. There are no recruitment rules for middle schoolers.

 

[livingontheroad]

I went back and read the rules softball falls under closer and I guess I was wrong. The rules seem to be designed only so that college coaches cannot harass young players, not to prevent recruiting contact if the player initiates it by calling, or coming to campus in person.

A D1 coach cannot have any WRITTEN contact with the player before sept. 1 of her junior year. He also cannot call her. She is free to call him at his office though as much as she likes at her expense and he can talk to her, he just cannot send her any written contact. She can send written contact though of her own choosing.

There can be no in-person contact off campus or by phone until after July 1 of junior yr. Anything more than a simple hello is a contact or meeting.

Cannot talk to senior recruits at tournaments until after their team has lost out. Since they cant talk to them off campus at all until they are seniors, this seems definite. No off campus contact regardless of who initiates it.

Then of course there are the quiet periods

What I get from this is that if she calls him at his office, or comes to campus at her own expense they CAN talk about anything they like, and he CAN verbally offer a scholarship at any time, and she can verbally commit, or maybe she can even commit in writing to him if she likes. This does not seem to be excluded by the rules as I have read them.

 

[GOINGDEEP]

I sent Coach Candrea a commitment last week and am waiting to hear from him. I'm hoping he doesn't find out I'm a 48-year old man with a bad shoulder.

Looking forward to another shot at college - in a warm state this time - GM

That was funny as hell.

 

[Hawk]

To the best of my knowledge, a verbal commitment is non-binding. My coaching experience is with NAIA and NCJAA, so I could be wrong. She can commit verbally, but I don't believe that the school can commit anything financially yet.

They might be able to give her an estimate of state and federal aid based off the family's FAFSA, but I don't see what the point would be when she is four years away.

 

[Amy in AZ.]

Yes, it is non-binding, but in softball it is almost unheard of that a coach go back on his/her word.

Stating her intentions and having Candrea state that she is coming, now takes the pressure off of her, and the other coaches remove her from the radar and move on to other short stops.

Candrea states that his recruiting class is full for 2011 and 2012. He isn't doing too bad for 2013.

 

[CoachC]

Fron NCAA.org

A verbal commitment, stating publicly one's intentions to attend a certain institution, is a non-binding, oral agreement between you and the institution. The only binding nature of the commitment is your word and the institution's promise. The National Letter of Intent program does not recognize verbal commitments. It is not uncommon for a student to verbally commit to one institution and subsequently sign a National Letter of Intent with another institution. And, on some occasions, a university may accept your verbal commitment and later offer the National Letter of Intent to another prospective student-athlete.

Excellent article here on a verbal:

Lewis: What a verbal commitment means - Insider - ESPN

 

[FPump]

NCAA.org/Glossary of Terms:

VERBAL COMMITMENTis the phrase used to describe a college bound athlete's commitment to a school before he or she is able to sign a National Letter of Intent. A college bound student-athlete can announce a verbal commitment at anytime.While verbal commitments have become popular, they are NOT binding on either the college bound student-athlete or the school.

PROSPECTIVE STUDENT ATHLETE is the title given when a student enters the 9th grade.