“Let us never negotiagate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate.” John F. Kennedy
It’s that time of year when I get a phone call almost daily from one of senior clients. We have done months (if not years) of hard work to get them to this point of having multiple college coaches fighting for their services. College coaches are calling to let the student-athlete know that they have finished their research and have decided that they are the student-athlete they have decided to commit to and want to make a “verbal” offer to them. The Coach wants you to be a part of their program for the next 2-4 years! Yes! Woohoo!!!
This is more than exciting. It feels “life changing”. There’s a coach who has looked at hundreds of athletes just like you, and they have chosen YOU over all the others. No matter how many times I have gone through it as a college coach and college scout, it is one of the most rewarding days of the year. I know the family who entrusted me to guide them through this journey is starting to realize the fruits of their labor and can finally see the endline to the marathon we started together.
As exciting as this opportunity may be, it is my job to keep this eye-poppping, over-joyed teenager (and full grown adult parent) grounded. It is more than important that I keep them focused on being the CEO of their recruitment and not the freshman who was just asked to prom by the most popular senior in school. I have to be a bit of a buzzkill and grab their hand to pull them back to earth before they float away.
Although verbal offers are awesome, college coaches who are making the offer very much hope that you will feel like they are handing a tall, cold glass of water to a person who has been wandering lost in the desert for months. They hope you will just say “YES! Thank you! Of course, I will accept your offer!”. Then they can hang-up and move-on to the next player on their list. Life, unfortunately, is not that simple, and you should not make it that simple.
You may accept that coach’s offer. You might actually accept their offer within the next 24 hours, but you should NEVER accept without (1) asking very important questions, (2) allowing yourself to talk it through as a family, and (3) sleeping on it for a night to make sure you feel the same way the day after.
Let’s focus on what “right” questions you should be asking after enthusiastically thanking the coach for believing in you:
- Have you made any other verbal offers to recruits in my class and at my position?
- Have any of those accepted your verbal offer?
- How many returners and newcomers do you have committed at my position for next year?
- How many total commitments do you expect to have in my class at my position? Will you offer any other recruits at my position after I were to commit?
- Have you ever pulled a verbal offer from a recruit? If yes, may I ask the reason(s)?
- At what point does this verbal offer become a binding offer between you and me? What is the timeline for that decision?
- Are there any scholarship dollars attached to this offer?
- Coach, I am very thankful and excited about the potential of playing for you, but I am still finishing up my recruitment process. When do you need a final answer from me?
- If you were to leave the program at any point in the next 4 years, what would happen to my offer?
- What are the next steps once I commit?
You might not ask all of these questions, but hopefully reading these questions opens your eyes to why it is so important to not jump into a verbal agreement until you are confident with what accepting that offer means to you and your future in that program.
I know you are tired and stressed out. I know you just want this journey to be over. I very much want to make sure you are not re-starting this journey a year from now because you jumped into something you didn’t fully understand. You’ve come this far! You will be so thankful for taking a few moments or days to make sure you’ve checked all the boxes. It’s your future! Take as much time as you need to get it right!
Enjoying these blogs? Want to schedule a free 30-minute coaching assessment with Coach Rogers? You can do so here: https://www.significantcoaching.net/
Interested in Coach Rogers’ Book on College Recruiting? You can find it here: https://bit.ly/Matt-Rogers-Significant-Recruiting-Amazon
