Process of Verbaling and Letters of Intent

[BallGame]

Can some please explain the process of a student verbaling to a college and signing a letter of intent. How do the athlete do this??

[DonnieS]

My experience is limited in this but we have been through it. Verballing is making an verbal committment with a college coach for an agreed on amount (pct of ride, full ride, etc) to play ball at that college. This is done because you cant sign a written contract until your athlete is a senior and the magic 'National Letter of Intent" day arrives. The verballing can happen anywhere before NLI day, it has happened as early as freshman year though we dont have personal experience with that.

Verballing usually happens during a 'unofficial visit' (that means you pay the expenses for your kid (and you) to visit the campus) - your kid has shown an interest in a program, the coach is interested, so you ask for an 'unofficial visit'. While on campus the D1/D2 coach can talk to you and your kid one on one. The verbal agreement is not binding - but it is the situation where you give your word that you are going to be bound by the agreement and the coach does the same. The coach can leave and bets are off, in my very limited experience, I have never heard of a coach breaking a verbal, but I have heard of a kid breaking one. The verbal happens like "we will offer you 20% " or "we will offer you books and fees" or "we are offering a full ride" or "we are offering $10,000" for your daughter to play softball here - those are the types of words as well as "we are interested in your daughter but we have no money left" or "we are interested in your daughter but cant make an offer now because we have made other offers and need to hear from them first".

The letter of intent is signed during the senior year, usually the first week or two of november.

This applies to D1 and D2 schools. D3 in spite of some hilarious local news, does not give athletic scholarships, so no need for verbals nor NLI.

Edit to add: The book by Cathy Aradi "Preparing to Ply Softball at the Collegiate Level" really jump starts you through a lot of stuff plus gets you phone numbers and email addresses to colleges all over the country.

[NuggDawg]

DonnieS post an excellent reply. I'll add a few details that I'm aware of:

NLI is only used where some sort of scholarship or stipend is offered. If you're offered a spot on a team, but without money, you don't sign an NLI

In addition to the early signing period in November, there's another period that begins in April.

Not all colleges participate in the NLI program. They participate in order to prevent competing programs from messing with each others' recruits and to keep the recruits honest. Meaning, if as a player you break your NLI commitment to a school, other NLI programs have agreed to ignore you for a year.

Other NCAA sports have variations on the dates applicable to NLI activity.

[playballagain]

Check out Sara's website on www.powerlineconsulting.net

She has a chat forum to answer recruiting questions or you can ask her directly.
Sara has been very helpful to us in answering questions.

[watcher]

I was amazed @ how many schools still go after kids that have verbaled, I speak from experience. I will not name the schools , But no less than 4 wanted to talk with DD after HB showcase a few weeks ago.

[TReck]

Verbal committments can be done at any time a player decides that she wants to accept the offer from the college of her choice. Most of the time this occurs in the players junior year or during the senior year when it is outside of a signing period. Of course if it is during a signing period, the verbal may just be an announcement that leads to the signing.

The next NCAA signing period for 2009 grads is in April.

Verbals are nothing more than handshake agreements that can be and are often broken by either the player or the school. That is why even after a verbal is made, colleges may still continue to recruit the player. Nothing is sacred until they sign the dotted line.

I have seen players lose committments by doing something wrong and I have seen players back out when they start to see who else is committing to that school.

Ty

[Fuddrules]

It probably shouldn't be called a verbal any longer.

A better term would be reservation. If you end up liking a different menu better, just call and change your reservation.

[Hawk17]

Verbal committments can be done at any time a player decides that she wants to accept the offer from the college of her choice. Most of the time this occurs in the players junior year or during the senior year when it is outside of a signing period. Of course if it is during a signing period, the verbal may just be an announcement that leads to the signing.

The next NCAA signing period for 2009 grads is in April.

Verbals are nothing more than handshake agreements that can be and are often broken by either the player or the school. That is why even after a verbal is made, colleges may still continue to recruit the player. Nothing is sacred until they sign the dotted line.

I have seen players lose committments by doing something wrong and I have seen players back out when they start to see who else is committing to that school.

Ty

The early verbal may be a security blanket for some kids and parents, but it may be a mistake for many kids who really don't know at 15 what they want to do when they graduate high school. They end up making a commitment they are not really ready to make or something changes in their academic, athletic, or personal life that makes the college withdraw the offer.

Some colleges are like airplanes and hotels, they overbook their early verbals and then have to "bump" or downgrade offers. I suggest that athletes be aware of how many athletes have verballed to a school before they take that step.

College coaches acknowledge that they don't like the process of the early verbal, but many of them feel locked into it in order to stay competitive.

Overall, things usually work out for the kids and the schools, but I have seen athletes who have been on the raw end of an early verbal that didn't work out.They say patience is a virtue and I agree.

[TReck]

It all depends on the player, the school and the offer.

If the offer is one that the player can accept, at a school the player likes and one that works for the players family, then accept it, committ to the school and move on and just play ball.

If it is not, then do not accept it and look on.

Patience is a virtue, but it can leave you left out, if the offer was really coming from a school that you like, can see yourself attending and /or would like to attend.

Too often we keep waiting for that greenier pasture when if we would just take a moment and look down, we would see the green grass right under our feet. Do not get so caught up in looking ahead that you can not take a moment and look around!

Ty

[Hawk17]

I agree that it depends on the school, the coach, and the kid. I guess my point is that sometimes kids accept verbals just because they feel they have to. In reality, they need to make sure they make an EDUCATED decision about the school offering the verbal and other schools the athlete may be communicatiing with.

I know that my daughter as a freshman had a completely different approach as to which schools she wanted to attend and play for than her thoughts as a rising senior. When she verballed and signed, she felt she had made an educated decision and she feels confident that it will be a good choice. That's not a guarantee that it will be, but at least she knows she did her homework.

In my opinion, if your daughter is a Junior or Senior, then they have an idea what they want. Some sophomores and freshmen may be mature and knowledgable enough to make that decision. If they are and the school and program is what they want, go for it. Just don't take a verbal because it is offered.

Again, it is just my opinion based on what I have seen happen to students/athletes I know.