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2017-2018 Division I Commitments

OldDave said:
Kids make decisions about their futures all the time. How many times have we read about an athlete or fireman or doctor who admitted they wanted to be an athlete or fireman or doctor since they were five? If you think there is a girl taking ballet lessons who doesn’t want to be a prima ballerina, you would be wrong. Motivated kids pretty much all set their sights high. And they make lots of decisions that they hope will advance those goals, sometimes as four and five year olds.

Claims that a kid cannot or should not make a decision about their futures as 15 year olds only make sense if you think the decision is made in a vacuum. We know that is not the case. These kids have wanted to be hockey players (or ballerinas) for a long time, they have worked hard to hone their skills over the years, and they have mapped out their steps to their ultimate goal (national team or Mayo Clinic or prima ballerina) a long time ago. My experience is that these kids have a list of schools that fit their needs in terms of academics or athletics by the time they are 14 or 15, and making a commitment to one of those schools is only the next logical step for them.

Will there be disappointments? Absolutely. Only a tiny percent will ever realize their dream, whether it be national team, prima, or Mayo. Will all the training and hard work be seen as wasted effort? Never. Each of these kids will have a fantastic basis for the rest of their lives. After all, which would you pick as an employer: the kid that tried for but failed to make the national team, or the kid that reached level 12 on some video game? Easy choice for me.

My two cents...
Click to expand...

My only concern would be that kids (and parents) say yes to the first thing that comes their way without truly doing their homework. If a HS freshman came out and said "I had 3 or 4 schools interested in me and I chose XYZ" then I would say go for it. I truly believe that early recruits are jumping at their first offer without doing their homework. JMO
 
Re: 2017-2018 Division I Commitments

Cali said:
My only concern would be that kids (and parents) say yes to the first thing that comes their way without truly doing their homework. If a HS freshman came out and said "I had 3 or 4 schools interested in me and I chose XYZ" then I would say go for it. I truly believe that early recruits are jumping at their first offer without doing their homework. JMO
Click to expand...

In all honesty, these early commits have done more homework than you know. There is the rare exception where a player commits after her 1st visit, but that will happen with that particular kid whether she is early or not. These "top" recruits have many options, they know their options and are researching, visiting the schools and choosing what is the best situation for them, on and off the ice.
 
Re: 2017-2018 Division I Commitments

pakidnyc said:
In all honesty, these early commits have done more homework than you know. There is the rare exception where a player commits after her 1st visit, but that will happen with that particular kid whether she is early or not. These "top" recruits have many options, they know their options and are researching, visiting the schools and choosing what is the best situation for them, on and off the ice.
Click to expand...

I just hope as an important part of their research, they are doing the appropriate due diligence on the coach's track record for reneging on commitments, and thus view their commitment in comparable seriousness.
 
Re: 2017-2018 Division I Commitments

pakidnyc said:
In all honesty, these early commits have done more homework than you know. There is the rare exception where a player commits after her 1st visit, but that will happen with that particular kid whether she is early or not. These "top" recruits have many options, they know their options and are researching, visiting the schools and choosing what is the best situation for them, on and off the ice.
Click to expand...

I disagree. In my experience, early commits visit almost no schools individually. In many cases, they visit 1-2 at most. In general, they are shocked when they get an offer and end up accepting.

Here is Hanzlik's story:

http://www.wisconsinrapidstribune.c.../hanzlik-verbally-commits-wisconsin/13078063/

Not criticizing because being honest - my daughter probably would have done the same thing.
 
Re: 2017-2018 Division I Commitments

96IllinoisDad said:
I disagree. In my experience, early commits visit almost no schools individually. In many cases, they visit 1-2 at most. In general, they are shocked when they get an offer and end up accepting.

Here is Hanzlik's story:

http://www.wisconsinrapidstribune.c.../hanzlik-verbally-commits-wisconsin/13078063/

Not criticizing because being honest - my daughter probably would have done the same thing.
Click to expand...

