A letter from....

TR - your "facts" are a little jumbled - it happens?


I'm happy to help -

a> fps's '04 rhp/of son attended a Thanksgiving break prospect camp at UNLV

b> the very first unsolicted letter he recieved from that exposure was from LSU Tiger's coach Smoke Laval

c> her son then reponded with his letter of interest and league schedule (just as he should)

d> mom screamed and damaged her throat

e> helpful websters threw a gatorade cooler of ice water on her (figurativly)



** I'll suggest a cup of warm tea & lemon with a dash of "spirits" for the throat -
or - if necessary, a cup of "spirits" with a dash of tea & lemon -
or maybe just forget about the tea & lemon alltogether



Beenthere, it's 20.2 ppg -
TR in the recent "hummergate/throwback jersey" thread, stiff was one of the nicer opinions expressed by many on Lebron



lefties? - - - they just aint right!

Bee...I stopped paying any attention to pro basketball when Michael retired the first time.

I'm not expecting any of today's new "mopes" to be saints, but "puhlease"...enough with the police blotter stuff.

Bee, you're probably right, it was a bit of ice water, and soothing herbal tea would be better. On the other hand, as someone who can identify with this parent's reaction, I have had people use both methods with me, and frankly, the ice water route was the one that worked for me.

I will stand by my experience, and the advice I have been given as well: an initial letter, even if written in response to having been seen, means nothing unless it is followed by personal telephone contact and consistent expressions of interest. LSU has probably used up its quota of official visits already, furthermore.

Reams of us here on this board can tell stories of the "come on" letters our boys have received, after having been seen at a showcase, that made it sound as if the coach had our home telephone number on speed dial and was just sitting by the phone, drumming his fingers until he could push that button on July 1st: only to never hear another word from that school, except, as BeenthereIL so rightly points out, requests for money (in the guise of "prospect camps"). When I think of the hours my son spent, dutifully filling out those dang questionnaires, only to hear nothing or very little more, I'd like to...well, now that you mention it, scream!

I firmly stand by my belief that parents do not help by overreacting to these initial letters, even telephone calls. They tell you nothing, nothing mind you, about whether you are in a database of 1000 or an A list of 10 (even then, the odds aren't great).

In the kid's mind, it goes something like this: "Oh, Mom/Dad is SO excited about this letter, they would be so happy if this school offered me a spot". Then, kid gets not much else from school. "Oh, I must have really let Mom/Dad down" by not making it.

What we as parents are supposed to convey is: warm support, organizational help (making those folders, etc.) and a sounding board for the boy's questions. We are not supposed to be screaming as if we got a letter with a winning lottery ticket.

I would be absolutely delighted if this boy makes it to LSU or any other baseball program and I truly wish him and his parents the best. But it is important for parents to really understand the process, and to know that the first contacts mean very little. TRHit said it best, probably, and most gently. But I think that the point really needs to be made.

What board members should remember is that every college is different in the time, $$$'s, and personnel they will allocate to baseball recruiting. Getting a letter or any other form of contact will not mean the same thing from every college. Some colleges spend a great deal on recruiting and send out tens of thousands of letters and e-mails. The original posting mentioned one of many of these colleges. Great school, but an amazing recruiting machine that will flood mailboxes all over the country. Then there are some colleges who have told us that they do not have the budget or personnel to do this type of mass recruiting. That they will rarely send mail and only to those they are seriously interested in. You will also find that each college will start recruiting at different times, some sending letters as early as freshman year while others won't start contacting you until your junior year.

So, how will you know what a letter REALLY means? You won’t know until it counts. Relax and enjoy the letters and contacts when they come. Hopefully your player will use them as motivation to continue to improve on his game. But the only contact from a college that will be important is the one that comes after July 1st of your junior year with an offer to play baseball at a college your son really wants to attend. All the rest is only worth the entertainment value it provides you and your player.

hey I've been thu it also,

but, getting a great 1rst letter could also go like this - - -

wow, someone (besides mom) thinks I "got the goods" - I know I can play & am gonna keep working my but off so I'll be prepared to make choices when the opportunity comes -

lefties? - - - they just aint right!

FPSMOM - Congratulations! It feels great to get that letter, doesn't it - particularly from a program as good as LSU's. My advice is (if you haven't done so already), to take this as an opportunity to establish personal contact with the school, so that the recruiting coach begins to put a 'face to a name'. I would suggest having your son respond by writing an email to the coach (you can usually find their email address on the college website), thanking him for the letter, expressing interest in their program, and asking what kind of information would be most helpful to him (the coach) as he makes his recruiting decisions. Also ask how often the coach would like to hear from him. My son did this last year and received very positive responses. Good luck!

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Pay attention to the feedback that takes you where you want to go!

Gees...What nonsense from some of you!

In the name of being "politically correct".

I agree with URKillingMeBlue,
if your interested in the program continue to follow it up and try to determine where you might fit in and go from there. Just because it is a top and competitive program doesn't mean you will not be a part of it someday.

Knowledge is Power! Thank you Mavens and HSBBWEB!

BeenThere -

You talkin' to me ?

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Pay attention to the feedback that takes you where you want to go!

mom...Go to the LSU website and see how many players are substantive contributors from the State of California.

Again...It is way late in the recruiting process for the Class of 2004; and, unless he is a fastballing pitcher with size, don't hold your breath for dinner with the LSU coaching staff.

I submit, if he was a fireballer with size, you would have committed already.

