Dead period and Sept 1 for 2022’s

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Apr 23, 2014
389
43
East Jabib
In the event that a coach (or coaches) calls a PSA on September 1 or shortly thereafter and an offer is made, how would you handle the decision process considering the inability to have official visits due to the dead period? It will even more challenging if the dead period is extended past Sept 30.


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Last edited:
Nov 21, 2017
17
3
These are uncertain times and with the extension of no official visits make it tough to commit. But hopefully the DD has done her research beforehand and already knows something about the program and univ. Also coaches that have their act together and has the resources can set up virtual tours for the PSA. Also where does the college stand in the of list of universities she wants to attend? Top 3? Top 10? If top 3 she might seriously think of committing. Because my guess is that many 2022 girls will commit early so they can reserve their spot. So just do as much research and get all your questions answered and talk to the coach a lot to get a feel if the coach and program is a right fit for your DD.
 
Nov 5, 2014
351
63
In the event that a coach (or coaches) calls a PSA on September 1 or shortly thereafter and an offer is made, how would you handle the decision process considering the inability to have official visits due to the dead period? It will even more challenging if the dead period is extended past Sept 30.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
As the dad of a 2022 this is one of the many things we are uncertain about with regards to Sept 1 this year. Based on DD's 2021 teammates last year the most common outcome of the September 1 calls was an invitation to come to campus for a visit. There were a few exceptions where offers were made on that initial call but that was not the most common outcome. Obviously this year visit invitations are not possible. I have seen people opine that everything will go slower this year as coaches didn't have as many evaluation opportunities, have uncertainty with budgets going forward, and academic requirements are in flux due to the lack of testing dates. Have also seen the opinion as above that things may speed up as the likelihood of additional evaluation opportunities in the near term are unlikely and both PSA's and coaches will want to lock in spots early. (This may lead to more PSA's and coaches walking away from those commitments later)

Personally I feel lucky as my DD has been to multiple camps at all of the schools she is hoping to receive calls from but still feel unprepared to make a decision. I can't imagine what families will do that have not already visited campus and had significant interaction with the coaching staff.

Good luck to everyone trying to navigate this already stressful process with these added difficulties due to Covid19.
 
Apr 16, 2010
924
43
Alabama
My biggest advice is keep your options open. The whole process is going to be tough on 22's and 23's. Schools will have five classes on campus at a time for the next few years. This coming season is the only year seniors will not count toward the total number of scholarships. 21's were lucky because they had about 6 months prior to things shutting down to figure some things out. DD was lucky and commited in February but it has been a struggle for some girls that had offers but had not made a decision when everything was shut down. This summer was tough because it was their last chance to get in front of coaches and at camps.

If a power like Bama, OU, or UCLA normally signs 6 they may only have 3 spots they can really offer with a decent scholarship. Now there are 3 top level athletes that are on the market for the next level teams. It will be a domino effect which in the end will help with the level of competition but there will simply be less money to offer. Going the JUCO route will take care of what should be the #1 priority for all of them, get a start on their degree debt free. It will also give a little time to let the confusion clear around 4 year schools. I promise if Coach X likes them now Coach X will like them with one or two years of experience as a student and an athlete. Another plus is good students out of JUCO can get some really good academic money at 4 year schools.

Also do not overlook NAIA schools either. I have a freind whose DD just committed to a NAIA after her freshman year of JUCO. Like everone else she is getting her year back so she has 4 years left. Between academic money and athletic money they will pay under $25,000 out of pocket and she can pretty much leave school with her masters.
 

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