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[QUOTE="Townie72, post: 493653, member: 780"]
If I didn't have direct experience in this, I'd probably agree with you.
 
The contacts aren't all that important because the high school coach's role in the process has steadily shrunk to where it hardly counts at all.
 
I'm a lot more familiar with how it works in DI lacrosse, but I'm not unfamiliar with D1 football. The same dynamics are going on.
 
Let me give you the case with which I am most familiar. I am very close to one of the top 10 lacrosse high schools in the country.
 
The head lacrosse coach there is a Notre Dame supporter through and through. He loves Notre Dame, the coach, Corrigan, and everything about the school. He give unparalleled access to his players by ND assistants recruiting. He recommends the school to the kids and the parents, etc., etc., etc. And he tries to screen off schools that are ND competitors for talent like UVA, JHU and Georgetown.
 
In spite of all this access and pressure, how many kids do you think the school has sent to ND in the past 20 years? The answer is almost none. And he's sent none of the really good impact players. That's changed a little because ND did end up with a couple players who are now recommending it to their friends who are being recruited. That's because the kids listen to other kids ... but not to the head coach or any of the high school assistant coaches.
 
The parents --- who play the second most important role --- listen to no one except maybe other parents.
 
Contacts aren't what they used to be. They used to be "huge". They aren't anymore. Ask a recruiter or even a high school head coach or someone who has a kid being recruited who knew what the world looked like 20 years ago.
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