For those who are interested in our "stuff", I apologize for jumping from the beginning to the end of the story, leaving out the details of the middle.
(Just call me an excited dad. 
) I certainly understand that there are many paths to the next level and that ours was just one approach. But for a player who was not a blue chip D1 prospect, the onus was on us to get his name out and to get him in front of college coaches. And given that we opted not to begin his recruiting process until he had earned a starting spot on his varsity team this past Spring as a junior, we knew we had to develop a bit of an accelerated approach this summer. I definitely don't claim any expertise at this; I'm just a dad who has been hanging out here for a long time, soaking in all I can. But if consolidating my son's story in one place can help anyone digest the vast amount of information, I'm glad to try to help out.
So... seeing that there appears to be some interest, I will come back to this thread over the next week or so (likely over multiple posts) and share more details of my son's recruiting journey, in which I'll talk about:
- The importance (for our family anyway) of performing to the best of his abilities in the classroom, given the fact that we knew when this started that it would take good merit aid to make a private school baseball opportunity happen.
- The approach we took to identify and document important characteristics of his candidate list of schools (starting broadly with a couple hundred in the Northeast, narrowing down to a couple dozen to contact, and ultimately ongoing, more serious dialogs with just a few).
- His high school and summer seasons and their impact on his recruiting, as well as the continued life lesson of learning to focus on only what you can control. And how true it is what we've all heard many times about, "Don't endlessly fret over your son's high school team role and/or performance because college coaches often place more emphasis on summer teams, as well as what their own eyes can see at camps". That said, even if your high school role or performance isn't quite what you wish it were, staying focused on work ethic and character can still allow your high school coach to honestly recommend you to college coaches as a potential asset to their program.
- How we used free alternatives to commercial recruiting websites by creating his student/athlete bio in Word and using Word/Excel mail merge to contact coaches several times from Spring through Summer, while still maintaining a personal touch. [I will also make these available by email to anyone who would like copies (upon PM request).]
- The role of his YouTube channel.
- His summer and fall showcases and camps, with reviews.
- The importance of continued communication and how polite persistence can help clear confusion and reduce ambiguity - sometimes allowing the "squeaky wheel to get the grease", and other times leading to eliminating some schools from your list when it becomes clearer that the interest from a coach isn't as mutual as you might like it to be.
This whole recruiting effort was really another bonding moment for my son and me. And as we sat at dinner last weekend, the day after his most recent overnight visit to his top school, still discussing his wonderful opportunity, the sincerity with which he turned to me and said "Dad, none of this could've happened without YOUR help; THANK YOU SO MUCH!" was absolutely priceless.
Of course, I quickly reminded him that I was just the guide, and that HE was the one who has done, and continues to do, all of the work (on the field, in the gym and in the classroom). A real lesson in ambition and perseverence was learned here and I'm proud to have been a part of it.