<p>After going to a D3 athletic camp, the following was the evaluation from the coach:</p>
<p>"I thought you did a great job at camp. We would love to have you come and be a member of our program."</p>
<p>While this evaluation seems like a great review, would you consider this an actual offer? I was hoping for a clear statement like "I would like to offer you a roster spot." Am I just being paranoid?</p>
<p>What do you think?</p>
<p>You’re not being paranoid, you’re being smart. While the coach said some nice things, there is nothing there that indicates any level of commitment or support. After he said, “… We would love to have you come and be a member of our program.” a good response would be,
“I’d love to be a part of the program, too. How do we go about making that happen?”</p>
<p>@varska, it was actually “said” in writing. Don’t know if that makes a difference…</p>
<p>I think the words are simple and clear. “We would love to have you come and be a member of our program.” </p>
<p>There is no mention of an offer, although there is nothing that rules out that possibility for subsequent consideration.</p>
<ol>
<li>D3 coaches cannot offer roster spots to high school students. </li>
<li>D3 coaches cannot offer athletic scholarships. </li>
<li>D3 coaches can offer support in the admissions process. </li>
<li>D3 coaches can offer roster spots to students enrolled at their college. </li>
</ol>
<p>Only #3 above applies to the student’s situation at this time. This has not been offered yet. To consider the quoted statement an offer of a roster spot…and therefore an offer of admission…is getting way ahead of the game.</p>
<p>tut4,</p>
<p>There is way too much information missing. I read your post as suggesting that this was contained in a written evaluation that all camp participants receive. What you don’t know is what type of evaluations the other participants received. So the question really is, do you think everyone received this type of encouragement. You may have some additional insight that you did not convey in your post.</p>
<p>Also to interpret the statement, we’d need to know what year are you in high school. If you are a freshman, that type of “talk” might not mean more that “please keep us in mind us as you progress.” By contrast, the statement means something different if you are a senior and are about to apply to college.</p>
<p>My personal take is that it means that – provided you are interested in attending the school – you should get in touch with the coach. I would call him or her, or better yet meet with the coach in person. Tell the coach that you ware really interested in the program and “what are the next steps.” Then listen very, very closely. Ask whether you are an academic match (i.e., “do you think I could get in.”). Ask how many folks the coach is recruiting, and where you are on the list.</p>
<p>I do believe that it would be folly to let an opportunity like this pass by without further exploration. If you are asking me whether I think it is an offer to be on the team, I would say “no.” I do think it is an invitation for further discussion, which is a very positive thing.</p>
<p>So in light of this, does a player have to wait until a coach offers to support their application, or is there a polite way to ask for support without being pushy?</p>
<p>So, others may disagree, and I am counting on them doing so. IMHO, the polite way of doing this is to be pushy.
Pushy doesn’t mean being rude. It does mean that you should contact the coach often and communicate directly – as in face-to face if possible or at least by telephone. I personally see nothing wrong with asking the coach if he or she will support the student’s application. In fact, I would encourage it. </p>
<p>Again, we are just reading the tea leaves here, but I think the coach is encouraging the poster. However, I don’t believe the coach would actually provide admissions support without a discussion during which the athlete tells the coach that he or she is interested in the program and in fact is going to apply. In my view, a dialogue is necessary for that to occur. </p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Yes, a prospect has to wait. And, yes, there are ways to ask for support.</p>
<p>Here is a sample scenario (not necessarily a single conversation, this usually evolves over time):</p>
<p>Coach:“Prospect would be welcomed in the program here at X College”
Prospect: “I would really like to be part of your program and attend X College”
Coach: “Is X College one of your top choices?”
Prospect: “Yes, but I need to have alternatives because admissions is uncertain.”
Coach: “I can help you with that” or “Nice day today, isn’t it?”</p>
<p>Background:
S is a High School Senior
Grades and scores are high so I believe he can gain admission unassisted
Re: other camper’s evaluation - I have no insight
Aware that there are no athletic scholarships</p>
<p>Update:
S did talk to the recruiting coach. Here’s a second hand account of the main points:</p>
<p>S: Does this mean I have a roster spot? (Went for the jugular…)
Coach: We do not guarantee roster spots here. (Sounds iffy, right? Is this code for “you’re not going to make it?” )</p>
<p>Then later in the convo:
Coach: There will be a spot for you either on JV or Varsity… I see you competing at the Varsity level. (Encouraging, but it’s Varsity or bust.)
