Anon As June 15 approaches

[Anonymous (b4c4)]

As June 15 approaches for the 2027 class I can’t help but noticed there are still a fair amount of 2026s and even 2025s that are not committed that appear to be good gymnasts who have college aspirations. So this made me wonder the best approach for the 2027 gymnasts seeking D1 scholarships. Is it smart to act somewhat quickly if D1 schools clearly states you are at the top of their list and maybe even offer scholarships verbally? Does it hurt your chances if you “hold out” to see if other offers come about? I am not necessarily talking about your 4-5 star recruits but for everyone else. Say a gymnast likes a school, gets an offer but is also like B list for a school that they want to go to more. Do they hold out? I just wondered if some of the 2026s or 2025s that I see still out there maybe held out for schools they were not likely to get or held out for too long and now have less options.

 

[Anonymous (9e28)]

My kid is still too young but I have friends who are coaches and in athletic departments. This is not the year I would be hoping on converting my B list status to A list. It’s definitely a bird in hand situation.

I think you take the best verbal offer you get and have to hope that it holds until you can sign senior year. It’s going to be yet another hard recruiting year, this time not because of Covid years but because of transfers, redshirt 5th years, coaching changes, fears about roster limits, etc. Worst/best case scenario is that you get an offer this summer, have a crazy good junior season, and get picked up by a “better” team after junior season or even during senior season. But no way would I not take a reasonably good offer that is a decent for hoping for something even better to come later. Remember too that there is a huge crop of new senior elites and international elites, all of whom will get noticed by coaches this summer and this fall at worlds and have the potential to bump everyone down a bit on coaches’ lists.

 

[Anonymous (300b)]

I don't think you should just jump on an offer to just feel good about getting something. It should pass al the tests.. meaning does your daughter like the school? How about the coaches? Will she be able to compete for that team? So many things to consider. I am noticing schools waiting longer to recruit too. Sure they may pick up one or two right off the bat, but they seem to be wating a bit longer.

 

[Anonymous (b4c4)]

My kid is still too young but I have friends who are coaches and in athletic departments. This is not the year I would be hoping on converting my B list status to A list. It’s definitely a bird in hand situation.

I think you take the best verbal offer you get and have to hope that it holds until you can sign senior year. It’s going to be yet another hard recruiting year, this time not because of Covid years but because of transfers, redshirt 5th years, coaching changes, fears about roster limits, etc. Worst/best case scenario is that you get an offer this summer, have a crazy good junior season, and get picked up by a “better” team after junior season or even during senior season. But no way would I not take a reasonably good offer that is a decent for hoping for something even better to come later. Remember too that there is a huge crop of new senior elites and international elites, all of whom will get noticed by coaches this summer and this fall at worlds and have the potential to bump everyone down a bit on coaches’ lists.

This is my train of thought as well. I have noticed that the portal is very active and gymnasts that have a year or two of successful college experience under their belts are moving on to higher ranked gyms. Last year I watched girls pass up opportunities to mid or lower D1 schools thinking an SEC school or a higher ranked school would come along with a need they could fil but it hasn't happened and now feels like a long shot to me. I am not suggesting someone take an offer to a school they hate with coaches they don’t like but missed opportunities seem unfortunate with as competitive as recruiting is.

 

[Anonymous (9883)]

Experience from my bubble says that is not how it plays out. June 15th is only one date in a recruitment that has been going on since the year prior. In my bubble (gym), and I am sure others might have slightly different experiences, the club coach has talked to the 2027s and identified the girls target schools. In some cases the coach is honest with them and resets their expectations if it is not realistic. The club coach then has been in contact with the colleges about the girls that are interested in their program. Typically at around that time the colleges either say "ya, this could be a match, lets keep courting" or "ya, we are interested but not on the top of our list, so be patient". The top girls already have all their calls scheduled prior to June15th and even some of the "next level" of girls.

The picture I am trying to paint is that you probably are going to be well-informed about where you stand with school A versus school B. The choice is then up to you. The 2026s that you are seeing now are just part of the process, girls that for whatever reason fell lower on colleges lists and the dust has settled enough that programs know where they stand on numbers and who they can add. I don't think I have ever seen a girl that has intentionally held off committing on the hopes of having a stellar season and then getting better offers. What is the more likely case is the girl was told by a school that they are waiting on funding/5th year decision/ncaa, etc and wont know till later and the girl decided to take her chances. If you are fortunate enough to get an offer on June 15th, its perfectly reasonable to wait to commit till you take official visits.

 

[Anonymous (fbf3)]

My kid did 5 visits Sept/Oct. The pet peeve we were left with was that she gave 2 of her best visit weekends to schools that never offered, leaving us desperately wishing we had gone to 5 schools that actually wanted her. Instead she ended up with 3 offers which is all relative, can't complain about 3 offers, but she could have had more choices if not for the 2 useless visits. She chose at the end of her 5 visits, but then we realized that there were still a lot of open spots at better schools than the one she chose from her 3. Girls that were maybe sort of next tier started getting more attention and offers in November than my kid got in the initial phase, so we kind of wished we had been more patient. Even her #1 school ended up striking out on a lot of the girls they were pursuing, so they might have eventually offered but by then she was feeling pretty sour about them because they had lied about a couple of things. So you can be too patient or not patient enough, it's very difficult. Most schools will give girls the time to complete their visits and come to a decision, but there are a couple of schools we know of that get girls in the office and say we'll offer but you have to accept right now or we're giving it to somebody else. Yuck.

