<p>Today's NY Times sports section had three articles on athletic recruiting by Haverford, considered a representative Div 3 top academic school. It is meant to be part of a series. Didn't see anyone else post the link, so here it is for those interested:</p>
<p>thanks audiophile for posting that. wouldn't have noticed it otherwise.</p>
<p>we have some cc posters on here with kids currently in the "dance" :)</p>
<p>would love to hear some comments from cc'ers on how it's going - post away.</p>
<p>will share one remark overheard -- it's kind of like in junior high when one of you has to tell the other that you don't really like them anymore:)</p>
<p>not to make light of the whole recruiting process -- it is indeed draining, stressful at times, and a roller coaster of ups and downs. requires much patience. </p>
<p>we could probably have a whole forum here on the board just to offer up support:)</p>
<p>S is in the middle of "the dance". Unfortunately, he is injured and has to arrive at his recruiting visits and respond to "How's your season going?" with the injury report. Not good, and very frustrating for him. He is visiting Tufts right now- he has never been there and I'm anxious to hear what he thinks. He has decided on his ED school, which I will not jinx by mentioning right now. He has coach support, but we all know that until the admission letter is in hand, nothing is for sure. We have been very pleased with the honesty of the coaches so far. Some coaches are better at recruiting and show-casing their programs than others, but we do not feel that anyone has mis-led us.<br>
He has submitted applications to two big state universities (he is not recruited but could definitely walk-on and be a strong team member) and has to fill out a big application for academic merit scholarships for one of them (much to his dismay). He has also submitted an EA application to University of Chicago, where he has coach support, whatever that might mean there. His Chicago essays are very strange, but so is my son and so is Chicago (my law school alma mater). He also has an application in at a small DI LAC in the south where he is a recruit and had to do an early application for scholarship (scholar/athlete) consideration, which didn't pan out. I suspect there were applicants who didn't have to attach an explanation of suspension/expulsion!<br>
So- I am totally stressed out and way too enmeshed in the whole process. Fortunately for my son, he is at boarding school or we might have killed each other by now.<br>
The one concern I have is how he will be motivated to have a few more applications ready and waiting in the wings in case something goes wrong with the ED application. They will really have to be done before December 15 when his Christmas break begins.</p>
<p>I thought by the thread title that there was finally a college somewhere that wanted to recruit student dance choreographers....</p>
<p>Thanks! I read the first article a few weeks ago but somehow missed this one. Actually started thinking about this today, not for me, but for some friends. They have a very precocious running daughter who I expect will be heavily recruited in a few years.</p>
<p>MOWC - Keep the faith! :)</p>
<p>Audiophile,
Thanks for posting that link. It was especially helpful to read "the code" regarding the hierarchy of recruits.</p>
<p>MOWC,
If you're willing, please post how your son liked Tufts. It is my daughter's first choice.</p>
<p>Anybody know the difference between coach's "full support" vs. coach's "unconditional support" - we had one coach specify his support that way...should we be worried?</p>
<p>Mollyvan,
Those terms sound interchangeable (and vague) to me. That's why I especially liked the code used by Haverford's lacrosse coach because it translated into playing time which then translates into a hierarchy of how badly a coach might want a player.</p>
<p>Maybe you could ask the coach "where does my kid fit in on your list of recruits ability-wise or stat-wise?" Press the coach for a numerical ranking like #1 or #5, not "high on my list" which is vague like "unconditional support."</p>
<p>my son is "in the dance" and it has been a pleasant surprise how things have played out. the summer was busy with visits and camps and that soon turned into phone calls and e-mails. i think that the coaches he has worked with and talked to have all been very clear with their intent and very honest with their words and actions. he got his likely letter late last week; so he has shifted from the excitement of uncertainty to the excitement of what lies ahead.</p>
<p>wbow - did you son apply ED? is this a d3 or d1 school?</p>
<p>ED, 1AA football</p>
<p>Condor,
I liked your analogy to junior high dynamics. My D's experience so far would lead me to conclude that some coaches must have had a tough time at those junior high dances. </p>
<p>One of the best coaches in the country for D's sport has been superb at communicating clearly, and promptly with personalized attention to basically tell her that she probably couldn't play there but if she attends, please try out as a walk-on (and believe me, she would NEVER be able to play at this school but he was very polite and a true diplomat!) </p>
<p>Whereas others at the bottom of the D 1 barrel for her sport start out encouraging and then drop her without any further comment (probably because a better prospect came along.) For a couple of the schools in this second category, she has emailed the coaches to say, well, I have applied, what are my chances? And they still give no response after several months of good vibrations, meetings, emails, calls. I know that they are busy but we appreciate the ones that do take the time to respond, even if it's "thanks but I already have my recruiting class lined up."</p>
<p>My D is focused on a school where the coach has been very supportive and positive. Parents of existing players tell us that this coach is totally honest. That carries a lot of weight, especially when you are dealing with teenagers.</p>
<p>Just out of curiosity, a couple of questions:
1. If a recruited athlete refuses to play, does the school have any recourse?
2. If a student gets an athletic scholarship and is injured, loses interest or dropped from the team, is the scholarship forfeited in subsequent years?</p>
<p>I have no ulterior motive other than curiosity for asking these questions. To put it gently, my high school senior's talents have been limited to the classroom ;)</p>
<p>At DIII and the non-scholarship DIs, the athlete can refuse to play and the school has no recourse. This happens rather frequently- sometimes it is a deliberate move on the athlete's part to help wtih admission, but most often the athlete finds the demands of the sport and college academics to be too much.
Many scholarships continue even if you are injured. I know a wonderful young woman on a volleyball scholarship to UNC-Charlotte who suffered a shoulder injury in soph year and could no longer play. She assisted the team and kept her scholarship. However, some scholarships are renewable year to year and may be pulled if the coach doesn't think you are worth it anymore. This usually happens with small, partial scholarships that the coach needs for another recruit.</p>
<p>to put it gently, my son's talents were as much in evidence in the classroom as on the field. which helped make this whole process a lot of fun. because if the sports issue didn't pan out, we still had a wide array of wonderful, wonderful schools for him to chose from.</p>
<p>mwc,</p>
<p>Thanks for the info and good luck to your son (and all of the other CC athletes). It would be great if my daughter excelled in a sport, but ain't gonna happen unless shopping becomes an olympic event.</p>
<p>Sorry to belabor this but if you thank the coach for offering "full support" and he replies by saying thank you for committing and " just for the record, you will have my unconditional support in the application process..." What does this mean? a same or weakening of support? We know we can call him but want to think about it first...any ideas?</p>
<p>Depending on the school, a coach's support (whether full or unconditional or WHATEVER) can mean everything or not that much. You are going to have to talk to people with recruiting experience with that particular school and/or coach. Obviously the coach is telling you that he wants your kid for his team- whether he has lots of pull with admissions is not something anyone on this forum can tell you.</p>
<p>in some cases, full support, means they'll put the student on their "priority list" which goes to admissions. that may or may not truly mean a "tip" in the admissions process. you might look for threads on "tips, priority lists, recruiting, sports, etc." on cc board..........also check williams and amherst threads on tips, recruiting, etc.</p>