recruited athlete ???

Auggie

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I am hoping to receive some clarification on recruited athletes. My DD filled out the "recruit me" form on the webpage and then went to Bears Day. While we were there, she was able to meet the coach. After meeting the coach in the morning, she was invited to go and watch a practice that afternoon. The coach talked to her for a bit during the practice and asked her some questions and showed her around. The coach told her to come to a meet the next day and to stay in touch with him to update him on her how her seasons go ( high school and private club teams). So, they emailed back and forth on occasion over the next year. She attended AIM and he came a talked with her a there. After AIM, he emailed her and said if she could have her application ready by October 1st to let him know, which she did. He stated that he would be on look out for it so he could add an "athletic potential report" to her file that would be supportive and give a push towards an appointment on her behalf.
I am not clear if this is what "recruiting" looks like if you are not given a LOA or if this just means that if she would be able to join the team if she receives an appointment.
If anyone is able to clarify for me, I would appreciate it. Thanks!
 
This is not specific to the USCGA

Yes this is what recruiting looks like for many who apply to a SA. The coach may put a check mark in your application. Even though the coach may have never seen your S or D play. Kind of a walk on potential. And that can make the difference when your S or D is being compared to a few dozen with similar test and gpa scores, who do not have that check mark in their application.

Then there are the players the coaches have scouted and have come after and called and just like any other major college program would recruit for sports. It’s a full court press no different than a big 10 school might do.

The first is helpful and can separate your application from others.

The second one is way beyond helpful. At worse it should be a ticket to prep school


I have no idea how the USCGA or MMA would look at this compared to D1 programs like Army AF Navy where my experience has been.
 
I am hoping to receive some clarification on recruited athletes. My DD filled out the "recruit me" form on the webpage and then went to Bears Day. While we were there, she was able to meet the coach. After meeting the coach in the morning, she was invited to go and watch a practice that afternoon. The coach talked to her for a bit during the practice and asked her some questions and showed her around. The coach told her to come to a meet the next day and to stay in touch with him to update him on her how her seasons go ( high school and private club teams). So, they emailed back and forth on occasion over the next year. She attended AIM and he came a talked with her a there. After AIM, he emailed her and said if she could have her application ready by October 1st to let him know, which she did. He stated that he would be on look out for it so he could add an "athletic potential report" to her file that would be supportive and give a push towards an appointment on her behalf.
I am not clear if this is what "recruiting" looks like if you are not given a LOA or if this just means that if she would be able to join the team if she receives an appointment.
If anyone is able to clarify for me, I would appreciate it. Thanks!

This is not specific to the USCGA

Yes this is what recruiting looks like for many who apply to a SA. The coach may put a check mark in your application. Even though the coach may have never seen your S or D play. Kind of a walk on potential. And that can make the difference when your S or D is being compared to a few dozen with similar test and gpa scores, who do not have that check mark in their application.

Then there are the players the coaches have scouted and have come after and called and just like any other major college program would recruit for sports. It’s a full court press no different than a big 10 school might do.

The first is helpful and can separate your application from others.

The second one is way beyond helpful. At worse it should be a ticket to prep school


I have no idea how the USCGA or MMA would look at this compared to D1 programs like Army AF Navy where my experience has been.
As @Small Team Bacsi says, this is an example of soft recruiting. The more traditional type is where the coach asks for a commitment from the player, and fully supports their application through the admission process. USCGA recruits just like the big 3. The coach can support the application or not, and if they support it, they let admissions know whether the individual is a program altering player, a difference maker, or someone who will be just a team member. Obviously, the coaches evaluation on program impact dictates how much of a boost their application receives. At USCGA, the coaches have a limit on how many applications they can support, so some kids may not get support but are welcome on the team if they get in. Generally, if you have to question whether you are recruited or not, you aren’t. Coaches make the kids who are being recruited well aware of that fact.
 
As @Small Team Bacsi says, this is an example of soft recruiting. The more traditional type is where the coach asks for a commitment from the player, and fully supports their application through the admission process. USCGA recruits just like the big 3. The coach can support the application or not, and if they support it, they let admissions know whether the individual is a program altering player, a difference maker, or someone who will be just a team member. Obviously, the coaches evaluation on program impact dictates how much of a boost their application receives. At USCGA, the coaches have a limit on how many applications they can support, so some kids may not get support but are welcome on the team if they get in. Generally, if you have to question whether you are recruited or not, you aren’t. Coaches make the kids who are being recruited well aware of that fact.
Thanks! The coach did tell her he is supporting her application through turning in a supportive / positive athletic potential report to give her application a push to receive an appointment. So we had assumed that meant that she is being recruited, especially based on other communication they have had over the last year. However, I started really questioning that when I read about recruited athletes receiving LOA. I appreciate your response.
 
