Gauging Interest from Coaches

cinnamon1212
Sat, 13 Mar 2021 18:56:03 +0000

Ha. I started a thread with the title “Recruiting Is Not For The Faint of Heart” when I was only slightly farther along with my son’s recruiting journey.

So, first of all, telling us the sport isn’t going to out your player! Do you know at this point if s/he’s focused on D1 or D3? I ask because the timelines are different for the two levels. My thoughts below are based on men’s soccer recruiting; your sport may be different, and the timeline can be different between boys and girls, so what I have to say may or may not apply.

To go through your post. D3 at this point (at least for men’s soccer) is not picking out “dance partners”. That’s way too specific. They are creating player pools of kids they might be interested in (or are interested in). They do have kids they are more or less interested in within the pool. For men’s soccer at a top program (soccer-wise) the pool could be 200 or way more. Junior year they will start focusing in a bit more deliberately.

You won’t know if they are really serious sophomore year – they don’t know if they are really serious. That said, the coaches that have replied to your player are telling them that they are in the pool. The coaches are as interested as they can be at this point in time.

Attending the school’s ID camp (which are usually smaller, one day affairs) is critical. It shows the coach that your player is really interested in the school. It also allows the coach to see the player in action in person, and coaches will want to see your player in person several times. This is an excellent opportunity for your player to shine, and also for your family to get a sense of the coach and the school. We always tacked on a second day so that we could do the campus tour and info session. (Obviously this was all pre-covid).

Getting invited to Junior Day is kind of a big deal, in my opinion. Not all D3 schools have them. But if you figure that they only invite, what, 100 kids and 60 show up, that tells you the coach thinks your player is in the top 100 recruits. (or whatever the numbers are that would apply to the school/sport).

Your feeling that you will be sick until your player commits is probably right It really is a rollercoaster full of ups and downs and twists and turns. Buckle up! But with hindsight it will seem like a fantastic exhilarating ride. Don’t worry about musical chairs until the summer before senior year. That’s when coaches fish or cut bait – make offers or not. There are a lot of knowledgeable people on this board, and you can always PM people to talk a bit more confidentially. If your player’s sport is men’s soccer feel free to PM me; my son is a '21 and is going to the school he committed to last summer.