Verbal Commitment

 

What is a Verbal Commitment?

A verbal commitment is an agreement between a coach and a prospective student-athlete, and there are typically two categories of commitments, the first is one is which the coach has the ability to guarantee that the PSAs they commit will be admitted to the school, and the second is one where the coach cannot guarantee admission. 

 

Two Kinds of Verbal Commitments

When a coach can guarantee admission, the verbal commitment looks like the following: 

Coach commits to recruiting the PSA, and offers the PSA a spot on their team.

PSA commits to the coach, agrees to stop talking to all other schools, and accepts the spot on the team.

 

When the the coach cannot guarantee admission, the verbal commitment looks like the following:

Coach commits to supporting the PSA during the admissions process at their school.

PSA commits to the application process at the coach’s school.

 

Common Misconceptions

There is nothing binding about either commitment. This is a really common misconception. Many people think that once they commit, the recruiting process is over and everything is set in stone. But the reality is that a verbal commitment (sometimes just called a “commitment”) isn’t binding at all. In fact, nothing in the recruiting process is binding until the PSA has either signed a National Letter of Intent (which happens in November of senior year) or the PSA has been admitted to the school (which typically happens in December or March of senior year).

 

So when you hear of people who have committed, what they have done is made a verbal agreement with the coach. It is not binding, and there are times when these commitments fall through.

 

Why Some Verbal Commitments Fall Through

Here are some of the reasons why a verbal commitment might fall apart…

• A coach find a better player and/or changes their mind about you
• A coach leaves the school — the new coach does not have to honor the previous coach’s commitments 
• Your performance improves and you now have better options on the table that you want to pursue (ie, you change your mind)
• The school drops their golf program (most recently we saw this happen at Brown and Dartmouth)

It’s important to recognize these factors when you are considering whether to commit to a school. Ultimately, you need to feel really confident in the agreement you are entering into with the coach, because at the end of the day, a verbal commitment is just that — verbal. Nothing is binding until it is in writing and that doesn’t happen until well into senior year. And when you commit to a school or commit to applying to a school, keep in mind that you are giving up a lot… speaking from a moral perspective, you are off the table and should terminate all recruiting communication with other coaches. But the coach at the school you are applying to doesn’t do that… they need to keep recruiting for other players in your year or for future years. So again, you want to be really confident in your verbal commitment when you “take the plunge”.

 

In summary…

In my experience, this is one of the most misunderstood elements of the recruiting process. Getting the terminology right is something that coaches and admissions officers care a lot about, so I always recommend asking a coach when you make your commitment, “can I tell my friends/post on social media, and if so, how?” That won’t stop others from getting it wrong (the number of times I hear people say things like, “oh yeah, she’s going to Yale for Golf” when they are talking about a sophomore is unbelievable). But you should do your part, and use this knowledge of verbal commitments to help you really understand your options and likelihood of admission.