As the story points out, though, She had already done her homework: she had a list of schools (the article only mentions the top five). She's also going half way across the country to hone her skills at NAHA. Your article proves our point about kids having a plan and taking the necessary steps. It's true that the article doesn't mention if she had visited any other campuses, but she had been to St. Cloud, and my guess is that she has at least informally been to others. Plus, she didn't accept the offer until she had a couple of days to talk it over with her family. As far as I am concerned, she's already way ahead of where I was when I first stepped into a college classroom (deer in the headlights applies).
 
Re: 2017-2018 Division I Commitments

OldDave said:
As the story points out, though, She had already done her homework: she had a list of schools (the article only mentions the top five). She's also going half way across the country to hone her skills at NAHA. Your article proves our point about kids having a plan and taking the necessary steps. It's true that the article doesn't mention if she had visited any other campuses, but she had been to St. Cloud, and my guess is that she has at least informally been to others. Plus, she didn't accept the offer until she had a couple of days to talk it over with her family. As far as I am concerned, she's already way ahead of where I was when I first stepped into a college classroom (deer in the headlights applies).
Click to expand...

Playing with the JWHL U-19's will get her on a lot of other campuses as well, as they play their league tournaments on college campuses to give them exposure to different schools in different regions.
 
Re: 2017-2018 Division I Commitments

OldDave said:
Kids make decisions about their futures all the time. How many times have we read about an athlete or fireman or doctor who admitted they wanted to be an athlete or fireman or doctor since they were five? If you think there is a girl taking ballet lessons who doesn’t want to be a prima ballerina, you would be wrong. Motivated kids pretty much all set their sights high. And they make lots of decisions that they hope will advance those goals, sometimes as four and five year olds.

Claims that a kid cannot or should not make a decision about their futures as 15 year olds only make sense if you think the decision is made in a vacuum. We know that is not the case. These kids have wanted to be hockey players (or ballerinas) for a long time, they have worked hard to hone their skills over the years, and they have mapped out their steps to their ultimate goal (national team or Mayo Clinic or prima ballerina) a long time ago. My experience is that these kids have a list of schools that fit their needs in terms of academics or athletics by the time they are 14 or 15, and making a commitment to one of those schools is only the next logical step for them.

Will there be disappointments? Absolutely. Only a tiny percent will ever realize their dream, whether it be national team, prima, or Mayo. Will all the training and hard work be seen as wasted effort? Never. Each of these kids will have a fantastic basis for the rest of their lives. After all, which would you pick as an employer: the kid that tried for but failed to make the national team, or the kid that reached level 12 on some video game? Easy choice for me.

My two cents...
Click to expand...


this is the best post EVER!!!
 
Re: 2017-2018 Division I Commitments

OldDave said:
As the story points out, though, She had already done her homework: she had a list of schools (the article only mentions the top five). She's also going half way across the country to hone her skills at NAHA. Your article proves our point about kids having a plan and taking the necessary steps. It's true that the article doesn't mention if she had visited any other campuses, but she had been to St. Cloud, and my guess is that she has at least informally been to others. Plus, she didn't accept the offer until she had a couple of days to talk it over with her family. As far as I am concerned, she's already way ahead of where I was when I first stepped into a college classroom (deer in the headlights applies).
Click to expand...

I'll stand by what I said.

As for homework, I guess we just have a different grading system.
 
Re: 2017-2018 Division I Commitments

Does every non-athlete who enrolls in a college do some exhaustive search beforehand? Some do, some don't, just like some people spend months researching what automobile to buy, while others show up at a lot and make a deal. There is no single "one size fits all" approach to most things in life. If a person selects a college that winds up being less than optimal, five years after graduation it isn't going to matter all that much; the most important outcome is to get a degree.

For certain players -- goalies in particular -- waiting can be a disadvantage. If a goaltender wants to attend a particular school, as soon as another goalie from her class commits there, it is unlikely that there will be any more scholarship money available. She is the one who has to spend four years of her life there, so if she thinks that is what she wants, IMO it is narrow-minded to say that her commitment is a sign of ego on the part of anyone in her family.
 