S: Would you be able to provide a letter for me to sign on Signing Day? (I have seen ceremonial letters from D3 schools provided just for the signing ceremony.)
Coach: D3 does not do this, but there are ways around that. Let me talk to the head coach. (If he is willing to give a letter (yes, ceremonial), it’s good right?)</p>
<p>Keep looking? Or break out the confetti? </p>
<p>Most coaches, there are exceptions, are forthright people. If you are looking for “codes” you may be less able to process the clear meaning of their words.</p>
<p>Coach sees the kid making the varsity roster if the kid’s performance and attitude are up to expectations. Otherwise, the kid will slot in at JV.</p>
<p>I do not see how a ceremonial letter changes anything, except maybe the coach’s impression of things that are important to the prospect.</p>
<p>Keep looking? I don’t know, what exactly is the prospect looking for?</p>
<p>Break out the confetti? Coach has offered no help in the admissions process, has said nothing about playing time, and says he projects the prospect for the varsity roster if his performance and attitude hold up. I can see why the Coach would break out the confetti…he got a free prospect.</p>
<p>We had D3 athletes participate in the NLI signing day program, but we all knew it was just a ceremony not that actual signing. In fact, out of the 23 athletes participating, more than half weren’t actually signing anything that day! My daughter and at least 2 others going to D2 schools had already signed NLI in the fall and some of the football and others had signed in February, there were two men in rowing (not NCAA sport), there were 2-3 going to community or junior colleges for baseball, one to MIT, one to Navy, a few others to D3 schools. They either just ‘resigned’ their fall NLI or they just pretended to sign a piece of paper. </p>
<p>All athletes had a table with cake, balloons, ball caps, sweatshirts from their new college. The girl going to Navy had all kinds of certificates and plaques and official looking stuff, but no NLI. It was really a fun party and I’m glad the school didn’t limit it to only those really signing NLI’s in April.</p>
<p>I do agree with FWP that the coach may have more confetti to sling than you. However, if your son loves the school and wants to play at the school, it could be a great match. </p>
<p>I don’t blame any coach for limiting promises. Let’s be honest, coaches are under tremendous pressure to win. Even at D3 schools, their jobs depend on it. So if a hot-looking prospect comes along, gets promised a roster spot, and then doesn’t pan out or gets injured, it puts the coach in a tough spot. Again, I suspect FWP did a good job of interpreting “I see you competing at the Varsity level” – if your son projects out as currently expected. IMHO, a JV role or the bench is not the worst place to be as a freshman. A good D3 program sees a pretty high level of play, and slowly adjusting to that level is not necessarily a bad thing. Getting dumped into too high of a level of play before the athlete is ready can do bad things to a kid’s head. </p>
<p>The one thing you might want to consider is either asking the coach to get a pre-read from admissions or asking his opinion about your son’s chances for admission. The coach may not be able to “support” the application at this point in time, but it might be nice to know how the application is being received by the adcom, if only to be more confident about things. If you get a positive pre-read, then you might order the confetti. However, you might want to hold out until you receive the congratulations letter from admissions before actually throwing the confetti around.</p>
<p>Wondering something else - what is JV vs. varsity for college? Do they actually keep a JV or reserve team?</p>
<p>The choices for soccer seem to be varsity or club (if they have club) both of which play at various colleges, and intramural within the school. I have not heard of “JV”. I guess the only thing I’ve heard of related would be “lightweight football” for guys who couldn’t bulk up to 180 lbs. or more.</p>
<p>JV is rare, but it does exist. e.g. UNC basketball, Dartmouth football.</p>
<p>^^ but the question would be who are the JV playing against? Other Club teams? Junior colleges?</p>
<p>In the context of soccer, several NESCAC teams have a JV or B team. The team does play actual games – against other NESCAC JV or B teams. And they sometimes play D1 club teams and an occasional high school team. There definitely is movement up from JV to Varsity. For many D3 colleges, the JV team is sometimes described in the team web page or alternatively ask the coach.</p>