<p>riverrunner, I like the idea of a "brag sheet" (or "player profile", NorthMinnesa!) , especially for the coaches at schools he is interested in that have not yet responded to him. I agree with you and Runners2 that while there may be a cutoff beneath which an individual recruit cannot go, each one will be evaluated as a unique combination of athletic and academic strengths and weaknesses. Makes perfect sense. Thanks for clarifying that.</p>
<p>Bigman, thanks so much. Glad to hear the notion confirmed that top D-3 coaches are on a slightly different timetable than the D1s.</p>
<p>This last part of the discussion has really been helpful in crystallizing what we should do next. 1) Keep in contact with all the coaches he is already emailing, updating them on new erg scores and regatta results. 2)create a "brag" sheet to email to coaches who have not yet responded 3)in June, send updated transcripts and test scores and visit schools, coaches, boathouses unofficially 4)hope for phone calls in July 5) hope for official visits in late September 6) hope for likely letters in October! </p>
<p>Sheesh, there is a lot of hoping involved! Thanks so much, again and again, to all of you. I always feel much better with a plan - helps keep the anxiety at bay....</p>
<p>Regarding "hoping": keep in mind that college coaches at every level need to find athletes who are a good fit for their program/school. Once your child hits a certain marketable level, you should consider your student athlete a valuable commodity that different coaches will be fortunate to have in their program. By that, I don't mean false pride or arrogance, simply that your athlete has value which should be recognized by both his/her family and the college coaches. I have seen the recruiting process first hand and believe me, these coaches are losing sleep at night over their recruits at least as much as the parents are losing sleep over their kids getting a spot on the team. So for those of you going through this for the first time, relax and enjoy the process. Every single coach who had contact with our family told us to have fun with it. I regret how stressed out I was at times so I want to spread the gospel of enjoying this special time in your child's life. Keep a journal, make a scrapbook of the recruiting letters and emails, and take pictures of the schools you visit. It truly is the honeymoon phase of a long relationship with the school your child eventually commits to.</p>
<p>Thanks so much for your insight on this, bessie. I love the idea of keeping a journal of the process - and remembering to treasure the time with my son.</p>