Enough said.

Why do so many of you say things to people to make them feel good when you really don't believe what you are saying or you know from experience that that information which you are conveying is not true?It helps no one and actually gives them a false sense of "hope".

BeenthereIL,

You may remember some time ago that I made a rather pointed remark concerning what I thought about LSU's recruiting practices based upon some very real events that happened to my son during the recruiting process. I was chastised by at least one staunch supporter of that program and I offered to discuss the situation in either an email or private message because I didn't want to publicly present all of the details. Well, I never heard from the other party so I guess he didn't want to hear what I had to say. I made the same offer earlier in this thread....I don't mind putting facts on the table but I do believe that sometimes it is better to discuss some topics in one-on-one conversations and that can best be accomplished by private topics or emails or phone calls. I think the mom who started this thread has actually gotten some pretty good advice and she can decide where to take it from here. I really don't think anyone here has purposely tried to deceive her about the meaning of the letter.



Ann

UKMB gives good advice. As I said before, they mail 'em by the wheelbarrow. Pick up the phone call the coach, put a voice to the face, make sure they know where you will play. If you do that and they are even mildly interested, they will come to see him at one venue or the other.

That is why we play top notch travel teams and showcase. That gives the coaches we want to have see us the opportunity to do so. My son got lots of letters from LSU. I also know that they saw him. That is all you can ask for. All any of us want is to get in front of these guys. I would never tell you that your son is not good enough. I don't know him. I remember that Debbie Kazmir came on here and asked about agents and many regulars here laughed at her.

You also never know when someone will watch. During the summer one team saw my son and he did not have it. That same school saw him in the fall and made an offer on the spot. Ya never know.

Hey Ann, I am posting after you. Good Post!

"I love the HSBBW"

Keep in mind there are three distinct groups of parents that post to hsbbw at this time of year. Those with talented sons that have not yet reached college age, parents with talented sons that have not yet reached college age but have signed a NLI, and parents of college/pro aged players that have developed some long term perspective.

What might be described as "politically correct" might also be described as "euphoria" for parents that have not yet dealt with the realities of college and/or pro baseball. There is a certain euphoria that parents experience when their sons first experience recognition at the next level. The realities of the "business" of college and, to an even greater extent, pro baseball, have not yet been experienced by many posters.

Letters, then phone calls, then scholarships, and even pro contracts become meaningless as players compete for the reality of playing time. It can be a cruel world out there- enjoy every step of the journey.

fpsmom,

IMO - Its great that your son is getting attention from any school. It is always very exciting to get interest in any form - and they should all be followed up on by your son. Dont count anything out.

However, it is important to keep a level head during the process. Try to minimize the highs and lows. If you cant do that - buy alot of Rolaids.

Most importantly - look at the facts wherever you can find them and think realistically about the various programs and where your son could fit in academically and athletically. Personally - I like numbers - so I always asked myself "what are the odds that etc..."

IMO - Beenthere delivers the steak rare - but it is Grade A stuff in my opinion. TRHit puts a little sauce on it so it goes down a bit easier.
Either way - its grade A stuff from folks who have gone through the process very successfully IMO.

Sorry for the lame steak analogy (LOL) and best of luck to your son.

I remember when the websters cautioned me about getting too excited about anything...especially regarding initial mailings of anything.

Best advice we could have received.

--

its...Moving up from hot dogs to steaks, huh?

IMO any contact is great and gives you the opportunity to keep communicating. This is especially so as you never know what's going on through this process.

My son has received letters from about 50 schools. Some have lead to more and more contact. Most have lead to nothing. But, again, you never know.

For example, one school wrote constantly, sent media guides, junior day invitation/visit followed by phone calls, hand written letters and then...... nothing. Still nothing, despite several follow up attempts by my son.

Another school sent a form letter. It was addressed "Dear Prospect". They crossed out prospect and wrote in his name. My son sent back a thank you letter, mostly out of courtesy and heard nothing further (for about 8 months) and then without any further contact, recieved a hand written note "inviting" him to the team (no scholarships at this school so none to discuss). Apparently they had seen him at a camp, never spoke to him, no other contact and then an "offer". We've got no idea what took place.

I have found the college baseball recruiting process to be the most inexact science I have ever encountered. If I recall, I think I said in one of my first posts that it reminds me (in the worst sense possible) of high school dating.

I don't get most of any of this, except to keep trying, keep contacting schools you're interested in, keep getting seen and who knows what this LSU letter means. Don't get too high or too low, just use it to keep in contact and best of luck!!!!

Hey batter says it so well. It is way less than exact. My son received letters from about the same numbers of schools. He got duplicate letters each week from two or three different schools addressed to his given name, his "nickname".

July 1 came and he heard from 4 or 5 schools, a few more as the summer and fall went on. The school he signed with sent 3 letters including the one congratulating him for signing.

Some of the heaviest "mailers" never called. My point is that mail may, or may not, be the first step by the school, in the process. An inexact one for sure. Enjoy it while you can as there are many highs and lows just getting to the NLI.

Geaux Cajuns!!

Hey Batter, is this the same team your son is most interested in? If so, our experience with the same school has been a tad different, since I believe they heard about mine through word of mouth. So the same school may be different in its recruiting methods depending on where the kid is geographically (close versus ****her away)and how the school got his name. Just a cent's worth...

And oh for heaven's sake these filters are silly. "more far away" I guess I should have said, grammatically challenged though that is....

Cal2004-sent you a PM.