Our Junior is starting QB of a HS team. Ranked dead last in state by Maxpreps.
He trains a lot with QB trainers and has been told he is definitely D2 or lower D1 material. His o-line isn’t very experienced, so he, the RB, and the receivers have to scramble a lot.
Lost a lot of good players to schools that poach in the area when the old coach was transitioned out a couple of years ago.
He likes the school itself, but something has to change. The AD and principal aren’t really supportive and are very passive on making improvements.
For recruiting, they say all college recruiting talks should be done by the parents. My kid is a great student and does his thing on X. He has attended college camps, too.
Since his team isn’t doing well, we aren’t sure if he should transfer for his senior year or not.
We don’t even know if any schools would want or start him.
He really wants to play in college and he has the talent. Any advice is appreciated.
Your S has to be reaching out to coaches, sending video as well as relevant athletic and academic stats (I recommend creating an athletic resume.) Parents should only be involved if the coach invites them. Parents can also get involved towards the end of the process and/or for financial aid discussions.
Many students from ‘bad’ teams get recruited. With that said, the transfer portal has really negatively impacted HS recruiting at all levels/from all types of HSs. Like you said, the biggest risk in transferring to a different school is that there is no guarantee he would play. He might consider doing a PG gap year, but first make sure he wouldn’t lose a year of NCAA eligibility per the new 5 for 5 rule.
Lots to unpack here. First, figuring out what level recruit your kid actually is may be the hardest part of recruiting. I would want more than a trainer’s a trainer or private coach’s assessment before making a transfer decision. What feedback has he received from college coaches at camps, and what interest has his film generated? A bad offensive line can make evaluating a QB difficult, but you still need an honest assessment of his college potential.
Second, your kid should be handling the interactions with college coaches, with you helping behind the scenes. It can feel uncomfortable having a teenager handle what seem like adult conversations, but that was an important part of the process for us. My direct conversations with coaches were during visits.
Third, I would explore actual transfer options before deciding he needs to leave. My son’s program wasn’t great either, and several private high schools approached him after his sophomore and junior years. But transferring only helps if the situation is better for him. Would he have a realistic chance to start, better coaching and protection, and a school he likes? I wouldn’t give up a school he enjoys solely because the team is losing, especially without a clear alternative.
Who is the “they” you are referring to? This certainly isn’t accurate as your child should be the one to drive the process.
Regarding a possible transfer, be sure to check your state’s athletic governing body before making any decisions. Some states do not allow transfers to compete at a Varsity level until a certain number of calendar days have passed. And some states do not allow a post-grad year for athletes.
I’m not convinced a better HS team is the most obvious path to recruitment success. I happen to know two football players who did not even play for their high schools. One plays in the SEC and the other in the Big Ten. If he’s got the goods, it will show up in film and at showcases and camps.
Make sure you thoroughly understand the transfer rules in your district. A transferring student is ineligible for a year when transferring in our district. There can be waivers for moving, but they do not allow transfers for athletic purposes here without a year of sitting out.
Yes, in our Southern California school district which has frequent recruited athletes, a student must sit out for a year. Transfers usually occurred in sophomore year.
Our son was always approached by team coaches for football because of his height, build and physicality, but he was a phenomenal tennis and swim athlete and those are the sports he wanted to stick to. He didn’t plan on playing them in college. He wanted to focus on his studies and stay healthy.
If the school provides decent academics, and he’s earning strong grades, then he’s 90% into being a candidate for a college education.
I think the main question is whether your son needs to move schools to improve his chances of being recruited to play QB. The process and transfer eligibility matter, but neither answers that question.
A QB’s team needs to function well enough for him to demonstrate processing, athleticism, accuracy, and other game specific skills on film. It doesn’t necessarily need to win many games, but he needs opportunities to show what he can do. Camps can help coaches verify his measurements and evaluate traits such as arm talent, speed, and agility that might not be apparent on tape.
What college attention has he received so far? Has he been invited to games, had direct conversations with coaches, or received specific feedback after camps? Those answers would tell me more than a trainer’s assessment alone.
Personally, I would be selective about college camps and look for specific feedback from the QB coach before attending. I would want to know whether the staff has reviewed his film and is interested in evaluating him. A general camp invitation alone wouldn’t tell me much.
The hardest part is determining what level recruit your son actually is and whether a different high school program would help him develop and better showcase his skills. That’s the assessment I’d want before transferring from a school he likes. My current senior (different position) considered moving schools and even reclassing at a prep school for similar reasons. Ultimately recruiting from his HS was good enough and he wanted to stay with his friends. However, we did have enough recruiting traction after his sophomore season to feel that he would at least get recruited out of his high school even though it probably wasn’t optimal from the recruiting standpoint.