<p>I agree with JHS’s post and my guess is that the recruit would be somewhere low/mid on this coach’s list (sorry). If the recruit were higher, I expect the coach would be saying something stronger than just offering “backing throughout the admissions process.” Of course, some coaches will over promise and some under so I agree with speaking with the coach and trying to pin him/her down. Of course that may be hard since the recruit’s position will change over time as other recruits may add to or drop off a coach’s list. A question such as how many recruiting slots do you have and are you able to offer me one of those slots might help. Of course we could also discuss whether the athlete or a parent should be having these conversations. </p>
<p>Gym, I also agree likely letters are a special thing, but it’s not something you apply for. If the coach says pretty definitively you are a supported recruit, the next step would be to ask whether a likely letter would be a possibility. As a part of this, likelies are only offered to athletes that commit to a school, the coaches don’t want to waste one. It might be typical for a coach to recruit 4-5 athletes but have just a couple likely letters. The coach would forward the completed application to admissions sometime early Oct and a likely letter would be sent out 2-3 weeks later. The athlete agrees to apply early and receives the official acceptance in Dec. It seems some sports happen earlier, some later. If you don’t get a likely, you can still have verbal support and apply EA and wait with your fingers crossed until Dec. I believe admissions may still give a pre-read to the coach even without a likely.</p>