Do HS coaches usually tell players if college RC/HC contacts them?

Ours did with all three sons.  Especially if they were coming to watch them pitch.  Ours had a vested interest in our sons so they wanted them to succeed and helped in the recruiting process.  Did a great job of making sure we were kept  in the loop of any contact with college or pro scouts.

I did each time.  I do now in softball.  Keep in mind that a legitimate contact and one requesting participation in some camp with a generic list of names are two different things and I rarely handed out the camps stuff.  In fact, it became a weekly chore to deal with all of the "junk mail" I received with camp stuff generated by list and received in emails.  Finally, any correspondence that I received that had a player's name on it was handed to the player.  

Thank you. These were legitimate contacts. One for my older son that we found out about because they also contacted his summer and pitching coach. The other was for my younger son and only know about that because the HS coach told my older son about about it, but not his brother who the school was inquiring about.

Thank you for the responses, I thought it was normal for coaches to to tell their players. Just wanted to confirm.

Only if it was a call from a school he thought he'd be interested in. He talked to a few coaches, but only reported back on one or two. Most contact was direct or thru travel coach. 

Yes. Since his target schools were outside the region they were calling to inquire about him as a school citizen, team leadership and student. 

Some local D3’s came to watch other players. The coach told players after the game. He told players up front there was interest and fill out the online recruiting form. But not if/when they might be there. With the exception of one player game conduct was never a concern for the team. 

As long as the conversation was beneficial to the kid I'd imagine they'd be told.

 I know one Interim-HC who took a call from a college coach who was looking for a character reference on a player.  Interim-HC did not exactly sing the kid's praises especially in regards to some off-field choices.  The college coach had already gotten wind of some things and was looking for confirmation of things he'd heard about a player.  Interim-HC could only do so much in that situation.  There was only so far he was willing to go out on the limb to vouch for the kid, character wise, which was specifically what the college coach was calling about as the skill-set box had already been checked.

I don't believe the Interim-HC ever told the player about that phone call.  And I don't believe the college coach continued to recruit the kid.  

PitchingFan posted:

Ours had a vested interest in our sons so they wanted them to succeed and helped in the recruiting process.  Did a great job of making sure we were kept  in the loop of any contact with college or pro scouts.

This — a good kid with strong work ethic (and skills) will earn this support from his coach. My son drove most of his own recruiting, HS coach was the reference and confirmed what the college coaches were thinking. i felt like the two worked well together throughout process.

Having said that, I suspect (but do not know) that my son's youth travel coach (coached him up til 14, but well connected in baseball) and a few others reached out on his behalf. I don't know it for sure, but I think in those cases, the coaches went out on a limb to push for my son and probably wouldn't publicize in case it wasn't successful.

#1 Assistant Coach posted:

As long as the conversation was beneficial to the kid I'd imagine they'd be told.

 I know one Interim-HC who took a call from a college coach who was looking for a character reference on a player.  Interim-HC did not exactly sing the kid's praises especially in regards to some off-field choices.  The college coach had already gotten wind of some things and was looking for confirmation of things he'd heard about a player.  Interim-HC could only do so much in that situation.  There was only so far he was willing to go out on the limb to vouch for the kid, character wise, which was specifically what the college coach was calling about as the skill-set box had already been checked.

I don't believe the Interim-HC ever told the player about that phone call.  And I don't believe the college coach continued to recruit the kid.  

This story, is the exception, and not the norm.  90% of these type of conversations are on the up-and-up, and therefore are usually the college coach just doing due diligence.  I really can't imagine a HS coach not sharing a positive phone conversation, or even just an interest call from a college coach with a kid? 

As a JV HC and a HS teacher, I encourage kids to continue their educations AND their baseball careers.  I can't imagine not telling a kid that a college coach had called about them.  If done in a reserved and tempered way, it can only serve to motivate the kid (and younger teammates) in a positive, and encouraging direction.

