Contact from Colleges

[jkpgolf]

Has anyone gotten letters/questionnaires from Colleges yet? 13 year old boy. 8th grade. Wondering if these are more standard forms sent to all kids in a certain golf Association or do schools start to pick and choose who these forms go out to. Just wondering how seriously we should take this questionnaire.

[tiger1873]

sounds a little suspicious the allowed contact for NCAA now is the summer after sophomore year.

Don’t get me wrong colleges are looking but I have noticed they keep there distance now from kids after the rule change last year. At least the ones I have seen at tournaments don’t say a word. They do smile though at kids they like and show excitement for good shots. You can usually tell there interested in someone if they follow the group.

even if you do camps you can tell there generally interested in certain kids but they don’t say a word about recruiting anyone. At least that is why I observed.

I am not sure what the best strategy is after the rule change last year but honesty I think just play a lot tournaments with college coaches roaming around is not a bad idea. I also noticed that a lot colleges have junior tournaments on their home courses and seem that great tournaments to play to get noticed..

 

[Hawkeye77]

Maybe you need more information about what college sent the letter, its NCAA division, what the purpose of the letter was and who/what department sent it and whether the school was contacted to send the letter.

[tiger1873]

The kid is in 8th grade the coaches are not allowed to recruit them. Based on the rules I know your not going to have much contact with them. I think they can still call a kids coach but the contact will not be direct.https://www.ncsasports.org/ncaa-eligibility-center/recruiting-rules

[Hawkeye77]

Try reading my post again, think about the things you don't know and try not to spitball an answer.

[Hawkeye77]

OP, you really need to share more specifics if you want the folks on here that really can answer your question to chip in, and I'm not one of them, but would like you to get useful replies.

What college did you hear from (or at least what Division/NCAA classification for athletics)? Did you hear from the golf coach? If someone else, who and what department? Had you requested information or been in contact previously with the school?

Post is pretty vague.

[heavy_hitter]

Are they about golf or just about the college? Huge difference.

[heavy_hitter]

Colleges can send general inquiry letters to any prospective student they want.

[leezer99]

None here but the boy is only 11. We have gotten a bunch of 'invites' to college golf camps but that's because some tour is selling our email addresses.

[wlm]

Before the recent recruiting rule changes, colleges were allowed to send out a questionnaire to prospective recruits. It was basically the only type of contact that they could initiate. I don't know if this changed, or was addressed, in the revised recruiting rules.

[jkpgolf]

Division 1 school in California. Top 25 school. It was a questionnaire addressed from the Athletics Dept. The questions are specific to golf and is to be returned to the Golf Coach. There was also a letter enclosed stating they could not answer any further questions or communicate until after Sophomore year.

We did not make any contact or initiate anything with this school.

Thanks for your replies. Appreciate any info you may have.

[heavy_hitter]

That is interesting. Your son must be quite the player.

[chrissdc]

After reading your specifics about the contact, I believe it is very encouraging. HH is right, your kid must be a very good player.

I admit that I don’t know the rules well, but I thought school/coaches could initiate contact before a kid enters high school.

I only say this because my kids instructor/mentor before high school was at the time a college coach and explained to me that a NCAA waiver was not needed to instruct my kid because it was before HS. This instructor at the time needed to get the waivers for other HS juniors that were being instructed.

[Hawkeye77]

Awesome! That should help those here that know the D1 rules help you, for example. Makes a difference I believe what the school’s classification is for certain recruiting rules. NCAA has lots of resources as well and now the link that was posted may be helpful with that question answered and I’ll bet if you called someone there could help as well. As mentioned may be permissible materials that don’t constitute official recruiting. And he isn’t a prospective student athlete yet but that’s a definitional rabbit hole. It is a way for you to be on their radar screen more and how useful that is others with actual experience would have to say. Still, I’d just call the NCAA and ask them.

[TripleBogeysrbetter]

If you child has taken anything related to college board then be prepared to spammed by every college in the US. My mailbox falls over daily from all the admissions BS.

 

Related to the OP:

 

"Brochures, pamphlets and questionnairesThe first piece of mail that you receive from a college coach will likely be general information about the school or a request to complete a recruiting questionnaire. These are known as non-recruiting materials. Depending on your age and division level, this could mean a few different things.NCAA Division I and Division II: DI and DII coaches can’t send recruiting materials to athletes before June 15 after sophomore year or September 1 of junior year, depending on your sport. To spark an underclassman’s interest in the program, they’ll often send general information about the school and a recruiting questionnaire. This can signal to an 8th grader, high school freshman or sophomore that the coach has noticed them and may be interested in recruiting them. If you’re a junior or senior receiving general school information, you're probably not being heavily recruited yet, and you need to put in the work to really get their attention. "

 

[Hawkeye77]

Not saying it isn’t accurate but isn’t that quote from a third party website? Might want to include the source as an FYI.

