DBAT"S POST ON VTD (I CALL BS)

[DBAT Softball]

Dbat, if you want to drive a college coach away from ever dealing with you, try that comment on a few coaches and see how it works. Next time you tell a college coach thanks but no thanks, you have crossed a line that should never be crossed, unless your willing to pay for that players education.

Dan

Dan,

What I'm saying is that a travel coach isn't going to fix the situation becuase none of us are going to say "thanks but no thanks" to a coach when they come around early. College coaches aren't going to regulate themselves and only look at 10th and 11th graders, they know the risk involved of not getting in the game early on kids now.

The "SYSTEM" puts pressure on kids now. Kids are scared they'll be left behind, that they age out at 16 now. Surely you've seen the level of stress go up with a 15 year old now, compared to a 15 year old 5-years ago.

[TEXASGLORY]

Gamewatcher, the way I work is...Our players send our game time information to all the schools they are interested in playing at. We play, coaches show up to see our kids, I/we talk to the coaches and find out who they like, the process moves into the next stages.

I do not try to sell every kid we get to Big XII or SEC schools. Look at my verballed kids for 2009, 2010 and 2011. Only a handful to those converences. We try to showcase our kids to the schools where they can play.

Cause and effect, there are a lot of transfers today after a year or two of college, this is partially to blame for early verbals. My daughter was one of them. Committed to Florida before Junior year, transferred after freshman year. Recruiting class went from 4 to 11 players and the programs needs changed in the 3 years before she arrived on campus. This is going to happen more and more.

Dan

[gamewatcher]

Gamewatcher, the way I work is...Our players send our game time information to all the schools they are interested in playing at. We play, coaches show up to see our kids, I/we talk to the coaches and find out who they like, the process moves into the next stages.

I do not try to sell every kid we get to Big XII or SEC schools. Look at my verballed kids for 2009, 2010 and 2011. Only a handful to those converences. We try to showcase our kids to the schools where they can play.

Cause and effect, there are a lot of transfers today after a year or two of college, this is partially to blame for early verbals. My daughter was one of them. Committed to Florida before Junior year, transferred after freshman year. Recruiting class went from 4 to 11 players and the programs needs changed in the 3 years before she arrived on campus. This is going to happen more and more.

Dan

I get what your saying, do not disagree. I just never hear you or anyone else for that matter come on here and talk about your 09 10 or 11's that are going to X school unless its a big D1. Please dont take these comments the wrong way, I am not trying to call you out, you just happen to be on here talking about it. On your dd want to ask if you knew things had changed then why waste a year? Why would you not have made other arrangments? Again, not trying to be insulting just trying to understand the process you took with your own dd. You don't have to answer if for personal reasons of course...

[TEXASGLORY]

When Kristen verballed to UF, she was told there would be 4 players in the 2007 class. Nothing had changed on national signing day. We show up for day one at school and there were 11 players there. We did not know that there were two juco transfers, one D1 transfer, a walk on and a bigger number of signed players. No doubt, at least 3-4 players would have went elsewhere had they have known it would be like that. Most of them have moved on by now. We did a lot of unofficial visits (8) to some great schools, bottom line things changed. We left UF on good terms and maintai a good relationship with coaches. The situation changed and so did she. She is at Georgia Tech and things are exactly what she wanted from her college playing experience. Plays every game, pitches, hits and getting a great education. Georgia Tech was one of the above mentioned schools, again things changed there as well. Coach that had recruited Kristen moved to Missouri and UGA assistant became Tech coach.

To see the list of kids, all on display regardless of D1 to Juco, go to www.txglory.com and look under the Alumni tab. I am proud of every player and when one commits, regardless where they go, I post it proudly. My younger daughter is playing at Chattanooga State, a juco program. She could have gone to D1 schools, there were offers. As a family, we felt that the best place for her was small, close to home with immediate playing time. I am proud as can be and wish I were going to be in Vegas on Thursday as her season begins. So, YES, I am proud of the SEC, Big XII players, but equally proud of the Sunbelt, WAC, Southland and many others just as much. I agree with Slade, I could care less if I ever have another player go to an SEC school, I want them to go to a school where they can play but most importantly, STAY and get an education.

Dan

[gamewatcher]

Thx for info... I guess this thread is officially de-railed sorry texasglori...

[TRICKY DICK]

Dbat, if you want to drive a college coach away from ever dealing with you, try that comment on a few coaches and see how it works. Next time you tell a college coach thanks but no thanks, you have crossed a line that should never be crossed, unless your willing to pay for that players education.

