Parents College recruiting process...part of the problem?

[lovofu]

Another point of view. I made ALL first call's to coaches. Sophia made all the future calls, with me in the room in the beginning and then when she AND I were comfortable she moved to her room but that took awhile. She is very very mature and I had coaches tell me that she had excellent communication skills and they enjoyed these conversations. I also occasionally called the coaches (couple of times a year). Sophia kept a binder with a page for each team and made notes so that she could piggy back off of the previous conversation. We never emailed any coaches.

 

[Madden3]

Just a reminder that e-mail I referenced in my OP came from a recruiting firm. They would very possibly be motivated to scare parents into thinking they need to jump on recruitment process very early. But since the e-mail included that quote about from a college coach and also echoed what was said in the USAG article published a few years ago regarding parent involvement in the college recruiting process, I thought it indicated something systemic. Maybe not. I am glad to hear from the parents here who choose/chose to be very involved in the process.

I respectfully disagree with post above about 12 year old gymnasts being more mature than other 12 year olds. It depends on what you mean by mature. I am a parent to two competitive gymnasts (boys) ages 11 and 14, and ability to commit to a difficult athletic schedule is not the same as maturity. If anything I think very focused and committed teen athletes are more likely to be very sheltered and thus lack the street smarts other kids their age who are less sheltered may be starting to develop. Also a starry eyed athlete is going to be eager to please the adults they believe can make or break their futures.

Also I understand why the world of recruiting has moved online with the ease of communications and video sharing. But this online world can also be a vipers nest that teens desperately need help navigating that they too often do not get. That concern is a much larger one than athletics but this is a place concerns about teen athletes and teens in general intersect for me.

 

[skschlag]

I wish I knew more about the process for boys since it seems different, or maybe just later...

 

[FlippinLilysMom]

I wish I knew more about the process for boys since it seems different, or maybe just later...

From everything I've heard male gymnasts hit their peak at a later age versus the female gymnasts, which is why they tend to recruit the female gymnasts so early.

 

[skschlag]

From everything I've heard male gymnasts hit their peak at a later age versus the female gymnasts, which is why they tend to recruit the female gymnasts so early.

Yes...always trying to figure out what we should be doing though.

 

[FlippinLilysMom]

Yes...always trying to figure out what we should be doing though.

My husband has a good analogy for this whole early recruiting process: "it's like a girl waiting to be asked to prom, she has this certain person that she wants to ask her but then comes someone else who asks her first. Does she accept that one just so she knows she will then have a date to prom or does she wait for her first choice and take the chance of that person not asking her and then not going at all???"

 

[FlippinLilysMom]

Actually probably not a great analogy but I think it works!

 

[John]

Oh, I think it works. And I think that ideal bleeds into every aspect of life. I tend to teach my children not to settle. Settling is not fair to either party. With that said I truly understand any athlete jumping at the first opportunity to fulfill the dream of competing at the next level, but I wonder how that choice will play out.

 

[gymbeam]

And this is why recruitment begins earlier and earlier because schools know it’s hard to pass up that first offer. Coaches probably hope if they offer first, they can snag the good ‘uns.

 

[Annikins]

Wow, I'm from England, and that would never be allowed here. There are strict rules about how the coach can't give a gymnast a lift by themselves, or email them directly, or message them directly, or basically have any personal direct contact until the gymnast is an 'adult' (I think 16). Parents are definitely discouraged from 'interfering' in training sessions, and are basically expected to pay the bills, be taxi driver and not a lot else, but the coach does not contact them privately, or expect them to do so.

I do wish communication generally was easier between the coach and parents though because my dd is always asking me gymnastics questions that I have no idea about, but when I tell her to ask her coach, she is not yet confident enough, so the question goes unanswered...

 

[Seeker]

Wow, I'm from England, and that would never be allowed here. There are strict rules about how the coach can't give a gymnast a lift by themselves, or email them directly, or message them directly, or basically have any personal direct contact until the gymnast is an 'adult' (I think 16). Parents are definitely discouraged from 'interfering' in training sessions, and are basically expected to pay the bills, be taxi driver and not a lot else, but the coach does not contact them privately, or expect them to do so.

I do wish communication generally was easier between the coach and parents though because my dd is always asking me gymnastics questions that I have no idea about, but when I tell her to ask her coach, she is not yet confident enough, so the question goes unanswered...

This discussion isn’t about a gymnast communicating with a club coach — these are collegiate/university coaches and they are not under the guise or guidelines of USAG or SafeSport as far as I know. College athletics is somewhat unique to the United States, so hard to make an apples to apples comparison. I dislike the idea of middle school aged kids being expected to communicate independently with colleges though. It’s an unrealistic expectation of a pre-teen/young teen.

