WAG 8th Grader Verbally Committed Today. Class of 2023

[Texastwister]

And here is what doesn't make sense to me, my daughter can call and talk to a college coach on the phone but can't communicate with this same coach face-to-face. Can anyone explain why this rule makes any sense?? And not being able to make an official visit until the summer of their junior year bugs me too, if my daughter has 4-5 schools that she is interested in visiting, then we need to not only find the time to visit these schools in one summer (makes it more difficult when the elite season is still going on into the late summer months), but also be able to afford to visit those schools in a short amount of time. I personally wish they would just do away with most of the recruiting rules. Clearly the schools and coaches are finding ways to get around them and still do early recruiting. It would be so much easier if they would just get rid of the rules all together and just trust that the parents/gymnast/coaches will do what is best for the gymnast.

Also, the kiddos committing early are going to the camps. You really need to have a chance to work with the coaches and check out the school. It’s a lot of money but in the end a great investment!

 

[reluctant]

Also, the kiddos committing early are going to the camps. You really need to have a chance to work with the coaches and check out the school. It’s a lot of money but in the end a great investment!

That's definitely not going to work. We need rules to protect these kids FROM their coaches and their parents.

 

[FlippinLilysMom]

That's definitely not going to work. We need rules to protect these kids FROM their coaches and their parents.

?????

 

[Texastwister]

That's definitely not going to work. We need rules to protect these kids FROM their coaches and their parents.

I’m sorry, I don’t understand your reply?

 

[reluctant]

I’m sorry, I don’t understand your reply?

I mean recruiting rules are there to keep overzealous parents and coaches from signing up their 7 year old for a job 11 years in the future.

 

[Texastwister]

I mean recruiting rules are there to keep overzealous parents and coaches from signing up their 7 year old for a job 11 years in the future.

Yes, but what does that have to do with camps? Many high school kids go to these camps so they can meet the coaches and see the campus. It’s a good thing!

 

[reluctant]

Yes, but what does that have to do with camps? Many high school kids go to these camps so they can meet the coaches and see the campus. It’s a good thing!

I was replying to FlippingLily's mom who said there should be no recruiting rules. I think college camps are great for HS age kids!

 

[John]

It seems there two distinct factions in the gym world at this current time. Those that think everything is fine and feel things should continue as they are and those that think things are broken and need fixing. It would be nice to have everyone agree but that expectation is not reality. Folks including myself can be blinded by potential and success at times, it would be nice if those in power would establish rules to protect the innocent. I think us parents should listen to others that have already been there done that and learn from them. I myself think college gymnastics is different than club gymnastics but to be honest I am not sure that difference is large enough to be felt. I would love to hear from those here that have had athletes in college. And everyone please remember that we are trying to raise good healthy adults, not gymnasts, gymnastics is our chosen path to the desired ending.

 

[B&M's mom]

It seems there two distinct factions in the gym world at this current time. Those that think everything is fine and feel things should continue as they are and those that think things are broken and need fixing. It would be nice to have everyone agree but that expectation is not reality. Folks including myself can be blinded by potential and success at times, it would be nice if those in power would establish rules to protect the innocent. I think us parents should listen to others that have already been there done that and learn from them. I myself think college gymnastics is different than club gymnastics but to be honest I am not sure that difference is large enough to be felt. I would love to hear from those here that have had athletes in college. And everyone please remember that we are trying to raise good healthy adults, not gymnasts, gymnastics is our chosen path to the desired ending.

 

[B&M's mom]

