Early Recruitment

When I was in high school from 1989-1993 getting a recruitment letter in your sophomore year was a BIG deal. If you ever received a letter as a freshman the entire school knew you where going BIG Time in Division One. As a high school player I was recruited by Division III schools (No shame, I played ball and graduated in 4 years, THANK YOU). I remember the first day I got my first letter from tiny, St. Joseph College in Brooklyn. I was on cloud nine, I was so excited a school was recruiting me to come to their school. Now, remember I was a seventeen year old basketball player excited about a piece of paper saying, "We want you Mr. Stanly".

Now can you imagine a 7th grader or 8th grader not only receiving recruitment letters but scholarship offers from not competing high schools but major college programs. I know these young men are losing their minds and have a since of importance a child their age should not have. However in the world of BIG TIME college basketball this is where we are. Coaches so focused on staying one step ahead of the competition they are actually bi passing traditional (shady) recruitments methods, and are going for gold early. Now I understand these coaches are under tremendous pressure to win (NOW) but let me ask you people out there. Would you buy a car before seeing if it had a engine? Would you purchase a home, before it is completely built? The answer I hope would be NO, before you make an important investment you need to have a full understanding of what you are investing in. That is what recruiting is, an investment you make that you hope will pay off future dividends.

Many coaches I believe are investing in players way too early, and they may be shocked their investment does not mature into the investment they wished for. I will never blame a child and his/her family for accepting a scholarship offer before the player even enters high school. With the cost of college and the economy I wishd some coach would offer my 11 year old a scholarship today. I know I would be saving at least 90k in college tuition, then I can buy my 2009 Aston Martin. However the negative part of early recruitment it completely puts too much pressure on the player. That player is now expected to live up to this scholarship offer each time they step on the court. So an example if I am a eighth grader and Syracuse has already offered, I would probably be expected to average 50 ppg vs competition in my age group. If I don't every single game, (Middle school , AAU, and summer camp games) completely dominant every game, the whispers will start that I am a BUMP and over hyped. Remember we are talking about a 13 yr old child maturing into his/her body and going through different experiences. You may just have had your first argument with you boyfriend/girlfriend or failed a test. Now you are expected to but this aside like an adult and play ball. Sad stories are developing regarding too much pressure on our youth.

We have to allow our children to be children and have expectations that match their age. I am guilty to of over judging high school players sometimes. I personally started looking at them for what they currently represent. A talented player, that still has tons of growth and potential to realize. All you die hard fans out there, allow children to be children. respect the game, play hard, but win or lose take them to get pizza after the game. Remember just because you did not make it your child has their own path to travel.