Dan Replies:
Dear K.A.: I started receiving letters from colleges when I was a junior in high school. They were introductory, contained a promotional pamphlet about the school (usually with pretty co-eds on the cover), and included a questionnaire that I was asked to fill out. I got follow up letters in the summer between my Jr. and Sr. year. These were form letters - nothing personal.
It is my understanding that college representatives cannot make personal contact with a prospective player until the beginning of the season of his senior year in high school.
As for playing Juniors and going to Junior College for a year out of high school, I can't tell you what to do. Factors such as size, maturity, strength, and development play a part in a decision like this. But I do know this. When I got to Bowling Green at age 17, I believe I was the youngest player in the CCHA and there were guys in my class that were three years older than I was. I was a boy among men (some of them were 24 and 25 years old still playing college because they started so late).
To do over again, there would be a strong temptation to go to Grade 13 (I played Jrs. in Canada) and play another year in Juniors and then go to college which would be the equivalent of your idea of JC for a year.
Fortunately I was big enough to do battle in the CCHA at 17 but if I had been a 20 yr. old in my freshman year, I would have had a much stronger college career. Would it have helped me in the Pros? Who knows, maybe I would have skipped a year or two in the minors... hard to tell.
You will lose one year of your five years of eligibility if you go to Jr. College, but that still leaves you with four years to play.
Stay tuned because there is a movement among college coaches to change the rules so that you can only play Juniors one year out of 12th grade. So the days of 20 year old freshmen in college may be coming to an end.
