How Much?

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He has had quite a bit of exposure already to scouts, with quite a bit of interest.

"scouts" as in pro scouts? I would not focus on pro scouts but rather on college coaches. While you may be currently getting some feedback from colleges it will be difficult to evaluate that interest until the summer between his junior and senior year. Forget about pro scouts ---- If he has pro potential the pro scouts will find him and you will have a completely different situation.

quote:

what is really important to play that has the most impact for his future, all the while, maintaining normal teenage stuff.

This where it gets complicated. His talent will determine where he fits not how much money you spend on showcases . Finding the right fit requires exposure to those colleges. If your son can play at a D-2 or a D-3 he needs to focus on those schools. If he's a D-1 prospect he needs to be seen by D-1 coaches. There is no cookie cutter approach to getting the right exposure and the right dosage of that exposure. Every player is different. Once you can determine where your son will fit you can better prepare his route.

What exactly is "normal teenage stuff"? We parents want to think it is good clean fun ---- but surveys reveal it's a lot more than dances, movies, PS2 or going to McD's fo a burger and shake. Not trying to be facetious but baseball in my opinion is a great diversion from the "normal" teenage stuff. I'm glad baseball eliminated a lot of the "normal" stuff for my son. He still found time for a healthy social life and graduated with honors from HS.

My son played on a well known summer team, went to 4 or 5 mini-local showcases, went to 2 mid level showcases (pay to play), passed on the big well known showcases, was invited and attended East Coast Pro. As far as exposure goes he got much more than he needed but he was on the radar screen early. During his recruitment the coaches told me where they saw my son. Hindsight is always 20-20 and I know now could have eliminated his showcases altogether, continue to play on his good summer team, and he would have ended up with the same scholarship at the same college and would have been drafted in the same rounds out of high school and college. THIS worked for my son but could be a disaster for another player if he tries the same route. There is no one path to success. It's all about talent and finding the right fit. Showcases, summer teams, camps, word of mouth --- the list goes on and on about how the athlete and the college come together ---- but it all comes back to talent on the player's part and need of the college. If the college can identify the player and the need is there ---- we may have a "bingo".
Fungo

quote:

For those who have been through this process, what would be your best advice on how much is enough and what, if anything, do you wish you would have done differently?

How much is enough is largely dependent upon what he is trying to accomplish, where you live, what schools he wants to attend and what level of ball he wants to play in college.

Without having this information, it would be difficult to give you advice.

As to what we would have done different, I can give you my two cents (that is all that it is worth).

The summer between my son's junior and senior year, he went to the Stanford camp (a must) and participated in three regional showcases. Additionally, he played American Legion ball. Out of it he ended up at a quality D3 school which he loves and is playing ball.

What would I have done different now is: skip the Legion ball, it was a waste of time given his objective to play College baseball. I should have put him on a high profile team that participated in the WWBA in Georgia and a few other high profile events. Additionally, I would have sent him to the PG academic showcases. Two of the three local showcases were alright, but I would have spent the time in writing coaches in advance of attending any event.

I would have also been more proactive in having my son write and call colleges. With any interest, I would have found a way to get him to events that they attended once they had acknowledged his interest.

In the end, he ended up at a great school, however, he (and I) are convinced that he could have played at major program if we had "invested" more in certain activities. The downside to doing more was the financial commitment which we really could not afford, which leads me back to your orginal question.

What should you do? Start defining what kind of college experience does your son want? What part of the country is attractive to him first and the family second? What are the financial constraints for the family? What level of ball will he be accepted (recruited) by coaches? (This very important, don't waste your time going down a road that won't find your son a school).

All I will add to this, if you start putting up numbers, and you really are standing out,word of mouth is huge, scouts come to watch one kid they see another. parent in stands is an alumni likes the look of a kid gives a coach a holler, coach of another team likes your kid makes some phone calls.
cant rely on this but belive me it happens more than people think.
once a coach likes the way a kid plays then they want to know the intangibles, work ethic, what kind of player is he, student team mate. thats why when a lot of parents are wrecking havock totheir sons HS coaches, by interferring about play time etc. this is not a good thing. some people do not believe HS coaches help at the next level,I think some can and some do.
I think as a revious poster said no player will take the same route to be found, many will be found by accident,word of mouth,showcases,college camps.
if we were to do it over i would stick with PG showcases where you get an honest eval. of your kid,
college camps that hes interested in. My son went to a particular camp everyone raves about, we wouldnt go to it again. so different for every plyer. would be nice to start a thread about how each of the college kids were recruited.

