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19 replies

First thing question

J jdawg_2410+ posts
I'm sure this question gets asked a lot but I am new.

For all of you in the process or now out of the recruiting process...What was the starting off point for your son's recruiting? showcase/hs season/summer team etc.

My son is a '14 catcher and starting HS season soon. Also is committed to a very competitive summer team.
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P 4pApA100+ posts
What started it for us was playing for showcase in the summer after 9th grade. He played last year as well (different team) and went to East Cobb for the first time. He will play again this summer and focus more on the "recruiting" aspects of these opportunities than before as the colleges can "talk" to him after 7/1.
HS is a hard way to get noticed unless you play for the "powerhouse" in your area. Our son’s team is average and without a lot of exposure in the local newspapers, TV, etc., it is hard to get noticed. While locally, it matters who wins the district, region, etc., more players get noticed from showcases versus HS.. JMO
SdleftySdlefty500+ posts
Jdawg, I would look at college camps/clinics in your area. This provided good exposure for our son, which led to an offer.

I would recommend that you investigate potentail camps/clinics before hand by calling the coach and asking how many kids they expect. If it a reasonable number it should be fine. If it gets to large it's unmanegable.
Lefty
J jdawg_2410+ posts
Thanks for the replies; we definitely stress academics and so far so good with that (still very early). We are definitely not a HS powerhouse and we are looking forward to summer ball.

Eric G--I was thinking about the PG in August but didn't know if it would be too early. Also, how much do coaches pay attention to the berecruited profiles?
jjinmojjinmo10+ posts
quote:
Also, how much do coaches pay attention to the berecruited profiles?


That's a good question that I would like to know too! I have used the service for about a year now. Using the tools on the site to help me find colleges that interest me has been helpful and it's a good way to post videos. My video's get alot of views but I don't know by who. But as far as "being discovered" by coaches, I don't know how helpful it has been. I have had some coaches "bookmark" my profile, and have had about 75 coach views but has not resulted any direct contact from coaches without me contacting them first. But that may be expected I guess, they still want to see you in the flesh hitting, throwing, catching, and fielding at their camp. Can't blame them for that.

Anyway, that's a good question...can anyone shed light on this subject?
Last edited by jjinmo
S stanwood100+ posts
Being as your son is a freshman the starting off point is academics. Stress this as much as you do his baseball. If the recruitment of your son comes down to two kids with equal ability the school/coach will take the kid with the best chance to succeed in the classroom.

Assuming his academics are being taken care of I think the next step at 14 is to find the very best club/travel team you can find. A team with a coach in it with the right priorities and who knows how to teach the game. This team needs to play the hardest schedule against the best teams possible. His team, and he, will get better faster. The trophies aren't important, his growth as a player is.
bsbl247bsbl2471,000+ posts
*As stanwood said above, make sure you stress academics with your son, it's important to get off to a good start in HS and maintain it.

*After Frosh year, find a good summer team that your son can play for and gain the most exposure.

*Attend college camps in your area, targeting schools of interest.

*Sign up and participate in a couple high profile showcases in your area, preferably Perfect Game.

*Tryout for a Scout-Ball team in your area.

*Help your son set up a "recruitment folder" to help keep track of communications with schools on your son's radar.

*READ the RECRUITING TIMELINE on the HSBBWeb...there's some great stuff on that link.

Best of luck to your son!
PrepsterPrepster10,000+ posts
Scout teams are more prevalent in some parts of the country than others. Where they exist, they're summer teams that are organized by local professional scouts. Because of the scout's involvement, they tend to involve some of the area's best players. Where scout teams aren't found, you tend to have equally attractive alternatives in the form of travel teams.

All of these would tend to fall into Eric G.'s early recommendation in this thread: to find the best summer team you can so that you're playing the best competition in front of scouts and recruiters.

Best of luck to your son!
Last edited by Prepster
L Leftysidearmom100+ posts
quote:
Originally posted by stanwood:
Being as your son is a freshman the starting off point is academics. Stress this as much as you do his baseball. If the recruitment of your son comes down to two kids with equal ability the school/coach will take the kid with the best chance to succeed in the classroom.

Assuming his academics are being taken care of I think the next step at 14 is to find the very best club/travel team you can find. A team with a coach in it with the right priorities and who knows how to teach the game. This team needs to play the hardest schedule against the best teams possible. His team, and he, will get better faster. The trophies aren't important, his growth as a player is.


