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Cornell Men’s Head coach John Smith reneged on a verbal commit

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    #16
    Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
    who Cornell or the player?
    if Cornell, that's even worse. lying and not giving the real reason why they reneged makes the coach look even slimier

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      #17
      Kid had an Ivy League commitment. What's the chance he let senior swag dominate his year?
      Fat and slow is no way to compete

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        #18
        Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
        What if he got bad grades/poor SAT or actually declined?
        Ivies give you a pre-read. Most athletes trying to get recruited would have taken the test already. Some schools will tell you need to improve your scores by x and kids just can't do it.

        But he said he slacked off as a player. Coaches can and do rescind offers because of that. Is it an easy way to say they made a mistake? Sure. But some players do slack off. It doesn't happen often. It's also a message to players don't slack off after you get that verbal commitment. Girls are more at risk since they commit earlier than boys. Coaches keep a very close eye on their recruits. If they change their minds they can until that NLI is signed. No NLI, no contract.

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          #19
          The NESJ paywall kept me from reading the whole article (thank you for pasting snippets) so I looked at TDS and it looks like coach got almost all DA players. Brutal if coach tossed the boy aside but as others have noted, nothing is written much less guaranteed when committing early.

          The Ivy likely letter doesn't happen until Sep of senior year of HS. Committing in junior year leaves several months for things to fall apart. There is a wide range of possibilities - boy may have been overly optimistic about early discussions and thought he was committing in a mutual agreement (as in the number of cases where TS lists commits and it turns out not to be so), and I don't mean anyone is deliberately lying, just that the situation might have been murky and misinterpreted. Or grades prevented coach from being able to support the player. Not even saying that the boy had "bad" grades but rather his grades might have required the coach to spend more credit with the admissions office than he could/would budget. That actually seems more likely than "plateauing" on the field. Or the offer could have been (or turned into) "if you get in on your own, you have a spot".

          All's well that ends well - Colgate is a fine if not comparable school, and maybe even better for soccer. Though they're both in the middle of Nowhere, NY.

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            #20
            Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
            who Cornell or the player?
            The player states he basically stopped working on the field so they cut him. Maybe he also had less than stellar grades or SAT scores. We do not know the coaches side. Maybe the NESJ would have had a better story if they had talked to cornell!

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              #21
              Almost a year ago, Mark Keiffer (Bedford, N.H.) verbally committed to Cornell.

              A junior in high school, he found himself in a fortuitous situation. Then gearing up for his club season with GPS New Hampshire, it was comforting to know an Ivy League student-athlete experience awaited.

              But this past summer, the Big Red’s coaches said it was no longer the right fit. Keiffer’s spot in their Class of 2019 was off the table.

              “I allowed myself to plateau and not push myself to that next level,” Keiffer said. “Now it’s been extra motivation to prove them wrong.”
              Everything ultimately worked out, as Keiffer committed to Colgate earlier this fall. The Raiders have made three straight NCAA tournaments by virtue of winning three straight Patriot League tournaments.

              The outside midfielder, who also plays outside back, already had a relationship with head coach Erik Ronning. His genuine nature, beyond Colgate’s recent success, stood out the most.

              “He’s not just looking for good players,” Keiffer said. “He wants good human beings to develop and be with for four years.

              “It’s that special culture which means you might have to make sacrifices in recruiting,” Keiffer added, “but he’s proven that he can bring some strong groups together.”

              Keiffer’s opportunity arose after embarking for Jon Moodey‘s upstart team at the Northwood School in Lake Placid, N.Y. Moodey, the former head coach at Berkshire, has started a year-round residency program at the prep school, whereby an international-heavy roster plays prep schools in the fall, then competes as Black Rock FC in the winter and spring.

              This fall, Northwood scrimmaged NEPSAC programs Loomis Chaffee and Bridgton Academy, plus others from outside the region. As Black Rock FC, they’ll travel to the Dallas Cup and Players Showcase in Las Vegas, Nev. Scrimmages will come against Development Academy teams for MLS clubs Philadelphia Union and New York City FC.

              This new, 10-month residential program has reinvigorated Keiffer, even if meant leaving behind his comfort zone, home and friends.

              “The people I’ve met here and relationships have been special,” Keiffer said. “I wouldn’t throw that away for anything. For me, a change in environment was beneficial to restart that passion and flame that was fading away some. I’m excited about and looking forward to training every day.”

              Other commits at Northwood include Chilean midfielder Iñaki Rodriguez to Michigan and outside back Prince Loney-Bailey (Cambridge, Mass.), formerly with the New England Revolution, to James Madison.

              Others such as South African midfielder Chris Athanasiadis and South African forward Alex Van Schalkwyk could commit soon. The dual experience – from Northwood and Black Rock FC – has offered a springboard for high-end Div. 1 and Div. 3 exposure.

