<p>Hypothetical question--how much would not playing for one's HS senior year impact D3 coaches' opinions of a player they have been recruiting since before junior year? The player would be working on their game and strength training on their own instead of playing with their HS team during senior year. The sport is basketball. Opinions?</p>
<p>If I were a coach, I would be concerned that either you’re injured or burnt out. Neither one of which would make me eager to recruit. Just my opinion.</p>
<p>IMHO, it all depends on why they are not playing. I have heard that some soccer clubs discourage their players from playing for their HS teams so they can play club year-round, so in that sort of situtation I think it’s explainable although coaches still might think it strange. I think I saw a message here about AAU basketball being similar in some cases. </p>
<p>If they are not playing their sport at all senior year I would think it’s a problem unless there’s a really good reason. Even D3 coaches want to recruit players who understand that sports is a significant commitment and who will not drop off the team after a season or two.</p>
<p>Thanks for the replies. That’s pretty much what I had been thinking but wanted to get other opinions. The reason for not playing would be to escape a toxic team situation, but there’s no way to do that without the player who is leaving looking like the problem. </p>
<p>I agree with Varska. </p>
<p>As a college coach recruiting someone, I would need some extremely good reasons why the player in question is not playing their high school senior year. Future college athletes are typically passionate about their sport. Some high schoolers understand how difficult it is to continue to develop their skills and find playing time at the next level whether it is D1, D2, D3 or other. In the back of my mind, I would question their commitment to themselves and the team. JMO.</p>
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<p>According to some of your other posts, the athlete is currently a junior. So if I understand the fact situation correctly, she is currently playing high school basketball and intends to continue playing through this season. D3 coaches have been recruiting her since before junior year. She will/may apply early if one of these coaches offers a slot/tip, and therefore she would know the admissions decision about this time next year.</p>
<p>Because of a toxic situation on the team, she is willing to play this year but wants to sit out one year from now.</p>
<p>Are those the facts?</p>
<p>If so, one suggestion would be to wait until the decision has to be made next year. Another would be to discuss the situation with the coaches who are recruiting her.</p>
<p>fenwaypark–yes, you have the facts correct. </p>
<p>Next July is an important viewing period in travel ball for her, and she will have a good idea of where she is going to play in college by Aug/Sept. HS season starts in Nov. The HS team situation is so bad that she feels it would be more productive to play pickup ball and weight lift than to play senior year. She is also considering transferring to another HS to play there. We still have time to decide, but I wondered if it would be reasonable to discuss the situation with the coaches who are recruiting her or if they’d regard her as a malcontent. </p>
<p>My son did something similar, but he never played varsity at all. It has not had an impact on recruiting, but soccer is different than basketball; they have programs set up in lieu of HS soccer. The coach never played college soccer, so certainly there would have been no recruiting benefit. </p>
<p>I would say point blank that if she signs with a college, and junior year is not too early for girls sports, she should put it out as a question “I’m thinking of taking senior year off HS basketball to better prep for playing in college. Do you have any advice on what I should pursue?” and expect an answer similar to that above - SAQ training, shooting, individual training…</p>
<p>If the coach flips and says “you are better off playing for your HS”, consider that answer appropriately. Of course any commitment is verbal before NLI signing.</p>
<p>I cannot imagine that if a coach really wants her to play for his or her team, not playing senior year would mean anything other than less exposure to less talented players who might hurt her.</p>
<p>And if your daughter would be in a much better state of mind not playing HS basketball senior year, that’s important.</p>
<p>Re the comments above about NLIs and verbals, we are talking D3.</p>
<p>I cannot think of any better way to find out the coaches’ opinions than to explain the situation to the coaches… and get their opinions.</p>
<p>After all, not all coaches may agree. Not sure how accurately strangers here on CC–with various knowledge levels–could predict how any single coach, who we do not know, would react.</p>
<p>I am not familiar with basketball recruiting but believe it might be similar to soccer in that coaches recruit out of clubs rather than out of high school. If that is the case and you will be playing with a travel/club team, then it may not be a big deal to skip high school to focus on other training. The best bet is to check with some college coaches to get their take on it. </p>
