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My son has played with a lot of the same boys for several years.  He enjoys the summers because he likes the boys he plays with.  We are coming up on an important summer and are contemplating whether or not we reach out to some of the power programs for more exposure or if he is good enough, they will find him wherever he plays?  Thoughts?

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As well as matters for being seen, it also matters surrounding a player with very good to better players.  If your son looks around the dugout and sees multiple D1 commits, what they look like, their skill level, their work ethic, it can be a big deal to their confidence in their abilities and work ethic.

He is a position player and pitcher.  He is ranked top 5 in the state (PG) for his position, but his future is likely on the mound.  We have listed him as a position player first because he isn't ready to be a PO yet and is good hitter.  That said, when he gets noticed, it is his pitching.

I would say our club has good connections, our team is pretty good but we aren't a power team.

 He has been contacted by a few teams, but we have some major power teams in our state and I would rather do that than a team based across the country.  He has been really happy with the social aspect where he is at and I honestly wouldn't change it unless it was a big help in the recruiting game.  That said, one of the teams I looked at has the number 1 ranked for his position in our state and the number 2.  He is the number 3.  They also have a number 1 for his position from another state, so I am thinking play time too, not that competition isn't good.

To be able to give good advice it would be helpful to have more info. What state do you reside in? What kind of "exposure" are you talking about..local schools, power 5 schools, MLB, or just getting invited to top events?  You listed he was ranked by PG, was that from a showcase or tourney? What kind of tourneys is his current team playing in?

Just being with a power program doesn't guarantee anything. Yes they can open doors but it doesn't mean everyone from their program gets a scholly. Most of these programs have 1 national team and several other teams for that same age class. Unless you're on the top team, I would lower my expectations.

Yes, yes, and...oh, hell yes. You will be surprised at how much the word of a well-respected, credible, power travel team coach can have. My son played summers for a team that was good, but not one of the powerhouse organizations. However, they were a top 25-type team. The HC had a reputation for being brutally honest with college recruiters. My son had an offer from a Power 5 school based on nothing more than his coach's word that he was the real deal and had been throwing 2-3 mph above what had been recently verified. They never even saw my son play, but the RC told us that everything our HC had ever said about any of our players had been verified by the school whenever they saw the kids in action. 

Last edited by roothog66

Yes, the team/program can make a difference.  But don't be fooled by very good travel teams that are dominating local tournaments.  The top programs for recruiting may not be the dominate travel team in your area.  A good program based around recruiting may not even be playing in most tourneys in your area.  

Up here in Chicagoland there are a handful of programs which are known as conduits to get your kids into college or the MLB draft.  These programs, at the upper levels, don't play many local tourneys and when they do play them they will approach the game a little differently then other programs.  That may cause them to loose games.  They spend the majority of their time playing each other or in events closed to other programs but attended to by many college recruiters.  

Before my son became involved in this level of baseball I could not figure out why these programs were considered good by many.  We were beating many times and winning more tourneys then we were.  Turns out their philosophy regarding local tourneys was not about winning, but improving their players skill set so they showed better in front of the important people.

You have to decide what is best for your kid and his situation.  If he's nationally ranked one would think your travel team is playing in the right events.  We have a local team, all nationally ranked player, every year every one of them goes on to play in college, but there are 36 kids on the team!  THIRTY SIX!

So, do you want to wear the cool name on the Jersey and guarantee colleges will flock to see him...although he will only play once every 4th or 5th game, or would you like your son to play more and work three times as hard for the scholarship?  Neither answer is wrong, it just depends on the kid and family.

We are in TX.  He has been to two events.  A showcase and a tournament.  He was named to the top prospect team and list and at the tournament, to the all tournament team for pitching and hitting.  We want exposure to power 5 schools ideally, but I think he is open and he also wants a school that is a good fit.  Last summer we did VTool and PG.  We are willing to do camps, etc., if that is just as effective as playing for a top program in terms of exposure.  It's hard to know the best path.

It makes a huge difference.  The top programs typically have coaches who are well connected with colleges.  These programs tend to play in the better tourneys.....or here in the OH/IN area, the Midwest Scout League....which is invite only and draws a ton of coaches every time they host a weekend.    A good team playing in tourneys that doesn't draw coaches won't do you any good, though your son sounds like he's good enough that he'll eventually be found but why take the chance? 

I appreciate the feedback, and those are some of the questions I am trying to dig through and ultimately, it will be my son's choice.  The reasons to stay, loyalty, he loves his teammates.  That said, we aren't making it to the finals where I can only assume most coaches would attend.  Also, as stated, do we want to be on a team of 35 and play only here and there vs enjoying the summer and getting experience?  The power teams in TX are some of the power teams nationally, so they are playing the big tournaments and getting invites.  I have no idea if there would even be spots for him, but I think if we go that route, we need to start reaching out soon.

 

Concur with all the above comments, plus:

College coaches have "go to baseball clubs" in most geographic areas - these clubs have excellent reputations for producing good players.  These clubs are like a farm system for the colleges.  Beware though, if you go to a strong brand club and your son ends up being on the 2nd or 3rd team, and depending on the schedule and mix of players, it could be a waste.  Try to find out the teams upcoming summer tourney schedule; normally there are key tourney's the team will always go to, and how did that team fare the past season, look up some of the players on each of the teams....

With a lot of strong players on one team, by default there are multiple recruiting magnets. The college coaches could show up to see a Pitcher, and the SS is making great plays and hitting like a mad man, next thing you know, that same college coach is more focused on the SS than the P.  Happens all the time.

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