Pacerdad57
Member
There has been a lot being said lately about the recruiting process and the movement towards verbaling ever younger players. What's the big deal a lot of people ask? If the coaches don't do it, they will lose out on stud recruits.
I think it may be time that the NCAA steps up to the plate and passes legislation that make sense and is easily enforceable. What these rules need to be is the question. Recruiting someone in the 8th grade seems absolutely ridiculous, even the rules now shouldn't allow this as they are written, but there are so many loopholes as to make it unenforceable. An 8th grade student may be a stud at the game, but has absolutely no idea of what college ball encompasses, the work, the time and most of all the interruption of studies which are after all the real reason to attend college.
Who even knows if this kid has peaked, will come to hate the game from constant practicing, at the exclusion of being a kid and broadening their social experiences. What if there is a serious injury? It's only a verbal commitment, right? The schools or the child can de-commit at any time. What if you've spent your entire high school career concentrating on your sport and it?s taken away from you by injury your senior season? Have they prepared themselves for the future without the opportunities their chosen sport provides?
I think that this is where parents need to step up and focus their kids on what the most important aspect of this is, and that is getting the education. What good is an athletic scholarship if you don't put in the effort to get a degree in a field that can support you comfortably and you can be passionate about after you are out of college? Parents need to help their children realize that while sports are important to develop socially and help to mature, they are not the end game in life. Don't get me wrong, I love softball and watching our daughter play the game, but playing certainly won't be the focus of her life after college.
Maybe a few things that could be done are to have the NCAA stick to a strict no contact of any kind with kids prior to sophomore year in High School, no official visits until the fall of the junior year? This would certainly make the junior year a more rushed affair I'm sure, trying to fit visits into all the schools you are interested in and that are interested in you, but something has to be done. Maybe as a parent you could start the process with your child of picking out schools that have programs that your child wants and limiting the laundry list of schools from the outset. I'm sure there are schools that don't offer what your child wants as a major, and these should be crossed off of the list at the beginning. And your child really does need to have an idea of what they want to major in prior to committing. I would think not much could be worse than being at a school just because they offered you and having no interest in any majors they offer, thereby leading to a lack of passion about classes, leading to failing grades leading to loss of scholarship?.
So I think academics really are the most important part of this equation. This is the reason your child has worked so hard towards obtaining that scholarship, so that they can prepare themselves for life. If someone thinks they are going to college just to play pro ball they need to look at the number of openings and the pay for pro fastpitch. I'm sure Cat Osterman made some great money, but that is what is known as the exception to the rule.
Do your child a favor, prepare them for college and life after college. Talk to them about what interests them career wise, discuss where they want to go to school, what the important things are in life and set them up to succeed.
I think it may be time that the NCAA steps up to the plate and passes legislation that make sense and is easily enforceable. What these rules need to be is the question. Recruiting someone in the 8th grade seems absolutely ridiculous, even the rules now shouldn't allow this as they are written, but there are so many loopholes as to make it unenforceable. An 8th grade student may be a stud at the game, but has absolutely no idea of what college ball encompasses, the work, the time and most of all the interruption of studies which are after all the real reason to attend college.
Who even knows if this kid has peaked, will come to hate the game from constant practicing, at the exclusion of being a kid and broadening their social experiences. What if there is a serious injury? It's only a verbal commitment, right? The schools or the child can de-commit at any time. What if you've spent your entire high school career concentrating on your sport and it?s taken away from you by injury your senior season? Have they prepared themselves for the future without the opportunities their chosen sport provides?
I think that this is where parents need to step up and focus their kids on what the most important aspect of this is, and that is getting the education. What good is an athletic scholarship if you don't put in the effort to get a degree in a field that can support you comfortably and you can be passionate about after you are out of college? Parents need to help their children realize that while sports are important to develop socially and help to mature, they are not the end game in life. Don't get me wrong, I love softball and watching our daughter play the game, but playing certainly won't be the focus of her life after college.
Maybe a few things that could be done are to have the NCAA stick to a strict no contact of any kind with kids prior to sophomore year in High School, no official visits until the fall of the junior year? This would certainly make the junior year a more rushed affair I'm sure, trying to fit visits into all the schools you are interested in and that are interested in you, but something has to be done. Maybe as a parent you could start the process with your child of picking out schools that have programs that your child wants and limiting the laundry list of schools from the outset. I'm sure there are schools that don't offer what your child wants as a major, and these should be crossed off of the list at the beginning. And your child really does need to have an idea of what they want to major in prior to committing. I would think not much could be worse than being at a school just because they offered you and having no interest in any majors they offer, thereby leading to a lack of passion about classes, leading to failing grades leading to loss of scholarship?.
So I think academics really are the most important part of this equation. This is the reason your child has worked so hard towards obtaining that scholarship, so that they can prepare themselves for life. If someone thinks they are going to college just to play pro ball they need to look at the number of openings and the pay for pro fastpitch. I'm sure Cat Osterman made some great money, but that is what is known as the exception to the rule.
Do your child a favor, prepare them for college and life after college. Talk to them about what interests them career wise, discuss where they want to go to school, what the important things are in life and set them up to succeed.
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