This is not specific to the USCGA

Yes this is what recruiting looks like for many who apply to a SA. The coach may put a check mark in your application. Even though the coach may have never seen your S or D play. Kind of a walk on potential. And that can make the difference when your S or D is being compared to a few dozen with similar test and gpa scores, who do not have that check mark in their application.

Then there are the players the coaches have scouted and have come after and called and just like any other major college program would recruit for sports. It’s a full court press no different than a big 10 school might do.

The first is helpful and can separate your application from others.

The second one is way beyond helpful. At worse it should be a ticket to prep school


I have no idea how the USCGA or MMA would look at this compared to D1 programs like Army AF Navy where my experience has been.
Thanks for your reply! Anything to give a boost to the application is a good thing!
 
Also, I believe there was/is a spot on the application to indicate if you are a recruited athlete. The coach will definitely let you know if to mark that on the application.

The athlete should be able to ask the coach as well where he or she ranks on the coach's recruitment list. I would assume there are discussions outside of normal academy stuff the player and coach are discussing around vision regarding how the player fits in.
 
Our recent experience may be helpful to some. My DD was recruited in September of this year to USNA. For the previous 12 months, she sent game film to her preferred list of schools. As a HS Sophomore and rising Junior, coaches are prevented from contact until 9/1 of Junior year. (My understanding is SA can begin contact two months earlier on 7/1. ) Her club coach received outreach from a number of schools.

Navy coach asked her club coach DD's level of interest in USNA. It was one of her top choices. DD received texts from USNA and 9 other schools on 9/1. Most of them were literally at 12:01 AM. She spoke to Navy coach who invited her to come for a school visit. She loved it.

A week of so later she attended a recruit camp at USNA. The following Monday, Coach called her to offer her a spot on the team. DD slept on it, then called coach to verbally commit to play at USNA. She, of course, still has to complete application, get nominated, and secure an appointment.
 
Our recent experience may be helpful to some. My DD was recruited in September of this year to USNA. For the previous 12 months, she sent game film to her preferred list of schools. As a HS Sophomore and rising Junior, coaches are prevented from contact until 9/1 of Junior year. (My understanding is SA can begin contact two months earlier on 7/1. ) Her club coach received outreach from a number of schools.

Navy coach asked her club coach DD's level of interest in USNA. It was one of her top choices. DD received texts from USNA and 9 other schools on 9/1. Most of them were literally at 12:01 AM. She spoke to Navy coach who invited her to come for a school visit. She loved it.

A week of so later she attended a recruit camp at USNA. The following Monday, Coach called her to offer her a spot on the team. DD slept on it, then called coach to verbally commit to play at USNA. She, of course, still has to complete application, get nominated, and secure an appointment.
The SAs are all very different from traditional college athletic recruiting. Since essentially everyone is on scholarship there is no LOI, no participation in national signing day, etc.

As original poster mentioned you can verbally commit but it doesn't really mean anything since the the coach can't offer you anything. And coast guard being D3 can't even pay for a recruiting trip whereas the D1 schools can.

The coaches can tell you they are interested, would love to have you play at the academy and they will endorse your application but unlike most other schools this still isn't a guarantee to get in.
 
The SAs are all very different from traditional college athletic recruiting. Since essentially everyone is on scholarship there is no LOI, no participation in national signing day, etc.

As original poster mentioned you can verbally commit but it doesn't really mean anything since the the coach can't offer you anything. And coast guard being D3 can't even pay for a recruiting trip whereas the D1 schools can.

The coaches can tell you they are interested, would love to have you play at the academy and they will endorse your application but unlike most other schools this still isn't a guarantee to get in.
Service academy recruiting really isn’t that different than regular colleges, and is very similar to the Ivies. Service academy kids still participate in national signing days, buts it’s ceremonial, just like any Division 3 recruit Both the kids and schools want this to happen. It’s good press for the academies’ sports programs.

