Do what's right and Please sign

[tbjd33]

Problem is you will not know early verbals are a fail until after their freshman year.

I think parents have gotten smarter about the process. There are still plenty of evidence of the breakdowns.

Still a number of teams with 30+ on the roster, 10 freshman and graduating 4. Still a number of transfers.

The problem is that 13 year old has little to do with the 18 year old that will be walking into college. At 13 kids largely live to satisfy their parents. They do not really get a say of their own in this life changing, life determining decision.

Parents are getting what they want. College coaches are getting what they want. Select coaches are getting what the want. The continuously increasing transfer rate shows that kids may be the only ones not getting what they want.

My only concern with the current petition is that NCAA is likely not going to understand it. In every other sport early verbals has allowed kids to create opportunity. Softball breaks down because once a kid verbals they are no longer recruited.

Football, Men's Basketball, Women's basketball kids are recruited right up until the NLI is signed. Verbals in these sports work much better as the kid can use the verbal to get a deal with a medium school and use that to work up to a better school.

AI everyone is more cautious and getting much smarter. I agree the first wave resulted in more than its fair share of negative outcomes. Now those numbers as a whole are different.

Take a look at the top schools. Most are finished with 2018 and will be done with 2019's by start of spring. Their numbers plate not outrageous with three or four on average. Look at the number of seniors and they will backfil this same. Look at Arkansas that's an issue... They verbal everyone and don't give $$ to it. Those kind of schools are the ones to be concerned about.

Sky isn't falling...

Assuming you are right about the numbers and that the sky is not falling, why not just change the way things are done now so that the sky doesn't have a chance to fall again?

The goal is 100% not most or even above average.

It is broken. Fix it.

I don't see it as broken... Broken implies it doesn't work for all or most. That just isn't the case. I agree it isn't perfect, but I also think there should be changes.

I like the early signing period of some sort with limitations (ie grades, performance, health etc). Those of course are reasonable to have placed in any agreement. A verbal is "their" word and it's a handshake deal at best. Coaches clearly understand a poor reputation hurts big time in recruiting. For that reason my DD eliminated Georgia because of their issues last year. We eliminate schools which we feel they double talk. We eliminate schools if they don't respond the way we feel we would want. It's our process and other families must do the same. They are recruiting my DD and she is recruiting them.

I've read in previous posts about verbals and early signing in football/basketball. The talk isn't an issue with not honoring their word it's about recruiting $$ and time. It's a round robin and is absolutely insane compared to softball. Sounds strange but Softball is somewhat civil compared to football/basketball. I've seen Kentucky at 10u AAU basketball. Now that's nuts!

[tbjd33]

Take a look at the top schools. Most are finished with 2018 and will be done with 2019's by start of spring. Their numbers plate not outrageous with three or four on average. Look at the number of seniors and they will backfil this same. Look at Arkansas that's an issue... They verbal everyone and don't give $$ to it. Those kind of schools are the ones to be concerned about.

I expect you really mean "top programs" rather than "top schools"... Even so, some of the schools recruiting early don't fit either - Boise St, Samford, SE La.

Any talk of schools being done with a year fuels the anxiety of parents and players. Let's look at the numbers by class according to FloSoftball's list.

2015 - 1,400
2016 - 1,050
2017 - 518
2018 - 149
2019 - 24

Players that can make an impact at the top level really don't have to commit so early - Barnhill proved last year they will still have good options later on.

PDad your number are right on and Yes I do mean programs. Afterall aren't they the culprits? But we are talking about the top 1% of recruits. Why the hoopla? No one can answer that question.

Barnhill was the oddity. The norm is the top taken is gone by 9th grade.

[tbjd33]

Great points, PDad.

33, I almost sense that although you acknowledge there's an issue with the current system you somehow don't think it should be changed. Am I right?

Is there a reason that is in the best interest of the girls to not revamp the system that I'm not aware of?

It's not perfect... As I've said, revamp the entire system for 1% of recruits just doesn't sound like a major issue. Coaches are getting smarter and parents for the most part are much more aware. In most part to treads like this!

This is a very good thing. I just disagree with a petition stating there is a major issue. Again with 1%?!?!

[PDad]

Players that can make an impact at the top level really don't have to commit so early - Barnhill proved last year they will still have good options later on.

Barnhill was the oddity. The norm is the top taken is gone by 9th grade.

Barnhill was an extreme case since she waited until a few weeks before the NLI, but your "norm" is due to coaches racing to get top recruits and players/parents going along with it due to a combination of paranoia and bragging rights. Programs can easily free up money 1-2 years in advance for the players they want.

The small number of players that are getting good deals as 9th graders aren't the issue. It's the people that get rushed into accepting bad deals early and the rest that get led into thinking they also need to be showcasing so early.

[Sam]

Nobody has mentioned the enormous pressure placed squarely on the shoulders of these little girls......they are "THAT PLAYER"...... The player who doesn't have bad games.....can't have a bad game....because she is THE ONE. Add that to the changes in her body and other social pressures being put upon her and you have a recipe for disaster. Many kids don't handle the pressure well, without being anointed THE ChOSEN ONE.

I hope those of you who believe their kids NEED to commit to school before they can drive or before they've slid into third base on a date with a boy or have visited college campuses before stepping foot on a high school campus; I hope for her sake and for yours that you are right because the ramifications of a wrong decision can be devastating.

Many of you weren't around when this board discussed a case where a child couldn't shoulder this needless burden. I implore you to err on the side of caution so that you don't experience the pain that can materializeif you are too confident in you kid's mental ability to deal with all of these factors.

