Communication between pro scout & HS coach

quote:

by KC: How can we make sure that the pro scouts get the information they deserve from our HS coach

basicly it's out of your hands - -
that said, NO coach want's to look foolish or un co-operative to MLB scouts
regardless of how he views your son, he'd be incredibly stupid to ruin his future credibility


a few suggestions -

take a positive approach, this situation may push coach into being more organized with his rotation

as soon as he knows "tenative" starters, suggest he put them on his "phone message"

if ya still get NO co-operation from him, as a "last resort"
politely inform your coach that YOU DO UNDERSTAND that he is busy,
so you'll advise scouts to seek future info on "his" program from the AD,
Superintendant, and School Board President

(or - if ya feel like stirring things up a little, just start with my last suggestion)


good luck


.

KC -
I agree with Bee (well, maybe not his last suggestion ). With serious interest by pro teams, your coach has to be coorperative. It is certainly good reason to have an important discussion with him where you share your concerns, even if you have avoided such discussions in the past. This will be the scouts' last chances to see your son in action before the draft. Still, it would be a good idea to also suggest the scouts doublecheck with you the night before so they wouldn't be wasting a trip. Best of luck! Enjoy the ride.

KC - I would make sure that all the scouts do know exactly how to get in touch with the coach and that the coach understands what his role is.

Also, I know a mom that offered to put all scouts on a group email where she would keep them informed on a regular basis of schedule, etc. It appeared that most of the scouts were happy to give her their email and have this added communication. She also gave out her cell to them and many scouts would contact her if they were unable to confirm something with the coach. I always gave out my cell number to college coaches because I knew if the coach and son were preparing the field, etc. a coach wouldn't be able to confirm anything with them or provide last minute directions if needed.

However, our coach was always helpful with kids and communication - whether it be pro scouts or college coaches coming. Might require some creativity on your part, but again I don't think scouts or coaches care who they're getting the info from as long as it's reliable and accessible.

I am not understanding why your son is not on a regular rotation.
Coach I am sure will make every effort to accomodate the scouts. And like stated, might make him more organized.
If not, I am with Bee, have SON seek coach out and be positive. Because son's coach was in class all day, he sometimes would give son pitching rotation and then the scouts would call him, or son would call scouts or a voice message was left on our voicemail. Our son's HS coach was not inolved in recruiting but loved the excitement the scouts generated and did everything he could to help out.

Although this is an exciting time for many parents, we have to remember our sons are not the only player on the team.

The advice above was helpful. Son received one of his pro questionairre packets through school and it gave my son the opportunity to share with his coach how many he had received at home. Coach was receptive and actually gave son his home phone number to put on the info sheets so the scouts could reach him. We still don't have a pitching rotation, but he's now aware that this is for real. We're hoping for the best!

KCBaseball -
I agree with the above posts. Let the scouts know the rotation is not always consistent and make sure they have the coach's numbers and your contact information. In our experience, even with a set rotation, some scouts asked if we could confirm his starts. We gladly sent these scouts an e-mail the night before.

quote:

I am not understanding why your son is not on a regular rotation

Like KC describes, my son also did not have a regular rotation. To complicate things further coach would often tell me what day son was going to pitch...then call me a few days later and say he was thinking about changing the rotation...great guy...and overall very helpful with dealing with the scouts...but he tended to overthink things, IMO. Always worried about putting my son in the best possible situation, instead of just letting him throw when it was his turn.

Most of the scouts gave me their cell phone #'s and they had mine. Most checked in often including just a few hours before game time to make sure it was still a go. Having them grouped in my email also worked very well.

Just a side note...most of the scouts I dealt were not dumb people. I would also think that difficult coaches for whatever reason are not all that uncommon...and that scouts would be able to see what they needed to see in your son while on the mound.

Best of luck and enjoy the ride!

quote:

Coach I am sure will make every effort to accomodate the scouts

Don’t bet on that! Let me give you a different angle. During high school my son was a pitcher/catcher/3b. He was being scouted primarily as a catcher. His high school coach would purposely juggle his position at the last minute JUST to irritate the scouts to, as he said, let them know he was in charge. The scouts would call me to find out when he was catching and I would give them my best guess based on the strength of the team being played. A crosschecker flew in twice to see him catch and both times the coach put him at a different position. I went face to face with the coach about the situation and he said he was not going to make his lineup out to accommodate scouts, players, or parents. My son was listed as one of the top ten catchers by BA so the Scouting Bureau came in to video him so they could put his video on the MLB website. They had to video him pitching and listed him as a pitcher with the note at the bottom…. ”he also catches”

One of the most successful coaches around here, and also a member of the HSBBW, “PClark”, would put his pitching rotation on his answering machine so when scouts called they were assured of the current pitching rotation. In my opinion that is the way a coach should respond ...... but all coaches don’t do as they should! Should we question their motives? After all it IS their team ......
Fungo

Fungo

A HS coach with low self-esteem and protagonist tendencies, seasoned with a little jealousy?

If a coach acts "professional", treating scouts, players and his team with the professional courtesy they deserve, there would be no issues. Thankfully many do.

I have never heard anyone around here complain that the coaches were not accomodating for the players. I think many take pride in having their players considered for the draft. Son's coach even went out of his way to change son's schedule when a big agency came to town to watch him or anyone play.
I did hear scouts COMPLAIN often though, with so many kids to see between the HS, JC's and college, they were kept on a really tight schedule.

My son's school-brand new sophomore year-we(parents)put up a 4 foot screen around the backstop. His senior year developed into a prospect and coach takes
down the 4 foot screen and puts up a 6 ft screen(there are no bleachers directly behind home plate). He also planted plants there. Had to get chairs for the scouts to stand on to radar. 3 at a time. They either took turns or turned around and gave their readings to the other scouts that weren't at least 6'4".

Why did the coach do this?

quote:

His senior year developed into a prospect and coach takes
down the 4 foot screen and puts up a 6 ft screen(there are no bleachers directly behind home plate). He also planted plants there. Had to get chairs for the scouts to stand on to radar. 3 at a time. They either took turns or turned around and gave their readings to the other scouts that weren't at least 6'4".

I just shook my head whne I saw that.

quote:

I have ways of dealing with it that work, but will not post them.

Professionals adjust to the situation. High heel sneakers would have helped in Moc1's case.

We have a photo of a game my son was pitching at a rival HS field. The photo shows 15 scouts standing behind the 10 foot backstop covered with windscreen (no bleachers)all pointing guns at the windscreen. None could actually see the pitches. It was a crazy day!

I sympathize with your plight. My son's coach also does not have a regular pitching rotation. Tells players the night before who will be pitching. Similar to you. I can only imagine your frustration. I fear we may be facing this problem too as I suspect my son's high school coach does not fully support our son's interest in playing college ball. And son is a serious recruit with multiple letters from good schools..

An example:


Our son has had serious interest from a D1 school in our city. Last week, the school baseball team had a seminar on Mental Game. This particular D1 coach was invited. My son approached his high school coach and asked him to come up with him to talk to the D1 coach. High school coach ignored him but grabbed the short stop and brought him right up to the D1 coach! To back track, we have had (what I thought) was a good rapport with the high school coach. The coach says very little to son--not much negative, not much positive. To be fair, son is not the most outgoing guy but he's never been a problem, stays in excellent shape, no injuries and works hard at practice. Elsewhere on this website, this issue of indifferent coaches has been addressed. But I would never think a coach would actually thwart the efforts of kid who is being scouted.

Aren't coaches in a quiet period? How canthey go to a school? Just curious.

Yes it is a quiet period until March 1.