College Junior Day

Depending on the school size it could be up to 20 players, most likely a few less. They will give you a tour of the athletic facilities, and a meet and greet with some of the coaches, and as you mentioned a game. It should be viewed as positive as your son is likely on their short list of recruits. It is always exciting to be wanted and invited to an "invitation only event". This is a great opportunity to help your son develop the confidence to talk to coaches intelligently and with confidence so work up a list of questions and rehearse them with him. He is going to resist but go through the process as it will help him a lot to have worked through them first. He may not have the opportunity to ask some of them but it will help prepare him for future meetings. Business casual or khaki's and a polo are fine.(check his shoes  

BOF,

Thanks!  Your answers to my questions have been very helpful.  Now my son can hopefully have a little confidence going in armed with the insight and suggestions you have given us.

This will be a great opportunity for your son to make an impression, particularly if he is very interested in attending the school. If he has a chance, he should talk to the recruiting coordinator and/or his position coach about seeing him play. Try to find out where they recruit in the summer/fall, as it could make a difference in the events he chooses to attend. Do they scout at high school games? Do you know people in common (coaches, players, scouts, etc)? Will you be attending any of their games this spring? If so, let them know when you plan to be there.

Also, they will probably present quite a bit of information. Your son should note specifics about GPA and standardized test requirements, how the team works with Admissions, scholarship funding, positions of need in his class, fall tryouts (i.e. cuts), academic support, etc. Chances are he will be referring back to that information over the next year.

These trips should be fun for your son. Hopefully he can relax and enjoy it.

MidAtlanticDad,

Great info!  This school is one of the few D1's that fit the academic profile that we are looking for.  I'm hoping this visit will really get him excited about the recruiting process and who knows, maybe this school will be a great match for him.  if not, I hope that my son will start to really be proactive about finding the school that is right for him.

My son got to go to 2 of those. As FYI, in his case they invited parent(s) as well and I went. If you go, just be a shadow and let you son take the lead. When they have a Q&A, I would suggest your son as a question as it show interst. Mine asked (with my promting before hand), "What happens for classes that are missed when the team travels?" Easy question, Something like that that can help coach explain more of day to day of a baseball player in college. He actually went there with 3 questions in case they answered the other 2 . All in the same vein of college life for a baseball player at that school.

Someone here said, as far as attire, don't wear a hat. I know at least my boy has a hat on whenever is thinks he can. 

YERT16,

You've been given great advice.  Your son has a great opportunity in front of him,  In addition to the suggestions that have been provided, I would go into this prepared and ready to be impressed.  My son did two junior days with two D1 schools that couldn't be any more different from each other.  My son walked away from each totally blown away with the athletic and academic programs.  It was a tremendous learning experience, as these schools became the benchmark from which other future schools (official and unofficial visits) would be measured by him..  My son got to spend time with a sponsor (baseball player in his major) and the team to see if this was a fit for him.  It will be a great learning experience for your son.  Good luck! 

Not sure if I'm invited yet but we'll know this week.  I wouldn't mind going only for the sake of observing how my son interacts with everyone. (more like a fly on the wall)  He is very reserved. I'd like to be able to provide feedback to him so that he can learn and get better from each visit that he may have.

Did anyone's son eventually receive an offer or end up attending a school where they attended a Junior Day?

This date doesn't apply anymore, as they can contact as of September 1st of junior year now.

I wonder how that will effect Junior Days, if at all.

Yes, absolutely. He ended up attending one, and virtually every other school that offered him invited him to their Junior Day.

As has been mentioned in the other knowledgeable posts here, Junior Day is usually reserved for the players that are under serious consideration. While the format among various Junior Days can vary quite a lot, serious consideration is the common thread.

That's good to know.  I think this will also be the kind of motivation my son needs going into the upcoming baseball season.  Letting him know that his hard work will not be in vain and that if he continues on this path in the classroom and on the field, schools will take notice.

Yes, both of these schools offered.  In addition, he went to a many (10) unofficials and a few (2-3) officials.  Son accepted an offer to a comparable baseball level for his junior days.  For us, the baseball was important but my son liked to hear about the academic programs directly from the Dean of the engineering school.  Junior Days and some official visits allowed him that experience.

This should be a great experience for your son.   Enjoy and good luck.