WAG Div I NCAA Walk-On Offer Info

[bogwoppit]

I consider it like getting engaged. The promise is there, but you are not yet married. Either party can change their mind.

Well like an arranged marriage more like. These are kids we are talking about.

 

[Natasha]

Well like an arranged marriage more like. These are kids we are talking about.

No kidding! Especially since coaches can't actually initiate contact with the gymnasts at the point they are doing the verbal commits.

 

[Stormy]

It is for the 2016-2017 school year, but is it all college or just the big conferences?

The last couple of posts point out the need for parents to get out there and educate yourselves on this whole process; both NCAA athletics in general and college gymnastics specifically.

Here is a link on the USAG website to get you started: https://usagym.org/pages/home/college/index.html

Another good website is: http://www.collegegymfans.com/index.php

College gymnastics is not completely like other college sports; you will find a timeline on that page for prospective college gymnasts. I will say that this timeline has some things (beginning to interact with colleges) probably about a year late given today's highly-competitive environment.

I will continue to stress that athletic ability is only one part of the college admissions process; an athlete still has to be academically qualified to get admitted to a college.

Good Luck.

Thank you for your input and the links!

 

[Gymmonkeymomma]

No kidding! Especially since coaches can't actually initiate contact with the gymnasts at the point they are doing the verbal commits.

Young teens learning life skill of self promotion early on. It's probably not easy for most.

 

[Granny Smith]

Walk ons at my dd's school are treated just the same as scholarship kids, but they do not receive money. They get the same tutoring assistance, they get the priority when it comes to registering for classes and other academic support as well. They get all of the same gear too. Being a walk on does have it advantages at the school.

 

[shelovestoflip]

Simply put, a walk on gets to be part of the team but does not get her tuition, and other college expenses paid for. They can be recruited and they can also ask to be on the team. There is also no commitment. They do however get some perks that the scholarship athletes get. Sometimes a coach will make a walk on offer because they have given out all their scholarships.

The NCAA regulates how many scholarships are allowed per sport(I believe gymnastics is 12). The rest of the athletes on a team would be considered walk ons. Most college gymnastics teams carry a roster of athletes in the 15 to 20 range.

Walk ons at my dd's school are treated just the same as scholarship kids, but they do not receive money. They get the same tutoring assistance, they get the priority when it comes to registering for classes and other academic support as well. They get all of the same gear too. Being a walk on does have it advantages at the school.

Thanks for the replies/great information! So, to clarify, a walk on is still recruited, but gets no athletic scholarship money. However if your daughter qualifies for other scholarships from the school, they still might do well, money wise??

So if a coach sees a girl who is great on, say, bars or vault (which we know are the events they 'want' as everyone is great on floor then they might have the girl walk on and she wouldn't get athletic scholarship money, but could still qualify for merit money??

 

[Anna's_Mom]

Thanks for the replies/great information! So, to clarify, a walk on is still recruited, but gets no athletic scholarship money. However if your daughter qualifies for other scholarships from the school, they still might do well, money wise??

So if a coach sees a girl who is great on, say, bars or vault (which we know are the events they 'want' as everyone is great on floor then they might have the girl walk on and she wouldn't get athletic scholarship money, but could still qualify for merit money??

Yes. But in addition to any merit scholarships the college might offer, there are also lots of other sources for financial help that are not related to athletic performance. There are private scholarships offered by donors through the college -- often with restrictions that the donor placed related to major, academic performance, financial need, specific career plans etc. And there are private scholarships offered through organizations and corporations that are completely outside of any specific college. Some of these are restricted to employees children or something, but many are open competition and are related to specific fields of study (say electrical engineering from an major electronics firm) or future career plans. A little bit of effort searching these out and applying can add thousands of dollars in aid. And a gymnast can use her experience to demonstrate dedication, determination, time management skills, overcoming obstacles, teamwork etc.

