Question for Athletes

[Incognito]

My DD, currently a sophomore in HS, is an athlete. She’s visited the academy a couple of times already and absolutely loves it. It’s definitely her first choice. That said, she’s nervous about the possibility of rejecting offers to play for other schools while holding out for CGA. Appointments come so late (as far as recruited athletes go) that her options would be very limited if she were to hold out and then not get accepted. Her friends and teammates will be making verbal commitments junior year, which she will have to pass on as long as she’s holding out for CGA and that makes us all very nervous. How did you handle this?!

 

[USCGAFL]

My DS accepted scholarship offer from his top civilian college option and signed letter of intent before receiving Prep School offer from Coast Guard Academy. He requested release from his letter of intent based on Coast Guard offer and civilian college granted release allowing him to accept Coast Guard offer.

 

[kfd217]

Have your daughter accept and even sign whatever offer she feels will be best for her. If and when the Academy offers her a spot she can rescind her offer for the other school. My daughter opted not to mention her application to the Academy because Coaches know "if" accepted they will most likely not get that student and in their eyes waste a scholarship.

 

[OHunts]

Currently I’ve accepted a verbal commitment to a D1 college and have to de-commit for USCGA. I would suggest not signing any commitment letter but encourage her to continue the recruiting process. I haven’t been pushed to sign anything because I requested that I have until November to commit (I was waiting on the ROTC scholarship) and missed the first signing day. If you can, once you receive an offer, drag it out so that you don’t sign any binding papers.
(That being said, if anyone knows what I should say when I de-commit, please let me know.)

Edit: I’m a thrower for track and field. Maybe it’s a different process for track than other sports, but I accepted a commitment senior year and did not even reach out to coaches until after my would’ve-been junior season. Maybe it was different because of my sport or because of how Covid affected my spring season, but I didn’t commit until senior year. I know a lot of people that commit earlier, but I wouldn’t stress if I was her. Also! Apply early decision! You’ll hear back from admissions before Christmas if you do. And then that limits the signing days you have to avoid.

 

[Incognito]

Is there an issue with CGA if they find out you backed out of a verbal with another school? I would like to think they know what’s at stake for these athletes and understand the decisions that need to be made, but I can also see where it might not look so good. That’s the part my daughter is struggling with...the idea of accepting an offer, knowing she’d back out if accepted to CGA. She’s concerned that it would be perceived as a lack of integrity. (Please don’t misconstrue that to mean that we think people who do that lack integrity. We don’t. We think it shows a practical approach to a difficult situation. She’s just worried about how it will be perceived by the academy.)

 

[USCGAFL]

Is there an issue with CGA if they find out you backed out of a verbal with another school? I would like to think they know what’s at stake for these athletes and understand the decisions that need to be made, but I can also see where it might not look so good. That’s the part my daughter is struggling with...the idea of accepting an offer, knowing she’d back out if accepted to CGA. She’s concerned that it would be perceived as a lack of integrity. (Please don’t misconstrue that to mean that we think people who do that lack integrity. We don’t. We think it shows a practical approach to a difficult situation. She’s just worried about how it will be perceived by the academy.)

My DS let his AO know his plans to commit to a civilian college and she encouraged him to pursue is back up plans in case he did not receive a USCGA appointment.

 

[OHunts]

Is there an issue with CGA if they find out you backed out of a verbal with another school? I would like to think they know what’s at stake for these athletes and understand the decisions that need to be made, but I can also see where it might not look so good. That’s the part my daughter is struggling with...the idea of accepting an offer, knowing she’d back out if accepted to CGA. She’s concerned that it would be perceived as a lack of integrity. (Please don’t misconstrue that to mean that we think people who do that lack integrity. We don’t. We think it shows a practical approach to a difficult situation. She’s just worried about how it will be perceived by the academy.)

Honestly, I never mentioned it to anyone. I was thinking that too, but ultimately t

Is there an issue with CGA if they find out you backed out of a verbal with another school? I would like to think they know what’s at stake for these athletes and understand the decisions that need to be made, but I can also see where it might not look so good. That’s the part my daughter is struggling with...the idea of accepting an offer, knowing she’d back out if accepted to CGA. She’s concerned that it would be perceived as a lack of integrity. (Please don’t misconstrue that to mean that we think people who do that lack integrity. We don’t. We think it shows a practical approach to a difficult situation. She’s just worried about how it will be perceived by the academy.)

I never mentioned it to anyone at SAs or during the nomination process (I’m applying to other academies). When talking about my back up plan if I‘m not accepted (they ask that during interviews), I talked about going to the specific college, doing ROTC, and how I am offered a spot on the track team.
If someone asks specifically, obviously be honest. But I wouldn’t advertise that you’re off the market completely to a SA coach. When I committed, I emailed the coaches at civilian schools that I was off the market, but SA recruiting is different. For the SAs, the process of admission is so different that I didn’t mention it. For example, accepting a commitment to a D1 civilian school meant that the team used an academic spot on me. (D3 schools are different, and I don’t know about D2 school.) Essentially, I was accepted to the school automatically; admissions pulled my application from the pile, and I was in. You have to pass a pre-read and all that first, but my application essay and activities resume were not read by the school. (I passed a transcript pre-read first, of course.) For SAs you still need to be 3Q and win a nom (for the other academies, not USCGA). So accepting a commitment to a SA doesn’t ensure that you’re in the school, you still have to be accepted first. That’s why a friend of mine declined West Point’s commitment offer because she wanted to ensure that she could compete at a D1 school and did not want WP to fall through.
Anyway, I hope that helps. Basically just don’t advertise it. And until you sign something, it’s just word of mouth. I wouldn’t have committed had I not had my hand pushed, but really, every student needs a back up plan. Your DD will be asked what her back up plan is at least a dozen times during various interviews, so committing (verbally) to a college will give her a school and activity to talk about.

