Yes. Coaches have varying levels of organizational ability.
I.e. some are disorganized. Timing doesn’t mean anything, really.
Yes. Coaches have varying levels of organizational ability.
I.e. some are disorganized. Timing doesn’t mean anything, really.
I’m sure that is true. I wish she had asked for feedback since maybe they would be more likely to respond sooner, but there is no guarantee and she didn’t want to ask for feedback since she has played for them multiple times and they’ve always been very complimentary. Technically there is no “need” for them to respond, but I would think they would want to respond quickly if a player is near the top of their list and played really well (which she did). But, as we know, we have no control over these things.
It’s hard to say if there is any significance to this, as I believe you indicated that your D already visited and met with the coach in person. So it’s different than a first direct communication after an ID clinic.
If you think it’s been too long for a response (or you just want to hear from the coach) then you can either: a) send another email with new questions, or b) request a follow-up call. If you have any significant activity with other schools (i.e. pre-reads with non-NESCAC, etc.), you could contemplate adding in some vague reference to that to create a greater sense of urgency for a response.
Are there any plans for the coach to see your D play again before the July pre-read? The reality likely is that the coach (as is every coach) is managing a group of people for the same positions to see how they pan out. Some will drop off due to interest in other programs, others will be de-prioritized if there are issues with the pre-read.
I think Cinnamon1212 is correct. My daughter went to 2 ID camps at the end of junior year. She had been talking to both coaches. One coach had previously told her that she was a strong player and they were interested. That coach was very slow to respond and that delay seems to have been because the coach had lost interest and ended up offering only a walk on slot. The other coach took over a week to respond and was slow to respond to other emails for the rest of the summer. And then ended up offering a spot and admissions support. And that’s where my daughter went. So really hard to tell
Great points. So, in all fairness, D was at the clinic on Sunday and emailed “thank you” yesterday. No response yet, which I know isn’t long, but honestly she played so well (stood out) that I actually thought they might reach out yesterday without her even sending a follow up email. Alas, I know it rarely works that way. She has had 2 phone calls with the head coach in the past (with most recent being 4/1). Just wondering is it too soon for her to ask for another call? I’m just wondering how long she should give it before emailing again (a week?) and asking for follow up call, where she can also ask for feedback. I don’t think coach will see her play again (other than video) before July 1.
A coach isn’t going to decide to offer support based on the number of times your daughter emails him. It has been only two days! I would let it go at least 2 weeks before reaching out again.
Right. You need to relax. If you present as a pest that will really chill things. The coach is probably looking at 50 recruits (maybe more?).
Even if your daughter was a standout. You never know if the coach is desperate for a goalie, or a center, or a pitcher…or whatever special role your daughter cannot fulfill. So the coach is focused on a different position right now and will come back to your kid once the absolute must have is dealt with.
Unrelated to above, what are thoughts on how “professional” looking your child’s athletic resume is? D has a resume and it is thorough and I believe contains all necessary/relevant info. but is definitely not fancy and more of a list (with sections). What are thoughts on appearance of resume and how professional it needs to look? Does it matter if it’s neat and contains all info. Does a “showy” resume in terms of appearance make a difference to NESCAC coaches?
Others may differ but here’s what I’ve observed. Most coaches at the nescac/Ivy level were not students at that level so all the stressing about wording everything just right and making things professional is unnecessary. Most emails my kids got from coaches had grammar and spelling mistakes. Coaches are busy. They are often at the age where they have young kids or are ollllllld (idk why it’s those two extremes so much) so they just aren’t paying attention or they don’t care.
Thanks, I get what you’re saying. I’m just wondering if it matters to admissions, assuming it gets passed on as part of a pre-read? If some recruits have “showy” professionally done resumes, does it make difference to admissions? In other words, wondering if we should pay to have D’s resume look more professional?
Absolutely not!!!
If anything needs to be done, the coach will let you know. His interests are aligned with yours: you both want your daughter to pass the preread.
Remember: the thing that will get your daughter recruited is her playing ability and her character. All the rest is fluff – the number of times she has a call, or emails the coach, or how slick the resume looks. (Most schools didn’t even want a resume for my son!).
I am concerned that your anxiety is counterproductive. In general, with ypur daughter, but also if it spills over into coach interractions, you may be hurting your daughter’s chances.
