A few weeks ago a friend mentioned that his 14-year-old grandson had been offered a scholarship to the University of Delaware because of his skills in lacrosse. I thought this was rare, but, after reading this article in today's NY Times, it is far from rare. The girl featured in the article was 'signed' by the University of Texas before she started ninth grade. In today’s world of college sports, students are offered full scholarships before they have taken their first College Boards, or even the Preliminary SAT exams.
Recruiting kids who are not yet in high school has become quite common, especially among those looking for women athletes. Groups around the country set up tournaments that feature promising 13 and 14-year-old girls. At a recent event, in an Orlando suburb, an estimated 600 college coaches attended as 158 teams played on 17 fields over the course of three days.
Anson Dorrance, coach of North Carolina, was one of the first coaches to look at young players. Now, he and many other coaches don't think it is a good idea, "It’s killing the kids that go places and don’t play. It’s killing the schools that have all the scholarships tied up in kids who can’t play at their level. It’s just, well, it’s actually rather destructive.” Yet, they continue to recruit.
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