What Prospects (and Parents) Need to Know About Early Commitments
May 31st, 2008 - by
It’s the hottest trend in college recruiting: Committing early to play at a college.
How early? In some cases, as early as the 8th grade. In most cases, high school athletes are giving verbal commitments in their sophomore and junior years. A month or so ago, phenom high school quarterback Tom Savage committed early to Rutgers before he even was done with his Junior year. Getting noticed early has terrific benefits, but it also begs the question: How early is too early? And, what are the pros and cons of jumping on that band wagon?
Since we’re fielding those two questions more and more from both parents and prospects here at NCSA, I wanted to tell you what you need to know about this vitally important decision. There can be advantages to committing early to a program, but there are also some things you need to be aware of if you’re thinking about taking that route.
- The big advantage to committing early is securing a place to play in college. That sounds obvious, but those that don’t get the opportunity to commit early - or choose not to do so - accept a certain amount of risk going into their Senior year. Injuries could happen, they could see a dip in their athletic performance…lots can happen that last year in school. Committing early takes the risk out of that decision.
- Another advantage when you commit early is reducing the stress and time involved with extending the recruiting process. By the time athletes enter their Senior year, the stress of figuring out what school to go to is gets tiring. NCSA athletes who use our matching process to be seen by college coaches tell us that committing early allows them to enjoy their Senior year and focus on finishing strong academically and athletically.
- One of the dangers in committing early? Making a decision based on something less than solid
information. Tom Savage, who I referred to earlier, will probably have a great career with the Scarlet Knights and chose a solid school. But in the article I read about him (see the link above), he tells the story of sitting at a Rutgers game and seeing the head coach turn around and wink at him just before kickoff. At that moment, he says, he knew he wanted to be a Scarlet Knight. Did he make a good decision? Only time will tell. The Rutgers football program, and their staff, is top notch. I just hope the school, the area and the academic offerings are a good fit for this promising prospect. - Another danger? Committing to a school before visiting the school. You shouldn’t choose the place where you are going to spend the next four to five years of your life based upon how many times you’ve seen them on ESPN. Programs can’t pay for an official visit until your Senior year, but if you are thinking of committing early I highly recommend that you pay for your own trip to the school. Spend time there, talk to the team, and get a feel for the campus. Make sure you are making the right decision.
Which course of action is the best one for you? There is no one “best” answer to that question. It has to be something that prospects and parents both have to agree upon.
If I had a high school athlete that had the chance to commit early, I would just make sure that he or she knew everything they could about the coach, the program, the players and what the school offered academically. If everything lines up accordingly, I don’t see a problem with securing your athletic and academic future as early as possible.
One thing I do know: Early commitments will continue to happen, and they will probably continue to happen earlier and earlier in a high school athlete’s career. With that in mind, early exposure to the most coaches possible is more important than ever to prospects who hope to play at the next level.
P.S. If you have questions about the process, or getting the attention of college coaches, we have a team of former college athletes and recruiting experts that will answer your questions for free. All you have to do is call. You can reach us toll free at 1-888-333-6846. We’d love the chance to help you understand the whole process better.
June 3rd, 2008 at 10:29 am
i have a girls softball team we are the south florida mini bulls after the U S F BULLS IN TAMPA FL we are being looker at by 10 or 12 schools can you give us some imput on girls singing earley we have 2 jr. 5 so 4 fr and 1 8th grader the 8 grader is being looked at by 6 schools she is my child and we want to make a good choice for all of my girls ???????help on tampa thanks cliff
June 3rd, 2008 at 10:40 am
If a recruit commits early - prior to his Senior football season - and gets hurt in his Senior season to the extent that he cannot play football again - ( i.e. broken leg requiring pins, plates, screws , whatever etc.) what stance do most colleges take on the status of their offer even though the formal letter of intent has not been formally signed ? Seems to me that if the school honors the scholarship then commiting early would serve as an insurance policy covering catastrophic injuries. My son is on the verge of a major ACC offer and we have been told that the school will honor the commitment but my son would still have to support the team / program in whatever capacity his injury allows him to do. Should this be in writing ? Or is it just a “given” that all schools provide ?
June 3rd, 2008 at 11:56 am
I have a daughter that plays FP Softball and committed to her college of choice in the fall of her junior year. We took a number of weekends driving to colleges in the area allowing her to see campuses and facilities. We stopped students on the sidewalks and talked to them about life on campus. Then we contacted coaches and scheduled un-official visits and returned to the campuses to specifically talk softball. During the visits we were given the chance to talk to coaches, academic advisors, school administrators, and students. From this research she was able to feel very comfortable with her verbal commitment. I as a parent can feel certain she has made a good decision. The three main risks we run are 1) a change in coaching staff prior to her signing her letter of intent, 2) the actual written offer not matching the verbal discussions, 3) a career threatening injury that puts her playing in question. We mitigated these risks by talking candidly with the Coach and the Women’s Athletic Administrator about their 5 year plan for the program. We also investigated the school tendencies on replacing coaches. We then investigated the Softball Program and the school’s record of honoring their verbal commitments talking with other families that had dealt with the coaches and the school. Finally to overcome the risk of a career ending injury, we asked for the school’s policies on how they handle this. We also took the step of buying a low cost term insurance policy that covers her for medical issues that would prevent her from completing her playing time. If she has an injury that causes the loss of scholarship, the policy pays off enough to cover her remaining college cost. EARLY COMMITMENTS can work. Just make sure your child is mature enough to know what they want, are willing to stand by their decision, and that you use common sense to mitigate the possible risk.