I think we might all be talking about the same thing when referring to a tip. To me, it means the coach ‘puts in a good word’ at admissions, says ‘If it’s possible, I’d like to have Sam on the team’ but is not a recruit so the coach isn’t giving Sam any help. Does admissions care about the list of ‘tips’ or the letter from the coach? I don’t know, but why make the list or write a letter if it never helps with admissions?