Re: 2017-2018 Division I Commitments

ARM said:
Does every non-athlete who enrolls in a college do some exhaustive search beforehand? Some do, some don't, just like some people spend months researching what automobile to buy, while others show up at a lot and make a deal. There is no single "one size fits all" approach to most things in life. If a person selects a college that winds up being less than optimal, five years after graduation it isn't going to matter all that much; the most important outcome is to get a degree.

For certain players -- goalies in particular -- waiting can be a disadvantage. If a goaltender wants to attend a particular school, as soon as another goalie from her class commits there, it is unlikely that there will be any more scholarship money available. She is the one who has to spend four years of her life there, so if she thinks that is what she wants, IMO it is narrow-minded to say that her commitment is a sign of ego on the part of anyone in her family.
Click to expand...

That's the 2nd best post ever!!!
 
96IllinoisDad said:
I'll stand by what I said.

As for homework, I guess we just have a different grading system.
Click to expand...

There were 2 players referenced in this chain. One did A LOT of homework by anyone's grading system; visited schools, consulted with coaches and others. She was offered by many top schools and chose the one she wanted - after still visiting other schools.

The other girl has grown up wanting to goto Wisconsin her entire life. Grew up going to their games. She had other offers too. But if that's where she wants to to and they offered her a scholarship, what's going to change if she waits a year. And, again most of the top players in her birth year have committed or are well down that process of doing so.

I agree with you all that it is getting too young. But I don't disparage the players for committing once they've been offered at a place they really want.
 
Re: 2017-2018 Division I Commitments

pakidnyc said:
There were 2 players referenced in this chain. One did A LOT of homework by anyone's grading system; visited schools, consulted with coaches and others. She was offered by many top schools and chose the one she wanted - after still visiting other schools.

The other girl has grown up wanting to goto Wisconsin her entire life. Grew up going to their games. She had other offers too. But if that's where she wants to to and they offered her a scholarship, what's going to change if she waits a year. And, again most of the top players in her birth year have committed or are well down that process of doing so.

I agree with you all that it is getting too young. But I don't disparage the players for committing once they've been offered at a place they really want.
Click to expand...

Who was disparaging anyone? I admitted that my daughter would have done the same thing if given the offer from UW as a Freshman??
 
Re: 2017-2018 Division I Commitments

TonyTheTiger20 said:
I have a question -- if a player commits to a university their freshman (or sophomore or junior or senior) year, and then they suffer a career-ending injury prior to matriculating, do they still get a scholarship?
Click to expand...



What if a new coach comes to the school before this commitment graduates high school? Either one could change their mind, so why bother with such an early commitment. Call me crazy, but I think it would put pressure on a lot of other highly recruitable players if these kids start committing so early.
 
Re: 2017-2018 Division I Commitments

Player....................Position ...............(Current Team) .......................Hometown

(Based on reliable info, but to paraphrase Yogi, "It ain't official 'til it's official.")
* Denotes commitments are official, as announced by the school


Bemidji State

Boston College

Boston University

Brown

Clarkson

Colgate

Connecticut

Cornell

Dartmouth

Harvard

Lindenwood

Maine

Mercyhurst

Merrimack

Minnesota
Alex Gulstene ..................G .........................(NAHA) ......................Vancouver, BC

Minnesota State

New Hampshire

North Dakota

Northeastern
Brooke Hobson ...............D ......................(A&W Bears) ................Prince Albert, SK

Ohio State[/B

Penn State

Princeton

Providence

Quinnipiac

Rochester

Robert Morris

Rensselaer

St. Cloud State

St. Lawrence

Syracuse

Union

Vermont

Wisconsin
Kyleigh Hanzlik .....................F .......................(NAHA) ...................Wisconsin Rapids, WI

Yale


U.S. 1: Wisconsin 1;

Canada 2: British Columbia, and Saskatchewan 1 each;
 
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Re: 2017-2018 Division I Commitments

Alex Gulstene was at USA Hockey's U15 National Camp this summer. Not sure how dual citizenship fits into your categories.
 
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