<p>Hi, I have a brand new registration though I have read CC for several months. Thanks for letting me join the discussion.</p>
<p>Could I ask what it means when a player has given a verbal commitment to a college as early as sophomore year, when the player has not even taken the ACT or SATs or gone through a junior season? Does a verbal commitment mean that if all goes well, the college will admit that player?</p>
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<p>Pretty much. If the player continues to excel and develop as an athlete, and if his academics and test scores are in range after Junior year, and if the coach stays with the program, and if a better prospect doesn’t come along in the meantime, then yeah, it’s pretty solid.</p>
<p>Thank you for your reply, that explains a lot and is what I had heard, I think I heard the phrase “in the back pocket” but because it’s an Ivy I thought that was exaggerated and people were just talking. </p>
<p>I really had no idea how early on you could get college admission through sports. I wish I had known this earlier, I guess I am just grateful to have caught on now.</p>
<p>^If it’s an Ivy, the early verbal is even less solid than the sketchy scenario I described above. Parents and club coaches like to talk about their early commits, but just remember, there is nothing binding about them.
Sure, a reputable college coach isn’t going to want to get the rep of reneging - but until test scores and transcripts are in place, he can’t give much meaningful assurance, esp at an Ivy</p>
<p>When one of my daughter’s friends “verballed” to Harvard sophomore year I was skeptical. But it all worked out as planned. She continued to do well in her sport, graduated in the top 2% of her HS class, did well on her standardized tests, and is happily at Harvard now.</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>In some sports, LAX and soccer come to mind, the recruiting timeline has become so accelerated that if a college coach waits until the fall of senior year, most of the top recruits are already locked up. It has become a self-perpetuating cycle and a lot of coaches don’t like it, but they have to play if they’re going to get the top kids.</p>
<p>In Sherpa’s daughter’s friend’s case - I imagine she already had a transcript (albeit brief) chock full of As and honors classes, so it didn’t seem like much of a stretch to project that she would be able to clear the AI hurdle by the time she was a Senior.
But of course, the standard disclaimer applies - nothing is solid until admissions says so, and that happens Senior year.</p>