My daughter verbally committed to play soccer at one of her top colleges her junior year of high school. The scholarship money wasn’t much but this school has been one of her favorites for years. Her other top school is having an ID camp this summer and she wants to go. She’s never met this coach and thinks it would be good to attend the camp so she doesn’t have any “what if’s” down the road. My question is, would it be acceptable for a verbal commit to attend a 3 day ID camp at another college? Do we say something up front or just let her attend the camp (which is in another state) and see if anything comes of it? This school may not be interested in her but I think she needs that closure. I already asked her if they are interested which would she pick and she’s really unsure but thinks she’d be better able to answer that after spending some time at the camp. I understand a verbal is just a verbal and bottom line is we need to do what’s best for my daughter, but I also don’t want to burn any bridges. Maybe this is not so abnormal, I don’t know. Any feedback would be appreciated.
Yes, she can attend
twoinanddone, do you know of anyone who’s done something like this?
I know several of kids who verbally committed early on in high school - not one has ever attended the school they verbally committed to! It’s not unusual. Coaches can rescind offers just as easily.
Maybe in your sport it is different but in many sports the camps are hosted by one school or coach but attended by lots of students and also by a lot of coaches from other schools. The athletes do the camps to be seen by coaches but also to try out new training and styles of play. The camps aren’t only for juniors but for younger students the coaches can’t even discuss recruitment with them.
Like NJWrestingmom, I know lots of student who committed as freshmen and sophomores (old rules) and more than half went to the schools they committed to early. Those players continued to go to camps and showcase tournaments. My own daughter committed as a senior and still played in a showcase tournament. She wore her pink armband to show that she was committed, but she still received a LOT of calls from coaches, especially D3.
REad the literature from the camp. Does it say it is just for players who want to go to State U or is it for players who want to be exposed to college coaches, play on a college field, play with the college players? I don’t think most sports allow the coaches just to have try outs for their team only. The camps are for exposure.
Doesn’t sound kosher to me. College ID camp is much different than showcase tournament.
But in most sports the coaches can just have a private camp to ID kids just for that school. There are coaches from multiple schools looking at all the players.
And this student hasn’t committed to any school in writing. It’s a verbal, with no promises on either end.
There is no rule prohibiting your daughter from attending an ID camp if she is verbally committed to a different school.
What you and your daughter have to decide is how seriously you take the verbal commitment she has made. Different people will see the situation differently.
-Some will say a student’s verbal commitment should be taken very seriously, after all, she gave her word, and the commitment should not be broken just because the student changes their mind, prefers another school, or gets a better offer.
-Some will say it’s not a big deal to break a verbal…because both coaches and students break their verbal commitments often.
The reality is that student athletes break more verbals than coaches, and many of the student commitments are broken in favor of another school. Coaches generally do not break a verbal because they found a better student athlete. Verbals broken on the school/coach side tend to be due to a coach changeover, or the recruit coming up short on GPA or a test score.
If your D does attend the ID camp, she should inform the coach she is verbally committed to. Many sports communities are small, and it’s certainly possible the coach at her committed program could find out she attended another program’s ID camp.
if your daughter is a rising senior the chances of a top100 D1 school having any scholarship fractions left is zero. (girls soccer commits really early, typically 9th /10th grade for top D1 programs.) Also, coaches know each other, and this would not be the first time a verbal offer would be rescinded from a kid if that kid is exploring other schools. Also, if your kid gets ask what’s their status they kind of have to be honest which will be awkward.
She planned on being honest if they are interested in her. If they start conversation with her she’ll explain she’s verbally committed, but with this being her other top school she wanted to learn more. As I said, she might not like the school as much after spending a couple nights there. She just keeps comparing the two and how can you be confident on your decision when you don’t know a lot about your other top choice? It’s a D1 school but not top tier. That’s not really a deciding factor anyway.
I appreciate your feedback. She planned on tell them she’s already verbally committed but should she do that up front on the first day of camp or wait and only say something if they’re interested in her and start a conversation with her?
Second guessing her decision, having buyer’s remorse or FOMO is normal, but perhaps she should not have committed to another school if she wasn’t confident in her decision
Do you know if the showcase organizing coach even has any slots left for rising seniors? If not, attending the showcase would obviously be a waste of time and money. Have your D call and ask. Will other schools besides her top choice be at this showcase? Committed athletes may have to wear a certain color shirt or armband to denote they are committed, so all coaches would know this fact. Could the fact she is committed prevent her from getting other serious looks? Maybe, maybe not. Probably depends on how good your D is and/or whether the coaches have any slots left for rising seniors.
IMO the biggest issue is that if your D plans on attending the showcase, she has to tell the coach of the program she is committed to. No matter the relationship she has with the coach, this is a risk. Could the coach not care that she is seemingly not 100% on their program? Sure. Could the coach rescind your D’s verbal based on this perceived slight? Yep.
Your D does not want her coach to find out she went to that showcase without telling him/her—even if that didn’t lead to them rescinding their offer, it would certainly damage the coach-athlete relationship which is hardly well developed at this stage.
could probably wait to see if she shows well, but mentally prepare her for what her response would be