[tbjd33]

Nobody has mentioned the enormous pressure placed squarely on the shoulders of these little girls......they are "THAT PLAYER"...... The player who doesn't have bad games.....can't have a bad game....because she is THE ONE. Add that to the changes in her body and other social pressures being put upon her and you have a recipe for disaster. Many kids don't handle the pressure well, without being anointed THE ChOSEN ONE.

I hope those of you who believe their kids NEED to commit to school before they can drive or before they've slid into third base on a date with a boy or have visited college campuses before stepping foot on a high school campus; I hope for her sake and for yours that you are right because the ramifications of a wrong decision can be devastating.

Many of you weren't around when this board discussed a case where a child couldn't shoulder this needless burden. I implore you to err on the side of caution so that you don't experience the pain that can materializeif you are too confident in you kid's mental ability to deal with all of these factors.

Sad you assume all situations are as that young DD's. Those were seriously unfortunate circumstances. Again that is the absolute exception...

[Sam]

Nobody has mentioned the enormous pressure placed squarely on the shoulders of these little girls......they are "THAT PLAYER"...... The player who doesn't have bad games.....can't have a bad game....because she is THE ONE. Add that to the changes in her body and other social pressures being put upon her and you have a recipe for disaster. Many kids don't handle the pressure well, without being anointed THE ChOSEN ONE.

I hope those of you who believe their kids NEED to commit to school before they can drive or before they've slid into third base on a date with a boy or have visited college campuses before stepping foot on a high school campus; I hope for her sake and for yours that you are right because the ramifications of a wrong decision can be devastating.

Many of you weren't around when this board discussed a case where a child couldn't shoulder this needless burden. I implore you to err on the side of caution so that you don't experience the pain that can materializeif you are too confident in you kid's mental ability to deal with all of these factors.

Sad you assume all situations are as that young DD's. Those were seriously unfortunate circumstances. Again that is the absolute exception...

Even sadder that you can't address the point of the post. I assume you have no answered.. It seems like YOU are the one that needs the early commitment and not your daughter.

[NumeroUno]

I have received a lot emails about the "Stop Early Recruiting Petition"

Just to clear things up. I think early recruiting is not good for anyone most on the time. Their are athletes that get recruited as a 8th or 9th grader and it all works out, it does happen and I tip my hat to them.

Parents and players need to get educated on the recruiting process. Their is no gold at the end of this softball rainbow for the majority. That is why it is so important to pick the right college, get the best education you can get while playing softball so when you graduate you don't end up serving coffee at Starbucks. So many kids go to the wrong school because someone pushed them that way. Most high school kids don't know what they want to do in the future so the later they are allowed to (verbal) which really means nothing, the better it will be for the player and the college.


Players need to do research on their own

1) LOCATION
What region of the country would you prefer to attend college?
(West, Northwest, Midwest, Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, South, or a specific state. Urban, suburban, or rurel.)

2)ACADEMICS
What would be your desired level of academic challenge? What are you interested in studying in
college?

3)LEVEL
At what levels would you be interested in playing for? What level do you desire to play for?
(NCAA Division 1, 2, 3, or NAIA)

ETC. Their are other questions we ask to find the right school for the student athlete

We have access to help your student athlete find the right fit for her needs. A good friend designed one the best recruiting tools I have ever seen. The data base is amazing

MyFit + RoadMap" fully supports the student-athlete through all 4 years of high school in becoming recruited to play their sport in college with:

First, discovering the universities that personally "fit" them the very best.

Then, making all of the steps easy-to-follow, to get successfully recruited by their best "fit" universities, and effectively and efficiently guiding them through each of those critical steps.

Ultimately, obtaining a meaningful scholarship from their best "fit" university and finalizing their commitment.


Please sign the petition it only takes seconds to do so and this could make the sport we all love better

https://www.change.org/p/dr-mark-a-emme ... src-no_msg

[exD1dad]

what a great thread to commemorate my DD who hung up her cleats a year ago.right before her Senior year.in HS changing her mind at age 16 to pursue an athletic passion where the best in the world don't peak until their mid to late 20's. She's enjoying her freshman year, has acclimated to training at 6000 ft & is prepping for Collegiate Nationals in 2 weeks where she has a 2 1/2 mile ride to the Olympic Training Center Velodrome to compete.

One thing no one has touched on (what I think is fun for kids) is they all miss the "highly touted, blue chip recruit " multiple campus visits where they get the dog & pony show, hang with the current team, spend the night , go to a big football or hoops game, etc It's not done in softball, parents pay to visit & go to the camps. Not in the budget? or do the coaches just like to travel?

[Blind Squirrel]

what a great thread to commemorate my DD who hung up her cleats a year ago.right before her Senior year.in HS changing her mind at age 16 to pursue an athletic passion where the best in the world don't peak until their mid to late 20's. She's enjoying her freshman year, has acclimated to training at 6000 ft & is prepping for Collegiate Nationals in 2 weeks where she has a 2 1/2 mile ride to the Olympic Training Center Velodrome to compete.

One thing no one has touched on (what I think is fun for kids) is they all miss the "highly touted, blue chip recruit " multiple campus visits where they get the dog & pony show, hang with the current team, spend the night , go to a big football or hoops game, etc It's not done in softball, parents pay to visit & go to the camps. Not in the budget? or do the coaches just like to travel?

The overnight visits and all the rest is done in softball. Hell, we got free 2nd row seats to a Louisville-Syracuse basketball game (Boeheim vs. Pitino) and that was just when attending a camp.

Ask 2.6. I think he got tickets to 3 or 4 big time college football games at visits. And I will never stop hating him for it (though I have to admit his kid was/is a much better player than my kid).

Sickeningly Superficial Squirrel