Dan

Dan,

What I'm saying is that a travel coach isn't going to fix the situation becuase none of us are going to say "thanks but no thanks" to a coach when they come around early. College coaches aren't going to regulate themselves and only look at 10th and 11th graders, they know the risk involved of not getting in the game early on kids now.

The "SYSTEM" puts pressure on kids now. Kids are scared they'll be left behind, that they age out at 16 now. Surely you've seen the level of stress go up with a 15 year old now, compared to a 15 year old 5-years ago.

THE GAME HAS CHANGED. IM TALKING OFF THE FIELD.The players are being asked to make decesions that they are in no way ready to do.How many Freshman in HS really know what they want to major in at college much less the softball programs that will fit their personal needs.

Wake Up Parents !!!!!!!!!!! Let these wonderful ladies play the game for the reason the started play in the first place!!!! FOR THE LOVE OF IT!!!!!!!

If everyone waits to sign then the market will change?????????????? THINK ABOUT THAT ONE!!!!!NOW WHO IS TO BLAME??????????????????????????????????????????

[Quit Whining]

Dick, great post. I agree completely.

[Blind Squirrel]

THE GAME HAS CHANGED. IM TALKING OFF THE FIELD.The players are being asked to make decesions that they are in no way ready to do.How many Freshman in HS really know what they want to major in at college much less the softball programs that will fit their personal needs.

Wake Up Parents !!!!!!!!!!! Let these wonderful ladies play the game for the reason the started play in the first place!!!! FOR THE LOVE OF IT!!!!!!!

If everyone waits to sign then the market will change?????????????? THINK ABOUT THAT ONE!!!!!NOW WHO IS TO BLAME??????????????????????????????????????????

1. Do parents, in general, let their 15 year old kids make decisions about matters as important as college choice without providing input/guidance? Don't parents typically try to exert some control over what their 15 year old does on a given Friday night? Who they will be with? Where? etc.

2. People routinely change their major in college. Sometimes that means they transfer. I would guess that most of the time the new major is also in the current college's curriculum. Why is that possibility the end of the world for a kid who verbals? Certainly nice to avoid if possible. No doubt. Possible to preclude? Nope. That is why I tell my kids to take as many electives as possible during the first couple of years in college. That way if they are exposed to something new and/or if their minds change, then they haven't wasted as much time in classes they'll never use.

3. Know the softball program that will best fit their needs? Did you read a couple of posts above? The dynamics of a team may change at the last minute, even after the NLI is signed. IMO this is going to get worse as there seems to be an increasing amount of turnover in teams. Surely due to a degree to verbals. The increase is probably also due to other factors as well. Calipari just pushed nearly half his Kentucky basketball team out before his first season. Had zero to do with verbals.

4. Do kids lose their love of the game because of recruiting? Some may. Out of the dozens of kids I've seen go through it so far, I've seen no signs of it. Why would they? People enjoy doing what they feel they do well. If they aren't enjoying playing the game at 15/16/17 despite recruiting then why the Hell do they want to play during college when it only makes their academic pursuits significantly more difficult and gives them significantly less free time?

If my kid can't handle the pressure of recruiting then I would take that as a sign that steps need to be taken so that my kid is much better prepared for the pressures of taking college finals, getting good grades and graduating. BTW, my observation is that usually parents are infinitely more affected by recruiting than the kids. I suspect that parents often actually increase the amount of pressure a kid feels during recruiting. Just what the kid needs.

5. If everyone waits to sign? How about if everyone wants world peace? Is reality relevant? College coaches say they don't like it (verbals). Who is not only forcing them to make offers but make them to younger and younger kids? Their career ambitions? Their competitiveness? Who/What is driving the bus? Are they succumbing to pressure from parents? (Candrea: “Becky’s Mom made me offer her 14 year old daughter a scholarship. I didn’t want to, but I just couldn’t take it any more!”)

If the coach of a college my kid would like/love to attend offers to pay 50% of my kid's college education, thereby making my kid happy and saving me tens of thousands of dollars, then I am quite enthusiastically all in. You want me to decline and possibly put myself in a position of having to take out loans to cover the tens of thousands of dollars in lost scholarship money? And why exactly would I do that? So some other kid starts to feel pressure when she is a year older and it is more convenient? Right. How much money will you be spending in the next four years to help homeless kids in your city? Tens of thousands of dollars?

This isn't a chicken or the egg scenario. No kid/parent forces a coach to make an offer though it would be hilarious if they could. No NCAA rules can stop verballing. Only the coaches, realistically, have that power. New NCAA rules, new circumvention techniques. Disagree? What new NCAA rule(s) would end verbals?

Real World Squirrel

[3Bsnag]

Yeah, what he said.

[Underdog]

Cat (or maybe squirrel) got your tongue Tricky ?