<p>With july 1 upon us,are there any dos and donts that my son can use to help make his visits as meaningful and as productive as possible?
I am sure this has been done before but maybe it can be revisited.
Any pointers would be greatly appreciated.
These can be from the phone calls to the visits themselves and anything in between.</p>
<p>thanks</p>
<p>Keep a pen and paper by the phone – maybe even a spiral notebook – and take notes with each phone call. Coach’s name and school and recap of conversation. Write down dates and times of phone calls. Ask about the next step.</p>
<p>Unless you are a top D1 recruit, don’t expect a lot of calls on 7/1. Phone calls, IIRC, were coming in over the whole summer as the premier schools cherry-picked the top recruits and the lesser-ranked schools started to call those that are left. </p>
<p>Don’t be in a hurry to make a verbal commitment – as most student athletes will be going pro in something other than sports (love that line) – finding the right <em>academic</em> fit is very important. Have a list of your (the athlete’s) academic needs – specific major etc. A target list of schools is a good idea.</p>
<p>Have some questions for coaches – athlete housing, academic support are two good ones that will help you figure out the best fits.</p>
<p>When the coach asks you about your grades and scores, be exact and honest. Being recruited is only the first step. Only admissions can admit, and the coach needs to know if you are admissible.</p>
<p>My son, in the summers of 2004 and 2005 – he did a PG year since he was young for his grade and therefore had the recruiting season twice – had phone calls from more than 50 schools. He ended up with three real possibilities, and chose the top-ranked Ivy school in his sport.</p>
<p>My son is by no means a top recruit,but hopefully, he will get some attention from Patriot League programs but I am looking for some sound advice regardless of d1 or d3.
Some chunks of wisdom that he can use to his benefit and other possible info to enable him to avoid pittfalls that might arise.
Yes,I know technically d3 has no OFFICIAL visits but to the student athlete that is semantics except for the cost factor. The meetings with coach and team interaction will be as real as it gets for those involved.
Thanks for your input</p>
<p>can you tell us what sport your son plays? you may get better insight from sport specific responses…</p>
<p>My son is a swimmer
Has met with some coaches from Patriot league and some academically oriented D3 programs.Will not be looked at by top programs.Hoping that by having some competitive times within the leagues that he is looking at that athletics might be the edge to get him admitted into some of these tougher schools.</p>
<p>Ask the current athletes about their coach’s training style and coaching philosophy, and perhaps how it differs from their high school experience. No one is going to outright criticize their coach to a recruit, but you can learn a lot about how the athletes feel about their coach by reading between the lines of their answers. </p>
<p>Ask the current team members about what they do for fun and with whom. Information about their socializing patterns can tell you how close-knit the team is as well as whether the kids have the desire and the opportunity to make a lot of friends outside the team. Some prospective athletes want to be best buddies with all their teammates, and others would find too much team togetherness to be suffocating.</p>
<p>This is obvious, but don’t drink alcohol during on your visit. Attend the events your host invites you to and be social, but remember you are underage. The coach wants someone who can fit in socially with the team, but not someone with misplaced priorities who’s going to party hardy and perform poorly in the pool or on the field.</p>
<p>If you are unsure of where you stand with a college coach and of how interested s/he is in you as a a recruit, don’t be afraid to ask the coach that question directly.</p>
<p>During an official visit:
Do NOT drink. Or at the very least do not get drunk.
Don’t hang out with friends on campus. Don’t go sightseeing. In other words: Don’t treat this as a vacation paid for by the college. You’re there to meet the team, the coach, the college.
Remember that everything you do and say will be evaluated and probably get back to the coach.</p>
<p>Fleishmo6–Don’t expect July 1 phone calls–coaches who use the phone will call, but on their own time table. My daughter was looking at the same groups of schools as your son, but for track. For whatever reason, we found the Patriot League coaches responded (and expressed interest) later than the DIII coaches–in general, not until mid to late August–so don’t assume no interest if you haven’t gotten the response yet that you’re hoping for.</p>
<p>I would assume every sport is different, but my kids are swimmers and visited many schools and drinking and partying was a part of most (read: all) trips. Esp. DI schools (Ivy, Patriot and others). DIII was a little different but not by much. </p>
<p>Your kid can choose to join in or not. My kids both claimed to nurse a beer all night. Not sure I believe it based on how they felt when they got home. Both were offered LL or help with admission depending on the league. One went Ivy and one went DIII. </p>
<p>I had heard for years from experienced swim parents that OV weekends were insane. They were right. Prep your kids. It is a whole new world for some. (mine!)</p>
<p>Kate</p>
<p>We have heard the exact same thing.My sons friends went through these trips last year and all talked about drinking being a big part of the visit.
I appreciate everyones advice and hope to see more bits of wisdom.
Have a great holiday weekend.</p>
<p>Three things come to mind or do’s and dont’s.</p>
<p>1) Be engaging with the coaches and possible future teammates. This is your 48 hours for you to make an impression on them and for them to make an impression on you. College is one of the biggest life decisions you can make. Take advantage of it.</p>
<p>2) Don’t drink. I’ve written about this before…underage son had just left an off campus party (5 min) with his teammate sponsor when the police raided the party and busted everyone. The other OV recruits and their sponsors found their way to the coaches office the next morning…not good. Bottom line…son decided this was not the school (or teammates) for him. I know the temptation is to drink with possible future teammates…don’t. If this is the right school for you, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to “throw one or two back”.</p>
<p>3) Ask a lot of questions. You’ve most likely read up on the school, and networked to get information. Now is your chance to find out details of the program that only the athletes know. Listen, watch and ask lots of good insightful questions that others don’t get a chance to ask.</p>
<p>The drinking issue is more complicated. Coaches tell the team to “show the recruits a good time.” While this may include drinking for some teams, being drunk and getting arrested, passing out, being taken to the hospital, or behaving extremely inappropriately, e.g. throwing up over your hosts bedroom is a no-no (unless this is the way the team or host spends their weekend). In other ways: Not drinking won’t jeopardize your admission while drinking and getting drunk certainly may.</p>