Regarding official visits, you will get much more out of it if you take them in the fall rather than the summer. Your D will be able to spend some time with the team, stay overnight in the dorms, eat in the dining halls, and even attend some classes. Maybe attend a sporting event. And you’ll get a much better feel for the campus with the students there.
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Best to have your D ask the coach what their next steps are and the timeline. I would think many coaches want to have recruiting wrapped up before the fall semester, but it doesn’t always work out that way.
Many XC/Track coaches, even D1, have little to no money for official visits. Again, your D might ask the coach. Obviously XC is in season in the Fall, so visits may be difficult, especially since school gets in the way 
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OVs can happen all of junior year now, a change made a few years ago…so yes, the process is speeding up. I expect some XC/Track coaches offer OVs in the summer (football does for sure) but I’ve not personally seen that…@politeperson? It is best to see campuses when school is in session, but of course that’s not always possible for everyone, especially XC/Track athletes who basically are in season all school year.
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I do think the timeline has shifted at some programs and for some recruits, mostly or exclusively the very top tier of national caliber recruits. Some of those did OVs this spring.
I don’t have much first-hand insight into this but my impression is that things haven’t moved forward much for the vast majority of recruits. For most I think things still start to really heat up after state meets junior year and then run through fall and winter.
I’m just basing that on casual conversations at meets this spring, not on any real deep knowledge. But the child of a good friend of ours, very strong recruit graduating from HS this year, was still deciding in Feb of senior year between several top programs. So I don’t think the timeline has shifted forward for everyone or even most.
I’d work a question about process/timeline into discussions with coaches. It’ll probably vary a lot by program and coach.
As far as summer OVs, it might happen at some places but if there’s the option to wait I’d take it. The biggest benefit of OVs is hanging out with the team and experiencing a full campus. Hard to get that in the summer. I do think most coaches prefer seeing how recruits fit with the current team so I’d be surprised if a lot of them prefer summer visits.
Keep in mind the focus for most track coaches right now is regional meets this week, then nationals in a few weeks.
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Thank you for your responses. It sounds like fall is the best bet! I’ll tell her to talk with the coaches as far as the next steps.
A bit of an update now that we’re into June. Track season is almost done - just Nike Nationals left. Given that the HS coach trained for a peak at States 3 weeks earlier, I’m confident the PRs are the PRs at this point. Nationals will be a fun experience, but the hay is in the barn.
It’s been a busy week - at least 1 coach call each evening, all of whom are asking for preread materials. Yesterday, somewhat surprisingly, the CMS coach said that daughter is in the top 3, so as long as the preread is positive, there will be a fully supported slot. 3 more Div3 calls this week, a Div1 call, and then an unofficial recruiting day at Northwestern the week after that. Many steps to go, but it’s all going in the right direction.
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Sounds great! I know a young lady who is finishing her senior season at CMS and it has been a great experience for her.
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Glad it’s going well. I know several CMS track alums and all had great experiences. Takes some pressure off knowing that’s a high probability option.
Northwestern is an interesting program. They don’t officially sponsor indoor or outdoor track. So there’s no opportunity for conference, regional, national meets. But they participate in a typical indoor and outdoor track schedule (minus championship season) so there are still opportunities to run track. It’s sort of an ideal setup for runners who are more distance/XC oriented as there’s less competitive pressure in the winter and spring, but still the chance to compete in a full XC program in the fall.
Anyway, congrats on the progress so far and enjoy the trip to Eugene.
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That is fantastic! Congratulations! It is funny how recruiting picks up in June. I am sure that your daughter is feeling great about the process. And she should! I bet she ends up with many options - a great reward after years of hard work! And you never know about PRs. My daughter had a pretty big PR in the mile last week and wasn’t expecting much either since it was after our state meet. We are headed to Nike, too. It should be fun
That is interesting about Northwestern. I never knew that!
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Northwestern also does not have a men’s team in XC or TF. So the potential for comraderie between the men’s and women’s programs doesn’t exist.
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We got the first positive preread back yesterday and there’s a follow-up call today with the coach to discuss the next steps. Any more experienced parents have insights to offer on what to expect, what to ask (and what not to)? I wish there was more time for your feedback but this call got scheduled very quickly. Thanks, all!
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Don’t be surprised if the coach makes your recruit an offer.
I assume this call is with the student. No need to come up with questions; you’ll want to know if there’s a deadline on the offer etc. But I’d expect the coach to volunteer that sort of thing.
Just be ready with a reply if there is an offer. “Oh wow, thank you so much! I plan on talking with my parents. Can they call you if they have questions? XYZ school is one of my top choices, so I’m very excited!” Or whatever script fits your situation.
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If the coach call isn’t to make an offer, have your kid ask questions about the the rest of the process, including the timing.
If the coach does make an offer, understand what that entails…an ED app, full support, how long your S has to make a decision, etc. If you need a financial aid pre-read, ask for that now too (if you haven’t already). Good luck.
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Yes, the call is just w/ student. If there is an offer, this is the time for her to ask: (1) is this “full support”? (2) are there any levels/types of support above/more powerful than “full”? (3) how many athletes with w/positive preread and this level of support have not been admitted ED? Correct?
Sure, the student could ask those things. But my 17 year old probably wouldn’t have remembered to ask all his questions, or – the questions his parents want asked. That’s why its not a bad idea for a parent to speak to the coach directly.
I have to say, I did not speak to the coach, but I knew my son’s college advisor would be in touch with the school, and I knew there would be no games played/gray areas.
I did speak with a couple of coaches before offers were made during visits to the schools.
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I agree with cinnamon that it is OK for parents to speak with the coach (along with the kid) after an offer has been made…that’s appropriate and gives an opportunity to make sure everyone is on the same page because the terminology can differ from coach to coach.
IME as well, some coaches wanted parents in certain meetings/calls during visits.
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Have you visited this school yet? The next step could be to set up a visit in the fall to see if your kid meshes well with the team.
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Chiming in as one of my kid’s was recruited for T&F and received a Likely Letter to an Ivy, so a little different than NESCAC but similar model and it was T&F.
When our kid was recruited this was all new to us and we did not have Coll Conf to draw on for experience. The Ivy timing is different than NESCAC but we did feel pressure to commit but held off a bit until we had thoroughly checked out all the schools on our list, visited, etc. and made sure it was the #1 pick.
Good input from others and I would just add to make sure it is the best fit for your kid and your family and it’s their # 1 choice before committing.
If the coach makes an offer today, it is likely to sunset well before the fall…it’s not uncommon to have to decide in a week (which can raise timing issues if this is not his first choice or a top choice). Hopefully the student has already visited and/or zoomed with members of the team.
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Yes, we’ve visited every D3 and most D1s that are in contention and have had ongoing communication with the coach and current team members for the past 6-12 months, etc. Due diligence is done. Which school is the top choice remains a bit murky.
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Sounds like you have done your due diligence as best as possible. It can be murky to know the #1 choice but I am sure it will work out.
I am not sure if you were able to visit when school was in session, or perhaps do an overnight visit, but that was key in our situation when narrowing down the final choices. We had until early fall, which was helpful. I understand where the NESCAC are coming from but I don’t agree with being pressured to commit early.
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