Sophomores and juniors in high school to have ‘offers’ and ‘commitments’ in some sports, depending on how talented the athlete is. LaBraun James’ son has been getting offers since he was about 10 years old. Nothing is final until the student is admitted to the school as a senior, but I’d say most of the time it works out if the coach is giving support.
In Olympic years, there are a lot of notations where the swimmers are heading to college, and some of these women are 16 and still in high school (men tend to be older). Cal, Georgia, Stanford? Yes, they go to those schools.
But most athletes aren’t in the Olympics, and many still commit (and announce it) before they are officially admitted to the university. They do not have likely letters or any type of guarantees.
I don’t see that you removed the link to the specific athlete.
I don’t understand what or why you are asking. Coaches can recruit whoever they want…perhaps they see big upside in a 6’2" female, maybe they have many seniors to replace, or any of countless reasons they might choose someone with a time that might seem less than competitive to relatively uninformed people.
@Mwfan1921 : the link has been automatically removed, and I can’t see any mention of a specific Athlete/Coach/School in the current listing of my questions posted on the past 24 hours
The question being asked is straight forward, because swimmers are principally evaluated on times they swim, though as you stated other parameters come into play in close calls, but in swimming selected athletes still need very competitive times.
My advice is to not try to get upset with what kids are getting recruited to XYZ schools. You’ll drive yourself crazy trying to figure out what that kid has that maybe yours doesn’t, even though their times may be similar. Many of the recruits have been building relationships with coaches for a long time while yours has just recently been starting. Or maybe the athlete in question has older siblings who went through that program and were high performers. The point is you don’t really know every “why”.
@TonyGrace: I don’t understand on what basis you make assumptions about my questions, and assume facts that are neither verified nor true.
I am certainly not upset and in fact very grateful about much of the advice and encouragement received through this thread/community, D24 is in active conversations with coaches, and will likely swim at a school she likes, as many in this community, with great support from everyone here.
The question remains straight forward, to help gain a better understanding of the process itself and share that understanding with other swimmers/athletes/parents.
In the case of a recruited athlete with substantially slower times compared to existing swimmers on that team, trying to understand what sort of factors could contribute to his/her recruiting: factors mentioned so far include height, siblings, long relationship buildup. Any other color is much appreciated.
Not specific to swimming, but when my son was going through T&F recruiting, a few coaches seemed to place a lot of emphasis on video (not just current results). They were trying to assess not just where he was as a high school junior, but whether he had potential to improve and where he might be after a few years training with that coach.
Another factor could be expected fit with teammates. These kids spend a lot of time together and I can see coaches placing a lot of emphasis on potential fit.
This is less likely, but I can also see a slight advantage being given to a kid from an area or program that tends to produce many potential recruits. Taking a slightly slower recruit for the Class of 24 may pay dividends down the road through enhanced relationships with that program.
So, even in measured sports where things are relatively clear cut, I don’t think it is always going to be just about the junior year results.
Although some coaches may ask for a video, there is little emphasis for swimming. I have only encountered one coach who asked for one.
I think the rest that you mentioned can happen.
@NiVo I did not mean to offend. My statement was a reaction to the fact that this thread seems to be going around in circles, with a variation of the same question popping up every few posts.
We’ve responded with our best understanding of the process. It may not be a satisfying answer but beyond that only the coach knows why they did or did not make an offer.
With regards to recruits who may have slightly slower times than existing team members, in addition to the potential and known program arguments, some schools, noteably Ivys, have academic targets to hit, so if they take a great swimmer with not so great academics, they can offset this with a good swimmer with fantastic academics.
Also, lets not forget the legacy/development angle. With the pressure for fundraising many college coaches are under, this is a real issue, even if all the rules are being followed.
1.Team the recruit comes from. There are several clubs in California known to produce good swimmers but also good team players. They’ve been in high level meets since they were little, can handle the pressure, know the routine. A college coach may trust the system that produced the swimmer.
2.Academics
3.Personality. And not just of the athlete but of the parents. I can remember contacting my daughter’s coach twice, once to discuss her finances at the end of freshman year and then once in sophomore year because I needed an extra ticket to the athletic fundraising event. Other parents were on the coach’s phone, in her office, texting ALL the time - playing time, why isn’t daughter a captain, organizing the post game meals, hotel arrangements, drama between the girls. My daughter would have killed me if I had contacted the coach about playing time. I didn’t even call when she had the flu and we were trying to get her to an out of town game (she ended up being able to ride the bus). But parents can be a PITA to coaches.
Club/hs coaches wanting to go to a program with the athlete. This does happen, and then they might want to bring another athlete (slightly slower?) with them. Missy Franklin’s coach went with her to Cal after the Olympics. Deion Sanders is the new football coach at Colorado and his two sons will play for him and his daughter will play on the basketball team (and that team is ranked this year). Maybe they didn’t bump someone else, but maybe they did.
