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For anyone who can help

B Brezdog5910+ posts
I will be entering college in the fall and im not sure where im going yet. Ive struggled so much trying to find a school where i can play. Initially i was planning on walking on at a small D1 school but that fell through as a kid got an extra year of elgibility. I found this out about a month ago and since ive been trying to find a place to go and play junior college ball and ive struggled with that too. Baseball is really important to me and i really cant go without playing. Im from illinois and play 2nd base but i am capable of playing any position it doesnt matter to me. if anyone has any advice or can help at all that would be greatly appreciated
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Infield08Infield081,000+ posts
How many college coaches have you contacted this summer? At this point, the number should be in the dozens. Let us know:

* what you've done so far to "market" yourself
* whether you are playing this summer
* if you are being seen by college coaches this summer
* if you are attending any college camps this summer

Once you've answered the questions, we will be glad to offer suggestions on how to proceed.
Last edited by Infield08
Infield08Infield081,000+ posts
quote:
Initially i was planning on walking on at a small D1 school but that fell through as a kid got an extra year of elgibility. I found this out about a month ago


Brezdog59, according to a post you made last November, you discovered the info about the player getting an extra year of eligibility back then.

http://hsbaseballweb.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/4686003481/...051087852#5051087852

How many schools have you contacted since last fall?

Two other questions:

1. Are you still running a 7.9 60?
2. What is your current height and weight (back in November, you said you were 5'9, 165 lbs.)
Last edited by Infield08
ClevelandDadClevelandDadHSBBWeb Administrator
If my son asked me the same question, here is what I would do:

1) Call every juco coach in the state, tell them your background, and see if you can get a try out with them as soon as possible. Perhaps they will be attending a local tournament you are in as well. You might want to start out with the juco's closet to you. Below is a listing of all juco's in Illinois. Start today and don't stop until you have talked to each coach. Many jucos don't start until late August or September so you still have time. Also, contact some of the local D2 or D3 colleges and find out what their needs are. You still have time to enroll if you get busy and find an opportunity.

http://www.illinois.gov/learning/community_colleges.cfm

2) Attend every showcase, camp, and/or pro tryout you can in the next two weeks or so.

3) Work every minute of every day until you find a home. If you have decent talent and the will power to see this through, you ought to be able to get this done. Now get to work Smile

Here is my favorite story to help motivate you:

Jeff was my son's teammate and he was 5'-6" tall in cleats. He did not make varsity until his senior year in high school and was a low 80's left-handed pitcher. Jeff "assumed" he had no shot to play in college so he signed with the Air Force in early May. As our team progressed in the high school playoffs that spring, Jeff's phone started to ring. He had college coaches who were making him offers. Jeff tried to get out of his Air Force comittment to pursue baseball but it was too late. Don't be like Jeff. Don't assume anything. Take the bull by the horns and make it happen for yourself.
B Brezdog5910+ posts
Sorry i worded that wrong i did find out last November about that but it was just in the last month or so that i realized that the spot was no longer guaranteed it was originally just seen as another person playing my position and made it tougher to play. I played legion ball for taylorville this summer and had a really good summer as i ended up hitting .468. Ive tried contacting 11 different schools in illinois kentucky and missouri. most of these have told me that all scholarships were filled and if i wanted to try and walk on i was more than welcome. got my 60 time down to a 7.78 still not fast but im working my butt off to get faster and the best ball player i can be. i do make up for my speed with good base running, i ended up with 8 stolen bases on the summer. Im still 5'9 but im weighing 155 now. My favorite out of all the junior colleges has told me i could come and tryout and everything and i know i have the work ethic and ability to play there its just that honestly i couldnt go without playing ball and that small chance kinda scares me.
Infield08Infield081,000+ posts
Brezdog59, it sounds as if you have been working hard to become a better player. That is great!

I'm glad you have put in calls to 11 schools and gotten a sense of where you stand with them. Are there no other schools that you can call? Any others in neighboring states that would interest you? If so, make contact with ALL of those this week. Time is of the essence.

