Early Verbals - major concerns

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Involved in scouting and recruiting, and reading about the early commits from players, I am motivated to begin this thread on major concerns with the verbals.

As softball moves to the fast track on recruiting, does a coach really know what type of player they are gaining. Before I go any further, look at the following factors:

followed trend of football and basketball to get a jump on the "bluechipper"

a verbal is "not recognized" by the NCAA - signing cannot occur until senior year

When softball adopted this practice in recruiting, it was the top level schools who had access to the top level players out west. They had a level of confidence in the kids they went after with empirical data

this has now become a common practice amoung all DI softball coaches as they are in "keeping up with the Jone's"

The obvious "pro" to this type of recruiting is getting your players in the fold and get a jump on the next class to bring in.
There are many, many, cons that could (and in some instances IS) happening as a result.

Domino effect when one player "decommits" or takes a better offer. This happens all the time in the major sports. Do not expect the NCAA to jump in and mediate as it is unofficial so only thing that counts by their standard is the actual letter of intent - welcome to the real world of business - it happens everyday.
Don't preach the "gentlemens agreement" between the coaches on this one, it will happen.
When it does occur, it effects many, many people.

Another common variable now is college coaches are not getting the same product as offered, in some cases, very bad. Are coaches obligated to stick with a player if they take the "EASY ROAD" and their skills diminish? I know in some cases where the offer is being reduced or pulled as the athlete is not holding up on their part of the "unwritten deal".

Any thoughts or similar concerns?

 

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I was watching some of the national football signings and saw a lot of players change their mind all the way up to the last minute. If a player is going to make this type of deal, they should certainly keep in mind that there are variables that could change the outcome--Coach change their mind, player change their mind, change in coaching, much more. They should probably still entertain the possibility of looking at other schools.

When my daughter veballed, other coaches calling her would quit talking to her as soon as she told them she had verballed. Is this also the case when they verbal a couple of years in advance?

 

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Having one D-1 coach tell us, why would a coach or kid do that? especially a freshman, as she doesn't know where she will be as a coach in three years.

Two- schools who reneg on a deal will get the reputation as doing so and will scare off potential recruits.

Three-- Kids who reneg on deals will give their High Schools or Summer Orgs a bad name and coaches will shy away from those teams in the future.

You know what, only 5% will play D-1 ball, work harder on the GRADES and the ride will be easier, instead of the emphasis on playing for dollars.

With that said, ours still hasn't made up her mind on what college she wants to go to and has many offers. We told her no more school sweatshirts on visits until you decide! She has become a professional applier if that's a word. Problem is no one has said no to her!

 

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But the reality is, this does happen with early verbals, and will continue until the NCAA does something about it.

I get to play the devils advocate here -

I agree that the changing mid-stream by a player could cause issues, but they may not really care. It happens all the time in the real world.

What is more crushing IMO, is the potential of the college pulling the plug on the player as they may of become too comfortable and not work as hard - and it has happened and coaches do not like it. If an injury occurs, the coach will stick by the recruit. But don't think they will be so understanding when your fastball can't hit the side of a barn and drops on their radar from 68 to 62 - big problems.

 

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Just a thought, of the 2 to 5% of kids that go on to play college ball, how many are D1 potental, and how many of that D1 potental are verbald early, I dont have any numbers to back me up on this but im guessing the number is realy low, unless your a 68mph flame thrower or a baby bustos as a fresh or soph im willing to bet most coaches will set on the kid and wait and see how she looks until her junior year then its probably insane after that point at the amount of recruiting time she will recieve.
Wich begs another question, is her junior year the safe year to verbal?.. or is it her summer before her junior year?.... and how far down the food chain does this go, Top 25?. or all the way down to D2, it would be neat to see a list of who verbaled , what grade they are in when they verbaled and to what school thay have verbaled to.

Tim

 

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I was just talking about this the other day with a buddy at work. His DD verbally committed to play for Indiana in ****** (oops forgot, sokker). She is a sophmore in HS. She plays on a super elite team that travels extensively, much more than softball. Their travel tournaments are not multiple counties away but multiple states away.

 

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I am somewhat new to this process and have a question about these early verbals. When a player verbals do they know what amount of scholarship they will get? 50%, full ride, etc. or are they just commiting to a school with details to be worked out later?

 

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It seems as if there is a fair amount of emphasis on going to a DI school. I realize many DI schools offer an excellent education and, what I would call, the overall positive college experience. DII schools offer the same level of education coupled with the college experience. I would rather have my dd select the school best suited for her career goals, and still play softball. More than likely, some day she will put down her glove and bat. Sorry for the off-thread post.

 

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I would rather have my dd select the school best suited for her career goals, and still play softball.

I'll continue the brief change in topic and say that I heartily agree with you, 4carrs. And it's great when it works out that way. Sometimes, though, the best school for a girl isn't one where she can play softball. Even if her mom can't let go (looking for a 12-step program ...)

 

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I know of 17 verbals to DI schools by Ohio 2010 players; another 7 that I know of have offers and are waiting, but time may not be on there side. I do not know the specifics of % the players received, but you would assume offers were good enough to get them to verbal.

Again, as devils advocate, what if a better offer comes around? Do you blame a player for taking it. Before you jump on the integrity thing too quickly - how's this scenerio -
College A gives player a month time limit to decide? A junior in high school. Kid needs the money to go to school, pressure is on, takes it. Can a 16 or 17 year old change their mind??? What happens if the player commits to College A, and the school decides after one season, "mistake", and releases the player from the scholarship. Unethical?

