My dd is a SR and the recruiting process has been rocky. She is a pitcher and it has been difficult to deal with our reality in the process versus all the hype about early offers/commitments for others even in our area, especially pitchers (several girls in our area have committed to D1 and D2 schools as FR & SO). I’ve heard the whole “if your dd is a pitcher and hasn’t committed by the beginning of her SR year she is in trouble.” So, I often find myself wondering if we have screwed it all up and she should have been offered by now. We’ve had interest from a couple D1s and a handful of D2s that haven’t panned out even when we thought we were very close to an offer (to qualify, I don't consider it "interest" unless email is personalized at least, answers questions, asks us info, etc.). Some came and watched her play several times, others showed interest during camps or visits and/or even told her she was one of a select few at the top of their list...only to eventually hear from the coach that “they made a scholarship offer to another pitcher and they are waiting to hear back, but if their offer isn’t accepted, then we are ‘next’ or ‘at the top’ of their list” more than once. Obviously none of those panned out. Several of the sorry emails had language from the coach along the lines of “we know you are a very good pitcher and keep us up to date with how your senior season is going, etc.” One D1 (out of state) said she would be welcome if she wanted to walk on, and another D1 said even though they used their pitcher scholarship $ that they are still looking for athletes so keep them updated and they’ll let us know what they still need once they are into their Fall practices. The whole thing can be very “wearing” on a family and often times I think it would be so nice for her to be committed so she could just focus on school and playing and getting ready for the next level.
I find myself wondering if: a) we’ve screwed this whole thing up due to something we are not doing right; or, b) dd just isn’t good enough and hasn’t been anyone’s first choice; or, c) this is just how the process goes and if it was meant to be it will happen and don’t worry about the fact that so many others have committed in our area and scholarship money is drying up as we speak; or d) all of the above.
So there a D2 that dd just made contact with in late July. We visited after summer season was over and met with the coach and they seemed to really hit it off. DD fell in love with the campus, perfect size and distance, and dd said she felt great energy from everyone she came in contact with and really wants to go there for school and play ball. It is almost as if it was just meant to be. She qualifies for academic $ with her current ACT score already, within a point or two of full academic tuition $, with plans to retake again at least twice this fall/winter. So us fundingsource-types feel that if an athletic scholarship would not come, we would be all for her going there anyway and trying to walk on (we think she could be successful at this). Since we are a little wary of the process due to what we’ve experienced to date, we are wondering if dd should just tell the coach on the next phone call that she wants to go there and she wants to play ball for her and put the proverbial ball in the coach’s court. However, since dd made contact so late with them, the coach hasn’t been able to come watch her play yet (our state’s HS season is in the Fall) but has seen her videos and said she was “very, very impressed” and has stated how much she likes dd and such. The coach called dd about a week ago, and dd called her a day ago to give her an update. Coach asked her about coming to watch them play in a couple weeks, and also about coming there for a visit after HS season is over and staying in the dorm. Coach keeps saying she’ll come and watch soon, but problem is their fall practices have started, and coach is 3 hours away with limited time. I don't think she'll offer until she can see her play in person, but at the same time I can’t stop that little voice from worrying that she’ll find someone better if this drags on too long.
What would you do? Should we just wait and let it work itself out? Should dd tell coach she wants to commit and risk coach realizing she doesn’t have to offer athletic $$ to get her there? If so, how should dd phrase this to the coach? (don’t get me wrong, we could REALLY use any athletic aid she would offer as the we've been so busy writing checks that we haven’t saved for college). Have I forever branded myself on Heybucket as “the neurotic funder”?
