advise on rising senior w/ college & football stuff

Athletic Recruits
1

Hello,
My son is currently finishing up his junior year in HS. He is a top student academically (33 ACT, 3.9 gpa out of 4.0), involved in many extra curriculars (football, student council leadership), and numerous things outside of school (mission trips, volunteerism etc.). He has always wanted to attend a top academic school (ivy or non – but must be a top school). He is a very good football player – big kid, 6’3", nearly 220. Strong. Fast. Up until very recently, he hadn’t considered playing college ball, but sort of out of the blue, he has begun to receive lots of attention from coaches across the country really. Many of them following him on twitter, reaching out to him thru DM, constant stuff in the mailbox, lots of views on his hudl, etc. This has made him very excited. He has always loved football but just didn’t think all the cards would fall into place for him to where he could manage to go to one of his top academic schools AND play football there. And he would not play football, even with a full ride, at a school he didn’t find academically challenging. So the prospect now of getting both the type of school he wants and the opportunity to play football there is quite humbling & exhilarating at the same time.

So anyway, last week, he received his first offer. It was from one of the service academies, and he was over the moon excited. We all were. And humbled, and proud, and the gamut of emotions. He is still being contacted by other schools about camps, though. He has gone to a couple of, I guess you would call them, showcases, but not really an actual camp. Certainly not one of the camps the universities he is interested in are putting on. So my question is - how many of these should we do? We obviously can’t go to all of the camps that we are being invited to, or go to all of the individual camps put on by the universities he is interested in. So do we narrow it by the ones he is most interested in? And I’m a little confused on the service academy offer he received. He has since talked to that coach and had it confirmed again, but shouldn’t we get something in writing? Or does that not happen? I don’t know if we should ask or just trust it’s all fine. We plan to visit there as well this summer. This is just a lot to process and we are but amateurs here!

2

Our daughter was recruited by the service academies but beyond talking the the various coaches on the phone, we didn’t pursue it because it was not a good fit for her. Since there is no tuition, room/board cost at the service academies, there is no need for the signing of an NLI. I would think, however, that if that is the direction your son wants to pursue, talk more with the coach and see what steps are next. He will have to get a congressional nomination.

As for camps, definitely narrow it down to the programs you are most interested in. These camps are money makers for schools so use your money wisely.

Has your son registered with the NCAA Clearinghouse?

3

The service academies have summer camps (not sports) to see if that is the right fit for your son. I’d see if the coach can get him a spot at the camp (very competitive).