How early verbal commitments can be an issue for the athletes and parents:
1. From a maturity standpoint, an 8th-9th grader considers different aspects than an 11th grader when deciding where they want to go to college.
Clark says, “An 11th grader has a better idea of what they want to study in college, where they want to be in terms of location, and what the team they are joining will look like. As an 8th grader making a commitment, no one on the current team will even be their teammate; they have no idea what the team make up is going to look like.”
2. A kid who has yet to step foot in a high school classroom is not equipped to make such a huge decision.
Clark believes it is unfair to put a child in a position where they feel like they are forced to make such a big decision so early, “It isn’t fair to the prospect or to the prospect’s family by forcing them to make unofficial visits on their own dime.”
3. They are non-binding verbal commitments for both the athletes and the coaches, so athletes and coaches can legally change their minds.
Kids are making life-changing decisions based on a 24-48 hour unofficial visit. Clark says, “These visits give them little time to know and understand many facts or characteristics of the coaches at the University, the other athletes, and the culture of the team.” The coaches are not allowed to contact the athletes until they are in the eleventh grade, and the ramifications of that are athletes regretting the fact that they made early commitments and, in some cases, the athletes are changing their minds and looking to go to school elsewhere.