Cleveland Dad had excellent suggestions. Can you try out at some JUCO's you haven't contacted yet? Call and ask the coach. If they saw you in person, they might be able to make you an offer or refer you to another school that can.

Are there any showcases coming up in the the next 2 weeks that you can participate in? Ask around.

Also, you might want to ask your high school and legion coaches to make some calls on your behalf. If you know any pro scouts, you can ask for their help too.

If you are still limited to the 11 after doing all you can, it's time to make some decisions. Of the 11, which one would you most want to attend if baseball were not a factor? That might the route to go, since you do not have any guarantees that you will be playing there. If you desire to play baseball first and foremost, perhaps you should choose the program on the "lowest rung" of the ladder where you have a better chance of making the team.

Best wishes as you proceed. Please let us know how things turn out!
Last edited by Infield08
Infield08Infield081,000+ posts
Brezdog, here are three upcoming showcases in your neck of the woods:

The Iowa TPX TOP 96
Daniels Park - Coe College
Cedar Rapids, IA - July 28th and 29th 2008

The Illinois Summer TPX TOP 96
Trout Park
Elgin, IL - August 5th and 6th 2008

The Indiana South TPX TOP 96
Greyhound Park - University of Indianapolis
Indianapolis, IN - August 16th and 17th 2008

For more info, click on the following link:

http://www.worldwidebaseballprospects.com/pages-added/camps-and-showcases.php

If you decide to attend a showcase, do as much advance work as possible. Call or email the showcase organizers and find out which colleges will be in attendance. Then contact those colleges and let them know of your interest. Tell them that you will be at the showcase and you hope they will be able to see you play.

Hey, wait! I can do one better. I found the TPX website and it lists the colleges that will be in attendance.

http://www.top96.com/

If you are interested in certain colleges that aren't on the list, contact them and let them know you'll be there.
I IndyCoach10+ posts
I checked the lists of college coaches on that site.
This needs to be investigated because many of the names listed are not listed as coaches on the official sites of some of those colleges. Here is the link to Florida State where they list 23 coaches. None of which is the coach listed at these events.
Florida State roster and coaching staff
I know lots of college coaches that work at the schools listed and don't recognize very many of the coaches that are listed as instructors at these events. Some that I do recognize are volunteers and not the fulltime coaches that handle recruiting. Something doesn't add up here, this is misleading!
T TripleDad500+ posts
Interesting, I just looked at my local tpx. Here is the breakdown.

Div I coaches listed 12
Head coach 3
Asst: 1
Volunteer Asst. 4
Adm. Asst 1
Not on staff 3

Div II coaches listed 3
Head coach 1
Asst: 1
Volunteer Asst. 0
Not on staff 1


Div III coaches listed 7
Head coach 3
Asst: 3
Volunteer Asst. 0
Not on staff 1


NAIA coaches listed 2
Head coach 1
Asst: 0
Volunteer Asst. 0
Not on staff 1
shortstopmomshortstopmom1,000+ posts
We had two DI head coaches and two asistant DI coach's at the Springfield TPX Top 96 event. These coaches were hands on, as were the others.
I believe TPX had 14 colleges listed as expected attendees, but when we got there, there was double that. It was a nice suprise.

I do know of boys who received offers on the spot. That means these guys were actively recruiting.

FWIW Smile
Last edited by shortstopmom
shortstopmomshortstopmom1,000+ posts
bb10,
Dadgumit,..would have liked to have met you all as well. Smile
I probably should have asked on the HSBBW as to who was attending so that more of us could have linked up, but we jumped on board at the last minute and were kind of flying by the seat of our pants to get there.

It was a good camp. Glad to hear your son had a good experience too!!
My son got the chance to dabble a little at " catcher " ( a position he played before highschool ) with the Southern University coach and had a blast!

Blitzen' hot,...many many campers, sometimes rainey and humid,....but overall good times, indeed.