You raise a good point about the college experience vs. club gymnastics. My DD is not a college gymnast but is a D1 diver. She is not having the college experience I was hoping for. Her life revolves around classes and practice. Like all other sports, she practices 20 hours a week per NCAA rules but that time doesn't include getting to the pool early or staying for meetings with the coaches, appointments with the trainer or simply changing after practice and going back to her dorm. She has little time for any other clubs, organizations or activities. She loves (most of) her teammates but they are her social group as they were partnered up in the same dorm. She doesn't have time to make friends with people in her major because her schedule is so regimented. Thankfully, she understands how to juggle this type of schedule with her class schedule. Many of her teammates are struggling with the relative freedom and their grades are suffering. When they travel for meets, she does get a pass to give to her professors but that just defers any work that must be done, it doesn't get her out of it so that is added on top of everything else. Because swimming/diving, like gymnastics competes both semesters, she has limited vacation time. She only gets 4 days at Thanksgiving, unlike the rest of the school that gets 9. Christmas, she's home for 10 days then goes back for a training trip that we pay for; the rest of the school is off for 5 weeks. After the trip, she has to stay on campus as they have two meets during the break. She just can't come home for a weekend as she has practices on Saturday. I understand that after season is over, the practice schedule will ease up but that's not until March. She has no ability to easily switch teams should the situation become toxic which was a concern as we didn't know the coach very well. Fortunately, he's great and she's learning a lot.

My DD is as happy as a clam however. She's a proud member of her team and university. She can't imagine not competing. I only wish that she had more time to experience all of the possibilities open to her at school. I'm also not thrilled with the truncated vacation schedules. Thankfully she's only a couple of hours away so I can visit periodically. If she had been farther, I would only get to see her on breaks.

This may not be what you were asking but I think we tend to look at recruiting in terms of how much money is being offered without realizing what college athletics really entails. It can be a great experience but it's not without it's downsides.

 

[reluctant]

You raise a good point about the college experience vs. club gymnastics. My DD is not a college gymnast but is a D1 diver.

Did she start out as gymnast? Diving seems like so much more fun.Is there as much pressure?

 

[Texastwister]

Did she start out as gymnast? Diving seems like so much more fun.Is there as much pressure?

There is pressure in all college sports. Even D2! The coaches want a good record because it’s a reflection on them and they want to keep their jobs.

 

[gymgal]

Additionally, the financial aspect (full ride) is usually on top of most students/families list in determining the "best" school. If the choice is committing to a full ride scholarship at age 9 vs. a community college because that is all the family can afford or a better suited school but wiIll cause a financial strain to the family, the full ride will win in my book anytime.

yes! With or without athletics, families often choose a college based which is giving the better financial package. It's not always about the best fit for the student but about the best fit for the family. We ruled out several colleges for dd due to finances. They would have been excellent fits in terms of sports and academics but we would not be able to swing the financial aspect of it. I still don't "think" I would have allowed my dd to accept an offer at 12-14 years old but that's easy for me to say in hindsight and when we were never in that position to begin with. If it was my dd's dream school at the time (both academic and gymnastics) my thinking may have been different.

And here is what doesn't make sense to me, my daughter can call and talk to a college coach on the phone but can't communicate with this same coach face-to-face. Can anyone explain why this rule makes any sense?? And not being able to make an official visit until the summer of their junior year bugs me too, if my daughter has 4-5 schools that she is interested in visiting, then we need to not only find the time to visit these schools in one summer (makes it more difficult when the elite season is still going on into the late summer months), but also be able to afford to visit those schools in a short amount of time. I personally wish they would just do away with most of the recruiting rules. Clearly the schools and coaches are finding ways to get around them and still do early recruiting. It would be so much easier if they would just get rid of the rules all together and just trust that the parents/gymnast/coaches will do what is best for the gymnast.

Yes, it is frustrating because the rules contradict themselves. as for official visits, they are usually done during the school year so the athlete can get a true feel of the school and events, attend a few classes, watch practice and the coaches can get a sense of whether the recruit will fit in with the team. This is not always the case but it seems that coaches and athletes prefer this. Prior to the change earlier this year, official visits could only happen in the senior year so opening it up to incoming juniors is a step forward. Also, there is nothing stopping a student from visiting a college earlier than Jr year - even in middle school- to get a feel for the campus, talk with admissions, look at the athletic areas. They just can't have contact with the coaches on campus if it happens before their Junior yr. These "unofficial" visits are valuable because it often helps to eliminate colleges in the early stages. We did several drive throughs of campuses in middle and early high school years, during our summer vacations and during meet season. It really helped our kids get a feel for what type of campus they liked.

 

[gymgal]

You raise a good point about the college experience vs. club gymnastics. My DD is not a college gymnast but is a D1 diver. She is not having the college experience I was hoping for. Her life revolves around classes and practice. Like all other sports, she practices 20 hours a week per NCAA rules but that time doesn't include getting to the pool early or staying for meetings with the coaches, appointments with the trainer or simply changing after practice and going back to her dorm.