I would urge you to take a giant step back. Coaches know they are dealing with 17 year olds.
Couldn’t agree more. Both kids were athletic recruits. During recruiting process, I backed out completely until coaches wanted to talk to me. Both kids owned this process. I was only there to give advices or opinions if they asked me for them. Both kids ended up with their #1 choice school.
I appreciate your response, but I assure you I’m not “overstepping” with the coaches. D handles all interactions and does it well. This is a great space to ask questions in a hopefully non-judgmental format because as we know, there really is no one else to ask this of. We do not get involved in any of D’s communication with coaches, we do not email them, and we haven’t even spoken to them unless they’ve expliciting invited us to when they have met with D and it has gone very well. I can’t speak for all club coaches, but D’s have NO clue how the NESCAC process works, so we’re figuring it out on our own. I’m simply asking questions here, as we get closer to July 1. I’m not sharing my stress with D or expressing concerns with her. She is blissfully a fairly naive and easy going 16 year old. I appreciate your concern for my stress level, but it is respectfully not helpful.
I am not in any way involved in her direct communication with coaches, and I am also only here to give guidance or informed opinions, however, I can’t give an informed opinion without an in-depth understanding of the NESCAC recruiting process, which I am asking questions here to learn about.
@Crosbylane, what you need to understand is that every kid is different and every kid needs varying degrees of support from family. Some kids know what they want and others want to pretend the process doesn’t exist. It all just depends.
Similarly, the way parents deal with the stress is varies. Some book out and say it’s up to the kid. Others are there to support every step of the way. There is no one correct way to get through the process.
I went through this three times while holding down a highly demanding job. I was just as obsessed and stressed with the third as with the first.
As for the college CV, does it help? Who knows. It can be helpful during an in person coach meeting as it can be a conversation starter. It may also help to remind a coach of an athlete. It is true that coaches want the best athletes, but they also want the character fits and the athletes that want to go to their school and play for the coach. Does a CV help? Maybe, maybe not. As for content, there should be no typos. Ask your high school GC for a template and have your daughter work on it so that it includes academic awards, GPA, test scores, internships, etc. Then you should proof read it.
Do enjoy the closeness that this process brings in supporting your daughter through this important stage in her life.
@Crosbylane
It’s great that we have this forum to ask questions and be stressed out. Don’t worry. This process IS incredibly stressful for some. I’ll say it was very stressful for me with my first kid because she had a very narrow field of what she wanted and compromise on ideals isn’t in her nature. (And it’s just as stressful with my second…). If you have a kid who’s happy to go to any of 20 colleges I’m sure it’s easier to be easy going. My kids aren’t like that and no amount of me talking at them would have changed that.
I second that some parents are more involved than others and any variation of behind the scenes involvement is ok.
People on cc are obsessed with the concept of “my kid did it all by him/herself.” My kids don’t/didn’t have the time to do all the busy work themselves. I’m happy to help. The only thing not to do is sit on the side of a camp or ov and scream things at the field/court. Short of that you’re probably good
Anxiety with this process is normal, parental involement is normal, asking questions is normal. My concern is that you are advising your daughter to request calls, or to bug coaches after only two days etc. The coach could think your daughter is too anxious, or think she’s a pest, or needs too much hand-holding. Or not, of course we can’t know. But I am trying to help your family avoid that, which is the purpose of my posts.
I would never advise her to email or text a coach after two days or repeatedly ask for calls. I do have common sense. Again, I’m asking on here just for my own knowledge. I ask to learn about others’ experiences and it helps when others share and I see the wide range of differences. Admittedly, I am a bit of a control freak and I have no control over this process, which is stressful. D has very specific (perhaps somewhat limiting) requirements in a school which has significantly limited her options. That’s all well and good, but it does stress me out that she wants really specific (and highly competetive) schools. As the timeline starts winding down, I’m trying to gather every scrap of info, and help her make sure all her ducks are in a row to increase every chance of success with this process.
Yes, agree! I help with the “busy work” much like a secretary. That’s it. She does the major work and calls the shots. She’s an extremely busy student-athlete and I am a full-time professional, so we do the best we can as we try and navigate this crazy process. And yes, I would never scream, yell, or do anything inappropriate on the sideline, lol. When we’ve met coaches it’s gone well and I’ve gotten a good vibe that they “like” and are comfortable with my husband and I.