Were you and your son/daughter both on the calls? It seems like the coaches only wanted to talk to my kid?
Iāve rarely spoken to the coaches directly, which Iām happy about. I talked to some of the coaches back in July and August when the recruitment process started, and during our visit to campus for the in person interviews, but since then my child has been self advocating for themselves with emails, text messages, and calls. The coaches told my child that they will make themselves available to talk to me if I have any questions, but my child seems to be doing a great job of managing the conversations without my help. Iām more intersted in talking to the coaches after decisions come out. I donāt want the coaches to think Iām an overbearing/overinvolved parent.
5 Likes
Totally agreed!
I guess my only reservation on this would be that I have seen it happen (albeit not with prep schools but with club) that a coach of a club program will tell a kid he/she has a spot and if the parents arenāt on the line feel free to pretend it never happened later on if it suits them. Iād like to think Prep school is different, but maybe not every prep school?
Every situation is unique, but I can tell you that every coach weāve talked to has been super transparent about their interest level, either through their words or their actions.
We had coaches that showed strong interest initially, but then let us know they are no longer recruiting for that position. Weāve had coaches roll out the red carpet on visits, talk to my child for an hour+ on the phone selling the kid on the school and program, and then go silent. Weāve also had coaches that have been non-stop checking in with our kid, calling, texting, emailing, etc. In my experience, it will be abundantly clear who really wants you, and who sees you as a nice to have but not a need.
I strongly believe that by 8th grade or higher, if your kid canāt take the lead on the next stage of their athletic and academic career, theyāre probably not ready for the competitive environments that await them at a top-tier boarding school.
4 Likes
Interestingly the coach my kid talked to last night didnāt ask any school ranking question. She was really just checking in and answered questions my kid asked. She did also imply she will talk to my kid again after M10ā¦
The other coach is going to talk to my kid tomorrow night. Shouldnāt all decisions are set by tomorrow night?
1 Like
There is always some last minute horse trading, especially with potential recruits. They are likely testing the water to see if you are still committed. This is a good sign. Good luck.
Thank you!