Thank you for your response. We are sorting out where he might want to go. He definitely wants to play. Money and time like with most others are an issue. He has a good start on the radar as he played on the Youth National Team and has received a variety of interest. We are just trying to decide what all and how much we need to do. The "normal" stuff is just what I implied. Having a normal summer life along with playing competitive baseball, i.e., friends, camps, etc. The confusion comes in with us is how much money, time etc. vs. rate of return. Some of the stuff is paid for so maybe money isn't really the issue. Time might be more of an issue. Adult life is laden with so much responsibility, I just don't want to waste what precious free time he has in these few summers. The questions ILVBB posed are good ones we need to discuss. It is hard to really get down to the nitty gritty and realize these decisions are coming at us quickly. Thanks again.

This is the best thread I have come across as far as what to do about getting exposure to colleges. The thing that makes this thread so great is the real life advice of what worked and and looking back what would have been done different. Hindsight is 20/20. Your experiences can save many of us lot of time,money,heart brak and quite frankly help with the massive confussion of making decisions on what to do about getting our sons exposure.

Please all of you that have been there and done that please share details of what you did and even better what you would have done differnet in helping your son get exposure.

quote:

The confusion comes in with us is how much money, time etc. vs. rate of return.

Whatever you decide, do not do if you expect some kind of result. You will only end up disappointed and potentially bitter (I know my wife complains constantly that all the money spent took away from "family" time).

Whatever you decide to do to help your son, do it because it is the best for the family. It is something that you all believe is best for everyone. If you don't you may have regrets that you missed out on something important.

I enjoyed every minute that I spent helping my son, but to this day I can hear my wife nag that she gave up "her time" with our son and he didn't get a scholly.

If you go into saying this is part of bringing up boys, have fun in the adventure and everyone buys-in, you will not have any regrets. If it is a matter of "time vs. rate of return" you are setting yourself up for disappointment.

The reward a parent (this parent) recieves is the joy of watching your Son grow and compete and hopefully succeed. In our home it is a family thing, we are all into baseball and we call ourselves a "baseball family", my wife has taken up photography and now goes to H.S. Softball games in addition to our Son's games to take pictures for that team. We have all grown to love the game as a family.

We provided the best opportunities that we were aware of as we navigated the small world of competetive baseball, from AAU Travel Teams to private instruction, to showcases and national tournaments, we allowed our Son the opportunity to perfect the skill and talent that God gave him.

We did what we did because we enjoyed it as a family, we as many here also do, planned our vacations around baseball tournaments. I am confident that none of our children (we have 5) regret or resent the hours spent at the baseball field watching their brother(s) play the game that our family has embraced.

The rate of return cannot be measured in any other capacity then the joy you recieve from watching your Son(s) play the game that they love. Time spent as a family.

I myself never thought of baseball until my Son was 3 years old at Christmas and was given a wiffle ball and bat by his uncle. When he swung it for the first 10 times and consistantly hit line drives through the living room and we had to go outside, I knew that we would be playing and watching a lot of baseball throught the years.

It has been fun, and now that my Son will be off to college this fall he has left us with many happy memories of his youth as well as happy times spent together as a family at the ballfield.

What a grand time it has been, enjoy it while you can!

My time vs. rate of return analogy may have sounded harsh. Our family enjoys baseball. We have traveled and seen some beautiful countryside. Heck, he has been out of the country more than I have. I am just concerned about the balance, pressure and demands at a young age. My son handles it well now but with whatever happens in the future, I don't want him to look back and think I wish that one summer I would have gone fishing more. He is a competitor and I realize this is what he wants to do. I just want him to remain balanced. When you talk with college athletes, they tell you how they have absolutely no time to themselves. Balancing school and sports is a full time job at that level, so my little pea brain is thinking - relax and enjoy this time now - in a couple of years you will be an adult with all that responsibility.
So back to my question - what are the most important things to do now to ensure the future he wants without wasting any of this precious time? Oh yeah, and give me the moon while you are at it!

