<p>A few months ago, a few D1 coaches emailed my D and expressed interest in recruiting my D. She told them that she is interested (they are her top choices). They said they will contact us later after July, but we have not heard from them. She emailed them again a few days ago to give them updates and still nothing.
We have some other D1 and D3 coaches that already gave us their OV schedules. We've not gotten back to them yet as she wanted to wait for her top choices first. We are a little confused and don't know how to read the situation. They were the ones contacting us, but now don't seem to be interested. Any advice on how to handle this situation would be appreciated.</p>
<p>I’d have her call the coaches and leave messages. If she doesn’t hear back in a day or two, I’d have her call the administrative staff and ask if the coach is off for the summer, on vacation, etc.</p>
<p>I expect most will disagree with me on this point, but I think it’s fine for a parent to be making these calls.</p>
<p>Thanks Sherpa for the quick reply.
Is it OK for her to ask where she stands on their list and to say she needs their answer so she can plan for other options? Is it presumptuous to tell them she has other coaches that want her to visit?</p>
<p>Many different factors here. There is a wide variety of levels within DI. Are the 2 schools who had shown interest & not followed up at a higher level than those that have? It may be that your D is a “back up plan” for these schools & they are waiting on more coveted recruits before they offer an OV (they are limited with these as you probably know). perfectly OK to call & ask where she stands, although some may not give you the entire truth (depending on sport & coach, some like to keep their back ups strung along). DI coaches don’t take vacations that put a hold on recruiting, they still do it & or leave to assistant.</p>
<p>I look at these interactions like business transactions (which is one reason I think it’s OK for parents to be involved, since they have more business/negotiation experience, but that’s another topic).</p>
<p>As in any business transaction, open and direct communication is best, so I’d say that all of those topics should be part of the discussion. In the end, part of her decision on where to attend will be based on her impressions of the coach, as she will probably be working with this coach for four years (no guarantees, but still a factor). Her impressions of each coach’s ability and willingness to communicate openly and honestly should be important to her so, in my opinion, yes, put it all on the table.</p>
<p>Good luck to both of you.</p>
<p>Techmom</p>
<p>Did your DD send transcripts etc to the First Choice coaches months ago?
Did she have a pre-read this summer? </p>
<p>Our student’s coach had a meeting late July with admissions for pre-reads for ALL potential recruits. Only after admissions gave the green light did the coach schedule OVs -which was early August. So that timing is about spot-on—that she should hear from them now/soon. </p>
<p>She can take 5 OVs so if those top choices don’t respond soon, I’ d suggest she start booking OVs for the other schools that she thinks she’d be happy at and leave room for 1-2 OVs if the first choice school/s step up.</p>
<p>How personal were was the contact with her top choices? Was it very clear that they were very interested? Was it somewhat generic? I would go back and re-read the earlier emails to see if you can get any indication from them. A coach who is VERY interested will not let an email go ignored for days… A “maybe” recruit they can string along. I agree with all of the above, be direct and don’t be afraid to ask questions even if you do not like the answers. Also agree its okay for a parent to call but if your athlete is capable it would be better for them to do it. Good luck</p>
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<p>I 100% agree that someone should pick up the phone and CALL the head coach or recruiting coach as soon as possible. </p>
<p>I 100% disagree that a parent should make THIS call. It is the recruits responsibility to communicate with the coach. If the subject turns to $$, then the parent can join the call. JMO.</p>
<p>HI csdad,
By ‘higher level’, I take that you mean athletically? Her sports is swimming and she is a specialist, a breaststroker. Her times are in the top 8 of all the schools we are looking at. She is also competitive enough to be in the top 16 for their respective conferences. Her top choices are merely “better” (for lack of better words) in term of school rankings and her personal preferences. True enough, if the coach is looking for a more versatile swimmer, she would not be his top choice. But if they are lacking a breaststroker, she will fit the bill very nicely.</p>
<p>Hi fogfog,
The only schools that asked her to send in official transcripts/grades are the more academically challenged LAC D3. All the D1 schools did not ask her to them send in. We had our grade/SAT scores posted on her recruited page. Some of the coaches did mention that she would fit in academically as well.</p>
<p>My D was also a Breaststroker! Good enough to be recruited by some D3 schools, but had her heart set on going to Cornell, where she knew she wasn’t good enough to swim.</p>
<p>Agree with Fenwaysouth 100%, the student NEEDS to be making the calls. Every coach will tell you that’s what they want to see - every coach. Not saying it will kill the students chance, but it does raise a red flag and could give another student a slight advantage. The deeper question is WHY can’t your child be making these calls? Why is the parent involved?</p>
<p>Techmom, I am just repeating what others have said…someone needs to call…my d is a swimmer and we discovered some coaching changes at the schools she was looking at…sometimes they are disorganized and the departing coach doesn’t give the replacement coach all the emails and info. In fact one new coach decided she didn’t want to recruit my daughter even though the previous coach was very interested. You need to be arranging these visits now…</p>
<p>Thanks everyone for your inputs. DD put in a few phone calls. She talked to 2 of her top choices. One sounds promising, he verbally talked about bringing her out for OV after finding out that we can’t make it this summer for unofficial (time is running out and school is starting soon), but we have not received any details yet. The other one is still talking in general and asked her about her choices and when she will narrow down her choices (DD, of course, did not make the point that they are her top choice, but instead said by the end of summer). The 3rd one we left a message and we got an email back soon after that saying that he would like to talk to her soon. We called back but is playing phone tag again.
On the other hand, we got a few D3 asking us to come out, but of course, out of our own pockets. Two D1 is asking us to give them a date to make arrangements, but we are not ready yet as we still trying to see if we can secure our top choices first. Is the 5 OV limit pertaining to D1 only right? We can combine D1-D3 and can be over 5?</p>
<p>I believe you can take as many D-3 OV as you like. Only 5 for D-1.</p>
<p>csdad,
So your D ended up at Cornell and not swimming at all?</p>
<p>Fwiw, coaches i know have specifically told me they strongly prefer for student, NOT parent, to call in the earlier stages. When talks get serious, and commitments need to be made, it is good to have a parent in on calls for guidance and as a second ear to minimize misunderstandings. Sounds like OP should have student make the calls, but DO make them!</p>