Hi all - My D18 has committed to Oxford College of Emory University, which is a two year college that leads directly to Emory University for Junior and Senior years. My D was recruited for XC and T&F by some D3 schools and also had talked to the Emory University Coach, but ended up deciding on Oxford College for the beginning of her college career. Oxford College has a XC team, but not T&F.
So, my question - D’s High School coach just called to tell me that he’d like to arrange a signing ceremony for D celebrating her decision to run for the Oxford College XC team. D thinks this is ridiculous because, as a 2 year college, the team competes at the Junior College level. For reference, her high school has pretty big deal signing ceremonies for all recruited athletes from DI to DIII, but I don’t remember ever seeing a ceremony for a junior college level recruit like this.
Has anyone ever seen a signing ceremony for the junior college level? Is D right that this would be unusual? Her High School Coach is very gung-ho, which is nice, but D is very reluctant - she’s a teenager, so probably afraid of doing anything that other kids would snicker about. Thanks for any advice/thoughts!
It kind of depends on the school, how many other kids will be up there, at what levels, etc. My DD’s school is a huge jock factory, so they do group signings in the fall and the spring. She was reluctant to participate until she found out there would be at least a couple other D3 kids with her. Have your DD check out the scale of the thing. If it’s half D3 she won’t stand out at all, especially given her destination. (If you know about Oxford it’s a great entry point, and if you don’t then it sounds kind of regal, not like some community college.)
Thanks @StPaulDad - I think, just based off of previous signings the school has publicized, that they do the signings one at a time with pictures, etc., rather than a group signing. But, if my D decides to have a ceremony, it will be on the last day possible and there may end up being several that day. Hardly anyone comes to the ceremonies other than family members, maybe a few teammates/friends, and coaches - it’s more about the instagram post, etc., and those are definitely individual. I agree with you, though, that most people looking at such an announcement wouldn’t have any idea at what level Oxford competes since it’s such an unusual setup within Emory.
At our school they lump everyone together. D1-D3, NAIA, JUCO, whoever signed that period. Pretty much treat them all the same, and to be honest I think most people don’t think much of it. They probably think my son is the loser up there, because his Ivy didn’t even give him a scholarship whereas the JUCO kid got one.
Around here the money is more important than the prestige. Although she is at a feeder to Emory, so people in the know probably still give her credit for the prestige factor.
Thanks for your thoughts too @dadof4kids. I think you’re correct that 99% of people won’t think much about it or what level it is. I LOLed at your son being considered a “loser” with his Ivy commitment and no scholarship - I’m sure he’ll be just fine!
I agree with you, @Muad_dib, that coaches love the ceremonies. That’s really why I’m encouraging my D to agree to it - her coach has been so supportive of her all these years that I’d like her to do it mainly because I know he’d like her to.
I got a bit more info - looks like there will be a couple of DIII commits signing at the same time, so I think she’ll end up agreeing to it. I think it will be pretty lowkey compared to the big D1 ceremonies that happened earlier in the year.
My daughter’s signing ceremony is probably my fondest memory of high school, including graduation and the beyond awful senior awards ceremony. Disagree with @Muad_dib that it is just a coach’s show. My daughter’s coaches weren’t even teachers at the school so had to come especially to the school, and we her happy they did.
Our high school included everyone, even those who had signed in the fall (my daughter). We had D1, D2, D3, JUCO, NAIA, community college, with and without scholarships. We had one going to Navy so no scholarship for athletics, but they made a big deal over her. We had male crew signers, who aren’t under the NCAA. It was a great event.
The rival school, about 4 miles away, did individual signing ceremonies throughout the year. A college teammate of my daughter signed her NLI in Nov but had her school ceremony in January. Honestly, I thought that was a little odd.
If your daughter doesn’t want to do it, she doesn’t have to. It is really just for her.
