WAG College recruitment

[kandkfunk]

They would be know as Stanford

My bet is that since Stanford is an Ivy, this has more to do with a lack of academic record for the younger athletes than anything else. It's hard to know if a 9th grader is going to have the academic chops to make it. But, maybe I'm totally wrong and it's more altruistic than that

I literally just read an article on an athlete (not gymnastics) who switched his verbal commitment. This is the second one I've read about in the last week. Most kids don't seem to really start thinking about college until about 11th grade. I think it's just too abstract for some of them to fully understand at the younger ages.

 

[my4buffaloes]

Freshman might know they want to go to college, but most don't know what they want to major in, can't realistic think about the area of the country that might appeal to them and or what to even look for in a college.

For example, after my son's freshman year he was traveling across country for a 2 week stay. I signed him up to do 2 college tours while he was there. I knew it was a little early, but since he was there and would not be again for several more years I did it anyway. His response to looking at colleges? "I am going to pick the college with the coolest rec center and that is where I will go". So yeah - they don't really have a clue at that age what they want to do for college.

 

[Granny Smith]

I think that there is like 60+ D1-D3 gymnastics schools out there, that is not many considering other sports. It is the top tier schools that recruit the really young and usually elite kids. If you (speaking generally from a gymnast perspective) are not a top tier gymnast, you need to look at that list and possibly focus on the lower half of those schools (if you are looking at earning a scholarship, if you want to just walk on then none of this really applies). Gymnasts, not parents, need to start contacting coaches from basically their freshman year of HS and it is like talking to a brick wall, but you keep talking.

A question that must be asked of the gymnast. What do they want? do they want to go to a big name school and be able to say that they go to such and such school, but might not compete OR do they want to go to a school that they will be able to contribute to the team immediately? Those are 2 important questions and the answer can help you decide which route you take through the process.

The reason you see freshman and sophomores committing is because of several reasons. A college coach can not contact a gymnast directly, but they can contact the club coach. They can come into a gym and look at anyone, but can not talk to them. A freshman or sophomore or anyone for that matter can go to a college summer camp and be seen by the college coach. A college coach can talk to them on "their island" (on their school property). A gymnast can call a college coach and if that coach picks up the phone, the college coach can talk to the gymnast for hours on end. This is how these kids are establishing these relationships with these coaches and doing what is allowed with the system.

There are several schools that do not recruit until later. As you can see on websites, that there are still Seniors committing, some with and some without scholarships. Quite a few schools are still recruiting Juniors too.

 

[LMV]

What would happen if a top school committed to not making any verbal offers until maybe Sept 1 of Junior year of HS?

If they pushed their timeframe back a little further then my husband would probably become one of their fans.

Our oldest daughter is a freshman in college and a D1 soccer player. She had a strong frosh season, contributed a lot to her team, picked up a few conference accolades, and had a generally positive experience. In her ideal world her team would have gotten further in the NCAA tournament but they were reasonably young this year and they and their coaching staff are optimistic about the future. More importantly she made dean's list for the fall and is enjoying her classes (and she thinks doing well) so far this winter. She didn't commit to a program after her junior year was completed. DH and I felt very strongly that she needed to select the school which was right for her and then see if she could make soccer work there. She had a fully funded college fund to fall back on if this meant that when she found that school all the scholarships were taken. Several parents assured us that we were making a mistake and that surely nothing would be left. Those parents were very wrong. All parent bias aside, our daughter is very talented in many ways, has an amazing work ethic, and is perhaps the kindest adolescent on the planet so her experience may not be completely typical. However, I do think that the idea that kids need to verbal so early when no one can actually sign their letter of intent until their senior year is a bit of myth and that reality can be much different if you approach things the right way.

 

[LMV]

My bet is that since Stanford is an Ivy, this has more to do with a lack of academic record for the younger athletes than anything else. It's hard to know if a 9th grader is going to have the academic chops to make it. But, maybe I'm totally wrong and it's more altruistic than that

I literally just read an article on an athlete (not gymnastics) who switched his verbal commitment. This is the second one I've read about in the last week. Most kids don't seem to really start thinking about college until about 11th grade. I think it's just too abstract for some of them to fully understand at the younger ages.

Stanford is a great school, but it isn't an Ivy.

 

[kandkfunk]

Stanford is a great school, but it isn't an Ivy.

Yup, my bad

 

[bookworm]

My oldest was recruited by Stanford and it's a total gamble to hold out and see if you get in, even with great grades so we went with a safer option and she committed to a school we knew she would get into in her Jr year...