<p>If you are playing AAU, I don’t see why it would matter much. recruiting is pretty much sown up in Aug/Sept. You can ED1 to your top school and you will find out prior to your senior season. I would mention to the coaches you are talking to that you are thinking of this as an option – and ask their thoughts. </p>
<p>Thanks for all the input. I think that yes, the best course of action is to talk to the coaches at the top schools come Aug/Sept when AAU is done and see what they say. </p>
<p>sanmin,</p>
<p>Since any recruiting college coaches response to the question is an unknown, I would be very cautious on when to bring this up. I know in my son’s sport (baseball) this could possibly be the kiss of death. I may only consider bringing this up after an offer is made.</p>
<p>With my 3 sons, I’ve personally been through 14 years of high school baseball, 4 years of D1 college baseball, and 20+ years of travel at the local, regional and national levels not to mention 6 years of American Legion baseball. Not every year has been rainbows, leprechauns and unicorns. We’ve seen more than our share of incompetence, toxicity, and “Daddy ball” at all levels and I know many, many people that have dealt with these same issues. </p>
<p>If there is one thing my kids have learned… it is how to deal with adversity and get through it whether it is high school or college. There are varying degrees of toxicity. Before you make that decision to pass on the senior year, I’d consider getting other opinions from people that understand the situation and people you trust. </p>
<p>Again, JMO </p>
<p>Thanks, fenwaysouth. Yes, my kid is definitely getting some major lessons in dealing with tough situations and in decision making. And you’re right, the timing of talking to the college coaches would be crucial. </p>
<p>I did talk to several people who know us well and who know the situation, and their advice is for her to play, but to transfer. She doesn’t want to transfer for senior year, so I am hoping she will decide to stick it out and play, despite all the negative aspects of it. </p>
<p>We just dealt with a very similar situation with our daughter, though in rowing. She changed teams in November of this year b/c of a very toxic situation for her. She chose the timing so as not to leave her old team in the lurch–just after the wrap up of the competitive fall season–but early enough to have plenty of time to mesh with her new team before spring season starts. It was a hard decision, she loved her old team and she’s got a heck of a commute to get to the new team, but she talked to the college coach who recruited her ahead of the transfer and he was supportive of her decision, and she’s back to loving her sport. If she has a coach who’s committed to her for college, and staying on her current team is going to make her miserable and destroy her love for her sport, I’d recommend seriously considering the team change and talking to him or her about it up front.</p>
<p>Thanks for the input, neverrunslate. I’m happy to hear your daughter is loving her sport again! </p>
<p>Coaches emphasize “character”, which includes the recruit’s ability to persevere through adversity? If your D quits her sport because of a “toxic situation,” then she will likely be judged to be a “quitter” by most coaches, which is pretty much the kiss of death. Please note that neverrunslate’s D left one team for another after consulting with the college coach that was recruiting her. That is a far cry from quitting her sport and not playing her senior year.</p>
<p>Yes, but there’s a difference between quitting the sport and leaving the HS team. D was contemplating working with her trainers and playing pickup ball with guys in lieu of playing with the HS, as she felt that would be more productive. She never said she wanted to stop playing her sport. She just wanted to put herself in a more positive situation. </p>
<p>At any rate, after considering the potential negative reception from the colleges, and rejecting the option of transferring high schools to play with a different team, she has decided she will play senior year. At this point, after having put up with the situation for as many years as she has (she has been with the same group/program year-round since the 6th grade), she decided one more year wouldn’t kill her. I keep telling her that her college experience will seem all the more satisfying in comparison. </p>
Having been there with my athlete, in a situation that was pretty awful, and pretty awful for a long time, I can tell you that the player learns more (in retrospect) by sticking thru a bad situation than by leaving. Short of a situation where health and safety is at risk (which certainly must be carefully examined), the player will learn what types of environments work for him/her and why, what his her strengths are in certain types of groups, and how to manage the bad situation, which is infinitely more difficult than management of the good - fun - ideal environment that, IRL, is not a constant common experience. Good luck to you both.
Thanks, peppermintlounge. Yes, I agree that the life lessons learned are worth the relatively short-term pain!