Advice For The HS Freshmen Who Wants To Later Play College Baseball

Everyone's situation is different.  My son did travel ball from 11U-13U.  Once he hit high school, we actually played legion his 14 and 15 seasons.  Our thinking was, he was a slow grower and based on his measurables, we was not going to wow any college coaches.  Even though he won the "Golden Arm" award on his 13U travel team and lettered as a Sophomore.  Plus, I was going to save money.

We went back to travel ball the summer after his junior year to showcase.  He received multiple D1 offers.

Now, a college coach asking for a 2022 summer schedule seems like a great first step.  Maybe your son is already a bigger kid and has promising measurable and has the potential to be offered early?  I think it's important to understand realistically where your son is and where he will project to be, to help you decide which team to join.  I'm not familiar with teams in GA, but others might.

Francis... sent you a PM.

Yes the top guys will have college scouts and perhaps MLB scouts at some of the HS games...saw that last season..particularly in playoff time.

CTbballDad posted:

Everyone's situation is different.  My son did travel ball from 11U-13U.  Once he hit high school, we actually played legion his 14 and 15 seasons.  Our thinking was, he was a slow grower and based on his measurables, we was not going to wow any college coaches.  Even though he won the "Golden Arm" award on his 13U travel team and lettered as a Sophomore.  Plus, I was going to save money.

We went back to travel ball the summer after his junior year to showcase.  He received multiple D1 offers.

Now, a college coach asking for a 2022 summer schedule seems like a great first step.  Maybe your son is already a bigger kid and has promising measurable and has the potential to be offered early?  I think it's important to understand realistically where your son is and where he will project to be, to help you decide which team to join.  I'm not familiar with teams in GA, but others might.

Thanks for the reply.   Believe me he is not huge.  He is 5'7" 125 pound skeleton with clothes on.  It really was a shocker when he told us what the coach said.  He has quick hands and is smooth when he moves.  Where he stands was really the only thing we were after.  I really thought he was holding his own.  The coach must of seen more than what I saw.  I am very proud of him.

IMHO HS baseball doesn't really matter. The thing I learned.... get on the best travel organization you can and make their top team, don't worry you will know which one is the best. I've seen these guys make a phone call and see 3 P5 coaches show up at a game....it's ALL about connections. 

When you hit numbers...85 for a RHP or 83 for a LHP and sub 7 60s and EV over 90 mph for hitters start going to camps and showcases. And hope the right coach sees you.

Spot on.

Alanj posted:

CTbballDad posted:

Everyone's situation is different.  My son did travel ball from 11U-13U.  Once he hit high school, we actually played legion his 14 and 15 seasons.  Our thinking was, he was a slow grower and based on his measurables, we was not going to wow any college coaches.  Even though he won the "Golden Arm" award on his 13U travel team and lettered as a Sophomore.  Plus, I was going to save money.

We went back to travel ball the summer after his junior year to showcase.  He received multiple D1 offers.

Now, a college coach asking for a 2022 summer schedule seems like a great first step.  Maybe your son is already a bigger kid and has promising measurable and has the potential to be offered early?  I think it's important to understand realistically where your son is and where he will project to be, to help you decide which team to join.  I'm not familiar with teams in GA, but others might.

Thanks for the reply.   Believe me he is not huge.  He is 5'7" 125 pound skeleton with clothes on.  It really was a shocker when he told us what the coach said.  He has quick hands and is smooth when he moves.  Where he stands was really the only thing we were after.  I really thought he was holding his own.  The coach must of seen more than what I saw.  I am very proud of him.

The coach sees some potential talent. But more than anything he sees you spending more money on his camps.

Nonamedad posted:

When you hit numbers...85 for a RHP or 83 for a LHP and sub 7 60s and EV over 90 mph for hitters start going to camps and showcases. And hope the right coach sees you.

I disagree. Not that it can't work, but spending $300 for a camp is expensive. Multiple camps + travel/lodging/food is a lot of money. We have been to 4 or 5 camps. At each camp the head coach gave his morning welcome speech, half heartedly watched for a little, then left for meetings/facilties tour with the actual recruits. The only real purpose of camps is to make money and gets the actual recruits on campus so they can offer them (as per NCAA rules) 

 I once sat in the stands of a program’s “camp” and watched the players hit. When the hitting session was over I walked over to an existing player I knew helping the coaching staff. I commented there were only four legit D1 hitting prospects. The player laughed. He told me the four players I pointed out were discovered at a PG East Cobb. Everyone else was a local, paying, delusion wannabe. 