I couldn't agree more. As a freshman,focus on your grades NOW. Your first two years in HS are the most important when it comes to GPA. It could mean the difference when you are up against someone equal in talent. Coaches are more likely to take a chance on you when they feel confident that you'll be able to handle the academics/baseball balancing act.

Get on a travel/showcase team that has a reputation for visibility (be careful there are many out there that don't get seen much) as soon as possible.

Curious...it is often mentioned here to "Play in a PG Game". Well, how does one new to the process do this? Is it invite only? Is there a website to register? Are there tryouts? How does a player get to play at a Perfect Game?
Last edited by Leftysidearmom
BH B HolsombachMember
During my son's freshman year he listed all the possible places he would like to go to college. We went to their camps/showcases one at a time and started to narrow his choices. The list changed year to year and being on the campus with the coaches really helped him make his decision.

For him it was who wanted him the most and where he would have the best chance to play early. Ended up signing at a place that was never on any of his list.
AM AL MA 08100+ posts
IMHO, it all starts with defining some goals and conducting or obtaining (self?) assessments or evaluations of what level do you really have a chance of playing at. First decide if your son strives to play with a D1/D2/JUCO team in your region (i.e. UK or Louisville) or go somewhere else (across country?) to go to a specific school for a certain major/ball program/location. These objectives may not be met with the same approach. Your son's goals may not match yours; work this out so you are all striving for the same goals.

I wouold say that was the starting point for us. We decided to go to as many camps that we could for our top choices for schools. In some instances this meant declining invites to play at some big tournaments and other events. This paid off for us.

Certainly wishing good luck to your son as you start this process.
Last edited by AL MA 08
CollegeParentNoMoreCollegeParentNoMore1,000+ posts
In case you haven't seen this in the catching forum, you might find this helpful as your son appears to be a catcher:;

In reponse to a question about what a particular former college coach was looking for in a catcher and how they found catchers:


quote:



1. Athlete
2. Passion for the game
3. Student
4. Offensive potential
5. Catch & throw potential
6. Can he play?

Being a catching guy, it's hard for me to put offense above defense in this position but I always felt if we had an athlete with character we could develop his defensive skills.It was much more difficult to take a guy who had limited offensive skills & develop him into an above average offensive player.IMO the college game,especially with metal bats, is based on offense & pitching. There is little room in the lineup for a non offensive player. Certainly that is contingent upon the skills & abilities of the players who surround you.There are exceptions. But when you recruit in college baseball or scout for professional baseball, you have a role profile & if you make exceptions,you end up with a lot of mismatched parts.

We primarily found players at showcases.We got a lot of follows as the result of e-mails that were followed up by phone calls to coaches & local professional scouts.Once we had our list based on our needs, then we would see the players in games that meant something.We also saw lots of players in our camps. We always encouraged players who were interested in our school to attend camp so that we could have an extended look at them 7 have a hands on experience.

Hope this helps.

JW


http://hsbaseballweb.com/eve/f...751037862#8751037862
Last edited by CollegeParentNoMore
K ken100+ posts
quote:
Originally posted by B Holsombach:
During my son's freshman year he listed all the possible places he would like to go to college. We went to their camps/showcases one at a time and started to narrow his choices. The list changed year to year and being on the campus with the coaches really helped him make his decision.

For him it was who wanted him the most and where he would have the best chance to play early. Ended up signing at a place that was never on any of his list.


Same here. After it was all said and done the final 4 schools my son narrowed it down to after decisions were recieved where not even on his list when he was in 10th grade.
R rabe62100+ posts
first things first,raising a catcher and watching other catchers his age, the biggest mistake in the basball part(that i have witnessed) is keeping him behind the plate most of the time.ok, he's a catcher,that means he could play several other positions.he may only play catcher on the high school team but summer ball is the time he should play rf,3rd,1st,maybe pitch and help the team win games in other ways.catching is an ultimate grind and he may love it but someone needs to watch out for him ,cause he could burn himself out.between h.s. and summer ball he may play 50 games or more and thats alot of games to catch at early ages like 14,15, and 16. there's always alot of discussion about pitching a kid too much when he's young but what about too much catching too soon? anyway we didn't do P.G. or showcases but did play at high profile h.s. and several good club summer teams (tigers,knights,patriots)good luck this year and the many more to follow.
Last edited by rabe62
J jdawg_2410+ posts
You guys and your advice are great! Thanks so much. Good point on catching all the time Rabe. He got into HS games a couple of times last year at first and in the OF. He had fun doing something different.

I am having a hard time being patient but I know I have to be. Can't wait for the season to start; especially excited about the summer!

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