How will he know if a coach is ready to make an offer? Does the process happen fast once a coach sees you and decides they like what they see? Or should he expect- even from those who “love” him- that they will wait all summer and call on 9/1? TIA.
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What is plus everything else?
Coach won't offer unless there is an established relationship and you would want your son to be familiar with him as well.
I think it can happen both ways. With a relationship, or after seeing him once. It will not happen on September 1. Nothing happens on September 1. My son spoke to a lot of coaches weekly for months. He got offers from some coaches he had spoken to one or two times. He also got an offer from a coach who came to watch the game after his but ended up seeing most of our game. He offered him that same day. If a Coach is interested, you will hear from him well before September 1.
@TPM posted:What is plus everything else?
Coach won't offer unless there is an established relationship and you would want your son to be familiar with him as well.
As others have said, it can be all over the place. Unless there is something in addition to 89-90 like great secondaries, etc, being a 2025 in the Northeast you likely have some time. Coaches won't offer until they have to offer. At least that has been our experience.
Your son sounds very similar to my 2024 RHP. Son began receiving offers winter of sophomore year and it continued through the summer and fall. As others have said elsewhere, some coaches seemed particularly fixated on “hitting 90” and that generated other and different interest when it happened. Son took his time and committed at the end of fall junior year.
One other sign of interest that hasn’t been mentioned - some coaches will do a high degree of due diligence. If you start to hear that a coach has reached out to your son’s high school coach or private instructors, etc. that tended to be a sign for us of interest and a potential offer.
My son was an average student and was topping out at 85 at 16, so I can’t really relate. However, if my son had good projection, was an excellent student and was touching 90 as a sophomore I would make it a point to visit some camps of colleges that held his interest. Might as well get in front of the places that he’d like to go, if he’s got the projection to play there.
Putting baseball first worked out for my kid, so it would be hypocritical to say don’t. However, IMO high achieving students should leverage baseball to get a degree that’s better than sports management or similar if possible.
@JucoDad posted:My son was an average student and was topping out at 85 at 16, so I can’t really relate. However, if my son had good projection, was an excellent student and was touching 90 as a sophomore I would make it a point to visit some camps of colleges that held his interest. Might as well get in front of the places that he’d like to go, if he’s got the projection to play there.
Excellent advice.
@JucoDad posted:My son was an average student and was topping out at 85 at 16, so I can’t really relate. However, if my son had good projection, was an excellent student and was touching 90 as a sophomore I would make it a point to visit some camps of colleges that held his interest. Might as well get in front of the places that he’d like to go, if he’s got the projection to play there.
Putting baseball first worked out for my kid, so it would be hypocritical to say don’t. However, IMO high achieving students should leverage baseball to get a degree that’s better than sports management or similar if possible.
Thanks- yes he is considering academics and which schools have his program. He has his head on straight with regards to school.
@Northeastmom, one thing you can take to the bank is that your recruiting journey will not go as planned or as expected. Hardly any ever do. The best advice I can offer is to be flexible, have an open mind, and not get fixated early on any particular school. It can also be very helpful if your son knows now (or soon) what he wants to major in (or what he wants to do for a living when baseball is over). That information can really narrow the field.
@adbono posted:@Northeastmom, one thing you can take to the bank is that your recruiting journey will not go as planned or as expected. Hardly any ever do. The best advice I can offer is to be flexible, have an open mind, and not get fixated early on any particular school. It can also be very helpful if your son knows now (or soon) what he wants to major in (or what he wants to do for a living when baseball is over). That information can really narrow the field.
Thanks, he believes he does. He has eliminated a couple of schools due to lack of major. I agree, that does help.
How will he know if a coach is ready to make an offer? Well, the coach will make the offer when he's ready. Before this, your son should expect to hear all kinds of nice things like "we'd love to see him on this team", "he'd fit right in", "we think he can be a big contributor right away", blah blah blah. These are not offers. These are comments designed to keep your son on their hook until they are ready to decide.
One thing son was not prepared for the first time it happened - a coach asking directly “how soon are you looking to commit” or something like that. We took that to mean there was interest, but he wasn’t top of the list or they’d be making an offer instead of asking about his timeline. Most of those schools eventually offered, but to Smitty28’s point it was mostly on the schools’ timeline and not son’s.
@Northeastmom posted:Son is a 16 year old 2025. Let’s say son is throwing 89-90 with plus everything else this summer. How will he know if a coach is ready to make an offer? Does the process happen fast once a coach sees you and decides they like what they see? Or should he expect- even from those who “love” him- that they will wait all summer and call on 9/1? TIA.
Coaches need a reason to offer. They don’t do it in a vacuum. Your son appears to have skills, but this alone is not enough given the market conditions of college baseball especially now. The first offer is the hardest to get. After that first offer it seems to become easier as coaches talk and word gets around. Coaches will reach out to your travel or high school coach or deal with you directly depending on the date. Recruiting is sales, so expect a lot of compliments to come your sons way. I’m not saying they aren’t true, but a lot of it is over the top.
As you get more experienced in dealing with coaches, you’ll understand who is the “buyer” or the “seller” in the recruiting relationship. https://www.tier1athletics.org...a-buyer-or-a-seller/ This is a huge determinant and will quickly show you have much “real love” and interest there is with a Coach or program. For some programs, my son was the "buyer" and for other programs he was the "seller". It is situation specific. Also, coaches will want to see your son multiple times and/or have multiple coaches see your son pitch before agreeing amongst themselves to provide a verbal offer. In my son’s case, the two recruiting coaches (one was pitching coach) had seen him before bringing him to campus for the Head Coach to see for himself at a camp. The HC knew he had been offered at two other D1 programs, and the clock was ticking. That helped nudge the HC a little bit, and gave him a sense of urgency. You'll know when they roll out the red carpet.
