For the Parents

Why would you not let the player know that a college coach or a scout had some sort of positive interest?

Why do you feel that you, as a travel team coach, should only have that knowledge even if they do find someone they like more?

quote:

What I am saying is that you as parents and players need to relax, especially this early in the process, because you have no idea as to the total picture--I am not going to up you hopes by telling you and your son that so and so coach talked to me about your son--the next day he may see a player at your sons position that he likes better and he may never call you---but the boy is creating interest

Another reason parents should educate themselves and take ownership of the recruiting process. It isn't the rocket science that the would-be behind the scenes puppet-masters make parents believe it is. Not even close.

I know a coach who tried to micro-manage player's recruiting. He has no team today. He's trying to make a living running tournaments.

Keep you in the dark and shovel manure on you. It's called the "mushroom treatment"

The reason you do not talk about it is because until the time the college contacts the player it is nothing but hearsay.

Do you want me to get your kid all excited and then the call never comes?--I think not

Dad04

I know you think you have all the answers but you don't--your statement only shows your distaste for people like me, those of us working for the kids ---you think we are all "puppet masters" --let me tell you sir you have no idea as to what goes on

It is not a matter of keeping someone in the dark ---it is a matter of in the early stages not getting their hopes up. If and when it happens all will be good

quote:

Originally posted by TRhit:

It is not a matter of keeping someone in the dark ---it is a matter of in the early stages not getting their hopes up. If and when it happens all will be good

Thinking out loud here on this one...but it seems to me that parents pay the $$ so that they can indeed get some kind of feedback as to whether or not their son is getting some kind of interest out there. If not, why come back?

Here in the south it's called "bang for the buck".



YGD

I like the players to know something, if not alot, about the school when they talk to the coaches.

What happens when the coach calls the players and the coach asks the player "what do you know about our program" and the answer is "nothing", I did not know you were interesting in me?

Here in the region I live in it is call not giving false hope---

Let me put it this way--I am speaking from experience of some 15 years and hundreds of kids and families--not just my experience with my own son-- the bottom line is what you call "bang for the buck"--our bottom line is players getting to colleges--we have them tour colleges while we have down time in tournaments--where do I say I don't talk to them about colleges?

All I can do is offer advice from my experiences--nowhere does it say you have to abide by it--

homerun

we talk regularly with our players and parents with regard to colleges

I guess perhaps I should not offer advice from experience anymore--

TR - Great post, thanks...

Signed,
Father of a rising junior...

quote:

Originally posted by TRhit:
homerun

we talk regularly with our players and parents with regard to colleges

I am trying to understand your approach, you do not let the players know there is specific positive interest from a school, but you educate the players and parents of 50+ schools that might have contacted you about a specific player?

Not trying to bust your balls, but I would think that you would let your player know there was some level interest from a school, so they could do some homework on the program.

Granted, if you have a bunch of super stars, the player can afford to pre-determine that a lower level program would not be of any interest, but shouldn't that be the families' choice?

Yeah, I kind of have to agree with some of the naysayers here. As this is my third time thru, there's interest when the coach calls or emails you (personal email) and/or he says "I saw you play and I'd like to talk with you" when you contact him.

The rest is fo-for-rah and handed out, in my experience, by coaches that need to fill a team.

I understand what you're trying to communicate to us TR, and I appreciate your sincerity. But as a parent of a rising senior (2011), I would want my son's HS Coach and/or his travel-ball coach to inform my son of possible interest from college coaches. I think it can be done tactfully without giving him "false" hopes and in a realistic manner. Not to mention, as you stated earlier, it's still relatively early in the recruiting game. The next four months are pretty important for kids that have a legitimate chance of signing in the early period come November.

247 son has been fortunate that in the spring his HS coach has kept him up to date on schools that have expressed interest. Summer is in full swing, and hopefully his travel-ball coach will do the same? When fall comes around, I'm expecting the same from his scout-ball coach. IMHO, it's important that there's communication, heck, maybe a school that we didn't think was on the radar enters into the mix? Thankfully, in a few days D1 college coaches will be allowed to call the players (2011) directly, and at that time we'll have a better idea of the interest for our kids!

College coaches ask travel coaches about lots of players, especially if the coach has a premium team. Sometimes it is meaningful, sometimes it is not. Many times it is confidential -- which is important not only in regard to the player under discussion at the moment but also to all the players who will come along in the future. It is how relationships are formed and cultivated and how trust is gained.

The best teams provide meaningful avenues for players to attract positive attention and perhaps gain opportunities better than would otherwise be the case. Ultimately, it is based on the actual talent of the player -- not the words of any coach.

That said, it is not hard to figure what TR means -- and he is helping his players greatly, I am sure.

