joes87 posted:baseballhs posted:StrainedOblique posted:
This post has a ton of info. I hope it is true that every kid has his own path because we have done so many of the things you caution against. I thought we were in a pretty good spot, but my son doesn't have any firm offers yet. One school has said they are ready to offer but we haven't made the trip back yet. He has only targeted his "top choices" right now and since several have expressed interest, I've made the assumption that if these 4-5 don't pan out, other programs would likely want him but maybe that's not how it works. Should he be contacting school that aren't as high level even if right now he doesn't think he would want to go there? Should our net be really big even if he's talking to schools regularly? I don't want to mess this up and I know anything can happen. He also chose not to play for a top team. He wanted to stay with friends. I was hoping we could balance that by getting him seen at showcases. I think he projects for a power D1 at this point, but there are never guarantees. Since he's young, will we have time to change course if things don't pan out before next Fall?
I've made the assumption that if these 4-5 don't pan out, other programs would likely want him but maybe that's not how it works
----Do not make any assumptions. Things never work out how you think they will during the recruiting cycle.
Should he be contacting school that aren't as high level even if right now he doesn't think he would want to go there?
----He should be targeting the schools he wants to attend. The question is are those schools targeting him? Remember his baseball status is up to the school, not your son. The question he needs to answer is which is more important, playing baseball or going to a school he wants to attend. From experience I can tell you the answer is "going to a school he wants to attend". Even if that means not playing baseball. I know of many kids who went to the wrong school (either to play sports or not) and end up transferring out after the first semester or year.
Should our net be really big even if he's talking to schools regularly?
---yes, min of 25 schools, more then that is better.
He also chose not to play for a top team. He wanted to stay with friends.
---Mistake, at this point you/he needs to stop thinking about baseball as a fun sport and more about it as a career. Top teams have good college coaching contacts and can be vital to the recruiting process.
I think he projects for a power D1 at this point
--- Do you think or do you know? Get an independent evaluation and see where he projects. The number of kids who actually project power 10 is a lot smaller then you think. If he is projecting there now you should already be hearing from these guys.
I will have to talk with him on this. We already signed a contract for this summer, so he isn't going to be able to change that. I don't know that this team won't be good, they just aren't a well known travel team. We will play 4-5 V Tool and two big out of state tournaments this summer. He is also set to go to two of the bigger invitational showcases. If we don't do well this summer, he could change for summer after Junior year, but I realize that's late.
25 schools is a lot. We are in a competitive state, so most of the D1 in our state are powerhouses. At this point I would say he's reached out to 10-15 schools. We will have to sit down and talk about where else we might want to pursue.
I wasn't confident that he projected to a power D1 until recently. He made the top list for FB (88) now hitting 89, IF (87), and Exit velocity (90) at both the PBR and PG showcase he went to this fall. His stats are all in the high 90% for PG 2020s. Again, I realize things aren't guaranteed and they can change on a dime. He is talking to 4 schools that are ranked in the top 20-30 depending on the poll. Two of the schools were probably 1-2 on his "dream" list. I realize this is dangerous in terms of disappointment and where do we go from here feelings if they don't end up offering him. I have told him that until he commits, he should be open to talking to anyone and be open minded about the programs. That said, we have only sent things to the top programs that he really wants. On PBR, all but two kids above him in ranking for his position are committed and about 20 immediately below him. I think a lot of this is that he hasn't been seen a lot (not on a top travel team). The only way a college coach would have seen him to date would be at a showcase or a camp, or through video he sent.
I appreciate all the advice and I do think we need to reach out to more schools and try to get him in front of more coaches.