Different sport (swim), but some did, some didn't.  My swimmer is transferring after her freshman year after getting off on the wrong foot with her college coach (through no, or maybe only minimal, fault of her own--it was at least 90% the coach), and her HS club coaches, who love her, are back at it, advocating for and advising her again.  So it pays to keep those relationships.  We did conclude recently that something a HS coach said, innocently, was blown completely out of proportion by her now-former college coach and gave him a negative impression of her before she ever got to campus.  I think HS coaches would do well to remember this and, barring a felony conviction by the player, keep it 100% positive.  College coaches are so used to hearing only glowing reports that any attempt by the HS coach to provide a more balanced analysis, even if the club coach thinks the player is the best thing since sliced bread, may be perceived by the college coach as overwhelmingly negative.  

Sometimes son would hear feedback from HS coach othertimes not. His travel (American Legion) coach tended to keep him more in the loop. Maybe that was a product that recruiting was heavier in summer or before HS season. On one occasion an AC/RC was anticipated to attend one of his HS games. Son found out about it from the head of guidance. HS Coach tended to be more of a character (confirmation) reference, rather then ability reference which the coaches previously had seen in showcases.

As a HS coach, it was certainly part of the job responsibilities to try to help players advance if they wished to do so.  The best way to do that over the long haul was to develop relationships with the regional HC's/RC's where possible and maintain a reputation of someone with integrity that would steer both the college and the player in the right direction toward a probable fit.  If there was a conversation with a college where the player was most likely not a fit for whatever reason, sometimes it would do no good to tell the player.  Sometimes it would.  If a player had character concerns and this was a turn-off for the RC, this is obviously a very slippery slope with regards to telling the player about the contact and conversation.  I would most likely be inclined to not tell the player of the specific school but instead be up front and tell him that I would be obligated to share with any school who asked about such concerns.  This type of general conversation with the player (in advance) has been a helpful tool at times with steering that player toward working out of the character issue.

A coach can't just give glowing reviews for all.  That conversation usually includes discussion with some detail around various skill sets and a checklist of pro's and con's, along with character/personality, grades, family, etc..  

Most HS coaches have some level of ongoing dialog with their players, at least occasional status checks on their recruiting efforts.  One of my sons is a RC for a small school, other side of the country.  He recruits California and will occasionally tap into my network of HS coaches by having me make a preliminary inquiry on a player.  I have made a handful of those calls in the last few weeks and each coach had at least a decent awareness of the recruiting status and likely direction of the player in question.

If a HS coach gives nothing but glowing references for less than stellar players, word will get around, and his word will become valueless. Best if he lets his players know that at his introductory speech to the team at the start of each year.

I would be extremely unhappy if I had found out that a college coach had contacted son's HS head coach and we had never heard about it.  Even if the HS coach couldn't give a great review of the kid, he owes it to the kid to let him know that coach(s) have contacted him.   It's a lot of work getting recruited and you can't afford to let any opportunity go to waste because your HS coach just didn't tell you about it.....good or bad.

Our coach just always handed my son a sticky note with the coaches name and contact info and said they want you to call.  We never had any idea what he said to the coaches or visa versa.

cabbagedad posted:

As a HS coach, it was certainly part of the job responsibilities to try to help players advance if they wished to do so.  The best way to do that over the long haul was to develop relationships with the regional HC's/RC's where possible and maintain a reputation of someone with integrity that would steer both the college and the player in the right direction toward a probable fit.  If there was a conversation with a college where the player was most likely not a fit for whatever reason, sometimes it would do no good to tell the player.  Sometimes it would.  If a player had character concerns and this was a turn-off for the RC, this is obviously a very slippery slope with regards to telling the player about the contact and conversation.  I would most likely be inclined to not tell the player of the specific school but instead be up front and tell him that I would be obligated to share with any school who asked about such concerns.  This type of general conversation with the player (in advance) has been a helpful tool at times with steering that player toward working out of the character issue.

A coach can't just give glowing reviews for all.  That conversation usually includes discussion with some detail around various skill sets and a checklist of pro's and con's, along with character/personality, grades, family, etc..  

Most HS coaches have some level of ongoing dialog with their players, at least occasional status checks on their recruiting efforts.  One of my sons is a RC for a small school, other side of the country.  He recruits California and will occasionally tap into my network of HS coaches by having me make a preliminary inquiry on a player.  I have made a handful of those calls in the last few weeks and each coach had at least a decent awareness of the recruiting status and likely direction of the player in question.

You need to get back into coaching HS baseball !!