Vicarious Dad you stated "I don't think they go out of their way to find people."
Nothing could be farther from the truth. I am an associate scout for Tampa. I have many friends that are also associate scouts and many friends who are full time scouts. You dont get ahead in this business by not going out of your way to find people. In fact you will not be around for long if you dont. Anyone can follow the kids that everyone is already on. That is very easy to do. The scouts that are successful go out of their way to find those kids that no one is already on. They go out of their way to see kids that have not been seen.
I spend many days a year traveling to baseball fields all over eastern NC looking at kids and looking for kids. So do many other people. When I go to a game I am hoping and praying that I see a kid who will catch my eye. I am looking for and hoping that someone will jump out at me. Maybe its a kid no one has seen before? Hopefully it is and I will be the first guy to turn a card on. Tunnel vision by a scout be it college or pro? Then they will not be around very long. The best thing a kid can have going for him is to have a kid on his team that everyone is on and everyone wants to see. Or be playing his team that day. Why? Because everyone of them is looking at everyone else on the field as well. And its an opportunity to get noticed.
Following the highly "touted" kids around does what for you as a scout? It gives you an opportunity to see that kid play. But it also gives you an opportunity to see every other kid play that day as well. I have been fortunate to find some very good players over the years. I will continue to try and find even more. My niche is going to the small schools in rural areas where maybe the word has not gotten out on some kids. The under the radar kids so to speak. The schools and areas off the beaten path so to speak. Many do the exact same thing.
Why in the world would you not go out of your way to find people? That is exactly what this is all about. And the great thing is a kid might not be a draftable guy right now. He may never be. But he may indeed be a good find for some college coach out there. And that information is passed along on a very frequent basis.
I get paid when I am the 1st guy to turn a card in on a kid. And then that kid signs with us. So it is very important for me to get out there and do everything I can to find kids. I also get paid but not in dollars when I see a kid that can help someone and I make a call to a coach about him and it works out. And maybe that college coach down the road turns me on to a kid no one is on. The baseball world gets smaller and smaller the longer your son plays.
Some programs make a living on finding these players. They can not compete for the top ranked highly "touted" players at least enough to field a competitive team. So they work very hard to find these players. Alot of people work very hard to find these players at all levels of play college and above.