@BeagleAG Thank you for sharing that important information. I was worried about sending him to summer camps because I wasn’t sure if they were worth it or not, especially coupled with the fact that they were pricey. Now, I understand that it’s important to be identified, right?
I hope your son gets good results!
In my son’s case it was worth it. It jump started the process. As near as I can tell these guys don’t have big budgets, unless it’s a top D I school, so you have to make it easy for them. My wife was a three sport athlete in the NESCAC, so we had some idea what it should be like but the process has changed a bunch in the last 30 years.
Beagle,
You are absolutely correct that your son will have to scramble if things don’t work out at 1st choice school. Usually ED1 applicants hear in mid-December and most ED2 and regular applications are due in early January. That makes for a happy winter holiday break. Nevertheless, it can be done.
Six “slots” seems like a lot for a soccer team. It is true that the term slot has a specific meaning in recruiting, but that in practice its lines are blurred somewhat. Slots usually refer to recruits predicted to be impact players with application stats below the school’s 25th percentile – they would not be admitted without the coach’s support. “Tips” on the other hand are recruits whose admissions stats are competitive, but have coach support through admissions to make sure admissions knows that the applicant is wanted for a team. The coach could have been referring to six recruits that he knows through experience that his support with admissions should have an impact.
When things don’t work out, there is usually a reason. Here are some of the recurring reasons: 1) misunderstanding what the coach said - one reason it is good to go with kid to at least one coach meeting; 2) crossed wires between coach and admissions; 3) a change in a coach’s recruiting list - usually because a better prospect is added to the list late in the process; 4) a change in coaching staff; 5) injury that coach learns about. I am sure there are many more.
The most likely outcome for your son is going to be fine. Still, I suggest being conservative about telling people about him committing. I don’t think the NESCAC schools like commitments being publicized.
Beagle: I agree with gointhruaphase, who is essentially saying better safe than sorry. However, the term “slot” has a specific meaning in NESCAC recruiting so you are probably fine. You might want to ask a question about how many players the last two seasons with “slots” were admitted in coaches sport? Your S should also probably keep the lines of communication open with other schools just to play it safe and provide ED2 options. Congrats and good luck
@Dodalee In terms of camps, for a rising junior, I would suggest that your son email the coaches of programs he is interested in, before the camps, with specific information about his soccer and academic background, and a sentence about why the school is of interest, and that the player looks forward to seeing the coach at camp. At a camp like PPA (though my kid didn’t do that camp, it was on our list of possibles), there will be, I’m guessing, 150+ kids, all interested in catching the coaches’ notice. Even at single school camps, which tend to be smaller, we found that coaches had been following players’ DA matches before camp opened, particularly for players located within a reasonable geographic range of the college. For an unknown player to show up at camp, without any introduction, the chances of getting serious notice unless a player was truly a phenom, can be a challenge, so some preliminary communication beforehand helps. But all in all, camps are most programs’ recruiting pipeline and are a necessary part of D3 recruiting.
Just to chime in with a bit of a contrarian opinion. I would not get caught up in the CC slots v tips language. My son, although he is admittedly not playing in the NESCAC, was recruited heavily by several and I believe was eventually offered support by five or six. I personally had detailed discussions with coaches at three schools in the conference about admissions support. Never once did I hear the term slot or tip, nor did the coaches ever distinguish the type of support they could offer. All three coaches I spoke with talked in terms of recruits above and below the “line”, meaning the average admitted stats for the preceding class. The point being that while some schools, or some sports, may talk in terms of slots and tips, others do not. I would try and focus on the substance of what the coach is communicating rather than looking for magic words or phrases.
On the macro level, my son also committed early for his sport (July of senior year) and I get the anxiety you are experiencing. My son tried to keep in contact with his #2 and #3 choice school, and he had a pretty good “safety” where the coach had been adamant that he would have a place in his class no matter what. But frankly it gets harder to keep in touch with other schools the closer you get to the “witching hour”, which in your son’s case is assumedly the ED deadline. Honestly the part you are going through now was for me the worst part. Just sitting around and waiting, and unraveling all of the relationships built with other schools while all the eggs sit precariously in one basket.
At the end of the day, and understanding that this sounds condescending, there is really no getting around the fact that you have to trust the coach. It is hard, no doubt. And while there is a lot of talk here about how that is particularly the case in the NESCAC with the somewhat opaque admissions support system, it hits kids at every level, whether the kid who gets his scholly pulled a week before national signing day, the Ivy recruit whose likely letter is somehow inexplicably denied in November, or the NESCAC kid who is not admitted in December. It is just the way the process works.
The best you and your son can do is to make sure the lines of communication with the coach stay open and that you know where you stand in the process. Depending on your son’s desirability as a recruit at the NESCAC level, I would also recommend cultivating a clear #2 choice, so that if the unthinkable happens the ground work is laid to move seamlessly to an ED2 option if that is available.
Best to you and your son.
In response to Ohiodad, I agree that language can be confusing, such as the distinction between a “slot” (i.e. full support) vs. a “tip.” in the NESCAC world. Since my S was relatively weak on the academic side but strong on the athletic side, the coaches at the NESCAC schools, which did pre-reads, were candid that he needed a “slot” to gain admittance. My S ultimately decided in September of his senior year to go the Patriot route, after a positive pre-read with an unqualified assurance of admission, but kept his options open at 1 top NESCAC he really liked, but which ultimately decided not to offer him a slot.
