[QUOTE]Originally posted by CANADIANLEFTY:
No, I'm not looking for a buddy/buddy relationship. I am looking for someone that has experience, and can advise him in what to expect at the various stages. I would expect him to be at least 30-35 +. I would hope that he has only one agent his entire (hopefully long and successful) career - that would mean we picked the right person. Giving advice to someone is a lot more than just getting them the most $."
Agreed.
"The only point I was trying to make was that in order to give relevant advice, you need to know the person (ie. their strengths and weaknesses - personally and professionally), and that comes from building a relationship with them."
I agree it is essential to get to know the people you're working with. However, notice your own use of the term "building a relationship with them", this is something that occurs over time & not necessarily from going to a game to watch them. I have friends that I've known for 20 years& I'm still learning new things about what makes them tick.
My point was that going to watch a HS/College Baseball player play 5 or 10 or even 20 games doesn't tell me as much about him as time will teach me given the chance to learn what makes him tick.
"I am curious to know when you actually contact the players you are interested in representing
and how do you qualify them"
I rely on information from people I know in Scouting/Player Development as to who the prospects are. When they tell me about a particular player, I contact the player's family. My sources know I'm interested in good players regardless of where they will be drafted. The name of the game is MAJOR LEAGUE Baseball & my goal is to recruit players with the potential to play in the Majors. There are many players who weren't #1 draft picks in the Majors.
"You said previously you don't see a lot of your clients play prior to signing them, so interested in your process.'
Don't believe that's exactly what I said. I believe I said it wasn't essential. I TRY to see all my clients play before the draft but I won't spend too much time watching players who aren't committed to me. Why waste time on someone I may never work with? Also, I feel that my view of their talents is not as important as the input I get from my sources in Scouting/P.D. They're the ones who have the experience in evaluating talent.
"Obviously, from your previous posts, you have been doing this for quite a while, so interested to know your thoughts on how you decide who you want to work for? What happens if you find out a highly rated player is a "nutcase", after you meet him?"
The FIRST questions I ask when I'm told about a prospect are what kind of person is he, what kind of family does he come from. If someone is as you put it a "nutcase" or comes from a family of "nutcases" I want nothing to do with him regardless of how talented he may be.
I'm also not interested in players who don't get good grades. It tells me that either they're not too bright in which case I'll have to work twice as hard to achieve half the results or their families have let them slide in school because of their athletic ability in which case their priorities/view of the world is usually all screwed up. If I wanted to be a "shrink" or a social worker I would have gone into those fields. When my clients have problems, I'll do everything in my power to help but there's no sense taking on players with obvious "baggage".
"And, how do you compete with agents that are at the parks, watching the kids play?"
Not a problem for me. Because of what I have to offer, it's more a case of how they compete with me. I have a pretty high rate of success in recruiting.