Help with athletic scholarship question!

<p>A friend of mine asked me this and I know nothing about athletic scholarships so I told her I would ask the experts!</p>

<p>Her D is a junior in HS and was offered an athletic scholarship for NCAA Div II soccer at a school she is interested in but was told by the coach she needed to make a commitment to the school within the next month.</p>

<p>As they are still in the looking process and she is still playing on a traveling team that colleges recruit from they thought they had more time to keep looking. </p>

<p>The coach at this school also dashed their hopes for Div. I, saying that it is too late for her to get a Div I scholarship. </p>

<p>So questions are:
1. Is this usual to be told to commit within a month of an offer even if she is only a high school junior?</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Is it true she no longer can consider other offers but must commit now?</p></li>
<li><p>Is it too late for her to be considered for Div. I scholarships? </p></li>
</ol>

<p>Thank for the help!</p>

<p>No absolutely not, she does not have to commit to this coach at this time unless it is what SHE wants. Sounds like the coach is putting down the ground rules in his favor (probably because he wants her) but honestly I do not like how it is being presented to her if that is how it was.<br>
While it is possible that most/many D1 programs have filled their recruiting spots for her year, it is not impossible for her to get a scholarship. Signing is not until senior year (NLI) and things can change. I would see this as a “red flag” if it were my daughter because this is going to be her coach and he is pressuring her which IMO is not cool. My son was recruited early but the coach made an offer and said take your time, etc… give it some thought, was not a high pressure guy. We appreciated that very much.</p>

<p>If this is her first choice and she loves the school and the program then I would say “go for it” but if there is any uncertainty at all then I would recommend she hold off for now. If this coach really wants her then he will wait. It is also possible there is another girl waiting in the wings for that scholarship the second she turns it down and it could be no longer available.
The most important thing is for her to find a good fit, both athletically and academically and to consider if she will be happy there even if soccer ends up not being in the picture as things do happen.</p>

<p>Also if she was my daughter I would suggest she get on the phone and talk to the coaches of the other schools she is considering and let them know this has happened. That she has an offer and has to decide within a month. I could bring on other offers for her or give her a good idea of where she stands with the other programs. Good luck</p>

<p>Thanks momof2010 for your quick response. I think she does like the school but I don’t think they like that they have to commit in a month and not have a chance to see what other offers are viable. </p>

<p>Could she say yes but then continue to look at other offers or would that be uncool? </p>

<p>Good advice about making sure the school is a good fit if the soccer doesn’t work out. I suggested to my friend that she make sure of that though soccer is incredibly important to her D so it seems unlikely. </p>

<p>Do you think it would be worth it for them to ask the coach for more time or even why he is saying just one month?</p>

<p>Again this is just my opinion, I do think it would be inappropriate to accept and keep looking. Seems dishonest to me and I imagine the soccer community is small as it is in other sports and coaches talk so it could get around and look really bad on her.
I do think it is okay to ask the coach if she could have more time or why he is only giving her so much time. I always felt being honest and open worked best for us. Have 2 kids in college sports so we have been thru it.</p>

<p>Yes, honesty is the best policy, I guess because you said that signing wasn’t until senior year and things change that it made me wonder if perhaps the verbal agreement wasn’t totally binding. </p>

<p>This is not a family that would want to play games at all. My friend is totally up front type of person but even though I know nothing about sports scholarships something seemed off about her needing to commit so soon.</p>

<p>I’ll pass your tips on to her - it seems like asking the coach more about his thinking process is the way to go.</p>

<p>Although verbal commitments are not legally binding it is supposed to be a promise between the athlete and the coach that they will both stick to their commitment. I think there are many more kids who back out on verbals in big revenue sports like fb and bb but it is not so common in the other sports and at least in my sons sport it gets out. We had a kid go back on a verbal to our program, we are in california, I ran into the TCU coach at an event and he knew about, so it does get around. Coaches talk… Good luck to your friends daughter.</p>