Anybody here with older kids who went through this surprised by the schools that reached out/showed interest in your kid? Especially on Sept 1?
There are always surprises. Usually 5 or 6 you didn't expect and didn't write to and maybe 1 or 2 you expected but didn't reach out. The better the club director, the fewer surprises on 9/1. Oldest played on YJ and there was only one who we though would reach out, but didn't.
The real "surprises" usually come a week later when you find out who doesn't follow up after initial calls and don't make either offers or try to set up a visit.
I wouldn’t really call that a surprise. The coaches call or email their first 3-4 choices for each position on Sept 1. They obviously try to land their first choice, but as girls begin to commit, the list changes. No school gets all their top picks. So if a coach calls Sept 1 and seems very interested and sets up a visit, chances are other girls they’re interested will also be on that visit. Coach usually make an offer at the visit to her top, and tells the others that they will be in touch. If top girl commits, you will never hear from that coach again. My daughter had several offers but wanted to see a bunch of schools before she committed. This can be risky and extremely stressful too because coaches don’t want to lose other top choices while her top keeps her hanging, so taking multiple visits can backfire. Good luck!
Exactly. Many schools don't offer visits. They have all their committed girls take their official visit during their fall or winter camp.
Reality is it is rare for a top school to offer a girl who has been never on campus for a camp or prospect day.
My daughter went to two camps and played just okay at both. Wasn’t prepared for the ball hogging. One of the schools called Sept 1 and wrote a letter. She was probably the 2nd or third choice. Their first choice committed so that was that. The other school never contacted her, but several other much better lacrosse and academic schools did. She was offered official visits at 5 schools that people told us only recruit from camps, so that was a bit of a surprise. My daughter did email these schools regularly to express interest, so maybe that was a factor. She eventually committed to what was her first choice, so everything worked out. I would say that you really can’t listen to what other people tell you, because recruiting is different for everyone. These coaches are looking for very specific things, and you don’t know who may have been watching when your daughter caught their eye. My advice is to keep emailing the top 10 choices, have your club director reach out to the schools. Prioritize schools and try to set up visits in that order if possible (sometimes its, not which becomes tricky) If your daughter gets an offer at one of her top three, take it, because if you don’t it may be gone!
