ht before the Thanksgiving holiday, I attended some “Letter Of Intent†signing ceremonies for some local high school student athletes. We hear the phrase “Letter of Intent signing,†and I bet, collectively, in some people’s minds it congers up images of signing a top basketball or football prospect, right?
In the stories of the players I will tell you of here, you’d be wrong. This time, think Volleyball and Baseball.
At Normal Community West High School, Shelby Hinshaw and Rachel Amundson, both of whom are seniors on the Wildcats Volleyball team, having just wrapped up their team’s season, were in the school’s library, signing their letters of intent to play college volleyball. Shelby, daughter of Bill and Leanne Hinshaw of Bloomington; and Rachel, daughter of Paul and Kathy Amundson of Hudson, were signing to commit to the colleges of their choice.
Shelby will attend William Woods University in Fulton, Mo. Rachel will attend College of Coastal Georgia, based in Brunswick, Ga.
There were actually locally-based reasons for the girls’ individual choices, as it turns out. Rachel’s choice to go south has a regional angle to it, but more about that shortly.
These signings were, by no means, quiet affairs. Rather, they are a little like a mini-family reunion, in that relatives and friends turned out for the singings. There were photo ops with family members and friends, and sometimes, teammates.
Each athlete had a three-sided cardboard display with pictures of the players when they were younger in action shots or posed pictures from their days as youth or junior high players in their sport. Each athlete received either a framed picture or a cloth cover for the table bearing the name of the institution of higher learning they would soon be attending. The schools send those out to the athletes for just such an event, I later learned.
The guests of honor at most of these events, prior to signing their commitment in front of such a public crowd didn’t do much speaking, but instead, heard from their high school coaches who lauded praise and told a funny anecdote about the athlete while the coach has known them, as well as wished them good luck. Those in attendance also hear from the athlete’s future college coach, generally in an email, stating what they see in the athlete and how the athlete will benefit the new team and how the student will benefit from attending that particular college.
One of the college coaches – Monica Hershelman – may be entering her third season as head volleyball coach at William Woods University next season, but she is also a 2004 alum of Normal Community West High School. She attended the girls’ signing event. Hershelman, whose maiden name is Renfro, said she makes a point of doing some scouting for players in her hometown when she can.
“I like this area and Shelby is my first recruit from this area,†Hershelman said of Hinshaw. “This is my hometown and I want to recruit more players from Normal West.â€
Paul Amundson told me while the selection of which school his daughter, Rachel, attended was all the choice of his daughter, he and his wife took comfort in knowing that Coastal Georgia head coach Jeff Huebner has his coaching roots in central Illinois, having coached a few years back at Tri-Valley High School in Downs.
“That fact alone gave us some comfort,†Paul Amundson said, adding that because Huebner had been in this area, “that told my wife and I our daughter would be in the care of†someone like themselves.
Later in the same day that Hinshaw and Amundson signed their letters, two Normal West baseball players were in West’s library also getting the same kind of attention because they were signing Letters of Intent to play baseball when they got to college. I also was present when Adam McGinnis and Matthew James formally signed their Letters of Intent.
Adam McGinnis, son of Rich and Robin McGinnis; and Matthew James, son of Brad and Denise James, are both sticking with baseball but traveling to opposite parts of the state to do it. McGinnis chose Western Illinois University in Macomb, while James is headed off to Champaign to play at the University of Illinois.
Their high school baseball coach, Normal West’s Chris Hawkins, told glowing stories about the guys as they sat ready to sign their intentions, just as his Volleyball counterpart, Kelsey Drendel, had done in introducing Hinshaw and Amundson. And the baseball players, like the volleyball players earlier in the day, were able to share the experience with friends and relatives, too, but also had teammates show up for the occasion.
A few days later, Alex Jefferson, who is a couple weeks away from suiting up for basketball due to the fractured tibia he suffered while playing quarterback in the annual “Chili Bowl†game against Normal Community High School in September, signed his Letter of Intent in the school’s library, with plenty of family and friends on hand. Alex, son of Andrew and Mary Jefferson, will play baseball for Missouri State University starting in the spring of 2014.
But before doing that, he will join McGinnis and James in playing their last year of high school ball together. And even after the high school baseball season starts next spring, it will be nearly a full year before the trio suits up for a college baseball game. It was an observation that was on Hawkins’ mind during the signings.
“The recruiting process is everchanging,†he explained of what he has seen happen over the years. “Over my 22 years of coaching H.S. baseball I have witnessed how much earlier our kids are now being identified and pursued. Early in my coaching career, it was usually not until spring of their senior year would a H.S. baseball player or I get contacted with interest from a university.â€
Hawkins said social media use through cell phones, Twitter, and email by these universities are allowing for players getting contacted as early as their sophomore year. “Matthew James is a great example, who verbally committed to the University of Illinois during the summer after his sophomore season,†Hawkins explained. In addition, Hawkins continued, there is an “increase in the number of ‘showcases’ where players show off their skills for numerous levels of coaches from all over the country on one playing field during the winter and summer months.â€
By the day Jefferson signed his letter, there was a little more fanfare involved. When Hinshaw and Amundson; and McGinnis and James signed, I was the only reporter in the room. Jefferson signed his letter in front of not just me, but also a reporter and photographer from the local daily paper and a one-woman crew from a Peoria TV station.
Again, the families were all smiles as they posed for pictures after the deed was completed. These young athletes have committed themselves. But “committing†sounds almost like the wrong word for this kind of circumstance, doesn’t it? “Committing to play†seems like an odd way to phrase what these kids and others like them do year after year, to my way of thinking. And that’s even if that has been the way it has been phrased in the media for decades. Wouldn’t the phrase “dedicated themselves to†come across as more positive sounding an explanation for what these kids are doing? It’s just a thought.
On another subject, University High School’s Boys’ basketball team found itself on a big stage on Dec. 1, playing at the Elite Classic in Chicago at the UIC Pavillion. But the Pioneers lost to Akron, Ohio-based St. Vincent-St. Mary’s, 68-65. Ohio State recruit Keita Bates-Diop scored 23 points for the Pioneers against the alma mater of Miami Heat player LeBron James. It was a big stage, but the outcome wasn’t what was hoped for. But the experience put U-High in a spotlight, which is always a plus – win or lose.