Also, thanks for the responses. It is very difficult to ask these questions and find people that have been through this. I realize everyone's path is different, but hearing the experiences of others helps. Bottom line we all want what is best for our children, and the more knowledge gained the better prepared we will be.

A little perspective from a "tightwad". We did not do very much of the showcase stuff at all (as compared with most prospects)...I believe one "downside" from this was not showing up on PG's top 1500 at all, yet more heavily recruited than several he played with and against that are on the list. Side note...I am a PG fan, I just don't think being absent from that list made any difference in our particular case with ultimate destination.

The two specific areas that helped us were targeted college camps/clinics...and, the trump card of the PG event(s) we did participate in...WWBA Championships in Atlanta. The 17U was THE event that got my son accelerated attention...my opinion (that I give to any prospect's family I can) is that this event is a "no brainer".

Here are comments on recruiting from the host of the WWBA Championships

http://clubhousegas.com/archive_player_prog.asp?id=209

And then a coaches roundtable on recruiting:

http://clubhousegas.com/archive_player_prog.asp?id=210

College Coaches Roundtable

Coaches recognized (or named)
-Georgia Southern Univ
-Columbus State Univ
-Furman Univ
-Young Harris
-xxtbdxx
-xxtbdxx

Topic: College Recruiting:

Overall....same ol' same ol'

What was said:
- Colleges want to develop players and men
- Anybody can pick the high draft guy
- College project players
- Colleges seek additional tools other than the five
ie School, Heart, Head Case
- Is it the right fit
- We do not look for mid (or low) draft players
- Never know who is watching you.

What was NOT discussed:
- Colleges overbook signees
- JUCO Transfers
- Summer Placement
- Here to Win at All Cost
- Redshirts
- Scholarships- who gets what

--------------------
Bottom Line: Not a top 20 D-1 college in the crowd!
And of course have specifics ideas about recruiting!

Good points Bear !

But Ga Southern has a long tradition, top ten in the nation in baseball per game attendance, Columbus St is a mutiple D-2 WS participant, and Young Harris is a nationally ranked JUCO.

[QUOTE]

I myself never thought of baseball until my Son was 3 years old at Christmas and was given a wiffle ball and bat by his uncle. When he swung it for the first 10 times and consistantly hit line drives through the living room and we had to go outside, I knew that we would be playing and watching a lot of baseball throught the years.

QUOTE]

floridafan, I couldn't help but laugh when I read this! It also reminded me of my son when he was 4 or 5 and his Sunday School teachers made a huge mistake of giving him a baseball in class. They realized this mistake when they had to run or duck each time for how hard and accurate he was with his throws!

And my son also now heads off to college this fall to fulfill his dream of playing college ball. Gosh, how time flys by!

4leafclover:
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4leafclover:
Sent an additonal PM

Another question for the wise ones that have been through this, did your son verbally commit before signing day? Would you do that differently? Did your son "just know" when the right opportunity came along?

Thanks again. I am truly grateful for being able to pick some brains.

PM'd you back LHP!

You make a commitment when you find the "one." That being said, unless you are 110% sure that this is the school that he wants to attend, with our without baseball, then why not. Close the deal.

However, if there is a chance that the perfect opportunity is still to come, why commit? (I know a bird in the hand is better than one in the bush).

My son waited to the last minute, then choose his number 2 school. Guess what, the next day his first choice called offering a scholarship.

He ended up standing by his commitment and is very happy. However, once you have made a deal, I woudn't want my son to walk away from his word.

Did he know when the right opportunity came along? I subcribe to the notion that kids really never know. They fill their minds with hype and then have to make informed decisions. However, we had spent so much time "kicking tires" he knew that he liked the kids, the school facility, the town and he believed that he would be happy with or without baseball.

4leafclover:
you have a pm an also email