Official Visits, what do we need to know as parents?

In this month’s newsletter, we are going to take a look at the official visit and what parents need to know. An athlete is allowed to take five of these visits at Division I and II levels, unlimited at the Division III and NAIA. These visits take place at schools that are on your final list of schools you want to attend. There are usually a lot of questions surrounding this particular event. I am going to give the link to the NCAA.org description of what official visits are at the end of this article. I would suggest reading it over, so you get a better sense of what will be going on at these visits and why they are important.
If a school is bringing your son or daughter onto campus for a visit, the coach is interested in having your child participate in the program. The tour is usually is one of the final phases that a school will use to convince the player to come to their school and join with their team. As a parent looking at these schools involves a great deal
of research on the financial and educational outcome for your son or daughter. It is essential to know what you are getting for your money spent. The critical piece, however, is to be sure that your son or daughter enjoys the school itself both socially and academically. The program is going to put its best foot forward. Like any situation, it’s important to see what some of the deficiencies are in the program. It is imperative to allow the student-athlete to ask the questions and take control of the conversations during these visits. Remember, this is a choice that they are going to most likely make for the next four years of their life and is their step into society. It’s easy to want to
be protective in these cases. However, you will have the ability as a family to discuss the visit afterward. Getting as much perspective as possible is critical. This is especially true since it is your son or daughter who will be living at the institution.

Learn more about this topic here. I hope that this has been helpful for you and look forward to seeing all of you out on the fields.