Assistance Needed

dpatrick,

Welcome to HSBBWeb, I'll try to kick this off. I'm not going to sugarcoat it.... you have a lot to learn in a short amount of time for the dad of a 2013 just getting into this. In addition, CA is probably the hardest place to get recruited. Lots of supply, and very few roster spots.

Your son could play at the next level but it is going to take some effort and possibly a change in the way he is approaching this. What level of baseball are you pursuing? Do you think it is the right level? What have coaches told you so far? What is your gut feeling about what has gone right and wrong so far? What is THE most important aspect to your families college decision (in order).....financial, academic or athletic?

This college basecall recruiting thing can be done, and I suggest the best way to get started is 1) Read many of the posts in this recruiting section of HSBBWeb 2) Sit down with your son to figure out what it is that he wants out of the next four years. Discuss goals, distance from home, majors, etc... then review the schools you are going after. Can you go after more similiar schools by expanding your geography? The reason for these questions is that sometimes folks try to be all things to all recruiters. That approach works well for very few. Let's try to figure out what your son wants, match that to some schools and work a strategy to try to get in front of them.

Please think these questions over and get back on the board by sharing more information and thoughts. There is SO much wisdom and experience on this board. Let's get you tapped into it. I look forward to continuing this thread.

Recruited = passion + skill + persistence + exposure + luck

I think that my son needs to seek more assistance from his coaches and other contacts who know his skills to give him suggestions and feedback. I think this would help him to know if he is on the right track or not. I know it is best if he does this rather than myself because he knows what to ask and it is good for him gain skills in conversing and building relationships. I tell him to be confident, put himself out there, and not to be ambivalent about finding out the opinions of others. A coach who knows his skills well and whom he trusts believes that he could play D1 baseball. He would definitely consider the other options in order to continue playing baseball.

He really has been proactive seeking out information and letting us know what he needs in terms of helping him to research colleges and majors and telling us about showcases and camps that he thinks are good ones for him to attend. I have learned most of what I know from him and he has encouraged us to seek info on this website.

I think that he would prefer to attend college in CA close to where we live, but would consider out-of-state colleges if we could afford it, it had his academic interests, and he liked the area. He has recently suggested we research colleges outside of CA after getting this advise from the website.

He certainly has the passion, skills, and persistence, but needs more exposure and luck.

dpatrick:

It sounds like your son has a great start down the recruiting path, and he's fortunate to have you at his side as a resource and for support. In my mind (and in the minds of a great many college coaches), players who really want to play at the next level will devote time and energy to their own recruiting process; and, you're right, the effort will help mature him and prepare him to take those next important steps beyond high school.

Welcome...and come back frequently to share your experience and pose any questions that arise along the way!

It sounds as though you are doing all the right things. The one suggestion I would have at this stage is to be sure that the Summer and Travel Ball Teams he plays on participates in the events that are actively scouted.

I am not familiar with the best West Coast events, hopefully someone from the left coast will jump in and make some suggestions.

The more I see of youth baseball up to college, the more I would forgo the pitching/hitting lessons and hire my son a good public relations firm. It doesn't always appear to me and others that talent alone is the key, but that "they" like you.

Check out the Arizona Senior Fall Classic (http://www.azfallclassic.com/senior_classic/index.htm) and the All-Academic Game (http://www.azfallclassic.com/all_academic/2012_Academic_Game_Info_Sheet.pdf). The Sr Fall Classic helped son get a lot of exposure and I have heard WONDERFUL things about the Academic game...but your son needs to have a 3.5 AND 1700 SAT or 27 ACT in order to try out for the Academic Game. I think there are a number of teams from your area that attend the Fall Classics.

quote:

dpatrick said....I think that my son needs to seek more assistance from his coaches and other contacts who know his skills to give him suggestions and feedback. I think this would help him to know if he is on the right track or not. I know it is best if he does this rather than myself because he knows what to ask and it is good for him gain skills in conversing and building relationships. I tell him to be confident, put himself out there, and not to be ambivalent about finding out the opinions of others. A coach who knows his skills well and whom he trusts believes that he could play D1 baseball. He would definitely consider the other options in order to continue playing baseball.

He really has been proactive seeking out information and letting us know what he needs in terms of helping him to research colleges and majors and telling us about showcases and camps that he thinks are good ones for him to attend. I have learned most of what I know from him and he has encouraged us to seek info on this website.

I think that he would prefer to attend college in CA close to where we live, but would consider out-of-state colleges if we could afford it, it had his academic interests, and he liked the area. He has recently suggested we research colleges outside of CA after getting this advise from the website.

He certainly has the passion, skills, and persistence, but needs more exposure and luck.

So let's discuss the exposure and luck side of the recruiting equation. Blue10 hass suggested some individual showcases. I've heard from her and others that these are very good showcases. You may want to consider them.