Everyone’s experience is different.  We Went to two (SEC) camps, uninvited, without prior contact and they were beneficial. At one, they sent him to get me right after he pitched his inning and we toured the facilities and sat down to hear about the program with the PC. They started weekly calls.  The other ask us to stay after and tour facilities and they started weekly calls. That can’t happen now with new rules but I don’t think camps are a waste. I think you can definitely be seen. Some camps are better than others for sure.

As I’m reading through the replies to this post, one thing strikes me.  It’s a theme that I’m seeing, and maybe mis-interpreting, that college guys are just going to show up to a tourney, HS game, or camp and look for players. With a few exceptions, PG/Jupiter, college coaches do not just show up to tourneys and look for players.  They are there to see specific players.  Most of these players have already had contact with that school and are on their recruiting radar. They will show up, watch that player play and then leave.  When that player is not playing they will be barely paying attention to the game.  Unless a kid really stands out they will not be paying attention to anyone other then the kid they are there to see. 

Here is a real-world scenario.  In Chicago the HS coaches hold a showcase for the better players at the end of the year. There are a lot of college coaches there.  Say 30 to 40 schools represented.  The same weekend the showcase is held there is a tourney being run that promotes the fact that these college coaches will be there watching that tourney.  They are partially right.  Some of the guys will show up to watch a few players they have already had contact with.  Most of the college guys over at the HS showcase will not attend the tourney.  Instead they are over watching a couple of teams play each other.  4 to 5 of the best travel teams in the area hold a separate set of games against each other.  These are the best travel teams in the area.  They are playing showcase games against each other.  If one of the college guys are not out watching players they have on their radar they are here, not at the tourney.  The games are not played like normal tourney games.  Pitchers are rotated in and out each inning.  Batters will be skipped in the batting order if they are scheduled to pitch the next inning.  Players are substituted in and out all game without becoming ineligible once they are removed from the game.  Players will play on more then one team, ie pitch for their programs A team and they play a position for the programs B team.  As I said in an earlier post these teams are less worried about winning the games (yes they want to win but that is secondary) then they are about showcasing their kids. 

Please do not think players are just discovered by college coaches just walking around a tourney. You need to have a marketing plan in place for your player.  There are many posts on here on how to do that.  In addition please do not think anyone is going to do that for you.  You need to take charge of that plan.  Yes many travel and HS programs can help, but they are not going to go at this with the same intensity you and your son will. Finally, as I demonstrated above playing in the right travel program is a major plus.  These programs have deep ties with many schools and will exploit them to get their players into the right colleges.

PABaseball posted:

Nonamedad posted:

When you hit numbers...85 for a RHP or 83 for a LHP and sub 7 60s and EV over 90 mph for hitters start going to camps and showcases. And hope the right coach sees you.

I disagree. Not that it can't work, but spending $300 for a camp is expensive. Multiple camps + travel/lodging/food is a lot of money. We have been to 4 or 5 camps. At each camp the head coach gave his morning welcome speech, half heartedly watched for a little, then left for meetings/facilties tour with the actual recruits. The only real purpose of camps is to make money and gets the actual recruits on campus so they can offer them (as per NCAA rules) 

Don't go before you hit those numbers, my son went to 5 camps of schools he was interested in and 4 asked for transcripts and remained in contact for a while, they never offered. Also there are usually smaller D1s/D2s and Jucos that attend and those schools also started recruiting him. 

And yes these are money makers for the assistants and one camp was a joke. But you have to get in front of coaches. If you can combine the camp with a vacation or visit a family member all the better. Don't go without something to show.

Joes87 post is right for how a kid should plan. Build interest -- video, metrics, etc -- and then have them come and see you play at XYZ tournament. That said, it definitely happens that coaches will see a kid do something and get in contact, even if they had no idea who the kid was before. It happens, but you shouldn't plan on it working out for two reasons: (1) it probably doesn't happen all that often; and (2) the school may hold no interest for the kid for a variety of reasons (location, academics, level of baseball, etc.), so the inbound interest ends up being meaningless -- for example, as a result of the AZ Junior Classic last year, my son got phone calls from RCs at  a couple schools (a mid-major D1 and one of the top D2 programs in the country) he had never contacted, but he wasn't interested in the schools so he politely declined the invitations for visits. Put another way, the chances that a kid will get random inbound interest from one of his target schools are not high. Much better to reach out to the target schools in advance.

