Parents/Coaches? Share your advice here.....

[EdgyTim]

Regarding whatever you experienced with college recruiting. Lots of confused parents out there who could learn from your experiences good or bad at this time of the year.

This post was edited on 12/15 11:52 AM by edgytim

 

[Quags57]

Pick the school that most fits what your son is going to do after college. Make sure they have a great program in the major of their choice. Don't get caught up in just the football part and make sure that academics is their number one priority.

If you aren't interested in a school, tell them. Let them move onto the next kid on their list and it is one less phone call your son will have to take.

 

[missameyer]

Agree...picking the school would be my number one based on our experience, the school is the key...would you want to go there regardless of playing ball. Along those same lines don't select the school strictly because of the coaches. They could be gone in a heartbeat and in most cases will be, especially position coaches.

Next on my list is remember it is a business. Having the coaches in the house was cool...watching films with teams preparing for bowl games was a blast. But this is all business and in retrospect I think you should treat the whole process like you would approach buying a home or a car. Kick the tires, research the coaches and the program. Most importantly ask every question that is on your mind, and know only part of what they are telling you is true. "Where am I on your depth chart?; "Who is in front of me?"; "Are you making me an offer, and if not when will you?" Be direct and press them for answers.

Lastly, you really need to think about their responses with a filter of skepticism. I read all the time kids saying, "they say they are going to make me an offer." If they say they are going to make you an offer and aren't making you one it is because there is someone out there that they like better for the position...they are keeping you warm just in case the other guy falls through.

This may all sound negative...much of the process we went through was anything but negative...but these are all things I know we could have done better with.

 

[1111SouthFirst]

Agree with the others, pick the school and academic program, not the coach. The question to answer is, if football does not work out for whatever reason, is this where you want to be?

A few others, football related:

Beware of coaches that are used car salesmen.
Beware of coaches that have high levels of turnover among their assistants.
Rosters of current and past seasons are available on the schools' athletic web sites. Take a look and see how many players dropped off the roster after their freshman, sophomore, junior seasons.

A few others, academic related:
What are the predominant majors for the football players?
How many players have chosen the same major as what your son will choose and how have they juggled the academics?
Does the football program have mandatory study times?

 

[OldLeaf]

What is the individual's realistic life plan, goals, objectives, priorities while in college and life after college? College and college sports is only the next 4 or 5 years of one's life....life after college is hopefully 40 years or more. Is it athletics/sports or academics/professional carreer? That answer for the individual should be the paramount guide throughout the whole recruiting and decision-making process for finding/determining the best-fit for the individual. It's the individual's life and future.....and not the parents, college coaches, sports programs or the universities. One must be the captain/manager of one's own life and do what is right and best for oneself.