Am I Over Reacting?

[Colonels_Wear_Blue]

Maybe it's just me, but I don't understand the whole signing ceremony thing...period. Don't misunderstand me, getting a scholarship is absolutely fantastic, and I absolutely love seeing high schoolers play at the next level, but I just don't get the pomp and circumstance of having a ceremony to sign a letter of intent. I don't mean to lessen the achievement at all, for @Mike Baxter or for anyone else, but why not let the fact that you're playing college sports on a scholarship stand for itself?

 

Food for thought: How many high schoolers get full rides to college on academic scholarships and then have a ceremony at the school when they sign to accept the scholarship? Maybe there are some schools out there that do that, and if so, kudos to them. Still, I can't seem to recall seeing any news outlets covering those stories, or any #NationalAcademicScholarshipAcceptanceDay trends on Twitter.

[PurplePride92]

I think you are overreacting. I'm not sure why I should care what someone else's child may be signing to play whatever, wherever should be a concern of mine. So what if the kid is just playing JV ball. So what if the kid is just going to be the manager. So what if the kid has to pay for his college. I've seen plenty of kids sign real papers and not last a semester in college. I've seen kids not sign any papers at all and last four years in college on a varsity team. I've seen kids not sign papers and play JV and varsity and also get a ring when the varsity team made the final four in the NAIA tournament. I don't care who signs papers saying what. I care about what happens after you get there. A signing ceremony isn't hurting a soul.

[gchs_uk9]

Doesn't the blame here go back to ESPN (and maybe moreso ESPNU) showing the top players signing and the trickle down has led to the stories in this thread?

[MWats23]

The real issue is that many colleges push for this signing ceremony. They want the social media hits (free advertising). I think it is comical when I see a HS player tweet out "blessed to have received an offer from Centre College". Well if that offer is a full acedmic ride that you earned then that is great. If you are trying to let everyone know that centre college is interested in you as a basketball player then congrats and that means that you are most likely a very good regional player in your area. A division 3 school isn't giving an academic scholarship so there really isn't an offer except that said school is recruiting you to come play for them. Division 3 talent is a higher level than many people realize but it isn't D1 at all. D3 schools and other schools encourage this ceremony though for the sake of the kids esteem and pride. They have worked hard to get that opportunity. It helps the college market their program too. I don't have a problem with it.

Now the club team signing is another story..... ridiculous. There was a 3rd string QB at a private school in Louisville area a couple years ago. He rarely got on the field but he was able to find a fit/spot at an NAIA football program in Texas. He basically recruited them and they said he could play. People see through these things. They are sometimes fake in nature and the actual player deep down knows it.

At the end of the day it doesn't really matter much at all.

On the opposite end of the spectrum of a kid is headed to an IVY league school or one of the academies they aren't getting any athletic scholarship money. This doesn't mean that they aren't good enough or earned the right to sign a piece of paper. In fact I would argue that those kids have earned more than that right as they have the academics or the desire to fight for our country. Each situation is different and just like everything in life people see through the Fake stuff and know the reality. As a parent I would be miffed/upset of my daughter (or son) signed a legit athletic scholarship and then a teammate who doesn't really play goes through the same event to "sign" at a place that doesn't really warrant that attention/notoriety. It would make me or my child feel a little deflated. They accomplished something that only a small percentage of HS athletics get to accomplish. To share that moment with someone who didn't really accomplish the same would be tough. Down the road though everyone knows the truth and your child is actually competing at a high level and the other child isn't. That should be the satisfaction of a parent or player for their hard work. Kudos to the other child for getting a chance to sit on a club team bench or walk on a D2 program but it isn't the same as their teammate's accomplishment. Players and opposing coaches and most parents know the difference in an elite HS athlete and an athlete who is simply going to participate in a sport. One will compete and the other will participate.

[PurplePride92]

And here I was thinking that I was a petty human being.

[hoops5]

 

What really frosts me, is the valedictorian sits down the hall, with full-ride offers from a handful of prestigious universities, and only gets an asterisk by their name in the graduation program.

Yup!!

Edited February 24, 2017 by hoops5

[hoops5]

Recently in the news near me, high school athletes have been going through the signing ceremonies just to play JV sports at NAIA schools, these individuals have never started a high school varsity sport and yet they go through the “signing process”. As a former high school athlete it irritates me to see this. Not because I'm not happy for the individuals to get the opportunity to play at the next level, but because if you are going to play JV then it really isn't much different from playing intramural or club sports at a big university. It’s unfair and ridiculous for those individuals to get the same recognition as those who have signed legitimate NLI.

 

That being said, I think signing ceremonies should only be for those who are receiving athletic scholarships. If you aren't going on scholarship then there's no difference in you or Tom, Dick, and Harry who are going to the same school just for academics and are paying for it out of their pocket.

 

It seems to me as if people are starting to take this situation less and less serious because more and more of these type of situations are occurring. There should be some type of standard/requirement to meet in order to go through the signing ceremonies.

Read this a couple days ago but did not get a chance to respond. I say,"To each his own." And, "No harm no foul." "Let the people have their ceremonies." This could be the biggest day in the kids' life. And in the kids' parents life. Let them have the 15 min of fame. The ceremonies don't bother me at all. Maybe people should be asking why it is bothering them.