Help with perspective, please....

Video may draw some initial excitement, and hopefully draws enough interest where the coach wants to go SEE the player. I would agree that a good video highlights the players tools. (so I guess I "third" that)

I have not had an accident and I am a good driver; I don't need insurance!

My son got offers both ways. The school that he went to saw him at Stanford and then the Arizona fall classic. However, his "dream school" made a scholarship offer based upon news clippings that we sent to the coach and a 4-minute video of him hitting in the cage and fielding balls and throwing. Can you be recruited off a video only; yes. However, I still buy car insurance.

Thanks, everyone....we'll keep going with our plan.  Have the video done, so we're not ignoring that aspect.  BTW the analytics on how it's viewed are interesting.  Almost everyone stops watching at the 1 minute mark, which is when he stops hitting and moves to his defensive skills.  Trying to interpret this as the viewers being most interested in his swing and watching it long enough to suggest interest.  I know there are other less positive ways of interpreting the data but I can't bear to consider them right now.

Not based direct knowledge, I'd assume that while some Ivy players could play anywhere, the majority are a notch or two below.

I infer that from the conference rankings:

http://warrennolan.com/baseball/2015/conferencerpi

this is a good point.  We're trying really hard to turn our showcase trip into a college visit trip as well.  Or else, I'm gonna just learn to fly and steal a plane.

You steal the plane, I'll fly.

Video in majority of cases will generate interest from a coach, but most coach's will want to see the recruit play prior to any offer.  Similar view by most.

PM'd you 

On my Bucket list is a ride in the aeronautical version of a Camaro. Could use all the help you can offer!

I think people get confused and believe DIII recruiting and DI recruiting are similar.

You could send a video, bio, whatever you want to a DI coach and at best you might interest him. In that case, he most likely will want to see you perform.

You can pick out most any 10 DIII colleges and simply send them a message along with your academic information saying that you are interested in playing baseball at their college. You will hear back from several of them.  No showcase, no video, no camp, required. The only DIII colleges that will possibly ignore your interest are those among the very best baseball programs and those colleges not looking for additional students.  Of course, none of this means you will be a starter, dress for games or even be on the team.

The obvious difference is the investment made to recruits.  There are many DIII colleges that recruit based on student enrollment first, baseball ability is secondary.  Most all of them want the best possible players, but they can't get enough of those players.  They get as many as they can, but they do need a full roster of enrolled students.  That is the only way baseball exists at many small colleges.

So comparing DI to DIII recruiting really doesn't make sense.  It is similar to comparing those drafted with those that go undrafted. In no way am I downgrading DIII baseball.  I actually coached many years at small colleges.  We recruited hard, but half our roster was made up of kids that just wanted to play baseball and attend our college.  Kids we didn't try to recruit.  Every so often one or two would actually work their way into a starting position. Some sat on the bench for four years.

I suppose this post could be taken the wrong way.  I just think it is important that people understand there are many small colleges that will be interested in you.  All you have to do is show interest in those colleges.  Yes, I am talking about some great academic colleges also.  This is definitely a situation where grades are more important than baseball ability. In the end, the best players get the playing time, just like it is most everywhere else.

Thanks for taking the time to post. Very, very clear and helpful.  My 2017 is trying to serve two masters.  What they have in common is high academics. What is happening is the Div 1 high academics are in a wait and see mode on things son needs to work on: test scores and strength/speed.  The Div 3 schools are more obviously interested and assertive about it.  If son was prioritizing a d3 at this point he'd have some nice choices.  After going to a couple of showcases and sending video around we've seen how it's worked for son: he's had interest largely from those schools that have seen him, but there have been a few that have shown mild interest based on his video.  There's no way anyone, from what I can tell, is going to seal the deal without seeing him at least a couple of times, especially since he doesn't just want to walk on somewhere at the Div 3 level.  He would be willing to walk on at the right D! I think, but we haven't talked about it.  The thing is, if baseball doesn't help him get into one of those "right D1's", I'm pretty sure his file will look a lot like thousands of other high achieving kids with nice smiles  and eager ambition.  It must be incredibly challenging for admissions offices at the Ivys, Patriot League, and top 30 or so LACs to figure out how to build a class.

