How it's an issue for club coaches:
1. Early commitments interfere with kids who are not fully developed in their gymnastics.
Every coach has a different philosophy regarding how they pace their young athletes, “In some cases, our early recruitment of these kids interferes with that process; it can cloud the issue for the athlete and coach and can affect their work ethic once they think they’ve found their college home,” stated Clark.
2. Recruiting becomes a distraction for young club gymnasts.
Clark gave an example of college coaches going to the Classic meet and sitting in the stands while 9th graders are competing in the biggest meet of their lives, “We are in the stands with our shirts on and doing everything we can to be seen by these kids because we want them to be interested in our program. Some call me hypocritical because I’m doing it too, but it’s just where we are right now and I am very vocal about wanting to bring change to this issue.”
How it's an issue for college coaches:
1. The college coach is unable to get to know the athlete.
Clark says that, “In recruiting, we’d like to be able to ascertain some of those intangible characteristics that a potential student-athlete would have.” The problem with a gymnast making a verbal commitment so early is that there is no way to communicate with the individual unless they call the coach or visit the University campus, and even then it is for a limited amount of time.”
2. It’s impossible to tell how an individual who has yet to enter high school will perform academically