If that player continued to do the things they did to get offered but had a bad year, really a terrible situation.
What if that player though, decided not to work, get lazy, play about half the games in the summer against less than competition - would it be justified then to pull the scholarship?

These problems become magnified with the early verbals.

 

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Why would the NCAA set out to legislate something that doesn't exist?

A verbal commitment is NOT:
Binding, only the official NCAA signing is binding
A legal contract, since NCAA rules specifically state that ONLY by following the NCAA signing process is a player specifically commited to a school

So, if a verbal commitment is NOT binding and NOT a contract, what is it?

Nothing.

Schools are free to back out of a verbal commitment based on a change of circumstance - and I am sure that someone has examples of that happening.

Players are free to troll for better offers - and I am sure that someone can present similar stories.

The whole "verbal commitment" thing is a one-sided marketing show. A player can make a verbal commitment, but a school can't really acknowledge it. Can the school even offer a scholarship until signing day? I don't think so.

 

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My daughter was offered her scholarship during her visit a couple months before signing. I am sure they can offer before as they have to get the paperwork ready and mail it.

 

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Schools can offer, players can accept, all before they sign on the dotted line during their senior year.

It happens, but there is a sense of "ease and comfort" that alass, it is over, I reached my goal and received a scholarship.
the schools will typically honor their gentlemans pact - but each player must live up to their responsibility of accepting_

You better show up ready to play, not let up, and work harder or you may lose out.
And those facebooks???Careful what you post, don't think a college coach is not watching what your off the field behavior is - They want quality players to build on.

Do not take a verbal for granted, too many cases lead to dissapointment when the player goes on easy street and is not the same player that was recruited

Coaches constantly feel the pressure to make sure their verbals stay home - why do they travel to the Gold Tournament? To recruit (maybe someone else's but I won't go there) ? Main reason is to protect what they want to sign in November of Senior year.
It can go the other way also.

My theme of this is all in all many players will take the route of earning some type of financial aid to play this great game of softball. The easy part is not after you commit - you now must work harder than ever to prove yourself worthy!

 

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I agree that early scholarship offers can create all sorts of problems for the college and the recruit, but it might be helpful here to point out that an early verbal is just ONE kind of gentlemen’s agreement that a college coach and a recruit can reach. An early verbal may be right for some, but it is important to keep in mind that there are alternatives to an early verbal, whether it be some other kind of gentlemen’s agreement or no agreement at all.

A D-II coach asked my dd to verbal prior to her jr. yr. The coach explained that it was a fairly new practice on his part. It seems that the pressure to have early verbals has not only extended to second tier D-I colleges. It has spread to D-II as well. My dd was not prepared to verbal that early, but she was able to reach a gentlemen’s agreement of another kind with the coach. She agreed to limit her future college search to D-I colleges, explaining that she was genuinely interested in the coach’s offer (she liked the college, team, etc.), but she was not prepared to verbal so early and never know what D-I offers she might otherwise receive. The coach found my dd’s concession and expressed interest in his offer sufficient to leave his offer on the table for over a year. My dd later received some D-I interest, but not from a college or coach that she liked as much as the D-II college and coach, and she eventually verballed to the D-II (less than 2 mos. before the early signing date). Just as importantly, she got to know the D-II college, coach and team much better during this period.

So from my standpoint, the increased prevalence of early verbals can be a GOOD thing. Five years ago, it is doubtful my dd would have had over a year to decide whether a D-II college was the right fit for her. Five years ago a D-II coach most likely would have never made such an early scholarship offer. For this reason, I’d hate to see the NCAA step in and try to regulate early scholarship offers and/or the existence of gentlemen’s agreements. Just too many variables exists.

 

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What Noassnrd left out is DD is very happy @ her college and is successful with Academics and Softball and it so far has been perfect fit for DD, Coach and Team..And Yes, Mom and Dad are relieved, LOL

 

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I hear about all the verbals all the time from kids I work with and kids and parents at clinics...bottom line it is usually for the parents ego to brag about where their daughter wishes to go verses where she will go...provided she doesn't get engaged to be married, has the grades, does not want to be more than an hour away from home without becoming home sick and the same coach is still coaching that she likes when she decides to sign and that her girl friends or boy friend will be attending the same school and did not change their mind and finally the realization sets in that playing softball is like having a job...25 hours a week probably minimum.

When I get the invite to attend the signing I know they have pretty much made up their mind where they will be attending for sure....how long they actually stay there depends on their effort and support network of friends, family and coaches to help them adjust to college life also and being on their own totally for the first time in their life and learning how to wash clothes and make schedules, mail order medications, manage money, get a flat tire fixed and learn study habits...dad my computer just crashed can I buy a new one or where should I take it to get it fixed...are you guys coming up this weekend?

Yes this applies to boys also! He had an 80% ride and was back home 4 days after they dropped him off...home sick! Another one had no idea his mother was not going to be there to wash his clothes and then he found out he would not be a starter his freshman year and was a starter all through high school and travel ball....quit the team however is still in school...so far.

 

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I've decided that it isn't my problem. Who are we trying to watch out for, anyway?

Let players and schools look out for themselves.

The fact is that most scholarships (at least in the softball world) are renewed on an annual basis, so a school can clean up their problem if they make a mistake.

Taking kids off the "entitlement" train is not a bad thing either. Work for what you are receiving, or lose it.