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My son is a junior position player who has already been in contact with his top 3 choices for schools. We have heard don't put all your eggs in one basket (or 3 baskets, for that matter), so we are "casting a wide net" and plan to mail out sheets with son's stats, awards, and contact info to about 20 schools he has mild to moderate interest in. I guess I have 2 questions: (1) Any recommendations for things we should say/not say when we mail these things out? (2) Son attended a showcase this fall at his top choice for a baseball program and the program has indicated what we believe to be clearcut interest in him. Let's call this college School A. Coaches from School B (which has a lower-level program) also worked with son at this showcase and son wants to send a sheet to them too. But....School B coaches have a close affiliation with School A, and I'm worried they may let School A know we've contacted them and the School A coaches may think son is not that interested in School A. Am I paranoid or are my concerns justified? Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
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I would contact as many people as you feel like. Nothing wrong with that at all. However, I wouldn;t put a ton of time into this until after your spring season. Coaches are now are finishing up their recruiting for the next fall and getting ready for the season starting in Feb. They cannot officially contact your son until after July 1 and a bunch of stats from sophomore year aren't really going to matter a heck of alot anyway. Coaches are more interested in tools than stats. I'd send him to some of the winter clinics to the schools he's interested in so the coaches can get another look.
parent -
Welcome to the HSBBW! Smile You'll find suggestions on what info to put into a contact letter on the Recruting Tips page. We all understand the paranoid feeling. None of this recruiting stuff is familiar to parents and everything may seem to have double meanings at times. Wink As others have said, don't worry about coaches talking. It can be a small community when it comes to college coaches and YES, they are going to talk and not much will be kept a secret among high-profile players. That's normal and so is a players talking with multiple schools! That's how its done and no coach is going to back away from a player they want because he is talking to multiple schools! IMO, Now is a great time to start contacting them sending out his HS schedules to the local colleges as well as providing all the coaches with information on his junior summer schedule where they can see him play. Good Luck and continue to ask questions! Smile
Last edited by RHP05Parent
Hopefully, you gone beyond the athletics part of the college websites before you write the letters. If your son has any sort of academic or field of interest, check to see if there is anything offered in that field at the college where you're writing. It adds a personal touch to the letter to say "in addition to your baseball program's 25-35 season last year, I am also interested in your business program, too. I'm considering a business degree and I understand your school has a great program.." My son always felt like it was essential to handwrite these letters..at least the first ones. And to add "Go Padres"! at the end..whatever the team mascot/symbol happens to be. These initial letters were always followed up with an email one month later and, when the college sent out a questionaire, another email indicated that he'd returned the questionaire.
quote:
Originally posted by parent:
Thanks guys for the tips. I know that it's a bit early to send stuff out, but I thought a little name recognition couldn't hurt.

By the way, this "dating" stuff is tough. I think our whole family will be thrilled when son gets a proposal from his fiance!


Big Grin
The "talk" among coaches of various schools is nothing to be feared and, in some cases, can be quite helpful. For example, a recruiter from "School A" may see your son play and, even though School A may not have room on its roster for someone like your son, School A's recruiter could be impressed enough to tell a recruiter friend he knows at School B.

It is my understanding that such info sharing is common and quite a few players are "placed" via these types of referrals...just like in the business world.
I meant to echo similar thoughts in this post. At this point, I don't think a college coach would think it unusual for your son to be inquiring at as many colleges as he can. This is not to say that mass mailings, impersonal and not strategized, are in order. It really makes sense (and this idea is reiterated elsewhere on this site) to start making a list of real choices of colleges..not just any old college. You'll save time and money.
quote:
Originally posted by parent:

By the way, this "dating" stuff is tough. I think our whole family will be thrilled when son gets a proposal from his fiance!


I know how you feel. I am new to the board and this is my first post. I have a son who is a junior. I have a question. My son has received several letters from large D1 schools. He has also been offered two unofficial visits. My question is that he has not received anything from small D1s or JUCOs. Is this normal? I am not sure a large D1 is a good fit for him.
tigermom5, Welcome to the HSBBW.
Sometime's you have to show interest in them also spcially the smaller D1's.
D3 and Juco's usually wait for some contact by the player first.
They don't get caught up in Underclassmen for recruiting.
They don't have the resources for that.
So they wait to see who is left after heavy recruiting by the Major D1's.
Like you said you don't know what the right fit is?
That's OK, You still have time.
It's OK to contact them.
EH
Yes coaches will talk. My son ended up at a D1 after a travel team coach let his Alma Mater know that my son was interested. As others said, the school needs to have a program that your son is interested in. Look at the NCAA website. You can search for schools with baseball, by division, region, conference,and Academic Major...lots of info. If school A has baseball and the right academic program look at the conference they are in. Those schools will usually be similar schools in size, baseball skills and academics. If you are looking at 5 of the 10 conference schools, then having the coaches talk can be a good thing.

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