The best thing you can do is really have a firm handle on what the kid wants and doesn't want--conference, competitive level, academics, distance, weather, size of school, etc. The more preparation you do, the less you have to figure out in the middle of it all.

 

[Anonymous (300b)]

My kid did 5 visits Sept/Oct. The pet peeve we were left with was that she gave 2 of her best visit weekends to schools that never offered, leaving us desperately wishing we had gone to 5 schools that actually wanted her. Instead she ended up with 3 offers which is all relative, can't complain about 3 offers, but she could have had more choices if not for the 2 useless visits. She chose at the end of her 5 visits, but then we realized that there were still a lot of open spots at better schools than the one she chose from her 3. Girls that were maybe sort of next tier started getting more attention and offers in November than my kid got in the initial phase, so we kind of wished we had been more patient. Even her #1 school ended up striking out on a lot of the girls they were pursuing, so they might have eventually offered but by then she was feeling pretty sour about them because they had lied about a couple of things. So you can be too patient or not patient enough, it's very difficult. Most schools will give girls the time to complete their visits and come to a decision, but there are a couple of schools we know of that get girls in the office and say we'll offer but you have to accept right now or we're giving it to somebody else. Yuck.

The best thing you can do is really have a firm handle on what the kid wants and doesn't want--conference, competitive level, academics, distance, weather, size of school, etc. The more preparation you do, the less you have to figure out in the middle of it all.

This right here. I will never understand the point of a school having a girl do a visit, but never give them an offer! My kiddo is a little behind the curve with recruiting due to injury and a such, but we are out there playing the game. It can be very frustrating to say the least. Schools that set up calls and never call.. or say they have spots and back track... What i say to that is that these are blessings in disguise as we don't want our kid at a program that treats them that way...

 

[gymcoach34]

My kid is still too young but I have friends who are coaches and in athletic departments. This is not the year I would be hoping on converting my B list status to A list. It’s definitely a bird in hand situation.

I think you take the best verbal offer you get and have to hope that it holds until you can sign senior year. It’s going to be yet another hard recruiting year, this time not because of Covid years but because of transfers, redshirt 5th years, coaching changes, fears about roster limits, etc. Worst/best case scenario is that you get an offer this summer, have a crazy good junior season, and get picked up by a “better” team after junior season or even during senior season. But no way would I not take a reasonably good offer that is a decent for hoping for something even better to come later. Remember too that there is a huge crop of new senior elites and international elites, all of whom will get noticed by coaches this summer and this fall at worlds and have the potential to bump everyone down a bit on coaches’ lists.

I would definitely talk with your coaches about this. They will be able to give you realistic feedback. If the "better" team coaches are interested, they would have let you know, especially after DP Nationals. Things are changing so quickly, but I know gyms don't want to have the reputation of having athletes switching verbal offers. That can affect being on the college coaches radar. I feel like its more than being on the "best" team, but finding the best situation for each athlete. Being a scholarship athlete is not all roses and glittery leotards and from my experience (as a coach) taking an verbal with the plan of leveling up is frowned upon. (But I haven't been in the NCAA game since the transfer portal, etc. That is changing everything.)

 

[Anonymous (9e28)]

Unfortunately every single athlete I know who’s a verbally committed 2026 and going to a program that’s ranked below top 25ish is quietly but actively working coach conversations and Instagram with the understanding that there could be the option to join a better program and that they shouldn’t leave anything on the table in case that option pops up.

I know we talk another fit and commitment and a bunch of other stuff, but with how fluid things are now in the portal and with rosters plus NIL, it’s pretty mercenary.

 

[Anonymous (b4c4)]

My kid did 5 visits Sept/Oct. The pet peeve we were left with was that she gave 2 of her best visit weekends to schools that never offered, leaving us desperately wishing we had gone to 5 schools that actually wanted her. Instead she ended up with 3 offers which is all relative, can't complain about 3 offers, but she could have had more choices if not for the 2 useless visits. She chose at the end of her 5 visits, but then we realized that there were still a lot of open spots at better schools than the one she chose from her 3. Girls that were maybe sort of next tier started getting more attention and offers in November than my kid got in the initial phase, so we kind of wished we had been more patient. Even her #1 school ended up striking out on a lot of the girls they were pursuing, so they might have eventually offered but by then she was feeling pretty sour about them because they had lied about a couple of things. So you can be too patient or not patient enough, it's very difficult. Most schools will give girls the time to complete their visits and come to a decision, but there are a couple of schools we know of that get girls in the office and say we'll offer but you have to accept right now or we're giving it to somebody else. Yuck.

The best thing you can do is really have a firm handle on what the kid wants and doesn't want--conference, competitive level, academics, distance, weather, size of school, etc. The more preparation you do, the less you have to figure out in the middle of it all.

I guess all things equal not committing to schools/coaches that lie or mislead athletes might have been a blessing in disguise. This definitely sounds like a tricky process to navigate to say the least!

 

[Ty’s Dad]

My daughter is nervous for June 15th. About to be a crazy and scary experience.

 

[Coach Kate]

My daughter is nervous for June 15th. About to be a crazy and scary experience.

I'm so excited to see where she ends up!

 

[Ty’s Dad]

I'm so excited to see where she ends up!

I know it’s apart of life, but watching my children grow up gets sad. Just hope she picks the best place for her and not just where her friends are