Hi All:
My son is sending out emails to coaches. I was a DI pitcher and my father was a DI outfielder at mid-major schools a million years ago. Is it meaningful for my son to include this in an email to coaches? Can mentioning a desire to continue family history of playing ball come off wrong? Does having family that's played at that level matter to coaches?
Thanks for any input.
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Just my opinion of course, but I would not start a dialog with that. The coaches find this stuff out though. Pretty much every kid my son played with or against who had a dad, uncle, brother or cousin who played D1, MiLB or MLB, this fact was widely known. They are often the better players to begin with, but the travel coaches talk etc.
Agree with Smitty. Of course, your son will earn looks based on his talent level, not what yours was. It can certainly be a positive data point but interest has to come first. Once interest starts coming, there will be plenty of opportunity for that topic to enter the conversation, if it isn't already known. Some possible exceptions would be if you were an absolute stud/record holder, if you played at the school he is talking to, etc..
Yes, it is something that some coaches would be interested to know. The flip side is that it is more impressive (at least to me) if the player is humble about it/determined to earn on his own merits and it happens to come up much further down the road in the recruiting process.
Also, it can make for a great conversation topic once a player is in dialog with RC's. Sometimes, it is hard for young players to come up with fun topics like that to make those discussions more relaxed and enjoyable.
I have a different opinion. Genetics play a big part in being a good baseball player. If there is a D1 history in your family I would absolutely include that information in an introductory email. I wouldn’t make it the focus but would add it as a footnote. It can be a separator. The fact that I was a player at a top D1 program got my kids more looks and ultimately helped both of them.
When the summer after freshman year ended my son was being recruited by 17u programs in the area. While out on an errand forty miles from home one day in an unfamiliar area I noticed one of the places. I dropped in to check it out. I introduced myself as the dad of RJM Jr. The coach warmed up and gave me the full tour.
While the coach had to take a phone call I checked out the alumni wall of fame. I asked about two players not from the area. Both played for a highly ranked college program. Both were drafted. One was a first rounder. The coach asked how I knew of them. I informed him I played college summer ball with their dads. Both dads were drafted. One played on Team USA. The coach started closing me about my son. In his mind he had my son rolled into the same talent pool as the dads and the other sons.
But I would never create this conversation. It came around naturally. My son chose another program. In college recruitment both kids (daughter played softball) were asked about athletes in the family. Given boys grow later than girls at sixteen my son was asked how tall is his older sister.
Some recruiting questionnaires my son filled out for colleges asked whether and what college sports parents played.
It definitely should be done tactfully or it could be a cheesy humble brag.
@2022NYC posted:It definitely should be done tactfully or it could be a cheesy humble brag.
Agree, but coaches look for kids that had dads that were players. So figure out how to do it tactfully.
Every questionnaire I have seen asks whether parents (and sometimes siblings) were college athletes, so I think it can matter. But I don't think it's a factor that is going to get a coach to respond to an initial email--and as others note, it could be a hard thing to mention tactfully as part of an introduction. I think I'd omit it; but I also don't think it's something you should be too concerned about either way. Others may disagree, but I think metrics are the only thing most coaches see when sifting through a few hundred unsolicited messages. Later in the process communications get more personal.
Baseballdad72:
Your son may desire to perform a "background" check on the Coach. Then in his e-mail mentioned that his father may have played in the same league. Ask the question. Did he know his father?
During the Area Code games, I often received names of players, who I recognize because of the father or grandfather.
La Roche's family, the Terry Francona family. His father Tito was from Detroit.
Bob
Most every questionnaire will ask. If he gets on the phone with coaches, they ask. Kind of funny. The only time my son volunteered that info was to Kansas State because both his uncle and dad pitched there and they never recruited him. I thought it was really odd that they didn't at least try since he came from a family of K State attendees and athletes.
Baseball genetics has zero to do with the success of a player. I have seen kids whose fathers were MLB players. When they were young, these kids were no better than anyone else (and sometimes worse). What was apparent, however, is that these boys got way more opportunities than anyone else. Like the bosses nephew... everyone fawned over the dad and grandfather. This allowed the kid to obtain the 'luxury of failure'. The luxury of failure is the key to success in this game. Without it, pressure builds and you have only one chance to make an impression.
I'm not complaining. I'm just telling it like it is. Which makes the answer to your question a hard 'yes'. You want to make sure you tell those coaches about the family history. It might be the only connection you need.