Thanks for the insight. I wanted to comment on the hours as well and I am not sure if diving is similar but when club gym says 20 or 25 hours, that's it from arrival to discharge. Conditioning, strength training, sometimes rehab are all included. We are learning it is not always the case in college. Those 20 hours are official "coach initiated" gym training hours. They don't include the "athlete initiated" weight room, therapy/rehab etc before and after practice. Sometimes warm-up/stretch down aren't included. You are expected to do that on your own (meaning arrive early/stay late). And while the limit is 20 hours of mandatory work-out, there are often "optional" work-outs that are not truly optional.

 

[tomtnt]

I'm not sure about others' experiences in college but my "normal" (non-athlete) experience involved lots of parties, drinking, possibly some illicit substances. a lot of sleeping in and missing classes. I also had to do work study in order to afford tuition.

The most recent changes to early recruiting prevents schools from arranging "unofficial visits". Before this year, schools were able to have gymnasts come and tour, meet the team, see the facilities, etc. They just weren't allowed to pay for any of it (in contrast to "official visits"). Yes, you can still do an "unofficial" unofficial visit and just show up but you aren't going to be meeting with gymnasts, coaches, or seeing facilities. The only way now to get that experience is by participating in camps which are quite costly for tuition as well as travel and lodging cost.

As I noted previously, it's very interesting though - not alot of 2022 commits at this point and given the upcoming dead period and start of NCAA season, we likely won't see large number of 2022 commits until after JO nationals.

 

[Gigi]

She is not having the college experience I was hoping for. Her life revolves around classes and practice.

That's how I feel about my daughter's high school experience!

 

[reluctant]

I'm not sure about others' experiences in college but my "normal" (non-athlete) experience involved lots of parties, drinking, possibly some illicit substances. a lot of sleeping in and missing classes. I also had to do work study in order to afford tuition.

The most recent changes to early recruiting prevents schools from arranging "unofficial visits". Before this year, schools were able to have gymnasts come and tour, meet the team, see the facilities, etc. They just weren't allowed to pay for any of it (in contrast to "official visits"). Yes, you can still do an "unofficial" unofficial visit and just show up but you aren't going to be meeting with gymnasts, coaches, or seeing facilities. The only way now to get that experience is by participating in camps which are quite costly for tuition as well as travel and lodging cost.

As I noted previously, it's very interesting though - not alot of 2022 commits at this point and given the upcoming dead period and start of NCAA season, we likely won't see large number of 2022 commits until after JO nationals.

Does this mean there are fewer commits than in previous years?

 

[Gigi]

yes! With or without athletics, families often choose a college based which is giving the better financial package. It's not always about the best fit for the student but about the best fit for the family. We ruled out several colleges for dd due to finances. .

That is why walk on at an out of state school would be very difficult for us. You also have to include travel expense to and from home during breaks, and some school locations are expensive to travel to. We also learned there are D1 schools that only offer up to the in-state tuition amount or thereabout, so if you are from out of state, you are really only getting a partial.

 

[B&M's mom]

Did she start out as gymnast? Diving seems like so much more fun.Is there as much pressure?

She was a multi-year L10 who had attempted to qualify as an elite when one too many knee surgeries forced her out of the sport. According to her, no, there is not as much pressure but her experience is different from kids who have been diving for years. She took up diving her junior year in HS and excelled at the high school level. She trained with a club team between junior and senior years but they did not compete her because she didn't have the technical skills to have the best dives (although she did beat some of the club girls at the HS State meet). Her college coach is working with her to develop those skills and she is progressing well. When asked if she preferred gymnastics or diving, her enthusiatic immediate response was diving.

 

[tomtnt]

I'm always curious what the college coaches are looking for by "watching practices". The girls are on their best behavior so you probably aren't getting a true reflection of how they behave day-to-day or how fast/efficiently they work or how well they cheer for their teammates etc - you're more likely able to learn more about the gymnast from the club coach. Also, how the girls perform at practice may not reflect how well they do at competitions, which is what counts, after all...