Also remember that colleges can have very different definitions of "financial need", and private scholarships are even more diverse. Never, ever assume that you won't qualify for some sort of financial aid through need. Apply anyway -- the worst that can happen is you spend a few hours filling out forms (which are a PITA, admittedly) and being told no.

 

[wandrewsjr]

Thanks for the replies/great information! So, to clarify, a walk on is still recruited, but gets no athletic scholarship money. However if your daughter qualifies for other scholarships from the school, they still might do well, money wise??

So if a coach sees a girl who is great on, say, bars or vault (which we know are the events they 'want' as everyone is great on floor then they might have the girl walk on and she wouldn't get athletic scholarship money, but could still qualify for merit money??

Yes, a walk-on athlete is free to pursue all merit and need based scholarship, grant and loan money available to all students.

 

[Granny Smith]

Many schools also have merit based incoming freshman scholarships, basically you qualify for them based on GPA and SAT/ACT scores. You don't apply for the scholarships, they are just awarded by the schools when you apply. If you qualify for a merit scholarship, you will receive that over an athletic scholarship.

 

[tomtnt]

so a verbal offer, especially when given before the gymnast's senior year, has no real value since the school has no obligation to accept the gymnast?

when a verbal offer is made in the gymnast's sophomore or junior year, is the student already accepted into the college or is the verbal offer contingent on the student being accept into the college during her senior year?

Once accepted into the college, if the school decides to not offer the student a spot on the team, would that student also loses her college acceptance?

 

[Granny Smith]

Verbal means nothing until the NLI is signed in their senior year. Once that is signed, it is a contract and now both parties are binded by that contract. I don't think that it looks good for a school to go back on an offer but I think you will see schools doing that and also girls changing their committed schools because it is happening way to early and when you are in 8th or 9th grade how could you possibly know what you want in a school and your future. From the schools perspective, offering a kid a spot who hasn't even gone through puberty and what not. Bodies change a lot in that 4/5 yr period. What if a school gives a verbal to a freshman, freshman accepts and then barely competes the rest of her HS years for injury or whatever, hasn't improved like was expected, I cannot see a school honoring that verbal agreement.

For my dd, she was not offered her scholarship until her senior year. She had to have a pre-read done and once admissions told the coach that she could get into the school on her own merit, it was then that he offered her the scholarship. I do know that times are changing though as some juniors have already verballed to her school now so times are a changing!

 

[tomtnt]

Verbal means nothing until the NLI is signed in their senior year. Once that is signed, it is a contract and now both parties are binded by that contract. I don't think that it looks good for a school to go back on an offer but I think you will see schools doing that and also girls changing their committed schools because it is happening way to early and when you are in 8th or 9th grade how could you possibly know what you want in a school and your future. From the schools perspective, offering a kid a spot who hasn't even gone through puberty and what not. Bodies change a lot in that 4/5 yr period. What if a school gives a verbal to a freshman, freshman accepts and then barely competes the rest of her HS years for injury or whatever, hasn't improved like was expected, I cannot see a school honoring that verbal agreement.

For my dd, she was not offered her scholarship until her senior year. She had to have a pre-read done and once admissions told the coach that she could get into the school on her own merit, it was then that he offered her the scholarship. I do know that times are changing though as some juniors have already verballed to her school now so times are a changing!

I'm curious what is the benefit to the school to offer a verbal "agreement" when the gymnast can just change their mind?

Also for the gymnast - what is the benefit of accepting a verbal agreement if the school can go back on the offer?

The system is out of control, it seems.... From UCLA recruitment page:

We prefer athletes in their freshmen or sophomore years of high school or no later than in their junior season of high school to apply via the biography form. Unless you are a late rising junior it is probably too late to apply for an athletic scholarship in your senior year in virtually all of our 25 sports.

 

[SHELOVESGYM]

Yes it has been" less painful " the second time around because there were schools I ruled out from the get go based on what I now know about their coaching staff and the culture on campus etc.... one school lobbied our coaches heavily but with what I know and talking to gymnasts in their program, I didn't even entertain it at all and made no apologies about it... we were "promised" it would be different but once bitten, twice shy so I stood my ground on it. Fingers crossed for round two!