I asked a head DI swim coach, who is a close friend, if he had troubles with helicopter parents on his team. He said that he does not have troubles with helicopter parents. He stops recruiting an athlete if he suspects the parents are like that.
Thanks for the color, very true about the Swim Club, D24 has a good friend benefiting from that. Too late in her own case, but she’s happy to join that process this summer to gain training and US race meet experien.
Academics are on part with the target schools requirements.
Coach relationship is really between coach and athlete, unless there are exceptional circumstances . No PITA worry here, but indeed only extended email/voice/zoom exposure can confirm that for a coach.
The answer to the question is that the student would not be a recruit for that team. The team needs to keep winning and they will want to keep recruiting fast swimmers to stay at the top of the league.
I believe this would possibly be a “love to have you if you get in” situation if there is any interest. However, even if by some chance the student would be recruited or a walk-on, then it becomes a question of how much competition will they see? Travel squads to championships do not include all from the team; league rules dictate how many can go and it will always be the fastest expected point scorers. NESCACs allow a total of 24 swimmers, including divers, to travel. That means about 6-7 swimmers will not make the trip.
Neither scenario is likely at all though. Like, I would guess there’s a less than 1% chance of either scenario playing out as you suggest. Also I don’t think LeBron’s son was a development case, more like a talent one.
somehow, there must be a logical and quantifiable reason for recruiting an athlete into a very competitive program, to which you assign 99% probability; whether that athlete’s currently swimming in a high profile program, demonstrates development potential from a level below the bar, or the coach absolutely needs another 3 new breastrokers, … or indeed the 1% probability of hope and/or legacy/development
ps: I don’t know the peculiars of Lebron’s son, but surely if a coach decided to identify him at age 10, he must be the youngest ever basketball recruit
There probably is, but that reason may only be known by the coach, and never known by the general public. And therefore is not actionable by anyone else.
My middle son did not play club soccer and did not pursue college recruiting. His school went to one college showcase. My son’s school had never had a kid go to Emory Oxford. My son had visited and it was already one of his top choices. The Emory Oxford coach was there. My son ended up getting coach support and playing there.
My point is that no one else can follow in my son’s footsteps and expect the same outcome. Sometimes the stars align just right. But you cannot count on that!
That’s a great reply and a unique outcome. International athletes don’t typically get exposed to showcases, and it’s certainly too late for D24, so her track is down to achieving response/support through the traditional email/Whatsapp/zoom/referrals route without legacy/local club/showcase. it’s a bigger huddle to climb, and up to D24 to achieve. In the end, the vast majority of athletes qualify through their own efforts, in sports and in recruiting.
All of the 4 women I know who are currently swimming for 3 different Ivy league teams were offered and committed to a slot by this time in their junior year. Only one of them announced at this point, the other three waited until they had their likely letter in hand. If there are HS class of 2024 women’s swimming recruits publicly listed as committed to an Ivy League school, it is because they have committed to the application process with the full support of the coach. They are doing this without the benefit of an official pre-read, but the coach has a good feel for what admissions will say for most student athletes. Ivy league pre-read results don’t surprise anyone.
Every recruit that is committed to Yale Women’s swimming for the HS classes of 2023 and 2024 on swimcloud has at least one best time that would have made at least a B final at last weekend’s heps. The lower end recruits might also be helping to bring up the recruiting class’s AI, but the coach doesn’t have to go too far down their list to find fast swimmers with outstanding grades and scores who will jump at the chance to go to Yale.
Legacy and development can help someone get into Yale. However, the coach doesn’t take these into consideration when he is trying to solidify his recruiting class. These are different admissions bins. If an athlete gets into an Ivy without the benefit of coach’s support, they wait until they are officially accepted to announce.
It is 99.9% likely that neither scenario you suggested is actually what happened and absolutely no swimmer could present the financial impact having Bronny James on a team would so scenario two isn’t happening. Even Bronny had many doors shut to him regarding playing time due to his basketball skills - but money is no concern so he is a full pay kid considering some top D1s but is not a five star recruit.
This student athlete filled a spot the coach needed and presented as best fit. Likely they are just one of many juniors that have verbally committed to the application process at top academic schools and top d1 schools.
The thing you need to understand is that when a student athlete announces a verbal commitment isn’t always when they actually committed to a school. Especially for Ivy and top academic schools PSAs will be offered support and a spot by coaches during junior year or summer immediately after junior year but the vast majority wait to announce until they receive full acceptance in fall of senior year, so even though this one student announced early, many of the top academic coaches have completed their short list and made slot offers (pending pre reads) already - kids just don’t usually announce it on social media.
