How to be recruited to play college or pro ball

jp24,

I like it.  While, I'm no expert on pro ball recruitment I do think there is a huge difference between college and pro ball's recruitment path especially when it comes to the talent and an advocate in your list.  There are so many levels of baseball, and once you are in the middle of it or done with it you realize just what it takes to get to the pros (MiLB and MLB).

Recruitment = passion + skill + persistence + exposure + luck

I'm sticking by my 6 year recruiting formula (above) that I've posted a number of times on HSBBWeb.  I think passion gets overlooked because you really have to love this game to put in the hours required (on and off the field) to compete for a position in college or the pros.  Passion is hard to explain because I think you either have it or you don't. Talent or skill can be developed but passion not so much.  Luck is something you have no control over but I think lots and lots of people make their own luck by being at the right place at the right time and not giving up....which leads me to persistence.  It's all intertwined. 

That is my two cents.....as always JMO.

I agree.  I have seen kids ,who to me, appear to have similar talent but vastly different outcomes in recruiting because they either didn't get the right exposure or advocate. 

I also agree with Fenway...luck is definitely a part of it.  If you have a great tournament or even a great couple of innings at the right time, it could be life changing.

+ packaging.

-your size, be it natural or developed. Make no mistake: look the part.

-the way you carry yourself on the field.

-the way you carry yourself in the dugout.

-the way you carry yourself off the field.

So to that end:

1) develop the body

2) develop the persona - look deep into the personality and deploy personal development strategies.

I will add one more, health.  This may fall under fenway's "luck".  You can have all the talent in the world, be very passionate driving you to work your rear end off to develop that God-given ability, play on a team that gets exposure and have a coach that advocates for you.  But, if you cannot stay healthy to perform when you need to be seen, the rest really doesn't matter.

I think your big 3 sums it all up.  Sage advice

jp, maybe a given in your 1/2/3 but "align talent and goals" seems necessary between one and two.

Number 3 is causing me the most "thinking time" right now.  How will I know if my son is "good"?  and what level is realistic for his level of "good"?  

Son has a really good and proven pitching coach who may be an advocate.  Same with travel ball coach.  But I pay both of them.

Time will tell.

 Some important adds here. Especially passion. 

I shared this because it comes up. Dads ask at the ballpark, as we've discussed here before. And because I think parents come here and may search "How to get recruited."

Go44dad: When you say No. 3 is causing you to think about whether you're able to know if your son is good or not, do you mean where I say "Parents don't count"?

If so, I'd respond how I respond to dads: Our views of how good our sons are just aren't relevant. We may be exactly right or way off. Either way, it doesn't matter. Because while we see what we see -- scouts often see more ... or less. 

That's been my experience anyway.

No, not my point at all.  It's the conundrum of the current "advocates" are paid.  I agree with the parents don't count when it comes to "advocating".  Hence the closing "time will tell".

jp you are right on about these

For sure talent 

However to understand that I do believe it starts with the parent.

You should have an idea where your kid fits before your waste time, energy and money.

If you kid does not start on a your typical HS age travel team, chances are the talent level is not there.

Passion as Fenway suggests. Talent is nothing without passion.

Teenage distractions will dictate this.

As a parent this one is the most frustrating as you see your child who loved the game let it slip away before your eyes and there's nothing you can do about it.

Strength and conditioning paramount - get bigger stronger faster.

jp - pretty much your #3

Program development and exposure

There should be a high level of emphasis on measurables.

Without good numbers you will be dismissed pretty quickly. 

Then you will need your advocate. 

I have three kids who have been recruited to play college sports. The formula that has been given here is the common denominator for all. 

The only thing I would add is REALITY. Most parents dont look at their kids with realistic vision. You must ask yourself the tough question..."Is my son/daughter good enough to play in college? At what level?"

nxt lvl, that was the jist of my earlier post.  And time will tell b/c the story is not written.

This board has been a great help to me, and I'm sure it will help as I "enjoy the ride"!

