<p>Several months ago we went on an unofficial visit to X university. My son was invited via email from one of the football coaches. When we got home from our visit, my son sent a thank you letter to the football coach. The head coach responded by saying 'Good luck with your season, we will be watching'. Two days ago, the coach called my son, said he was in town to talk to another senior and he would like to also meet with my son. My son & I met with the coach. He seemed extremely interested. Said they wanted him to come play football. Asked how his grades were. Asked what he was interested in majoring in. The coach explained their football program. Briefly touched on financial aid & mentioned 'private aid', The coach felt my son would be a great asset to their team. It's a D3 school - very new football program. The coach also stressed academics first. He said that he would like my son to come to visit on an official visit in January & gave us the dates. The coach gave us his card & said if we had any questions or concerns to feel free to contact him.</p>
<p>My son took his ACT couple months ago. Has a composite score of 21. This schools requirements for thee ACT are 22-29. His current GPA is 3.3.</p>
<p>My question: Should I email the coach & ask him if my son's ACT score is a deal breaker before we go through the process of gathering recommendations, applying and attending the official visit?</p>
<p>Thank you for any information or advice. This process is brand new to us and as a mom, I feel kind of lost.</p>
<p>Your son should email the coach himself. Coaches aren’t very fond of dealing with parents. Gives them the impression that the kid can’t hold his own. They also want the upper hand psychologically. We’ve dealt with some straight up and not so straight up coaches in the last 6 months. Official visits are rarely paid for by the school in D3 so you’d want to make sure your son is in the ballpark academically before plunking down the money for a trip (assuming a flight) to the school. Has the coach ever viewed film of your son?</p>
<p>He should contact the coach for sure, as if he is a borderline candidate, the coach will be his best advocate for getting in. He should also contact the admissions office to get their opinion on whether the 22 is a definite requirement, or something they look at holistically.</p>
<p>Yes, My son sent film from almost all of his games. This particular coach said that he liked what he saw on film, felt my son would be an asset and would be exactly what they needed strength and size wise. My son is a power lifter as well. We( my son, the coach & myself) talked a bit about powerlifting and the coach knows that my son set the school squat record for his weight class last year. The coach knows that power lifting season is about to start and said ‘Please don’t get hurt power lifting’. I took that as don’t get hurt because we want you to play for us. But I may be over-analyzing.</p>
<p>Great idea about contacting the school to determine if the scores are definitive. And I will definitely have him contact the coach himself once we get a handle on the ACT scores. Great advice. It’s so hard to decipher what means what and how to proceed.</p>
<p>How do you know when a coach is being straight up?</p>
<p>DIII coaches don’t have athletic money mot,promise to student athletes so more than likely he’s shooting straight. Your son is just off the ACT required, if he’s a bit better than what the coach already has lined up in his recruiting class, you may be in good shape.</p>
<p>Have you already visited the school? Does/did your son like it? Does the school offer the major he is currently interested in? </p>
<p>S is a current HS senior (class of '15). Examples of straight shooters vs BS’ers in our experience this year:</p>
<p>The bad:
-Went out to the NE Elite in Boston. A coach tells us that he does not make offers of support until returning to campus to analyze kid’s numbers. Son’s buddy was made an offer on the spot (bigger, faster than son).
-Emails from several coaches stating that they love son based on his film. Phone conversations later revealed they never took a look.
-Recruit day at a Nescac during the elite. Coach told S prior to visit that he was a top guy. Acted like S didn’t exist when we arrived on campus alongside the other guys. Mom made up her mind instantly, questioned coaches sincerity.
-Submitted paperwork for prereads after returning from camp in July. Every successive phone conversation has been “I’ll have results in a few days, probably a week”. Still waiting to hear from 3 coaches 4 months later.
-Emailed all coaches that expressed interest to ask what their level of interest was before ED1 deadline. Some replied right away, some were never heard from. Would’ve been great to hear “you don’t fit our goals academically/athletically”. They hold these young men to high standards but some don’t practice what they preach.</p>
<p>The good:
-West coast LAC telling S that he cannot support admission, but he has a spot on team if he gets in on his own. In a very prompt manner to son’s email.
-A few coaches called/emailed shortly after ED1 deadline to see what S decided on. All are still pitching their programs/schools to S in the event ED1 goes sour.
-Nescac coach telling son on visit a few weeks ago that he knows that money is a deciding factor, so he’d be willing to wait for son in ED2 round if his ED1 doesn’t work out.
-Coach emailing son to wish him well during his HS season on a weekly basis, mentioning the opponent he faced. Following up on Mondays with an email about details of Son’s game. The college is on the other side of the country from us.
-S established a rapport with a Non- nescac (top 50) during junior year via phone/email. They expressed interest a year and a half ago and never waivered. Back then we thought it was just talk. Visit last month reiterated their interest. A local alum shot coach an email vouching for Sons character/ non-athletic qualities. without our knowing prior to. Coach reply was that he hopes the college/program can impress S on upcoming visit, not that S can impress them.</p>
<p>Yes, we have visited the school on an unofficial visit. Yes, my son liked the school. They do have his major but not known for his major. Small private D111 school - very expensive. Classroom ratio 11 kids to 1 professor. Football program is only 2 years old. My question now is: Should he contact the coach & ask if his ACT score is a deal breaker or should he continue with the application process(get recommendations filled out, attend official visit), not say anything to the coach & hope for the best? </p>
<p>if the coach wanted to know the ACT score he would have asked</p>
<p>he asked him about his grades already, correct?,if so that part is a mute point ime</p>
<p>by what you said it appears they are very interested in your son and if they approached him this early on for a D3 school it shows they are more then interested</p>
<p>was it directly after his HS season ended that they came to visit?,if so another really good sign,means they value him as a potential top tier player at his position or position need he could fit into</p>
<p>by offering a official visit along with the way it was handled by the school-he is in a pretty good position to get in and too receive financial assistance and/or acceptance </p>
<p>I’m not understanding the down side of asking the coach. If it doesn’t matter if it is a 21 or 22, then it still won’t matter if you ask. If it is a deal breaker at 21, then you won’t save anything but time to know that. If you know, you can make decisions with that knowledge - retake ACT, look to another school, appeal.</p>
<p>I don’t see the downside of asking either. And if the school is really in your son’s sights, he can tell the coach that he’s planning a re-take…or planning to sit for the SAT, with the intent of raising the grade to the school’s range.</p>
<p>Have son ask Coach, nothing to lose, cut to the chase and quit speculating. D was being recruited by a dream academic school for me, D1 and one of the top schools in the country. After a couple of calls and emails we had to come straight out and ask about minimum admission standards. School averages a 34 ACT, told us D had to have a 26 for Track coach to get her through admissions. Sadly a 26 was outside of the realm of possibility for D, told the coach this and we wished each other well. </p>
<p>My only contribution here is to listen to the coach when they talk about power lifting season … Do not risk an injury prior to an admissions decisio, ever, particularly in a sport your athlete is not being recruited for. </p>