That said, Ohiodad knows of that which he writes.
OhioD and Zenator,
I agree that the term “slot” may mean something different when used by a coach in recruitment than the import of the term as used by the league. I went through this process several times with several different sports in the NESCAC. Some coaches in some sports actually used the term “slot,” while others did not. Some coaches focused on bands, some on lists. I feel quite certain, however, that there are differing levels of support for admissions for different athletes.
Under the NESCAC arrangement, a coach has the ability to dip to the “C” band for only a very limited number of impact recruits (football allows many more than other NESCAC sports). If a coach’s no. 1, 2, 3, and 4 recruits have stellar grades and boards, the coach can dip to the C band for recruit nos. 5 and 6. This may result in practice to the functional equivalent of more than two slots – in the example above, six candidates that the coach feels have a very good chance of being admitted.
I also agree that communication is a wise idea up until the time of admission. This can be done easily for fall sports, especially toward the end of the season when awards are made. Even during the season, a recruit could write: “Coach, I wanted to let you know I had a pretty good game yesterday. I scored two goals and an assist.” As a general matter, prompt coach response is a good sign.
D3 soccer parent here, agreeing that staying in contact with programs during the fall season is useful and is part of the process which helps kids mature through the recruiting process.
For the player who has not yet "committed, that communication can be very helpful in building relationships and continuing to get a sense of the personality of the program. My kid emailed coaches at schools where there was mutual interest with updates every few weeks, and that often led to phone calls from the coaches. That communication over a period of time helped him see the personality of the program, beyond the overnight with players and watching a match/training, and gave him the confidence that he knew what he was choosing when he made his decision.
Pins and needles in Jersey waiting for early read from Bowdoin, coach thinks daughter has done enough grades and test wise put her in the B-band slot has told her she would be one of top two recruits.Reason to doubt average s.a.t. 640, 29 a.c.t.,650 subject test average top 7-8% in her class 3.70 unweighted gpa. Williams called her day 1 july1st told her she has full support she is torn between the two schools the sport is softball any feedback ?
The Williams coach said he/she could get your daughter in with those academic stats??
I suggest you read article in Bowdoin Orient published 2+ years ago on recruiting and banding of student athlete’s.
Mick,
I have reason to believe that the Williams softball coach could provide the necessary support for admission for an impact player with a 29 ACT. Being test optional gives Bowdoin the ability to look the other way on the tests. Nothing – not pre-reads or past experience – will do away with the pins and needles. In a way, I think the anxiety is a positive because no one should take admission at such terrific schools as a given.
^what @gointhruaphase said. I have corresponded with a handful of people over the last few years through this site whose kids were admitted to the NESCAC test optional schools with standardized tests that may be a little low for the caliber of the competition, so a 29ACT from a stud at that level wouldn’t shock me either. More generally, it is undoubtedly easier for those of us whose kids have already been through the ringer to look at these things from the other end of the rabbit hole as it were, but it does help keep perspective when you are going through the day to day to remember the true size of the brass ring your son or daughter is chasing.
A 29 ACT for any sport other than football or hockey would shock me if they got in to Williams or Amherst.
@BeagleAG Any news yet from your son’s pre-read? Fwiw, my son received an email from the coach that said my son has his full support in ED and that every single one of the coach’s prior recruits with his full support have matriculated to the college. This makes the waiting until December much easier. Hopefully you have received good news by now as well!
@shuttlebus Nothing yet. Coach had told us he expected to hear by July 15, so it should be any day now.
Thanks for the comments, daughter received call from Bowdoin coach yesterday full support, tough decision between the two schools but a great situation to be in for my daughter
Gotta say, I’d be nervous. 29 is low, the SATs are low,grades just good, and there are reports of positive pre-reads not leading to admission…You have nothing in writing, and you won’t get anything,either. I’d also feel more confident if the coach had asked your DD to take the SAT subject tests again…Williams is NOT test optional and under 700 is low for non-helmet sports.
Williams coach(not softball) strung my S along until the day before the ED deadline, then then said he was sorry , but didn’t want my son competing against them. Glad we hadn’t pushed the “send” button.
I’d tell the second and third choice team you want to keep them in the loop and she likes Williams best, but “If things don’t work out”…There is ED2 but if your DD needs support, it’ll all be gone by then. That’s why I like the Ivies-you get a letter!
If she isn’t a 6 foot tall 65 mile an hour pitcher, I’d keep my options open. On the other hand, no bitter posts about the NESCAC softball coaches-but it’s a very small sample size…
Good luck! Don’t fib to the other coaches, they all talk…!
@mickmantle – I’d be very specific with questions to both Williams and Bowdoin coaches about what their “support/full support” means. Ask for experience with past recruits with similar stats – how many/percentage rejected, deferred, admitted. Ask where she stands on their list of recruits, and how many others (this one can be awkward to ask) coach is recruiting for her position. I agree with the observation that coaches talk to each other, so it is very important to be accurate and honest. D3 coaches are, for the most part, decent, honorable people trying to field the strongest teams they can. At the same time, there is an ocean of potential ambiguity and uncertainty if families do not ask the pointed questions. Good luck to your daughter, this is an exciting time.