Recruiting/Coach leaving.....

.....hey TBR. I want to throw out my 2 cents on this. For all of ya'll '10s, '09s, 11s..etc. Email ALL of the coaches at the schools around the east. AND when they respond to you, respond back! The college coaching carousel is in full force and you never know where a coach may be in the future. If coach A, at USC shows no interst in you, as far as you know, then email her again. The same holds true if the USC coach shows interest in you and you have no interest in particular to go to that school, email her back! Keep your options and relationships with coaches OPEN! You never know. Wish all of you the best! Marlin

 

Ultimately your need to choose a school not a coach

This has been debated forever; do you choose a school or coach? The ultimate answer is the school. The school's not going anywhere and it will be with the rest of life. The coach will likely not be there five years from now and certainly won't play much of a role in your life after you exhaust your eligibility. If you love the school then coach becomes somewhat secondary. I agree whole-heartedly with the theme of this post . . . keep your options open. Remember, recruiting is a market-place. The more offers you attract the more you are worth. If the coach from 'whatever U' knows its the only place you're considering then he/she will try to get you cheap, and probably will.

 

True...but my point was only....

....that if a coach shows an interest and you don't respond BECAUSE you don't want to go to that particular...how is the coach to know that the reason for you not responding the institution and not maybe the fact that you're lazy and don't give a crap. I know thats a little harsh Duke, but if you ignore a coach at one school and they end up at the school of your dreams, then you've got one strike against you. As the saying goes, "you can't get a 2nd chance to make a 1st opinion".

 

Defintely respond!

Oh, I didn't say ignore anyone. Coaches don't mind being told "NO", it goes along with the job. In fact an early "no, because your school just does not seem like a good fit for me" is a great response. It saves the coach time and effort.

My daughter spoke to one of the coaches who had recruited her when she worked at the recent NCAA regionals in Chapel Hill. After attending a clinic there my daughter ruled out the school. She let him know immediately in a well-worded email. He has followed her career and always has positive words for her.

That said, make sure your 'no' is an informed one. She didn't rule this school out until she had actually seen it. Far too many kids (and parents) get stuck on a particular school or schools despite never having been on many campuses.

 

Nice reply....and I'll .....

.....add this.....I know of atleast one recruiting gig that the coach actually took the time to inform a kid and her family that, politely, the kid was not in the group that he was looking for and that she should look for other options. .......Truth hurts, but its the truth. The kid responded to the coach to ask what, or how she might be better at marketing herself in the recruiting circuit. Now thats smarts! ...and let me add, she is one of the most solid players that my DD has played around. ....oh......for every cloudy day, there comes the 100 degree sunshine, and this kid did just that...shine!.....4.9 GPA and will not look back on not playing in college as she sets herself up to be BOSS!