Verbal commitments don’t mean anything at any school. They are always subject to the kid getting accepted. That bar is just a lot lower at many schools. But if a coach at any school, academy or not, asks for and accepts a commitment, but doesn’t think he can get you in, he will lose credibility really quick- and then good luck recruiting players.

Division 2 and 3 can pay for travel for recruiting visits just like D1.

Recruits at CGA are told it isn’t a guarantee, but coaches have a lot of pull for the kids they really want. They do an academic review of the grades and SAT scores, and they know who they can get in.
 
Our recent experience may be helpful to some. My DD was recruited in September of this year to USNA. For the previous 12 months, she sent game film to her preferred list of schools. As a HS Sophomore and rising Junior, coaches are prevented from contact until 9/1 of Junior year. (My understanding is SA can begin contact two months earlier on 7/1. ) Her club coach received outreach from a number of schools.

Navy coach asked her club coach DD's level of interest in USNA. It was one of her top choices. DD received texts from USNA and 9 other schools on 9/1. Most of them were literally at 12:01 AM. She spoke to Navy coach who invited her to come for a school visit. She loved it.

A week of so later she attended a recruit camp at USNA. The following Monday, Coach called her to offer her a spot on the team. DD slept on it, then called coach to verbally commit to play at USNA. She, of course, still has to complete application, get nominated, and secure an appointment.
USNA can offer a spot during junior year. USCGA cannot. There is a huge line of demarcation between D1 SAs and D3 SAs.
 
USNA can offer a spot during junior year. USCGA cannot. There is a huge line of demarcation between D1 SAs and D3 SAs.
USCGA can, and does recruit on the same timeline as the big three. In fact, they can offer earlier, as the NCAA July 1 (for academies) before junior year restriction on recruiting doesn’t apply to D3. If the D3 school expresses interest, and it’s reciprocal, the dance can start well before senior year. Whether offered in senior year or junior year, whether by USNA or USCGA, the kid still has to get in, but the offers can be made whenever the coach sees fit.
 
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USCGA can, and does recruit on the same timeline as the big three. In fact, they can offer earlier, as the NCAA July 1 (for academies) before junior year restriction on recruiting doesn’t apply to D3. If the D3 school expresses interest, and it’s reciprocal, the dance can start well before senior year. Whether offered in senior year or junior year, whether by USNA or USCGA, the kid still has to get in, but the offers can be made whenever the coach sees fit.
When you say offer are you saying athletes get LOA from CGA in junior year or sooner?
 
When you say offer are you saying athletes get LOA from CGA in junior year or sooner?
The varsity athletics “offers” are not LOAs from Admissions.

All candidates have to go through the complete application process on the timeline for their class, and be deemed fully qualified. Coaches can start “the dance” earlier than the timeline, and offer assurances of a spot on the team. Those candidates can accept that athletic offer and “commit,” but they still have to meet all Admissions criteria AND be selected by Admissions for an offer of appointment. Just separate the two in your mind. The long pole in this tent is the candidate must be fully qualified with an offer of appointment from Admissions, with possibly an interim conditional offer of appointment pending DoDMERB qualification, regardless of any parallel “offers” from coaches. Coaches have a voice with Admissions to advocate for a recruit.
 
When you say offer are you saying athletes get LOA from CGA in junior year or sooner?
Not an LOA, I’m saying a verbal offer. Are you saying USNA gives out LOA’s to athletes in junior year? I’ve never heard that, and I know USAFA doesn’t. They do give out LOA’s to athletes very early in the application cycle, though.
 
Any SA coach that was making verbal offers to recruits , and those offers being accepted, then could not see those kids being admitted to their SA should be fired.

because a SA coach who did that more than once, excepting physical exams etc, would be a coach that could no longer recruit the blue chippers. They would be seen as dishonest and not to be trusted.

once the coach makes an offer and that offer is accepted , that is announced to the sports world by the SA , that commitment is published in sports magazines, and recruiting from other schools comes to a halt.

If the coach makes an actually offer , As opposed to saying they will help push the application with a check mark ,

and that check mark might give you a better edge at being admitted, then they know they can get you in , at least as far as grades and sat s ——at least with prep school as a back up.

And if they are wrong about that then this is a coaching staff not to be trusted.
 