Thanks!! 

Your son's strategy sounds like my son's; it worked nicely for my son and I think it will work for your son. My advice is to ignore the asst AD and do everything you can. Videos are fine but, like Groucho Marx once said, "Who are you going to believe, me or your own eyes?"

We just visited an Ivy this week with 2017 and met with the RC.  Son asked him point blank, what else should I be doing/do I need to do?  Coach told him that he will come see him this spring play in HS and to send him the schedule when son knows it.  Son was surprised since the school is not near us.  Coach said he has to see him live, a few times.  Son asked if game video could help.  Coach said, no, he will travel as he needs to see guys live.  

Coach told him to stay on the high level showcase team he played with last summer. Coach told him to keep the grades up (test scores already in and good).  Coach told him to keep working hard and building strength.   

Granted, he is already on the radar (probably from Stanford camp), so I can see where video can get you on the radar, but it was clear to us that if this school is ever going to have further, real, interest, then it will be after seeing 2017 live.  

Over the years we see most Ivy League colleges at the same events you see most all SEC, ACC, and other power conference recruiters.  Harvard maybe as much as any college.

These schools want DI players just like another DI's.  They just have to find the ones they can get into school. Doesn't really matter where those players come from.

Harvard and other Ivy League colleges have a lot to offer to the right players.

From what we have seen from speaking to players or their parents most Ivy players have had offers elsewhere, often at D1 State U or some of the competitor High Academic schools in the other conferences. Son's team has player PG listed  at top at his position from his state. Some players don't pan out (stats wise compared to HS careers) but you'll see that in players in any conference. Penn's Class of 2019 class of 13 players includes two transfers from bigger programs where players didn't get playing time. Though some programs may say it, Ivy league truly does recruit nationally. 

It appears that Penn and Cornell more readily accept transfers than the other Ivy schools. Princeton, in fact, does not accept transfers at all and Harvard has been known in the recent past to suspend accepting transfers for several years in a row if it is over-enrolled.

Needless to say, you have to have an exceptional HS transcript and top grades from the school you are transferring from.

You asked for perspective.  In the context of high academic recruits such as Ivys and Patriots, I believe there are multiple levels of recruits within a recruiting class from a couple to a few legit D1 players who could have played/started at any mid-level D1s all the way to recruits who will sit the bench for 4 years but had exceptional academics.  If you understand where you fit in this hierarchy before making a committment decision then I think you go into this with eyes wide open.  I've seen many of  both (and other levels within this description), and frankly video is going to play a very minor role in determining where these recruits fit into this continuum I just described.  

A video by itself is going to do very little separate a high academic recruit from another unless phenonal metrics (pitch speed, bat speed, foot speed) can be demonstrated.  Even then the coach will want to see the recruit with his own eyes (and another coaches eyes) before agreeing to support a recruit with one of his few Likely Letters or his ED support through Admission.  Recruits are a Ivy/Patriot/High Academic coaches lifeblood, and he is going to expend his limited resources (LL, and ED support) in a way to maximize that "return on investment".  Always look at it from the Coaches perspective....that is my perspective.

As always, JMO.

My 2016 just went through this process and it our experience that every school he was interested in (including the one he committed to) wanted to see him in person; and this was accomplished IMO by playing travel ball primarily and not HS ball. I’m thinking that this is the predominate path i.e., PG events and showcases as well as travel team tournaments played at college campuses; that’s where the scouts are.

If your prospect is a pitcher who’s blowing it by everybody or a batter hitting HRs left and right he probably will be found.

Smokeminside, Just remembering where you are geographically tells me you have to stick to your plan. You've done some great events and laid the groundwork for interest for your son. In my opinion unless a kid is a blue chipper RC's rarely go to HS games. And  where you are located is too limiting. Gotta cast a wide net my friend!