 

[kfd217]

Is there an issue with CGA if they find out you backed out of a verbal with another school? I would like to think they know what’s at stake for these athletes and understand the decisions that need to be made, but I can also see where it might not look so good. That’s the part my daughter is struggling with...the idea of accepting an offer, knowing she’d back out if accepted to CGA. She’s concerned that it would be perceived as a lack of integrity. (Please don’t misconstrue that to mean that we think people who do that lack integrity. We don’t. We think it shows a practical approach to a difficult situation. She’s just worried about how it will be perceived by the academy.)

Short answer....Nope...that means they want you and they got you. But until they want you and got you (offer & acceptance) they will probably tell you to do what you need to do. And waiting and dragging out a scholarship may lead to less money. My daughter wasted no time in notifying the civilian school once she was accepted.

 

[kfd217]

FWIW I don't think Academies really care who is recruiting the applicants. I can assure you they are not saying "We need to offer an appointment to this kid or they are going to FSU"

 

[sanman]

My DD, currently a sophomore in HS, is an athlete. She’s visited the academy a couple of times already and absolutely loves it. It’s definitely her first choice. That said, she’s nervous about the possibility of rejecting offers to play for other schools while holding out for CGA. Appointments come so late (as far as recruited athletes go) that her options would be very limited if she were to hold out and then not get accepted. Her friends and teammates will be making verbal commitments junior year, which she will have to pass on as long as she’s holding out for CGA and that makes us all very nervous. How did you handle this?!

My advice is don’t sign the letter of intent. It may impact scholarship money but if USCGA is her dream then hold out until she knows the results.

My DS had multiple offers to play football but didn’t commit to anywhere until he knew what the outcome was for the academy.

 

[kfd217]

I would hate to see someone waiting until March/April of senior year and not getting and appointment and the scholarships bone dry! For what?

 

[zbsigpi]

I would speak directly to your CGA recruiting coach, to get the final word on this. I am pretty sure that there is no penalty for breaking a NLI because you are entering the CG same for the military, also you are NOT being recruited directly for the sport by the CG. An NLI is really in regards to athletic scholarships, and recruiting. But again call the coach for clarification.

 

[dddad]

My DD, currently a sophomore in HS, is an athlete. She’s visited the academy a couple of times already and absolutely loves it. It’s definitely her first choice. That said, she’s nervous about the possibility of rejecting offers to play for other schools while holding out for CGA. Appointments come so late (as far as recruited athletes go) that her options would be very limited if she were to hold out and then not get accepted. Her friends and teammates will be making verbal commitments junior year, which she will have to pass on as long as she’s holding out for CGA and that makes us all very nervous. How did you handle this?!

NLI should not apply to USCGA, a Division III program. Check with coaches or (preferably) NCAA but there ought to be no penalties. Not sure how this plays out at the three DoD SAs as Division I schools. I certainly don’t think she needs to forego a verbal commitment as a HS Junior, which is non-binding anyway. Good luck.

 

[CrabbittMom]

My daughter has been very open and honest with the process to the civilian college coaches. We are still on hold for an appointment offer and even though the civilian schools would like her to commit they have been understanding about the service academy time frame. And actually waiting a little while has opened a little more money for her as other athletes commit to other schools. I would recommend you look Into the ncaa rules on letters of intent. They vary for each collegiate division.

 

[sanman]

NLI should not apply to USCGA, a Division III program. Check with coaches or (preferably) NCAA but there ought to be no penalties. Not sure how this plays out at the three DoD SAs as Division I schools. I certainly don’t think she needs to forego a verbal commitment as a HS Junior, which is non-binding anyway. Good luck.

If the NLI is signed for Div 1 or Div 2 and you decide you don’t want to continue and play for Div 3 I believe the NLI is still enforceable; after all it is effectively a legal agreement to play for that college.

 

[StPaulDad]

Since the notion of "commitment" is mostly a matter of personal integrity between coach and player until the NLI is signed, and since it means little in D3 (with no scholarship contract being signed) you should be guided by your conscience in these things. Elsewhere on these boards I've seen folks endorse everything from "it's unenforceable, any lawyer can get you out of it" to real concerns about ethics and honor. To be clear, if you've signed the NLI be sure to consult with non-internet experts. Otherwise if it's important to you tell coaches at civilian colleges that the academy is a dream and you will accept any offer they make but the odds are long, and you'll be proud to make Middle Directional State U your first choice unless that magic academy offer comes through. If a coach wants you he'll leave an offer on the table, and if feels he can't then he won't.

 

[Jjrrugg]

My daughter has been very open and honest with the process to the civilian college coaches. We are still on hold for an appointment offer and even though the civilian schools would like her to commit they have been understanding about the service academy time frame. And actually waiting a little while has opened a little more money for her as other athletes commit to other schools. I would recommend you look Into the ncaa rules on letters of intent. They vary for each collegiate division.

This has been almost exactly like my recruiting process.

 

[Incognito]

I would speak directly to your CGA recruiting coach, to get the final word on this. I am pretty sure that there is no penalty for breaking a NLI because you are entering the CG same for the military, also you are NOT being recruited directly for the sport by the CG. An NLI is really in regards to athletic scholarships, and recruiting. But again call the coach for clarification.

I did read somewhere that "joining the military" is one of the ways an NLI can be deemed null and void. I wonder if accepting an appointment at an SA falls under that umbrella. Hmmm....