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Not an LOA, I’m saying a verbal offer. Are you saying USNA gives out LOA’s to athletes in junior year? I’ve never heard that, and I know USAFA doesn’t. They do give out LOA’s to athletes very early in the application cycle, though.
So what is the relationship between an SA and an athlete when an athlete makes a verbal commitment in their junior year? I misspoke when I said LOA above. That being said it’s my experience that CGA and KP do not see verbal commitments in that junior year. So I am of the opinion that CGA and KP are at a big disadvantage because student athletes have to go through the process like every other applicant. I am not saying that’s a bad thing, what I am saying is that why CGA coaches are making quick calls once notified that one of their recruits gets an appointment. And I think the early action program gives CGA a slight edge over USMMA. My son is a recruited athlete, most of his club and high school teammates have committed. He has a couple of (small) offers to play for low level D1 programs, he has a couple of bigger offers at d2 programs. There is such pressure on these kids to commit that we have debated it multiple times. Now that he has an appointment from CGA he is glad he didn’t commit, but he was taking a risk. Now he is waiting on KP. The coaches gave a positive vibe throughout the process, but never made any promises, for which I am grateful. I know he could commit and then de commit to go to CGA OR KP, I am against that practice personally. I am not claiming to be an authority on this topic, giving my experience and trying to get an education from people who have knowledge on the topic.
 
A verbal commitment is merely an agreement between a coach and the player. The coach offers a spot to the player and the player commits to that spot. It can be rescinded by either party at any time. As stated earlier, for SA's the player must still go through process of application, nomination, and possible appointment. The recruited player is given some priority for appointment over non-recruited candidates as long as the recruit meets the requirements of the SA.

If I've misstated anything, please correct me.
 
So what is the relationship between an SA and an athlete when an athlete makes a verbal commitment in their junior year? I misspoke when I said LOA above. That being said it’s my experience that CGA and KP do not see verbal commitments in that junior year. So I am of the opinion that CGA and KP are at a big disadvantage because student athletes have to go through the process like every other applicant. I am not saying that’s a bad thing, what I am saying is that why CGA coaches are making quick calls once notified that one of their recruits gets an appointment. And I think the early action program gives CGA a slight edge over USMMA. My son is a recruited athlete, most of his club and high school teammates have committed. He has a couple of (small) offers to play for low level D1 programs, he has a couple of bigger offers at d2 programs. There is such pressure on these kids to commit that we have debated it multiple times. Now that he has an appointment from CGA he is glad he didn’t commit, but he was taking a risk. Now he is waiting on KP. The coaches gave a positive vibe throughout the process, but never made any promises, for which I am grateful. I know he could commit and then de commit to go to CGA OR KP, I am against that practice personally. I am not claiming to be an authority on this topic, giving my experience and trying to get an education from people who have knowledge on the topic.
No different than an oral commitment with any other school. It isn’t binding on the kid or the school - either can change their mind at any point. I can’t speak to KP, but CGA does engage in oral commitments with juniors. Definitely not as frequently as with the big 3, but that’s because CGA is waiting for kids to wash out of the D1 recruiting process. By the end of the summer before senior year CGA’s recruiting class is nearly fully formed.

Good call not committing somewhere else, then applying to CGA. You may have found that the coach’s support evaporated.
 
A verbal commitment is merely an agreement between a coach and the player. The coach offers a spot to the player and the player commits to that spot. It can be rescinded by either party at any time. As stated earlier, for SA's the player must still go through process of application, nomination, and possible appointment. The recruited player is given some priority for appointment over non-recruited candidates as long as the recruit meets the requirements of the SA.

If I've misstated anything, please correct me.
I’d not correct a thing. Well stated

Where we might differ is how to define “some priority” for appointment. I’d consider it almost a virtual lock.

The offer at a D1 service academy from a SA coach is absolutely golden for the recruit except for things like jail, dui s, something showing up on a physical that can’t be waved (lots and lots can be and often are waved for a recruit )

It’s not going to be grades or SATs keeping the recruit out like it would be for a non recruit with similar lower grades and test scores . Not with prep school as a back up.
 
I’d not correct a thing. Well stated

Where we might differ is how to define “some priority” for appointment. I’d consider it almost a virtual lock.

The offer at a D1 service academy from a SA coach is absolutely golden for the recruit except for things like jail, dui s, something showing up on a physical that can’t be waved (lots and lots can be and often are waved for a recruit )

It’s not going to be grades or SATs keeping the recruit out like it would be for a non recruit with similar lower grades and test scores . Not with prep school as a back up.
Thanks for the clarification. I like the sound of "lock".
 
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