Just want everyone's feelings on this matter....The swoop is referring to swooping in and taking a recruit out of no where. I know that a recruit is just that until he signed..It has been done to me many times, and it ****** me off every time..I know its legal, I would do it if I had the damn patience to wait but I like recruiting from the second it starts.
Reason why I am asking is I am thinking of doing it this season. It seems that if I have a recruit locked up early, meaning I am the only team he is considering, I usually quit spending..
I think that is why the swoop works so well.....but when do you stop spending if you have them locked up?
Oh yea, and I still remember the 3 coaches that did that to me...one day...one day.... ;-)

i think you are good to go. people do it to me, and it doesn't really bother me. i know where others are coming from but in the single season recruiting game, it is obviously a good strategy, so i don't think people should get too upset about it. this is a strategy game, after all. in the long term game, maybe its not such a good strategy, because of enemies you may create. but i don't think many will fault you if you decide its worth it!

Yeah, its fair game...kinda depends on the cost/benefit analysis. Are you getting someone to ride the pine that you could found anywhere, or is this a big upgrade over a random replacement position?

Nothing wrong with it. It sucks when it happens but you have no one to blame but yourself if you let it happen.

But don't forget that swooping can also fail. We only really see it when it works but how often do you think someone dumps a ton of money trying to swoop and it doesn't work out for them? Do you think those guys come on the forum and brag about their failure?

Quote: Originally posted by Lizak on 12/16/2009Nothing wrong with it.  It sucks when it happens but you have no one to blame but yourself if you let it happen.But don't forget that swooping can also fail.  We only really see it when it works but how often do you think someone dumps a ton of money trying to swoop and it doesn't work out for them?  Do you think those guys come on the forum and brag about their failure?

i dont think its people bragging about their winning. its people complaining when they lose.

True but I'm just pointing out that there are likely plenty of failures with the strategy so that should be considered before assuming it's a good one.

It is a very solid strategy and allows you to gauge which teams have over extended themselves and which ones have not. If you continue to get swooped I would recommend re-evaluating your recruiting strategy.

Quote: Originally posted by Lizak on 12/16/2009True but I'm just pointing out that there are likely plenty of failures with the strategy so that should be considered before assuming it's a good one.

oh yeah, it fails all the time.

People can check FSS and get an idea from the updates how much you have invested in him. As z said, they can also see who how many are considering you and if you have any battles. I got a late start on recruiting this season and had a lot of cash with an A prestige. I thought about poaching but in the end, I just recruited nation-wide with no trouble and got some players I know I can win with.

FSS definitely shows where you stand with a recruit so like I said before, if it happens to you, you only have yourself to blame.

But like any approach, if it's done stupidly, it will fail.

".....but when do you stop spending if you have them locked up?"



you can stop spending when you are the only school being considered (some folks like to spend more to get a more favorable message on the scouting report... such as "he looks like he's really tight with StateU" as opposed to "he likes SateU, but he may not be sold just yet". ... but i dont do that.)

Regardless, the key is that you need to have a reserve of cash as you come toward the initial signing period. that is what will dfend agaisnt the swoop, not the money you spent early... but the money that you have available for counterattack.

if you are considering doing some swooping yourself i would say that is not a bad idea, for a couple of reasons... 1) it can be effective if used judisioucly and 2) you will gain a better understanding of how to defend agaisnt the swoopers.

the key things if you are going to be a swooper, are

• make sure you have a nice chunk of cash to work with
• learn how to assess which teams might be vulnerable to sweeping

in assessing targets, you need to determine how much they had to spend at the start (fairly easy) and then determine how much they have spent, or might need to spend to defend recruits other than the one yuou are targeting. That is the tricky part. and involves some guesswork. that is why you usually want to have alternate plans in case it doesnt work out, because swwoping can easily fail even if you do your homework.

I was the perfect target this year at Wichita State in Allen. Got into a HUGE battle for a SF with Arkansas (I have spent over $60,000 and still haven't won with my B prestige vs. B- prestige Arkansas), and C+ prestige SMU made a good attack on a 4-star SG I had considering me. Prob spent $10,000 and i just didn't have the cash to defend it.

Great move by them.

Ole d, I agree with you there and while you already kind of stated this the key point in there is (imo) understanding how other teams view your teams situation. Controling the imagine of your teams power (or in some cases lack of) is key to avoiding looking weak during recruiting.

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Quote: Originally Posted By jreitz on 12/17/2009

Quote: Originally posted by reinsel on 12/17/2009

I was the perfect target this year at Wichita State in Allen. Got into a HUGE battle for a SF with Arkansas (I have spent over $60,000 and still haven't won with my B prestige vs. B- prestige Arkansas), and C+ prestige SMU made a good attack on a 4-star SG I had considering me. Prob spent $10,000 and i just didn't have the cash to defend it.

Great move by them.

This is a great example, as I saw the battles going on for both guys (I'm at B+ Texas A&M, a distance disadvantage of a 120 miles) and put $38k into the SF as a swoop candidate.

Never even got considered. Fortunately, I had my other 5 locked up, so he would have been gravy.

Two other factors: it helps if you're closer, and conference prestige plays a big role as well. I won't try to swoop unless I'm at least equal in those areas. That really hurt my swooping in this case.

Pretty sure that is not true.