I can tell you a story about my undrafted D1 college baseball player son. He was being scouted by 6-10 teams at any given time during his senior year. He was having a great senior season at bat and ended up leading his conference in hitting that year. During a local mid-week game on a Wednesday there was only one particular scout (who I had seen at several of his games during the season) at his game. He was filming his AB's with a small camera. When he came up to bat for the 3rd time (he had ripped 2 doubles his previous AB's) there were runners on 2nd and 3rd with one out. He had a 12 pitch AB and fouled off some tough pitches. On the 13th pitch he struck out swinging on a ball off the plate. He then went into the dugout and very uncharacteristically had a mini "freak out" which went on for about 15 seconds.

The scout packed up his stuff and immediately left. This game was in the middle of the season... I never saw that scout at another game the rest of the season. 

There may have been many other reasons why my son was never drafted, but... You never know who is watching you.. 

Great post Birdman.  Similar thing in Jupiter.  Son's teammate is highly regarded pro prospect.  Three pro scouts watching an AB where he struck out on a borderline call.  One scout very intently watched him walk back to the dugout, calmly put his helmet and bat down and leaned in to hear what he said to his father who was one of the coaches.  I can only assume he wanted to see if he would make an excuse, blame the umpire, etc.  Interesting to watch for sure.

I believe most of those posting are far more knowledgable than the normal baseball parent.

Having spent the majority of my life being involved in coaching, scouting and recruiting it still amazes me how many parents think they are expert evaluators. Then again, there are some that really are good at it.

It all boils down to just four things. If a player could be #1 in all four areas, he would in fact be the greatest player that ever lived.  1 - Natural Talent. 2 - Effort  3 - Intelligence  4 - Luck.

I should explain... Most every other area one looks for like character or makeup or strength, really falls under the category of effort and intelligence.  The more intelligent the player is, the less likely he becomes a problem.

BTW, this intelligence I am referring to, may or may not involve things like GPA and SAT. Some of the most intelligent players I have ever seen were not the greatest students in the classroom. On the other hand that classroom intelligence is vitally important in college recruiting.

While most parents over estimate their sons's ability.  I have run across a few that really had no idea how much potential their son had.  A few years back, a kid showed up at an underclass event and his mom and dad talked to me.  Their son had yet to play for his HS team and he was entering his junior year.  They thought he had some talent and were hoping he could make the HS team and maybe play in college somewhere. Anyway, we really liked this player, he was raw but had serious tools and natural athleticism.  We graded him very high. The parents thanked us and said now what do we do.  I said, just keep him playing and you are in for one hell of a ride.

Long śtory short, that boy is now in the big leagues. So it is not right to lump all parents into the "rose colored glasses" group. Some see things accurately and some simply have no idea.

Anyway, how to get recruited? Think about the 4 ingredients. Then do whatever you can to make sure people know who you are.

If you are what they want, here is how it works...

Have what they want!  Make sure they know it!

You can send out a thousand emails listing everything you have accomplished. You can tell them how hard you work and what a great person you are.  You might put together the greatest marketing piece ever.

and you know what

One Major League scout telling a college coach that you can play, will accomplish a lot more and do it much quicker.

If I told you I was good enough to play in the big leagues, would you believe me? What if a Major League GM or scouting director told you I was good enough to play in the big leagues, would you believe them? If you have what it takes... Make sure the right people know who you are!  

So on the subject of who's watching ...

This past summer at a PG event, one player on the team was a real tool. Just a selfish, immature young man. He was trying to cut in line at BP in the cages, and a player told him to wait his turn. The kid got into the player's face in a threatening manner ... not for the first time that tourney ... and the player calmly told him, "I'm tired of your threats. If you're going to hit me, do it now."

The kid backed down -- which was wise.

An MLB scout witnessed the incident. Last month in Jupiter, that scout was having serious discussions with the coach about one of his players.

The one who refused to be bullied. 

And if the bully was a high caliber player who had hit .410 with three HR's and 7 rbi's guess who the scout would have been talking about,