              “Living together, training together, it’s a special environment you don’t see too often,” Keiffer said. “It was a big risk for me coming here, but I couldn’t turn it down.”

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                #22
                While they would have had a better story (and more accurate) I think any coach explaining publicly why they withdrew an offer to a high school student would be scummy beyond belief. That would make me distrust that coach *way* more than rescinding one offer. Look at a coach's record over a few years. Doubtful you'll find them pulling lots of offers.

                Intelligent people understand that there are always two sides to every story.

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                  #23
                  Cornell Men’s Head coach John Smith reneged on a verbal commit

                  Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                  While they would have had a better story (and more accurate) I think any coach explaining publicly why they withdrew an offer to a high school student would be scummy beyond belief. That would make me distrust that coach *way* more than rescinding one offer. Look at a coach's record over a few years. Doubtful you'll find them pulling lots of offers.

                  Intelligent people understand that there are always two sides to every story.

                  Looks like the kid admitted to slacking off. To bad the kid didn't have anyone to look up to or mentor him to have a positive/strong work ethic. Probably parents or coaches fault.

                  To many kids these days are coddled and wet nursed to becoming little P____Ys. unfortunately this kid learned the hard way. looks like the coach had to make a tough decision (and probably the right one). I would not want a slacker on my team either.

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                    #24
                    Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                    While they would have had a better story (and more accurate) I think any coach explaining publicly why they withdrew an offer to a high school student would be scummy beyond belief. That would make me distrust that coach *way* more than rescinding one offer. Look at a coach's record over a few years. Doubtful you'll find them pulling lots of offers.

                    Intelligent people understand that there are always two sides to every story.
                    Why would it be "scummy beyond belief"?

                    How would one "look at a coach's record over a few years"? It's not like there's a website out there that lists all the verbal commits he reneged on.

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                      #25
                      Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                      Looks like the kid admitted to slacking off. To bad the kid didn't have anyone to look up to or mentor him to have a positive/strong work ethic. Probably parents or coaches fault.

                      To many kids these days are coddled and wet nursed to becoming little P____Ys. unfortunately this kid learned the hard way. looks like the coach had to make a tough decision (and probably the right one). I would not want a slacker on my team either.
                      Who knows what his family situation is and teenage boys aren't the best decision makers. Girls have had offers rescinded too.

                      Main message: keep up your grades and soccer.

                      Comment


                        #26
                        Cornell Men’s Head coach John Smith reneged on a verbal commit

                        Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                        Who knows what his family situation is and teenage boys aren't the best decision makers. Girls have had offers rescinded too.

                        Main message: keep up your grades and soccer.

                        Sorry but "keep up" and/or "plateau" is what got the offer rescinded. you cant just "keep up" or else you will just "plateau"!!!!!

                        If you are not continuously working to get bigger, stronger, faster and smarter....You will eventually always get beat by someone who is.

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                          #27
                          Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                          Why would it be "scummy beyond belief"?

                          How would one "look at a coach's record over a few years"? It's not like there's a website out there that lists all the verbal commits he reneged on.
                          You don't think it would be scummy for a coach to publicize the fact that a kid couldn't cut it academically, or that he got in trouble at school, or some other reason where the kid was at fault/made a mistake? "We really wanted Joe, but his grades were too low and Admissions rejected him".

                          As for the coach's record -- ask around! It is a very small world.

                          Comment


                            #28
                            Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                            You don't think it would be scummy for a coach to publicize the fact that a kid couldn't cut it academically, or that he got in trouble at school, or some other reason where the kid was at fault/made a mistake? "We really wanted Joe, but his grades were too low and Admissions rejected him".

                            As for the coach's record -- ask around! It is a very small world.
                            Coaches do develop reputations. There's no way they're going to be honest publicly as it would only make it worse (look like a bigger dik than you already are) and could potentially set a school up for a law suit.

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                              #29
                              Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                              You don't think it would be scummy for a coach to publicize the fact that a kid couldn't cut it academically, or that he got in trouble at school, or some other reason where the kid was at fault/made a mistake? "We really wanted Joe, but his grades were too low and Admissions rejected him".

                              As for the coach's record -- ask around! It is a very small world.
                              He doesn't have to name the kid. He can say we had to pull back a commitment to a kid due to his fall semester grades falling drastically.

                              ask around? A kid from high school "X" may tell a few friends, parents and his coach that John Smith reneged on him - how does one find out if I don't know these few people?

                              If it wasn't for this NESJ article, I would not have known about this incident with John Smith. NESJ is one of the few that publishes this but is only limited to kids from New England area. TDS doesn't do so. There is not much out there on the internet.

                              Comment


                                #30
                                Ask around about a college coach's reputation, not about a specific incident.

                                If your kid is seriously considering a particular college, ask about that program, from other parents (especially those whose kids are committed there), your club coach, etc. And yes, read the NESJ etc, but take it *all* with a grain of salt.

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