Is It Smart to Commit Early?

There has been a quiet shift in the recruiting landscape over the past two years.

Have you noticed it?

For decades, and certainly up until just a few years ago, athletes and coaches played by a cordial set of rules. Those rules had coaches present their best pitch to their prospects, the prospects would weigh the best options, and announce their decisions at the end of the recruiting cycle.

Then the shift happened. Coaches from all sports, at all levels, kept trying to beat the other guy by a step. And then another step. And another, and another. Before long, the shift had happened. Athletes were committing at the start of their senior year. And then it moved to giving their verbal commitments the summer before their senior year. Now, its not uncommon for a prospect to give their verbal commitment to a coach in their junior year...or even earlier. One D1 program is raising eyebrows by making

a verbal offer to a 14-year old basketball prospect!

Forget the ethical debate of "how young is too young" to start recruiting for college sports. Instead, focus on the underlying reality that I think every athlete should embrace: More and more, today's prospects are looking to commit early.

There are a few reasons for this shift in thinking when it comes to a prospect committing:

Recruiting is stressful for athletes. Because of that, you might be looking for stress-relief in the form of ending the recruiting process early.

Prospects want security. You know recruiting is competitive, and you might be starting to put a priority on enjoying your senior year of high school knowing that your college future is secure.

Colleges are putting pressure on prospects. Earlier application deadlines, stiff competition for admissions, and pressure from college coaches on athletes to give their commitment early to secure their spot on the roster.

With that in mind, is it any wonder that prospects like you are looking - and maybe even expecting - the opportunity to commit early to a program? I'm not just talking about big time college football or basketball, either. Early commitments can happen in any sport at any level - from D1 tennis to D3 softball.

We're starting to get reports in from our athletes who are CSA Prepstar clients that they are getting offers from college coaches as they head into their senior year. Some of our athletes are getting attention from a lot of colleges that have started to contact them now that they know about them and can track their progress in the CSA Prepstar athlete database. "Is this much early talk about an offer normal?" asked one parent? Yes, it is.

Do early verbal commitments "guarantee" that the college will follow through with an actual written offer? Yes. If a coach makes a verbal offer to you as an athlete, they will follow through with an offer. Not to do so would kill their reputations as recruiters, and would hurt their chances of ever signing another athlete in the future.

The big question: Should you accept an early offer, or hold out for something bigger and better? Is that smart, or does it jeopardize your chances to play college sports? We'll tackle that question next in next week's CSA Prepstar Recruiting Expert newsletter.

If you have immediate questions about an early offer you've received, and need expert advice, e-mail me at dtudor@csaprepstar.com. We're here to help.

Its easy to see why early commitments are becoming popular among prospects and the college coaches who are recruiting them. If you're an athlete that isn't getting attention from college coaches, but would like to start getting in front of the right coaches before opportunities are lost, click here.