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<p>As the parent of an elite soccer player that verballed in the spring of her junior year as did 95% of her teammates, is not etched in stone, but it’s pretty much a wrap. As soon as the word gets out about a verbal, at least in soccer, the recruitment pretty much stops. Legally it’s not binding but coaches or programs that renege aren’t looked at positively and could damage recruitment of future prospects greatly. It rare, but sometimes it does happen. Many coaches are given some leeway in admissions with a “prequalified” student athlete to offer and accept verbal commitments, even at selective schools. Of course there are contingencies, but if the student athlete does their part the school will honor their agreement, even if there is an injury. One advantage of verballing early. So, unless these kids are lying or embellishing, I would think that those verbals are accurate especially if some of the kids are blue chip or national level student athletes.</p>