You think your son needs more assistance from his coaches. I agree. You and your son should have communicated your goals to the coaches. Your son's coaches should be following through with college coaches, and giving you feedback on what is working and not working in those discussions I know in my oldest son's case, his travel coach was abolutely his biggest advocate. He was contacting schools left and right. My son also had his own list of schools and they would discuss the status of both lists when they could. Truthfully, I'm having a hard time understanding why this hasn't happened in your situation. Here are some of my additional thoughts on the topic:

1) Possibly the answer is that he is playing up on an older team (he is playing 19U American Legion), and most college recruiters are looking at 17U travel tournaments and showcases. If I was a coach, I would go to a place that had the most talented 17 year old players that I could see at one time. I would not go to an American Legion game to see one or two 17 year old players.

2) Possibility American Legion may not be the best venue to showcase your son's talent. American Legion tends to be very local, so you aren't getting the State, regional or even national exposure that you would playing on a travel team. So if your son aspires to play college baseball outside of your area, he needs to get expsosure where he wants to get recruited.

3) CA is a big state, and very competitive from a college baseball recruiting perespective. I think you should consider schools outside of CA. Contact these schools (that you've qualified), and ask them what showcases they will be at this summer and fall.

4) I would consider finding a travel team in the Fall that showcases where your son wants to play, or attend as many recruiting camps for the schools I was interested in on your own. He needs to get in front of these schools between now and November. This may require quite a bit of travel and expense.

The more schools (fitting your son's profile) that see your son the better his chances to get recruited. You make your own luck.

PS...I'm very fond of American Legion. My oldest son played American Legion AFTER he was recruited. He enjoyed it tremendously. Local college coaches came to see many of the players in the games.

My middle son is playing American Legion right now, and he also likes it very much. However, he isn't playing for recruiting purposes. He's pretty much decided he will be an engineering major in college and he will not have time for baseball. If he decided tomorrow that he wanted to play baseball in college, we would be doing all the things I listed above.

Does this make sense? Are we on the right track in this discussion? Please let me know. Thanks.

Thanks all for your assistance!

Fenway South: Unfortunately we could not afford to have my son play on one of the local travel ball teams that play showcases that are scouted. The legion team was affordable due to sponsorship and gave my son the opportunity to play with more skilled players. His legion coach is a college coach, so I have encouraged my son to use him as a resource and to ask him about his opinion of his skills and potential for playing college ball.

His high school coach did recommend him for the BAWS future prospects evaluation which led to him being invited to the BAWS tournament.

Fenway South:

I agree that we need to target the colleges that my son is really interested in attending. We are communicating more about this and working together better. I have told him that I can talk to his coaches in addition to him talking to them if he wants me to.

Yes, you can contribute toward creating your own luck. The Chinese say that to tell someone that they are lucky is the highest compliment you can give someone!

dpatrick,

Best of luck, and please let us know how you progress.

PS..Your offer to help your son talk to his (Legion)coaches is a good one. Your son is probably feeling a lot of recruiting pressure right now. I know we felt it a couple of years ago. I'd like to suggest that you talk to his coaches together. This gives your son the assurance that he is not alone in this effort, and you learn more about the recruiting process. In terms of talking to potential college coaches, I would leave that up to your son to handle.

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quote:

Originally posted by Pop Up Hitter dad:
....It doesn't always appear to me and others that talent alone is the key, but that "they" like you.

I certainly agree with Pop up H dad and this is why I always suggest that players visit the colleges they have most interest in (often) and have a REAL chance of actually playing there. I believe that coaches want to get to know you and the best way to do that is to visit. I believe they want to know you are really interested in playing for them and their school. It is a little late for your 2013 grad to be going to camps and such as that. So you need to contact the recruiting coordinators and schedule visits now if you can, certainly go later this fall. You can call them anytime. Since your son is a senior this year coaches can call him back most any time, except certain periods.

I would target smaller schools. In our area these are NAIA sanctioned schools and junior colleges. See if HS coach will recommend your son to any of these schools. They are almost always looking for another good player. But I imangine JUCOs in CA are hard to get roster spots on with so many trying to play in that state?

Goo luck.

quote:

Originally posted by dpatrick:
Suggestions for what to do to get coaches interested in recruiting him are needed.

Hello and welcome to the forum.

If you can afford it, expand his exposure to the east coast as well. My son had some west coast schools interested based on us getting him out your way. Additionally if there are a couple of schools on the list that have camps, that is always a good way to get direct exposure. Just make sure his list is not unrealistic, like the top 25 of college baseball. Typically those schools will let you know or will have heard about your son already.
As others have suggested, once you have established which schools are most likely the right fit, you need to focus on those schools to quickly establish whether they have any interest or not. If they don't show any, you need to move on as most programs will be quick to let you know if there is any interest.

I can't recall if you mentioned SAT/ACT scores, but those are very important for admission and academic money. Having your son prep and improve his scores is also a very important component in his quest.

Feel free to ask any questions because the majority of forum members are very willing to give sound advice.