[leezer99]

https://www.ncsasports.org/recruiting/contacting-college-coaches/recruiting-letters

[TripleBogeysrbetter]

Just saying if you look around most all of the sites say the same thing. But yes this one is from NCSA.

 

[TripleBogeysrbetter]

If you're talking Div 3 then its a different game.

 

When can Division III coaches contact athletes?DIII schools have the most relaxed NCAA recruiting rules of all the division levels. Similar to NCAA DII, they are the same for all sports:Recruiting materials: Athletes can receive recruiting materials at any time.Telephone calls: There is no limit on when college coaches can call athletes.Digital communications: There is no limit on when college coaches can contact athletes digitally.Off-campus contact: After the athlete’s sophomore year, college coaches may begin to conduct off-campus communications.Official visits: Athletes can begin taking official visits after January 1 of their junior year.Unofficial visits: Athletes can make an unlimited number of unofficial visits at any time.

Citing source : https://www.ncsasports.org/ncaa-eligibility-center/recruiting-rules

Div 3 coaches in our experience have been on the ball. DS is taking a several official visits soon.

[BFD3]

I just went to a talk put on by coaches from the UofA and ASU. They mentioned the June 15 date after a player’s sophomore year for any “contact” between the coach and the player. After August 1 (or maybe Sept 1), players can visit up to 5 schools for paid, official visits.

The most interesting thing I got out of it was that the “big name“ programs aren’t really interested in hearing from you unless they’ve contacted you first. They all look at the same rankings and tournament scores on a VERY regular basis. If your kid is shooting low scores at big tournaments, they know who he or she is. If your kid isn’t, they’re not interested. So, I agree. The OP’s kid must be pretty darn good.

 

BTW, I’m a long time lurker with two kids (11 and 8) just starting to play small, local tournaments.

[iteachgolf]

Not 100% accurate. Lots of big schools won’t reach out until they are sure they wanna offer a kid. And hearing from that kid that they are interested in that school can absolutely change or ramp up a schools interest in a player. Still better be really good but I have some guys who have taken official visits to top programs and other top programs weren’t interested until the player reached out to them explicitly stating their interest.

[darter79]

I was on Instagram and saw a kid post a letter from a Div I school and the kid is only 10 (only 4th grade) not even playing 18 holes and isn't what I would call a world beater either. Not sure I can wrap my head around that one.

[kekoa]

Really? I'd be interested in knowing who he/she is. Our friend got a letter recently, but it was from a local private high school. He's 11.

[tsecor]

A kid can get an offer anytime..regardless of age....what happens after that is the issue....

 

a basketball player near us has been getting D1 offers since 8th grade...... remember the name Dior Johnson.......he plays with Lebrons kid.....

 

[leezer99]

They don't go to the same high school but as elite players they do play in the same camps and elite events. Dior is also a Syracuse commit while Bronny is still a freshman at Sierra Canyon ($40k/yr). Both will be one and done.

[tsecor]

Dior lived with Lebron and Bronny and play together during AAU......We'll see if Dior stays with his commitment because historically he moves from place to place to place.....with Boeheim moving on, we'll see if Dior honors his commitment. Its doubtful. He has many many offers

[Dog Lover]

40K is a bargain for private/prep.......even day school. I live in New Hampshire and all the prep schools with elite basketball programs here are closer to 60K.

Really hard to say as of yet who will be one and done from class of 2022 and beyond IMO. So many good players and very difficult to predict future development.

[heavy_hitter]

I am surprised people even watch basketball beyond high school, because it really isn't how basketball should be played. NBA and college hoops is about layups or shooting 3's. The shot clock, 3 pointers, certain rule changes have diminished the game. There is no real strategy to it anymore as every team drives and kicks. Used to love to watch college hoops and every game is the same game over and over with no real strategy.

[Dog Lover]

Certainly understand some of your frustration regarding NBA rule changes. But when you are talking about Dior Johnson or kids at Sierra Canyon or say Brewster Academy in my area, you do not go to these games to see a lot of "strategy". Nor do the multiple D1 and and NBA scouts in nightly attendance. Just let them play and enjoy the show. So incredibly skilled and absolute freak athletes.

If you have an elite national HS or Prep program in your area , it is worth checking out. Much like elite junior golf, it is sometimes hard to believe what these kids can do.

[tsecor]

watch Big East basketball.....its still sort of a throwback with 3 levels of offense. Big men are even posting up.....