<p>My daughter is on her first OV - her first of four back-to-back, with a 5th one scheduled for next month. The games seem to be in full swing, as on her way to this OV, a coach from another school rang her to "check in", wish her a good weekend at this first OV, ask about what activities are scheduled at this other school, make sure his school is still a top choice, etc. I was amazed at the nerve of this, but my daughter was not at all surprised - that a coach would purposefully time their "hi, checking in" call to coincide with your traveling to a competing school.....quite a move, I thought - ! </p>
<p>As nerve wracking as this time is, it is really great to finally have arrived at this point after the long build-up - officially, this all started last October - but contact started being made with my daughter's coach a year ago this past spring. That she is still in "the game" is very rewarding, when you think of the thousands of recruiting questionnaires, emails, etc. that these D1 coaches start the process with for every recruiting class. On her trip, we spoke by phone of how grateful we are for her to be the one in that seat, on the way to that school - how incredibly lucky she is to have this opportunity. Our recruits have a lot to be proud of.</p>
<p>exciting time for your daughter, and congrats to her. and going on 5 OV’s, wow. I watched my daughter go through this last year, and people on these boards were a great help! especially when it got down to the wire.</p>
<p>the coach and teammates were everything for my daughter when deciding, 2nd was the school…and probably the other big factor for her was the weather. and food:)</p>
<p>curious, do you know how your daughter will decide?</p>
<p>Mayhew - Best of luck to you and your daughter. 4 OVs in a row will keep you busy, and your daughter thinking really hard about next year. It is SO worth the effort and time investment! Bring lots of books & movies! Come to think of it…you could write a book! ;-)</p>
<p>Congrats to your daughter, Mayhew! The recruiting process is so hectic and stressful, but what an honor for the kids being recruited. The information, experience and maturity kids gain from the process is priceless. Best wishes - with so many OV’s she is sure to find her perfect fit (team and school)!</p>
<p>^^^^Thank you all so much for your words, support and perspective - I really appreciate it!! She is having a great time so far as I can tell from the one word text I received </p>
<p>I am still a bit irritated by pushy/aggressive coach calling in during her trip, but I know that is probably par for the course at this time in the “game” - bad manners though, I think (so you can tell I would be a 100% useless D1 recruiting coach!!)</p>
<p>MereMom - your words about the experience and maturity that is gained by our children is so true - what an amazing adventure they have, to remember this time in their lives by. Fun too as they get to experience many colleges via OVs before actually enrolling anywhere! Have a whole new perspective on a lot of things, I imagine.</p>
<p>pacheight - When deciding, she is thinking of a lot of variables. I think to her, liking the school, the coach and the team dynamic are all equally important - she has to like the school in case she gets injured, etc., plus the coach can always leave, team members can change, etc. However, that coach/team dynamic is obviously very important as that is who she will be training with practically every single day for 4 years…As a result, us parents are trying not to push what we think is the standout “right choice” as we aren’t the ones who will be at this school/on this team/under this coach. Another important element to her is the ranking of the team. She is very clear about this: she wants to WIN! However, this is a sport that does not turn into a career (no NFL/NHL/NBA, etc. to hope for), so she must look beyond just the sport to the degree she is going to earn It . The Olympics are her dream - that’s awesome - but she is going to need to get a job too! It will be interesting for me to see how, and if, these OVs change her mind about certain schools. Right now, she can see herself at every single one of these 5 schools - great that she is so flexible/adaptable, but doesn’t make obvious choices very easy or possible!</p>
<p>wilberry228 - Your daughter must be excited for next week’s OV trip - I wish her the best of luck with it!</p>
<p>^^^ Interesting article! Thanks for posting/sharing, fog fog.</p>
<p>Good luck to all the recruits heading off for this weekend’s Official Visits! In our family, OV#3 is coming up in a couple of days…#1 and #2 have both been invaluable, with one rising to the top of the list, and one falling far down the list - definitely time well spent!</p>
My daughter goes on her first next Friday.</p>