Come back every Tuesday for Recruiting Horror Stories™, athletes' first-hand stories on what can go wrong during the recruiting process.

Allison went through a true Recruiting Horror Story™ six years ago when she was a senior in high school. She committed to a Division I soccer program and signed her National Letter of Intent,for a university, but after months of no responses from the coaching staff, she decided to look at other options. She simply got ghosted by the coaching staff following her signing day, and did not know where to turn. 

Driven by this passion, she attended multiple tournaments, showcases, campus tours, and official visits. She was in contact with other Division I schools, attending their respective ID camps to showcase her talents as well as highlight her continued interest in the program. She felt she did an excellent job leveraging these opportunities to get on coaches' radars. An Indiana school, in particular, expressed the most interest in her. She was in constant communication with them across both her junior and senior years. However, to keep her options open,  she continued to keep a close relationship with numerous other programs. “I knew as I was entering the senior year that I needed to narrow down my choices to decide where I wanted to attend,” Allison told 2aDays. “If I didn't receive a scholarship, that would be okay with me as long as I reached my goal and could see myself attending the school aside from the athletic aspect.”

Related: Rate your Coaches, Facilities, and Campus Visits

The End is Near?

It was nearing the end of April, and her official signing date loomed closer and closer. Allison became stressed and frantic as she knew she had little time left to make a decision and, ultimately, sign a National Letter Of Intent by May 1st. The schools and coaches she had been talking with were not providing definite answers regarding if she would be receiving a scholarship or even the opportunity to walk onto a team. “I was panicking,” Allison recalled. “I was questioning whether I made the right decision to pursue schools that were stringing me along to the very end of the process. Going back, I wish I looked at other options of schools and coaches who were interested in me from the beginning.” In all these moments of indecision, Allison began lowering her expectations. 

The day before signing day, Allison finally made her decision of where she would be attending come fall. She accepted an offer from a university that offered her a walk-on spot, as she decided it was her best choice. “In all honesty, I did feel like I was settling as my other options for schools were not as responsive to me as this school was,” she said. After months of stress, Allison truly felt as though a weight had been lifted off her shoulders…but everything changed when it came to signing day on May 1st, 2017.

On that day, Allison walked into her high school itching with excitement knowing that in just a matter of hours she would be fulfilling her dream of becoming a Division I athlete. All that was left to do was sign the Letter of Intent to declare herself officially a part of the program. “I went into it thinking that this is the best day of my life and I can't believe that this is happening, I have wanted this since I was a kid!” she exclaimed. Her parents and peers cheered her on as she signed. The day seemed perfect, especially with the new reassurance she was bound to attend her college of choice in the next couple of months to start the pre-season. 

Anybody There?

Then, this is where Allison's fairytale abruptly spiraled into a nightmare. She reached out to her coaches after the National Letter of Intent to reiterate how enthusiastic she was to be a part of the program and how grateful she was for the opportunity. They responded, “Thanks, we are excited as well.” Allison thought this was a little strange, as they did not seem equally as eager as she was but she did not want to read into it. She was just happy to have experienced a successful recruitment process by which she found a reputable school with a strong soccer program. The recruiting process was finally over for her.

Or so she thought.

Still in the dark, Allison reached out to the coach the following week to ask about the next steps. Any athlete knows the months leading up to pre-season are critical to the team's long-term success, so it was almost expected to ask about any summer workout packets. “I emailed to inquire about the schedule for this summer and if they needed me to attend any camps or events, etc. and I received no response,” Allison said. “I found this particularly weird and gave the coach a couple of days to respond and I still received nothing.” The silence immediately sparked an overwhelming panic for Allison. Was her offer off the table? Did she do or say something wrong? Did they change her mind about her? What was going on?

Related: Recruiting Horror Story™: Getting Ghosted By a Coach

For the third week in a row, Allison again followed up via emails, texts, and calls to the head coach. Still no response. She was utterly dumbfounded, wishing that the situation was all just a bad dream that she could wake up from. Then called the next day, no response. Allison was in complete shock and disbelief that her coach had not talked to her since National Signing Day and ignored her five phone calls, ten text messages, and five emails. “How could this be happening to me right now?” she thought. Weeks had passed without her hearing from the coaching staff, let alone the head coach.

Feeling Down

Eventually, Allison gave up. She decided that this is not a coach nor program she wants to play for or even be associated with so it was back to square one as Allison started looking at other schools. To start, Allison first reached out to the previous schools she was in contact with. While hesitant to do so, her back was against the wall, and she felt she had no choice.“I did not know what else to do,” Allison said. “If they weren't going to answer me, why should I continue to try?” 

She reached out to several of the previous schools she visited, met coaches, and completed official and unofficial visits. At this point, it was the beginning of July. As a graduated high school athlete in the summer before the first semester of college, she still had no idea which school or team she was going to play for. “I almost gave up hope that I was just going to have to attend a college and not play soccer anymore,” she stated. 

A Second Chance

Then, on July 5, she received a phone call from a previous college she was interested in. They had one spot open up and wanted her to take the place. Allison was ecstatic–this school was close to home, she loved the campus life and social culture, and could truly see herself going to the school regardless of if playing soccer was involved. “Going into the recruiting process, this was always a top choice of mine,” Allison recalled. “I couldn't believe that through all of this and even committing to another school, that I would be signing with another program I would be even happier with. And, the coach will respond to me.” 

Related: Recruiting Horror Story: An Abrupt Change of Plans

Turns out, Allison never heard back from the original school she signed a National Letter of Intent for in May. Luckily for her, however, she did not give up hope. Instead, she reached out to other programs, and ended up happier as a result. “I would not trade the past four years of soccer and attending this college for anything,” Allison reflected toward the end of her college career. “I am almost blessed that I got ghosted by the previous school I signed for because I ended up here and have not had any complaints.”

Allison learned from her recruiting process to always have a backup plan, as some coaches do not follow through and stick to their word and now shares her story to help other athletes in the recruiting process. “It is good to know that coaches do not always have your best interest and to get to know your coach before you make it official,” Allison advised. “To this day, I have not heard back from the coach and nor anyone associated with the school I initially committed to–it still blows my mind.”

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* Originally published on January 17, 2023, by Georgette Topalis