Those of you who do not understand his point just don't understand the entire picture. And, I am sure, that each case for TR and any other coach of a high-end program is different. If it is appropriate to mention something to the player or the parent, it will happen. If not, it won't happen. But in the end, many opportunities indeed come about while many others simply were not meant to be. And more harm is done by too much talk than the other way around.

Nearly all of it ought to be good.

jemaz,

If that's what TR is attempting to convey to parents in my (son's) situation, then I completely understand. I do realize that college coaches have relationships with the top programs and sometimes the right fit might not be there. But remember, many of us are paying to have our kids play on a high profile program in hopes that the travel coach will help our son get to the next level...and as I said earlier, hopefully that's what he's doing behind the scenes, so to speak. BTW, I have no doubt that's what TR does for his kids, it's evident by how proud he is of his players. I personally just believe in communication.

JMHO- as a parent of a 2011, who plays for a travel team, etc.. I don't need to know every person, coach or scout who has asked about my son. If XYZ college has a relationship with 5 travel teams and asks about 6 kids on each team, thats 30 kids. Why get 30 kids hopes up when in actuality he may never speak to any of them? I personally don't need names & numbers right now. I just need him to get exposure and with that comes interest. And with fingers crossed phone calls start coming July 1st.

How about the recruiter who tells a kid in the middle of the tournament, you need to get your parents up here and fast... schools A, B & C are interested? This scenario happened last summer to my nephew in the middle of the East Cobb Tourney (2nd week after Jul 1.

Parents dropped everything drove 8 hours to ATL only to have this clown hold court in the lobby of the hotel and NOT tell them anything until they forked over more $$$ which did not happen. The only expense they paid was for the opportunity to play on the team and gain exposure.

The bottom line... if a particular school has an interest in your kid after watching him play, they will get in touch with him at the appropriate time.

Paying money to a recruiter in my opinion is a terrible waste of money.

I can see both sides of this communication issue. As a parent I want to know as much as possible as to who is noticing my kid. I think it helps the player to know that he is being noticed by building his confidence and knowing that his hard work is paying off.

I can also understand a coach not telling a parent of every inquiry they get about every kid. Some may turn into a phone call but most probably won't. An experienced coach like TR should know one from the other and know when to inform the player and parent of outside interest.

Bottom line is if you don't trust that your son's coach is doing what's best for him then don't come back next year. If there is a next year in your timetable.

You're the king of free speech TR so I hope you won't mind that in my opinion you are wrong on this one.

Let the parents and the players worry themselves whether they get their hopes up - it's not your job to manage their emotions. If X, Y, and/or Z have made inquiries, the parent/player needs to know that. More importantly, this type of feedback is highly motivational to the player. You can let them know that nothing is serious until they are contacted further by the schools, but they need to know what was said - pro or con.

I agree with Dad04. It's not rocket science.

TrHit -- Thank you for the information you have shared on this board. I have a question for you. My son is a rising Junior (2012) and will be playing in the BCS Championship in Fort Meyers next month. He is a solid player -- 6'3" 170lbs, SS/P, R/L, 7.2/60, and has a PG rating of 7.5. Will there be scouts attending this tournament? What expectaions, if any, should I have regarding college coaches and their interest in recruiting my son? Is it too early to worry about? Thanks for your input.

ClevelandDad hit it on the nose IMO. Simply tell the player XYZ College inquired about him. Done. THe player knows he is on their radar, and the ball is in the players court where it belongs. Yes, I understand sometimes confidences between travel coaches and college coaches happen. Those confidences should be kept at all costs. For the most part telling a 17-18 year old that a school has interest in him is not going to substantially change anything as the process takes time. THe player now has the option to contact the school within the rules or not pursue them at all.

Folks, my 2011 son currently plays for TR's College Select team. I believe that if you don't read what Tom is saying then you will miss the point. For the record, I agree with what he is saying.

My son has received interest from some interesting schools prior to his College Select team, but who knows if anything will come of any of them. I say that knowing about the schools that have interest.

I can't imagine what this would be like if we had to think about a plethera of schools that just asked about my son.

I trust that Tom knows what he's doing and I know he has the boys best interest at heart, all of them. When the time comes and he feels that any of us need to know about a specific contact, I'm sure we will let us know.

He has asked all of the boys for thier list of schools and has a sense of what they're looking for. I'm certain that that sense will deepen over the short summer season, but I can see it developing after only a couple of weeks.

I have no idea if my son was asked about, but I do know there were quite a few colleges present throughout last weekends tournament and if he plays to his potential, then good things will likely happen for him.

The way I look at is this:
If a college coach talks with TR about my son, it is a good thing and has potential, but has very little meaning in the scheme of things. I don't need to know everything that goes on behind the scenes.
If a college coach talks with my son, after Thursday of course then thats what we're looking for out of TR's program and the process is in our hands. I can tell you, the coaches are showing up and taking notes.

