first a welcome to strike3, & congrats to your son & your players -
perhaps you could post their names & schools in the signings thread
ok, recruiting service - there is some middle ground here
a few things come into play in that "some" recruiting guys DO have contacts at various colleges and can for a price offer help with many things you could really do yourself, if you wanted to.
it could indeed be valuable to have someone involved in your process who could offer a realistic opinion if the player's athletic or academic goals were unrealistic.
that said, a couple that I talk to occasionaly indicate that
90% of their baseball guys are NOT early signees
they do NOT use mass mailings
they DO have alot of personal contact with the athlete & family
they DO have a high success rate IF the athletete is flexible - Div. & location
they DO have a large contact network among DII, DIII, NAIA
they WILL offer FREE advice, sample intro letters, bio forms etc upon request to a "do it yourselfer"
a downside from "my impression", is that because their contacts are their "lifeblood", they pretty much understate to the athlete the competion level he should be targeting, thus keeping contact coaches "coming back for more"
they are pretty busy with volleyball, golf, kickball, etc
lastly few Qs regarding the original post
I don't have a police backgound (unless you count the time...
eh, never mind)
but, I find it curious that a college coach would recommend a recruiting service - -
and curious-er yet that after contacting ACC & other DI coaches outside your region and finding they (already) knew about your son, you'd hire someone to tell them about your son -
am I missing something?
.