I found that taking video was invaluable...I was at nearly every one of my 2019's travel games, HS games, showcases, tournaments over the last 4 years and had my tripod and video camera set up and recording as much as I could get..yes, most of the other parents made some snarky comments and didn't bother putting the work in that I did..I edited it all down to a 5 to 6 minute youtube video that my son attached with every email to a potential college match...it paid lots of dividends in receiving offers, the coaches told him so...they had his 60 yard dash, POP throws, in game hitting, base stealing, runner throwouts, everything you can imagine at their fingertips..and by the way, some of those parents who laughed at me and thought the HS and travel team coaches were going to do the legwork and get their sons recruited, well they found out that was a pipe dream and are scrambling right now trying to find a school that will take their 2019 and having no luck...smarten up and get those videos going.

Not going to embed the quote out of respect, catcherdad!

I agree 1000%. You don't see nearly enough parent rolling the cameras when Johnny is up to bat, on the mound, or in the field. You HAVE TO HAVE video because the number of opportunities to get in front of the schools on your target list are finite. You will play countless more games that they will not be at than they will be at, so video those and edit it down to highlights only. At bat video I edited down to just the swing where he made great contact. Fielding, every ball my son has fielded in the past 2 years is on video. Every at bat recorded. These are things that the parents have to carry the water on. Don't think for a second that hiring a recruiter to do it will have the same impact. They are getting paid whether your kid gets an offer or not. You are the best proponent for your kid, start shooting and editing.

Agree 100% with GaryMe and Catcherdadny! Take video in case something good happens!! If it doesn't, just delete the clip.

I haven't always done it, and often regretted not pulling my phone out. Funny story on that. First travel game after sophomore year my kid homered, it was a really good shot with a wood bat. After the game we had this exchange:

Son: That's going to make a great clip for a highlight video.

Me: Uhh . . . um, actually, I don't  think it will.

Son: What do you mean? I got all of that ball.

Me: Yup, but I forgot to video it.

Mistakes like that made me take the position that, if you don't get it on video, it didn't happen.

My 2020 committed early this Fall.  We lucked into a great situation. With the benefit of hindsight, my advice for 16U and 17U is to realize that the coach is going to be the salesperson for your son.  He will represent him to potential schools.  Does he have connections?  Are his connections at schools you care about?  Is he enthusiastic about the process?   How many other kids does he have to worry about? Where is your son in the pecking order?...These are all the questions I would consider if I had to go through this again.

Be careful about putting your son's future into the hands of a coach...that may be true in some cases but realize that coaches have lives beyond baseball and most don't have the time to be promoting your kid...and college coaches know that travel team and HS coaches oversell their kids and are hardly objective...they view a lot of what they say with a fine filter...you have to be your kid's primary promoter and teach him how to be the same...learning how to speak to coaches, showing lots of hustle and proper body language on the field, demonstrating maturity and coachability etc. 

You need to find the right team. If you're playing for a travel team where the coach isn't promoting your kid, contacting schools on your behalf, and having realistic conversations with him about his future you are in the wrong travel program. Get out immediately, there is no point of being there. College coaches put a lot of stock in what a reputable travel coach says - because if the player they're hyping up turns out to be a bust, its their reputation on the line. And travel programs can't survive if their players aren't playing college ball. 

Never completely trust anybody with your sons future, but finding the right travel coach can go a long way and save you a lot of money/time editing videos and driving to $500 showcases where nobody knows your name. If you find the right coach/program, you may never have to send an email, make a video, or attend a showcase. He can bring them right to you

GaryMe posted:

Not going to embed the quote out of respect, catcherdad!

I agree 1000%. You don't see nearly enough parent rolling the cameras when Johnny is up to bat, on the mound, or in the field. You HAVE TO HAVE video because the number of opportunities to get in front of the schools on your target list are finite. You will play countless more games that they will not be at than they will be at, so video those and edit it down to highlights only. At bat video I edited down to just the swing where he made great contact. Fielding, every ball my son has fielded in the past 2 years is on video. Every at bat recorded. These are things that the parents have to carry the water on. Don't think for a second that hiring a recruiter to do it will have the same impact. They are getting paid whether your kid gets an offer or not. You are the best proponent for your kid, start shooting and editing.

What type of camera or device do you guys use to record the videos?