If you would, please let us know how next year goes as well.
Last edited by shortstopmom
G 2024GradDAD10+ posts
Brezdog59

My advice would be to go see the juco coach who offered you a tryout and tryout for him immediately. Get his feedback on your chances of making his team. If he says you are not ready to play for him see if he will give you a redshirt year to show him what you got in practice. Don't even mention scholarship. If he agrees then you better make sure you outwork everyone on that team and have a great attitude so he'll keep you around for the rest of the year. You better hit the weightroom too. Not many teams are looking for little guys who run a 7.70 60 yard dash. Your game needs to be solid defense, consistent hitting, and good baseball instincts.

Hopefully this will buy you an extra year to find a place where you can play for 4 more years. You may have to go NAIA or NCAA D-III, but there is a place for you to play, you just need to find it. If things work out at the juco, great. If not you may need to swallow your pride and find a program that is just trying like heck to fill a roster every year. Trust me, they're out there.

One final consideration. If you have turned in all your academic information to the NCAA Clearinghouse and have received word that you are a qualifier then that enables you to transfer after one year at the juco if things don't work out there for baseball. Just be sure you take 12 credit hours of real courses per semester that a 4 year school will accept. If you are a nonqualifier for NCAA athletics then you must get your AA degree and transfer the required amount of credits to get into an NCAA school. Otherwise you will be limited to NAIA schools. You could also look at the NCCAA (National Christian College Athletics Association). There are many schools in this athletic association that have baseball and would love to have you. The competition is not as good but hey, its a place to play.
ClevelandDadClevelandDadHSBBWeb Administrator
quote:
Originally posted by 2024GradDAD:
Brezdog59

My advice would be to go see the juco coach who offered you a tryout and tryout for him immediately. Get his feedback on your chances of making his team. If he says you are not ready to play for him see if he will give you a redshirt year to show him what you got in practice. Don't even mention scholarship. If he agrees then you better make sure you outwork everyone on that team and have a great attitude so he'll keep you around for the rest of the year. You better hit the weightroom too. Not many teams are looking for little guys who run a 7.70 60 yard dash. Your game needs to be solid defense, consistent hitting, and good baseball instincts.

Hopefully this will buy you an extra year to find a place where you can play for 4 more years. You may have to go NAIA or NCAA D-III, but there is a place for you to play, you just need to find it. If things work out at the juco, great. If not you may need to swallow your pride and find a program that is just trying like heck to fill a roster every year. Trust me, they're out there.

One final consideration. If you have turned in all your academic information to the NCAA Clearinghouse and have received word that you are a qualifier then that enables you to transfer after one year at the juco if things don't work out there for baseball. Just be sure you take 12 credit hours of real courses per semester that a 4 year school will accept. If you are a nonqualifier for NCAA athletics then you must get your AA degree and transfer the required amount of credits to get into an NCAA school. Otherwise you will be limited to NAIA schools. You could also look at the NCCAA (National Christian College Athletics Association). There are many schools in this athletic association that have baseball and would love to have you. The competition is not as good but hey, its a place to play.

2024GradDAD - outstanding advice!! A warm welcome to you here on the hsbbweb! A great way for you to start out here and join this great baseball community. Again, welcome Smile
B Brezdog5910+ posts
Just figured id check back in and let everyone know that everything is finally worked out. It has really been a struggle and nearly driven me insane but this last weekend i worked out for Southeastern Illinois College. Ill most likely be moving from my natural position at 2nd to either 3rd or short but im excited and cant wait to play some ball at SIC. I got everything set up yesterday for classes and an apartment and baseball starts next friday. Im pretty excited for all of this. Thank you to everyone who gave me advice and all i really apreiciate it.
ClevelandDadClevelandDadHSBBWeb Administrator
quote:
Originally posted by Brezdog59:
Just figured id check back in and let everyone know that everything is finally worked out. It has really been a struggle and nearly driven me insane but this last weekend i worked out for Southeastern Illinois College. Ill most likely be moving from my natural position at 2nd to either 3rd or short but im excited and cant wait to play some ball at SIC. I got everything set up yesterday for classes and an apartment and baseball starts next friday. Im pretty excited for all of this. Thank you to everyone who gave me advice and all i really apreiciate it.

Great story Brezdog - you made it happen

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