First and foremost, read through Step 9 and all the articles before committing. If you still feel ready to commit after reading everything, do it! You’ve weighed your options carefully, evaluated each program on the criteria that’s most important to you, and you have a final decision! Congratulations on your commitment to play college baseball! Step 9: Making a Commitment is short and sweet, but it also has a few very important steps. In Step 9 you will:
- Commit to the program of your choice (and sign an NLI when it applies)
- Inform coaches at programs that were recruiting you of your decision by phone
- Turn your attention to post-commitment responsibilities
Making a commitment is an exciting time and cause for celebration, but you still need to handle your commitment the right way. After speaking with the coaches at the school where you commit, call every other program that was recruiting you and let them know of your decision. This is a difficult, but incredibly important, part of the recruiting process. Doing it over the phone is a gesture that tells coaches you appreciate the time they spent recruiting you and is more sincere than sending out a mass text, which is a definite no-no. Treat each coach with respect and thank them for the opportunity. Losing coaches may be upset, but they will understand. By letting them know quickly and with a phone call, you will avoid the fallout and sour feelings that can happen when a coach finds out from someone else, or worse yet on social media. By handling your commitment correctly, you also keep doors open down the line should your commitment fall through. A coach is much more likely to recruit you again if you handle yourself maturely and professionally the first time around. This may sound extreme, but commitments fall through, coaches move to new schools, and a lot can change. You need to keep this in mind so you don’t burn any bridges.
Your reward for all your hard work and your hard-earned commitment? Working even harder! We cover that in Step 10, but there’s still a lot to do in Step 9, so get started!
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