So as our household prepares for January with 6 college visits between the 2 kids, yes I said 6 and no I am not silently flexing. I am terrified of how this is supposed to go. I was able to listen to a conversation between my son and the coach at a major college where Nike is a big part of their recruitment.
The big part that caught my attention was when he asked if Joey could make it up for a visit. The theme was about how the portal has changed how and when they are going to be offering kids moving forward. This school in particular was the first school that reached out in the summer of 8th grade. The same coach and the same program here 3 years later is awesome.
With Joey's surgery and rehab all this last 18 months it has been trying but so much has changed. Am I making lemonade here? Sure why not. The school he would have committed to prior to his injury no doubt would most likely not be the school he currently wants to be at most. That being said the schools that have offered him may not still be interested who knows.
What struck me most about this conversation I am referring to was that the coach was very upfront and said "Listen we want you here and in person to evaluate you post injury. Making you an offer over the phone would just mean we are throwing something out there. We can go to the portal and get someone just like you who has been tried and proven but we would like to see you first. "
Makes sense to me. If my job is on the line and I am in charge of "hiring" new people I think I would always take the employee who has real experience at the level I am working out instead of the what if or what could be. My point of all of this is that your child may be a rockstar but so are the players 2 and 3 years before him. They may have had a later start or an injury and now are back and at it.
Take your time and understand the process is not meant to be quick and easy. Nor should you want it to be. I can recall another head coach telling Sav after a camp to be patient with them as they will not come calling 9/1 because of so many factors from ability to school work. They want to vet your grades almost as closely as your softball skills. That was a bummer but once again a reminder that the decisions these coaches are making are also stressful on them. Think about their livelihood and their families who rely on them to win games.
In closing for 2023 I have made it with 52 blogs. I am not sure I will keep up this pace in 2024 but I think I plan on getting 12 out for now and I will work on some great content. As always if you think of something that is on your plate or something you'd like to see just shoot me a text. Happy New years and thanks for all the feedback. JLO out.
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