 

[Natasha]

5-6ish years one of my children was 12-13 when the recruiting process began for her. I, not my child, made the initial phone calls. It is entirely up to the parent how quickly they want the recruiting process to go, and at what pace, and in what fashion. Just because "they" are suggesting children this young be in contact with adult coaches doesn't mean parents must allow it. It is up to each family to decide what is right for their own situation. If your child is being actively sought after at such a young age, they are certainly talented enough that schools will wait around until that family is ready.

THIS. The very young top talents can wait to commit- it is the schools that are competing for them. There is a top 6 school this year that just offerred TWO scholarships within the past year to 2018 commits....that is a trend that would be nice to see continue.

 

[Madden3]

From everything I've heard male gymnasts hit their peak at a later age versus the female gymnasts, which is why they tend to recruit the female gymnasts so early.

Peak age matters for very elite international competition, but how would that matter for college, where everyone who is competing against each other are in the same age group? I would imagine a college coach would want a female gymnast who is good when she enters college, no matter when she peaked, and same with a male. Also boys are being recruited in other sports as young as girl gymnasts are.

As far as male gymnasts go, I think the best thing to do is talk to your son's club coach. (Or you could simply call/email all the US college MAG programs, as that would only take a few minutes.)

 

[2gymmies]

Are you sure those top schools offered scholarships or did they offer a walk on spot?

 

[Annikins]

This discussion isn’t about a gymnast communicating with a club coach — these are collegiate/university coaches and they are not under the guise or guidelines of USAG or SafeSport as far as I know. College athletics is somewhat unique to the United States, so hard to make an apples to apples comparison. I dislike the idea of middle school aged kids being expected to communicate independently with colleges though. It’s an unrealistic expectation of a pre-teen/young teen.

I do understand that, but surely these coaches are regulated by someone - a governing body of some kind? And surely that governing body would not recommend shutting a parent of a 12/13 year old out of discussions about their future? I find that amazing...

 

[Natasha]

Are you sure those top schools offered scholarships or did they offer a walk on spot?

.

Scholarships for both. Directly told this by the parent/gymnast.

 

[2gymmies]

.

Scholarships for both. Directly told this by the parent/gymnast.

That’s pretty unique... I would guess that would be the exception not the rule. And I’m not banking on that happening every year. Usually last minute super six schools are either academic scholarships or walk ons. Congrats to your friends!

 

[flippin out]

That’s pretty unique... I would guess that would be the exception not the rule. And I’m not banking on that happening every year. Usually last minute super six schools are either academic scholarships or walk ons. Congrats to your friends!

I'd be curious to know if these universities 1) always recruit late, 2) that money was intended for someone that they verballed years ago and decided to cut loose (something I see more and more), 3) it is a partial, which is also great, or 4) had money suddenly appropriated to their department.
Also something to consider.......I know of at least one mom who has told everyone that her kid has a scholarship, when in fact it was a walk-on, and one other mother who has told everyone that her kid has a spot on a team when in fact it is college club for that university (misleading at best)

 

[duyetanh]

I'd be curious to know if these universities 1) always recruit late, 2) that money was intended for someone that they verballed years ago and decided to cut loose (something I see more and more), 3) it is a partial, which is also great, or 4) had money suddenly appropriated to their department.
Also something to consider.......I know of at least one mom who has told everyone that her kid has a scholarship, when in fact it was a walk-on, and one other mother who has told everyone that her kid has a spot on a team when in fact it is college club for that university (misleading at best)

Also sometimes girls lose their scholarships for reasons that I am not going into....and then they have to fill the slot.

 

[BachFlyer]

I'd be curious to know if these universities 1) always recruit late, 2) that money was intended for someone that they verballed years ago and decided to cut loose (something I see more and more), 3) it is a partial, which is also great, or 4) had money suddenly appropriated to their department.
Also something to consider.......I know of at least one mom who has told everyone that her kid has a scholarship, when in fact it was a walk-on, and one other mother who has told everyone that her kid has a spot on a team when in fact it is college club for that university (misleading at best)

Not sure what school it is but as a general rule #1 is not likely if it is a top ranked school, although I have heard of cases of schools keeping 1 of their scholarships reserved for a given year even though they early-recruit others - and while there are some schools that seem to recruit a bit later, there is no top 40 school that i'm aware of that saves ALL of their scholarships for Jrs or Srs. The are some that tend to verbal more sophomores and juniors, but most are sophomores and younger - which in our experience means that's just when the verbal offer happens, NOT when the communication was initiated.

#3, unless it's a D2 school, then partials are not possible. They can fund a year at a time, so only 2 of 4 years for example, but it has to be a full scholarship for that year.
#4 - Gymnastics is a head-count sport and there is a limit to the number of scholarships a team can offer (12 per year) based on NCAA rules, so more funding doesn't open up another scholarship.