I tend to disagree on the genetics thing. There are just too many professional athletes, with stud athlete kids, in either college or pro.
@CaliDad posted:Baseball genetics has zero to do with the success of a player. I have seen kids whose fathers were MLB players and grandfathers were hall of famers. When they were young, these kids were no better than anyone else (and sometimes worse). What was apparent, however, is that these boys got way more opportunities than anyone else. Like the bosses nephew... everyone fawned over the dad and grandfather. This allowed the kid to obtain the 'luxury of failure'. The luxury of failure is the key to success in this game. Without it, pressure builds and you have only one chance to make an impression.
I'm not complaining. I'm just telling it like it is. Which makes the answer to your question a hard 'yes'. You want to make sure you tell those coaches about the family history. It might be the only connection you need.
I disagree. Genetics definitely plays a part in athletic ability. However, the athlete may not be marrying an athlete. A friend of mine was a 6’5” All American and made it to AAA. His first wife was a short, non athletic woman. His son didn’t make six feet and wasn’t good enough to make varsity. He joked (to me) his ex polluted the family gene pool. His second wife was tall and athletic. Their daughter was a D1 volleyball player.
We joke (kinda) with our kids, that you have to marry a breeder
My daughter is 5’10”. Boys tend to grow 6-8 inches taller than their mother. When she got married I told her when the time comes the ball goes in the left hand.
My wife is still annoyed that I didn't have our kids work from the left side. I totally get it, but it never occurred to me. She didn't know a thing about baseball until our kids started playing Shetland. Then she studied it like a hawk and realized after the fact that every kid from our boys' high school that was either drafted or went D1hit from the left side, even though maybe only 10% of them were natural lefties.
I’m L/L. It ticked me off I couldn’t play short after LL. So I taught both kids to be R/L. My son started hanging around his older sister’s practices at two years old. He hadn’t shown a hand preference yet. I taught him how to throw right. By five it was obvious he was left handed. I didn’t change him. He was going to be a stud SS. He played short through soph year of high school when he was switched to center.
Besides, who wants a left handed pitcher who threw 87/maxed 90 as a RHP who maybe could have thrown harder as a lefty? < sarcasm But it all worked out for him through college throwing right and playing seven positions. My daughter got switched from short to center in middle school. But she threw right handed naturally. She played outfield in college.
Just a bit of irony ... Despite throwing left I wrote and kicked right. My son threw right and wrote and kicked left.
@RJM Cracking up at your comments. I'm that Mom! 5'4" (although I was an athlete) with a 6'5" husband and I was sure I would have a deleterious effect on my kids' heights. Out of all three kids, my oldest daughter is the shortest at 5'8; my other daughter is 5'10" and my son passed Dad up last year. So there's hope for us average people. LOL
To me it’s a pretty good Indicator. Kids of athletic parents tend to be athletic from my experience over the years.I look at the swings of kids of fathers that I played with and you can’t tell me it’s by chance that their swings look very similar many times. Same with my kid, my Hs coach watched film of him last week and said right away it looks exactly like I did at that age. It’s not by chance.And yes it helps when I know the coach because I played against him 30 years ago. It’s not a huge topic of discussion but it does help break the ice if their is something common to talk about.
@baseballhs posted:We joke (kinda) with our kids, that you have to marry a breeder
We do too. We have to know the athletic qualifications of the Prospective Spouse. I just hope her famil does not do the same. Because I would fail that.
@RJM posted:I’m L/L. It ticked me off I couldn’t play short after LL. So I taught both kids to be R/L. My son started hanging around his older sister’s practices at two years old. He hadn’t shown a hand preference yet. I taught him how to throw right. By five it was obvious he was left handed. I didn’t change him. He was going to be a stud SS. He played short through soph year of high school when he was switched to center.
Besides, who wants a left handed pitcher who threw 87/maxed 90 as a RHP who maybe could have thrown harder as a lefty? < sarcasm But it all worked out for him through college throwing right and playing seven positions. My daughter got switched from short to center in middle school. But she threw right handed naturally. She played outfield in college.
Just a bit of irony ... Despite throwing left I wrote and kicked right. My son threw right and wrote and kicked left.
Funny you mention it. I'm right handed. Never attempted batting left. Then, a few years ago, did a simple test that determined I was right eye dominant, so decided to give it a try. Within about 30 BP swings I was noticeably better as a LHH with a lot more power. Holy crap. Why didn't I figure that out as a kid?
