New article on recruiting 8th graders

[obbay]

kids also change a lot from 8th grade to College. Many kids interest/focus changes in that time.

DD#1 had a lot of promise in 8th grade. a concussion her sophmore year kept her out of sports from January to June that year and she was never quite the same after.

A friend's DD who played tournament ball since she was about 10 told her father her Junior year that she was done. she would continue playing HS ball but was done with pitching and College ball was out of the question.

it's good to interest them and show them the possibilities, but trying to get a kid to commit early ...

 

[Amy in AZ.]

Perhaps it is year around softball, that eventually drives them away from the sport, too. I mean how many days can you do the same thing over and over?

I imagine that soccer and basketball take a greater toll on the body, than softball does.

But, I am also seeing females that played since they were 8 and then, at 21 they find out that there are few jobs in the sport - and they are lost. (Even some of their majors are leading to dead end possibilities.)

 

[MsDinosaur]

Does anyone else hate the new layout of the NYTimes? I managed to read the story, but since the scroll bar on the comments wouldn't work, I couldn't read them. --And often the comments sections are at least as interesting as the stories IMO.

I know my DD loves softball, but I think (hope?) she understands that it is transitory.

 

[Jquick823]

As 1 college coach said this weekend at her camp, i don't like verballing 8th graders but if i don't the competition will. It's a numbers/money game. Early bird gets the worm and when it's feast or famine you can throw the verbal out there when they are 14. What does the school lose? All softball money is 1 year only so if that player didn't develope they are gone or reduced in money at the start of their sophomore year. Right or wrong it is where the sport is at.

 

[Amy in AZ.]

I try to figure this whole thing out. The coaches also say that most 8th graders that verbal, don't actually come. I wonder what the percentages are that verbal at 12 YO and actually follow through? So, isn't it a waste of time, for the coaches? They can't have contact with you, (as a Fr., Soph., and Jr.) only through your coaches.

All of it, sounds like insanity to me. If you have verballed think about all of the opportunities you would pass up - state college clinics, meeting other coaches, going to other campuses, etc. Plus, as I read the articles, the girls have not even visited the colleges that they are committing to? It makes as much sense as arranged marriage, but that is just me.

There was a very unfortunate story at UofAZ., a few years ago. A 16 yo recruit from CA., took her own life. Coach Candrea had to get permission from the NCAA to even attend her funeral.

 

[Indiana]

I remember that story.... it was all so sad. I'll never forget what the parents said... that they had tried everything. I didn't know that about Coach Candrea - it was good of him to attend.

On a brighter note.... I've had so much fun going on college visits with DD - I just love standing back and seeing her reaction to each campus; it's truly been a priceless experience. It would all be very strange if she had committed before high school - I concur that the "arranged marriage" analogy is a good one.

 

[FP26]

NLI is signed senior year.

The very early verbals are a more recent phenomenom in softball, so I don't know of any 8th grade commits that are even seniors yet. All the 9th grade commits I know of signed NLI's with the school they verballed. I checked the 2012 class of 10th grade commits a year ago using a vebal list from 11/17/09 and found the following:

At that time, there were 12 sophomores and 1 freshman on the list.
- 8 of the sophomores appear on the roster of the school they early verballed.
- 2 verballed to LSU and then signed with UCLA (Paige McDuffie) and UCF (Mariah Garcia) after the retirement of Coach Girouard.
- Kelsey Vincent verballed to Kansas and then signed with ULL (no reason found).
- Cassidy Taylor verballed to Liberty, was still planning on going there late in her junior year, didn't sign with them and isn't on the roster. I couldn't find her signing with anyone or on another roster.

The freshman, Samantha Montes, signed with the school she verballed, Baylor.

Most of the cases where a kid doesn't end up at the school they early verballled is due to a coaching change or not having the academics to be admitted.

I have to admit that I am surprised by these stats. My DD is currently in 8th grade but is honestly not anywhere near this level. Right now, she has no idea what she wants to do with her life. She is an honors student and we are very proud of her work ethic. She has mentioned a number of different fields of study, but hasn't made up her mind. And quite frankly, at 14, I don't think she has to. She plans to select a college based on education first. Maybe she would think differently if her skill level was this advanced, but I'm not so sure...

 

[JAD]

Was anyone else offended that the NCSA chart showing early commitments by sport did not include softball?

 

[starsnuffer]

Keep in mind that these kids are really verballing to a coach, not to a school. It's often likely that the coach will change jobs in the 5 years between when these kids commit. I know that there were several kids from Phil's Sorcerer team that were early commits to ASU, most of which recently committed to UCLA after the coach left ASU for Auburn.

-W