Bookworm -can I ask what the problem with the college was -I hope you don't mind that I am asking? What is this bad culture that you mentioned? Something having to do with the coaches?

 

[bookworm]

It is the culture created by the coaches, and it trickles down from there....unless you live it, you can't even imagine that it happens...suffice to say, it is not a positive culture and 4 years of that is quite draining....and that would be why in round 2 , if I got even a inkling of that taking place with a particular team/school, I ruled them out.

 

[tomtnt]

Wow.. I'm amazed at the number of freshman and sophomores who have verbal commitments:

http://www.gym-style.com/

Once the girls are verbally committed, do other colleges still try to recruit them?

 

[refugee]

Wow.. I'm amazed at the number of freshman and sophomores who have verbal commitments:

http://www.gym-style.com/

Once the girls are verbally committed, do other colleges still try to recruit them?

That list reflects only athletes who have a website built by Gym-Style. There are a number of girls missing from that list.

 

[Stormy]

Wow.. I'm amazed at the number of freshman and sophomores who have verbal commitments:

http://www.gym-style.com/

Once the girls are verbally committed, do other colleges still try to recruit them?

That's a great question!

 

[twinmomma]

Holy crap that website promotes 12 year olds. Honestly the more I learn about college gymnastics (and honestly college athletics at the D1 level in general - I work with a guy who's kid is pursuing lacrosse), the less I want that for my kid.

 

[thefellowsmom]

The gym-style websites are purchased by the athlete/family. They are just a website company. They are not promoting anyone, the athlete is looking for exposure. Some people are just getting a jump on things I guess. This got me thinking of some of the things I see at our club.

Speaking to some of the parents in our club during the recruitment process, they have expressed how important it is to get going early getting your dd's name out there and her gymnastics in front of the right people. This isn't to try to get a very early verbal commitment either, this advice is coming from schools who are looking several years out. What they are finding is that even if verbals aren't handed out they already have the group of kids they have identified to keep an eye on for a given year figured out several years in advance. Not that it is impossible to get noticed after that, but it is more of a fight. This is especially true if you are targeting a specific school. You need to be going to their camp and getting your child's videos in front of them sooner than you might think.

I know that our gym also tailors our optional competition schedule to cater to what the kids need that year as far as exposure goes. Some years they choose less exposure for various reasons, some years big exposure for other reasons. This year we have several kids in prime recruiting situations so I assume we will be attending meets known to have lots of college coaches there. It makes a big difference if your coach is actively pursuing those avenues for their athletes. This summer we had several college coaches into our gym to observe practice. I made sure my dd knew that although they were there for the few at that age, they would for sure be looking at the younger girls too to see if this is a program to keep an eye on or if there is someone they want to watch as they develop.

Reading this thread certainly makes you think hard about all of it. I know a college scholarship is definitely one of my daughters goals and her coach puts a lot of emphasis on gaining access to an educational experience you may never get otherwise. The girls all know about the recruiting process and he educates them on what they need to do to get there. Until now, it never crossed my mind that that wouldn't be an amazing experience for her. I will now be much more thoughtful about the process should we make it that far, for sure.

I have one question. Can someone explain what a "head count" sport is? I saw that there are only like five sports (women's gymnastics being one of them) considered head count sports and every other sport gets a pool of money they can distribute to their athletes as they wish, but I didn't see what being a head count sport means as far as how they distribute the money or other requirements or benefits.

 

[gymdog]

I have one question. Can someone explain what a "head count" sport is? I saw that there are only like five sports (women's gymnastics being one of them) considered head count sports and every other sport gets a pool of money they can distribute to their athletes as they wish, but I didn't see what being a head count sport means as far as how they distribute the money or other requirements or benefits.

A head count sport means they have a certain number of scholarships, rather than a pool of money. So it can't be divided into partial scholarships in order to have more athletes.