How do you decipher recruiter speak?

"Recruiter speak means exactly what they want it to mean. No more, no less."

Wish I could remember what book the original version of that line comes from. Alice In Wonderland maybe?

At a DIII your son's ability to get in may be the most important thing to talk about. Do your research on their prior season. Record, roster style of play etc.. Then listen to what they are saying about how baseball fits into the kids' college experience. Be prepared to ask a few priming questions, but most of the time the HC or recruiter will tell you most of what you want to know if you will listen for it. My son and I really enjoyed the process and it gave us a project we could work on together.

There are as many different answers to your question as there are coaches and programs out there.

Best bet is to come here and ask about specific programs once you narrow your choices down to a few. The great thing about this board is, you will no doubt tap into people with experience very specific to your situation and you will gain the benefit of their knowledge and experiences without having to learn the hard way!

At the DIII level, are they trying to get you to apply or commit to early decision and pay the deposit. In other words, you are wanted when they want you to enroll.

This is where your travel team coach, if he is good, gets involved---the recruiting guys will speak with the travel coaches because they know the travel coach will hear what the recruiter is saying---all too often the player/parents don't hear what is said--they hear what they want to hear

Jones fan,
I don't think there are magic words. It is a process over a course of time. The more consistent the process, the more your son is probably wanted.
Some items to consider:
1.) has the coach seen your son play and what is the feedback?
2.) has the coach invited your son for a visit, to meet with the coaches, meet the team, see the school, stay on campus, etc?
3.) does the coach call regularly? It may not be every week, but it is regular.
4.) does he tell your son what he sees in him, where he sees him contributing in the program?
5.) does he emphasize with your son, and you, the academics the school has to offer?
6.) does he talk with your son about Summer ball what he sees can happen for your son?
7.) does he talk about a plan for your son to progress within the program, while providing guidance on the amount of effort and improvement/production on the field that will be expected from your son?
8.) does he sound like a coach who wants to coach your son? Does he actually say that?
9.) is the coach and his staff doing everything they can to facilitate your son applying and do they talk about supporting his application to the extent that the school permits such support?

Good advice fro TRhit. 4thGen's travel coach had had previous experience and recruits at most, if not all, the programs we were talking to. He was able to help prepare us for what to expect and understand how the programs viewed 4thGen's potential contribution to the various programs.

My son had a number of experiences with DIII coaches at highly selective colleges but only talked admission support specifics with one. After all this is the only thing they have to offer besides need based Financial Aid, which they offer to all students or Academic Merit which the colleges that we looked at did not offer. The HC told my son that he was his top recruit and wanted his commitment, otherwise he would just move down his list. My son committed in September along with another recruit and then the coach was free to tell his other recruits that they could apply but that they could expect minimum admission support. Even with the admissions backing of the HC, my son still had to sweat until the final admissions decision came in December. The HC was very careful to tell my son that it was not up to him but it was all up to admissions. I imagine that until he received the commitment from my son he was keeping his other recruits hanging. I'm not sure how those discussions went. Some of the other coaches danced around the issue of how much admission support they would offer so I believe they were waiting to see what other recruits would commit to them. My son however never pressed them because he was not ready to commit to them. He did keep up discussions with his 2nd and 3rd choice until he found out his admissions decision and then informed the coaches it was final.

We have visited several DIIIs this fall, and have found that the coaches were very specific about what they were offering. Some made it clear that they did not offer guaranteed roster spots, but most did. Those who did were very straightforward about how they saw our son fitting into the team.

Thanks, helpful input. Several coaches have been very specific at both the D2 and D3 levels. I was just wondering if what they were saying was accurate.

I guess they are really serious.