As National Signing Day approaches, a few Northwood athletes are preparing to sign their national letters of intent. A large portion of those athletes are signing before their senior season as opposed to waiting until after the season. So, what are the reasons behind signing early?
A few Charger seniors are signing Nov. 9 to confirm where they will play their college athletics. There are two periods to sign national letters of intent: an early period and a regular period. The early period of signing for most sports, including basketball and baseball, spans from Nov. 9 to Nov. 16. The regular period is from Apr. 17 to Aug. 1, which is after the baseball and basketball seasons finish. But the senior athlete’s decision to sign before the season can have its pros and cons.
Northwood’s varsity baseball coach Rick Parks believes that there are both advantages and disadvantages to an athlete’s decision to sign before their senior season.
“I think if players sign early, they won’t press as much during their senior season,” Parks said. “A disadvantage would be a player feeling a different type of entitlement to certain things, because they feel like they have already ‘arrived’ and they don’t need you anymore.”
Another disadvantage brought about with signing before an athlete’s senior season is played is being locked up from signing with more prestigious schools after the season. Wake Tech baseball commit Logan Crabtree believes this could affect him.
”I think it could lock my options later in the season, because I know schools like Appalachian State, Campbell and North Carolina Central were looking at me,” Crabtree said. “I chose Wake Tech, because I realized my grades weren’t good enough to go to a bigger college.”
Bryn Aydt, senior basketball player and Mars Hill commit, added that signing early could work to her advantage for her senior season.
“I think signing with Mars Hill is actually going to give me an advantage, because I can play without worrying about being recruited and I can just have fun doing what I love to do,” Aydt said.
Former Northwood athlete and Appalachian State soccer player Jamie Palermo believes signing early did affect her play in her senior year.
“I was going to play in college, so I feel like people expected a lot from me,” Palermo said. ”But in reality, I was only putting the pressure on myself.”
But when it comes down to it, Parks highly recommends his players to sign early.
“If you’ve got money out there that’s gonna help you get a college education, you take it,” Parks said. “If you can take care of it before your senior season, in my perspective, some weight is lifted off the player’s shoulders.”
– By Jeffrey Marcin