Hi Emmycat, my S will be running XC and T&F at Emory College, so maybe they will be teammates down the road. Not quite the same but we did a signing at our HS. Our HS is not a sports powerhouse so all athletes playing on the college level are encouraged to do signings regardless of D1/3 status. Each kid has their own private ceremony. Yes it’s more about the instagram and twitter posts, and the only people who attend are parents, coaches, the athletic director, and the principal. S really liked the recognition for his hard work, especially in a sport like running which does not get the attention that other sports do.
Anyone who pooh-poohs a signing ceremony likely has never had a kid who was recruited. At my daughter’s school, they don’t send many kids to D1 programs and so had a special individual event for her in the early period. It was fun — and even the college she’s going to wanted pix of the event.
Unless you’re signing an actual NLI with money attached or agreeing to play at a D1 Ivy school IMO there should be no ceremony individually or as a group.
So the girl who was playing tennis for Navy shouldn’t have been included in the signing ceremony? Why should an Ivy athlete get to be in the activities but not someone going to Williams or Georgetown with a spot on the team but no scholarship? How about the male rowers who don’t get NCAA scholarships but might get other ones? All were included in our signing day celebration.
What difference does it make if the school includes these athletes? Is it taking something away from others? No, it isn’t.
@BigBlueSwim: Apparently the NCAA disagrees with you, because they created a Div 3 signing form in 2015. As twoinandone states, it’s not taking anything away from others. I certainly don’t feel as if the existence of a Div 3 signing form/event takes anything away from my daughter’s NLI signing.
The guy getting $1000 from JUCO has something to sign that actually means something, but the Olympic hopeful going to Princeton does not. If you are going to draw a line it makes more sense to do it there. I don’t think S is going to feel like the lower level guys are cheapening his recognition.
I never got the impression that anyone at the high school was doing it for any purpose other than lauding the kids. The school put up a picture on its news and information page, but it would have done the same for the debate team winning an award or the theater group putting on a play. My daughter’s new coach wanted a picture of the actual signing (in Nov) to put on the team’s webpage, announcing the new team (and she was in the first signing class, so there wasn’t much else up there).
My D’s HS does not do it, despite having quite a few athletes, but I do not see anything wrong with those schools who do. For all athletes. Especially for kids who are not tippy top D1, tippy top merit awards, tippy top whatever. Sometimes those kids really need a pat on the back. You go Emmycats D!
As a parent of a D1 signer, my opinion is that they should either not have a signing ceremony or, if they do, include everyone that commits to a college varsity team. Limiting just to NLI signers and having a grand ceremony creates one more unnecessary pressure for HS athletes to pick the DI/DII program which, in many cases, means compromising on the academics. In the case of the OP, the colleges sometimes like to get a photo of the athlete signing and then they send it out on social media.
Ours encourages anyone playing in college to join the show… It’s an acknowledgement of the time and effort that goes into a sport these days, recognition of an achievement that not everyone has the persistence or ability to reach, and a hat tip to the parents and coaches that helped the kids go the distance. They do recognition ceremonies for band and debate and speech and whatever else that aren’t much different (except for the years when someone signs with Notre Dame or a Big Ten school – that’s ridiculous.)
Thanks so much for the support from many of you! My D had her ceremony this morning, along with a Div I signee and a Div III signee, and all three of them were treated the same. About half of the senior class and most teammates were there to support them and it was really, really nice.
I’m so glad she decided to do it and agree with many posters above who said it is a nice recognition for these kids who have worked hard at their sport, regardless of the level they’re moving on to. The Oxford at Emory coaches actually came to the ceremony this morning, which made it even more special and made my D feel so supported and welcomed onto their team. It also gave her a chance to publicly thank her high school coaches and teammates who have meant so much to her over the years. They brought an NLI for her to sign too - I didn’t even know they’d have one at the junior college level, but they did.
Just wanted to share my post-ceremony thoughts for anyone in a similar boat in the future . . .
Oops - LOI, not NLI - still figuring out the lingo. Also, I’m excited to hear about your son @eastcoast11! I’m not sure if my D will end up continuing with XC or T&F at main campus at Emory, but if she does, I’ll be sure to PM you and see how your son has liked the team. Good luck to him!
Good luck to him!