If you don't trust your sons summer teams coaches, then you need to find a program where you can.

Mike

Typical TR behavior. He thinks he has all the answers to every players questions of where he should matriculate. If I am a player or parent of a player, I'll run my own college search. If I need exposure, I'll get it. If I need the scout coach to make a call, I'll do that. If I need advice, I'll ask for it.

Other than that, just get him in front of coaches, set the line-up and tell me when a coach calls about my kid. Most anything else is meddling and manipulation. What else am I paying you for? I'm certainly not paying for some third party I barely know to manuver and manipulate the process. I've seen it happen and it ain't pretty.

DAd04

Typical from you now isnt it----I know what I do and how I do it and how it succeeds--YOU IN NO FREAKING WAY KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT ME !!!!

I am not on here to blow my own horn but rather to assist parents as they enter the recruiting process---none of them have to listen to what I say--they can ignore it if they so desire--funny thing though --according to my PM and email boxes there are quite a few who do not ignore what I say---there are some people in this world who are realistic and do not want to all the cream puff stuff thast many spew.

Everything I have been told about you DAD04 appears to be quite true

Unlike you, I don't know or absolutely do not give a rat's behind what people say or think about me. All I want from a scout team coach is the truth...all of it, so I can make informed decisions. You're the one who started a thread proclaiming you keep parents on a need-to-know basis, regarding coaches inquiries. You get critiqued on it and you go crazy. Believe it or not, coaches can string kids along for months, without your help. You aren't the only one with a BS detector. Grow some skin.

TR,

I understand your approach and am sure you have the kids best interest in mind with that approach. Obviously if a coach requests the conversation to be confidential, I would not expect it would be mentioned as that is critical to current and future kids opportunities.

I don't necessarily need to know about any school that asks about TurnTwoSon (2011), but I would definitely like to know if one of the schools that is on HIS list has him on their radar...it might allow him to give them a follow-up call or e-mail so that they know the interest is mutual...but it can't happen unless he knows about it...I would suggest cautioning against getting hopes up, but making kids and / or parents aware of schools on their list asking about them...

just my opinion...

TR:

I too understand your approach. Lots of times coaches will inquire about a kid, only to be mildly interested, and really just putting together lists. In your situation, if you told parents of every coach who asked about a particular player, your time would become counter productive. As the parent of a recruited and signed 2010, I would say come July 1, you will have a very good idea of exactly who has real interest.

quote:

I say---there are some people in this world who are realistic and do not want to all the cream puff stuff thast many spew.

Here's a good one. Some hockey parents are sueing the Toronto Hockey Assoc for mental issues due to their kids being cut from a tryout. Loss of self esteem !
What about charging the parents for lack of parental care in subjecting their kids to the trauma of their kids being cut ?
A new low for parents.

The typical approach used by college coaches during times they are not allowed to call a player they are interested in.

They contact someone else, sometimes the players coach, give him his number and ask him to have the player call him. Often they will even give a set time so that the call is not missed.

This goes on all the time at events that are heavily scouted during the no (off campus) contact period.

Bottom line... You won't need to wonder when there is "serious" recruiting interest. You will definitely find out!

I believe a parent/player should know when a college is interested. The player and parent should be able to accept it if the college moves on. Also, from experience a coach told a player that this specific college liked them at a showcase so the player called this college and told them that he was interested in them so then the college asked them him to come down for an unnofical. then evenually got offered from this college. who would have known what would have happened if his coach never told him that the college liked him.

From My Experience---the serious inquiries are thoise as PG described

The casual inquiry means nothing until they send the players info or they call him or if they asked that we have the boy call them

Assuming that TR would pass it on if a coach asked for his number to be passed on then I agree with TR's approach on the rest of it. I can see telling players in general that there's some interest out there but it wouldn't be appropriate to say that this or that coach in particular has interest in a player unless the coach has specifically asked that the player be told.

My guess is that TR has been around long enough to know the difference between being a coach noticing a player and a coach wanting to set up some dialogue with a player.

As a sometimes very stressed out parent of a 2011 grad, I have to say I greatly appreciate TR approach and post. If he communicates this to the parents and players on his team, I think it would reduce the stress of this very stessful time.

I know that son's coach (both HS and Summer) is working very hard behind the scenes to promote my son and get him into a school that matches his abilities and interest. We, son and I, sometimes wonder who is asking and interested and who is not. However, knowing this can also stress both of us out too!

All we hear is hurry up, hurry up and have to done this and have you done that! Knowing that there is interest and that you feel/know (as a coach) there will be a spot or offer from a school in time, makes this process so much less crazy for us. When the time comes to discuss particulars, that is when we will get all the details. Until the, junior just needs to play ball.

