signing early

[unknown]

i need some advice on the early signing period. i have two different offers to 2 schools that i really want to go to. now i hear that if you dont sign in fall and you jump higher through the season, then they will most likely offer you more of a scholorship. the thing is that the 2 schools say that if i dont sign early then they wont be back in the spring to recruit me again. i dont know whether to believe them and sign early or take the risk, jump my senior season, and see if they come back or not with a better offer. so if anyone out there has any advice, it would be greatly appreciated!

[AVC Coach]

Several schools go out and try to get who they want early and by the time track season rolls around, they're low on money to offer. Strike while the iron's hot. What if you get hurt this season?

[vault3rb0y]

It also depends on the money they are offering you now, and what you think they would offer based on how high you think you will jump this year. For instance:

If they are offering 25% right now and you think that you are going to explode this year, and get 75%, that might be worth it.

However if they are offering 50% and you think if you wait that either wont change because they wont have the money or it will maybe get to 75%.... i would take the money now.

They are predicting how high you will jump this year too, and have calculated that into their scholarship.

If i were you, i would analyze whether the money they are offering is accurate to how high you are jumping. Get some outside oppinions as well. If it isnt enough, act like you are walking away and see if they cough up some more

[robillard]

you could always accept both schools and not decide which one to go to till later in the year. if you suddenly do amazing you could request more of a scholarship and threaten to go to the other.

[Biggie1110]

dude every coach that you will talk to will try and make you sign earlier. They know that they are the first to contact you and they will try and make it seem like you need to sign early. I'm not dogging the way they do business, but its just a fact of life. Wait as long as you need to make a good decisions, and make sure you take all five of your visits before you commit.

[rainbowgirl28]

you could always accept both schools and not decide which one to go to till later in the year. if you suddenly do amazing you could request more of a scholarship and threaten to go to the other.

It doesn't work like that. The National Letter of Intent binds you to one particular school and that is what you have to sign to get a scholarship at any major school.

[McDaddy]

Which school would you prefer if you did not vault. Coaches and situations change regularly at the college level. My advice would be go to a school where you would be happy if you did not participate in Track and Field. Athletic scholarships are for 1 year only, usually they are renewed annually. If you really do well you could get an increase in the future. If you know where you want to go, then sign and enjoy the season without any pressure.

[lonestar]

Tough decision. A 15'6 guy I coached last year was in the same boat. He had small offers from a few different schools early in the fall, but was in a desperate financial situation and wasn't offered enough either academically or athletically to be able to afford any of the universities talking to him. He decided to gamble and see what he could jump during the year to bump the offers up. Things were going well and he was jumping 16'6 by November...and then he pulled his hamstring. The rest of his season was incredibly stressful, bouncing between rest, attempts to train, physical therapists, and frustration. Because of the hamstring never fully healing, his performances were disappointing to him and not representative of what he could really jump. Still, despite numerous 15'+ jumps and a 16'er going into state, he managed to pull out 16'6 for the win at state, and then 17'0 after state, and got a phenomenal scholarship to his first-choice university, so it had a happy ending, despite the stress. He was lucky they held out for him though, and most university coaches I know wouldn't have done so. If the offer is good in the fall, take it, and save yourself the stress. Ask the coach if there is any incentive to receive more if you should jump a certain minimum height during the school year, and use that as a bargaining chip between the 2 universities.