at 14u we had several highly touted players. 2 pitchers and 2 infielders, one of the infielders is my step DD. 3 were young HS freshman, the other an 8th grader. All had offers before Halloween. The other infielder in 8th grade is an anomaly in that she was super intense, of course talented, super aggressive in learning the ropes on recruiting and did a fabulous job ON HER own program. She actually set the "path" on how to get noticed IMO. All 4 players had multiple top shelf offers and all had verballed by End of January, most before Thanksgiving. My step DD verballed early for her dream school (not the biggest program) which had been determined as a 13 year old. She too is not normal in her thinking, approach, and wisdom about her choices. Will they change, oh, very well may and it's expected! That's why you choose a school with a big curriculum. We and she are ok with that. Is this for everyone..no-way Jose. Quite honestly, it's very young and very hard to deal with. My wife and I had to do some serious digging into our situation (personal, family, the player) and we came to a solid conclusion with the coaches helping us.. from all offering programs. This is the rarest of timing and situations and I'm sure it will be picked on for an eternity until the NCAA changes the program. Most kids just do not have the physical and mental wherewithal to do this. Parents could change on there own but you see how well that's going... but... like mandating game-face protection... until the rules change the rules haven't changed. Sorry... don't start fighting about face protection here. Hah. I'd join in on another thread though.
I'm pretty sure one of the most stressful times in your child's ball career is the recruiting phase. I will say that getting the process completed very early is a blessing. Now, showcasing never ends. My step DD's team has been to watch her more now and they ever did with her in the courting phase. 5 times before an offer... at least 10-15 since in 2 years. She's a junior now.
I tell you this for it comes from a very leveled headed and cautious by nature person. As fun as it would be to brag it has nothing to do with that. I state the facts of what I've seen and where the kids are today. So, where are they now... 1 at Michigan, 1 at Northwestern, 1 at Washington, and 1 at Missouri. Several had paired offers which was cool too but all chose their program over friendships. All are still bandits players but 1 and all have taken or been apart of teams to a top 10 PGF Premier finish or better and all 4 are from the Midwest. Fun fact for us Ohioans! All are still happy with their program choices (from what I know) and trust me these players had many offers that came in 2 months or less. The alarming thing is that this process was less than 6 months or less and it is lightening fast! That actually makes it worse! Again, you will hear me ride on the side of this is too early (7th and 8th graders, even freshman). Yes, I said it!
Financials are typically % discussions. Imagine... most haven't even taken their first ACT for they are coming out of 8th grade. We had to take our 8th grade transcripts. A good teammate will gladly accept less athletic $ once an ACT $ deal is available to help the entire roster re-shuffle the $'s.
My other step DD's 12u team had Karen Weekly there specifically there for her team's pitcher in Chattanooga this past summer. She camped out behind home plate and didn't miss 1 pitch! Karen thought she was 14 per yer reaction when she talked to coach afterwards for we were playing up. So, yeah, it happens very young. That particular player is wearing out camps and recruiting events so her name is out there.
Camps and personal marketing is the key to this program! Along with top shelf org's to get you deeper into the coaches zone of familiar situations.