I think too many get caught up in the hype and pressure to commit early/now madness.

Very nice point PG, about the types of serious inquiries before July 1 for rising seniors. I had the same experience with my son, contact was made by "third parties" to find out my son's interest in particular schools.

This is just one more reminder to talk to the summer coach about how they handle situations before you sign up, including communication about conversations with colleges. If you don't like it, go elsewhere.

Personally, I'm fine with TR's approach.

Although maybe stated a bit harsh, TR is doing exactly what each recruiter and or MLB scout expects. If you are not aware of some level of interest(without being told)then TR is absolutely correct, you have very limited knowledge how the system works.
PG, hope you don't mind my example???
PG shared some interesting scouting reports with me last year about my son, starting at age 14 and continuing through high school. I certainly appreciated the information but was just as appreciative that he waited until he made his college commitment. This is "how the system should work"! PG, you are the ultimate professional in my mind.
TR -Having experience with both college and MLB scouts, I agree 100% with your stated situation.
Parents, if you think this is tough, you will really struggle, should your son have an opportunity at the next level.
The easiest way for a parent and a player to handle the situation is to enjoy the present, the future is hard enough. This time of your life will pass so quickly!

OK back to TR's original post and a couple of concrete examples. Can a coach talk to my son during the following events?

1. Stanford Camp
2. Area Code tryouts
3. PG National Championships
4. Arizona Fall Sr Classic
5. Connie Mack or other "league" game
6. Scout team games

The reason I listed these as they are different in the type of event and are put on by different organizations.

The rules as I see them are gray on these situations----we tell out kids not talk to anyone until the event is totally over and done and this goes for ANY AND EVERY event we are in.

TR I was going to PM this but will keep it generic, as it is probably beneficial to many here and there may be some others who have an opinion.

Say a player has had email communication with a coach (or coaches), sending HS season updates and video, etc, (asked for) and he is going to a large camp where coaches from around the country participate. The emails specifically say they are looking forward to meeting the player and to see him play as well as describing the positions they are looking to fill. Say several of them have asked for that players pitching rotation once it is sorted out at the camp also.

It would seem to me to be perfectly OK for the player to seek out the coach and to introduce himself in person, particularly if there has been some email communication between them. Would it not?

Now for the second question. What are the rules here? Will the coach be able to sit and talk with the player or should the player expect and short “nice to meet you” and not expect them to be able to spend any time with him due to the rules?

Obviously a player should not expect much specific discussions, but are any rules being broken if they sit and talk generically about a program for 5-10 minutes?

They are permitted to speak to a player at a "camp" or "clinic"--technically they are not supposed to recruit in a camp/clinic setting

quote:

Originally posted by BOF:
TR I was going to PM this but will keep it generic, as it is probably beneficial to many here and there may be some others who have an opinion.

Say a player has had email communication with a coach (or coaches), sending HS season updates and video, etc, (asked for) and he is going to a large camp where coaches from around the country participate. The emails specifically say they are looking forward to meeting the player and to see him play as well as describing the positions they are looking to fill. Say several of them have asked for that players pitching rotation once it is sorted out at the camp also.

It would seem to me to be perfectly OK for the player to seek out the coach and to introduce himself in person, particularly if there has been some email communication between them. Would it not?

Now for the second question. What are the rules here? Will the coach be able to sit and talk with the player or should the player expect and short “nice to meet you” and not expect them to be able to spend any time with him due to the rules?

Obviously a player should not expect much specific discussions, but are any rules being broken if they sit and talk generically about a program for 5-10 minutes?

They can't present offers...but please, keep in mind...

No matter what happens, it doesn't affect your son or his eligibility. The only person at risk of any kind of violation at a camp, clinic is the coach/school. You can say whatever you want, even ask for an offer, and no rule is being broken. By rule, the coach would have to say that he can't discuss the offer at the camp, he'll be in touch later. But even if he spit out an offer, your son has not committed any violation.

quote:

Originally posted by TRhit:
They are permitted to speak to a player at a "camp" or "clinic"--technically they are not supposed to recruit in a camp/clinic setting

When my son has been in these environments he's been asked questions like, "Have you filled out the online recruiting form?" and "Have you had a tour of the campus?" It's as close as they can come to tipping their hand on interest.

As for college program interest I could see agreeing or disagreeing with TR's approach. Some parents don't understand the difference between catching the coach's eye and serious interest. Last year at sixteen my son's coach would tell him he caught certain coach's eye and how he could eventually fit into the program. At seventeen we have to get him off the DL. He's missed three significant showcases already. He can't limp his way to a sub seven sixty.