Just my experience, and good luck!
If your son is a pitcher, the pitching coach will show up, if a position player, the hitting coach will show up, or whoever is the RC and or second in line to HC.
When son was at Jupiter and had an outstanding outing, one young ACC coach stood up and announced "that guy is going to play for me". It took a year to convince him and proved to be one of the best decisions son ever made.
Son was a top prospect in HS, but he really didn't get a lot of offers that he was interested in. His dream school never came in until the end. He chose the guy who announced he wanted him. These days you could have a coach considering 10 guys with same skills, players are advanced and have mad skills.
I know of a player who decided to attend a mid D, top Florida prospect could have gone anywhere. He will be a solid first day pick.
Don't out rule those programs.
@fenwaysouth posted:Coaches need a reason to offer. They don’t do it in a vacuum. Your son appears to have skills, but this alone is not enough given the market conditions of college baseball especially now. The first offer is the hardest to get. After that first offer it seems to become easier as coaches talk and word gets around. Coaches will reach out to your travel or high school coach or deal with you directly depending on the date. Recruiting is sales, so expect a lot of compliments to come your sons way. I’m not saying they aren’t true, but a lot of it is over the top.
As you get more experienced in dealing with coaches, you’ll understand who is the “buyer” or the “seller” in the recruiting relationship. https://www.tier1athletics.org...a-buyer-or-a-seller/ This is a huge determinant and will quickly show you have much “real love” and interest there is with a Coach or program. For some programs, my son was the "buyer" and for other programs he was the "seller". It is situation specific. Also, coaches will want to see your son multiple times and/or have multiple coaches see your son pitch before agreeing amongst themselves to provide a verbal offer. In my son’s case, the two recruiting coaches (one was pitching coach) had seen him before bringing him to campus for the Head Coach to see for himself at a camp. The HC knew he had been offered at two other D1 programs, and the clock was ticking. That helped nudge the HC a little bit, and gave him a sense of urgency. You'll know when they roll out the red carpet.
Just my experience, and good luck!
Excellent post fenway! Every recruitable athlete should understand the concept of buyer vs seller in the recruiting transaction. If you want to have an enjoyable college baseball experience you want to be on the right side of that transaction from the beginning. If you find yourself continually trying to sell yourself to college programs you are on the wrong side of the transaction. And it’s a good clue that you may be fishing in the wrong pond. As so many do in the beginning.
@TPM posted:If your son is a pitcher, the pitching coach will show up, if a position player, the hitting coach will show up, or whoever is the RC and or second in line to HC.
When son was at Jupiter and had an outstanding outing, one young ACC coach stood up and announced "that guy is going to play for me". It took a year to convince him and proved to be one of the best decisions son ever made.
Son was a top prospect in HS, but he really didn't get a lot of offers that he was interested in. His dream school never came in until the end. He chose the guy who announced he wanted him. These days you could have a coach considering 10 guys with same skills, players are advanced and have mad skills.
I know of a player who decided to attend a mid D, top Florida prospect could have gone anywhere. He will be a solid first day pick.
Don't out rule those programs.
Thanks, this is helpful. We are on the early end. Schools follow on social media and have reached out to travel coaches. They came out last summer after a few good tournament outings. Feels like this summer is what matters.
@fenwaysouth posted:Coaches need a reason to offer. They don’t do it in a vacuum. Your son appears to have skills, but this alone is not enough given the market conditions of college baseball especially now. The first offer is the hardest to get. After that first offer it seems to become easier as coaches talk and word gets around. Coaches will reach out to your travel or high school coach or deal with you directly depending on the date. Recruiting is sales, so expect a lot of compliments to come your sons way. I’m not saying they aren’t true, but a lot of it is over the top.
As you get more experienced in dealing with coaches, you’ll understand who is the “buyer” or the “seller” in the recruiting relationship. https://www.tier1athletics.org...a-buyer-or-a-seller/ This is a huge determinant and will quickly show you have much “real love” and interest there is with a Coach or program. For some programs, my son was the "buyer" and for other programs he was the "seller". It is situation specific. Also, coaches will want to see your son multiple times and/or have multiple coaches see your son pitch before agreeing amongst themselves to provide a verbal offer. In my son’s case, the two recruiting coaches (one was pitching coach) had seen him before bringing him to campus for the Head Coach to see for himself at a camp. The HC knew he had been offered at two other D1 programs, and the clock was ticking. That helped nudge the HC a little bit, and gave him a sense of urgency. You'll know when they roll out the red carpet.
Just my experience, and good luck!
Thanks, this is good info to have. I like your analogy.
@Northeastmom posted:Thanks, this is helpful. We are on the early end. Schools follow on social media and have reached out to travel coaches. They came out last summer after a few good tournament outings. Feels like this summer is what matters.
I forgot to add... If they like what they see the HC will come out to watch or you will be invited to a prospect camp. And the offer should come from the RC or HC.
If a player and parents aren’t careful they will hear what they prefer to be hearing rather than reality. “I could see him on the field for us” doesn’t mean it will ever happen. Sometimes, it’s just, “Hold on until we figure if we can sign one of these other three guys we prefer.”
The great part for youngest son was HC was recruiting him before he became HC so he is the one who recruited him throughout the entire process. Never met RC until late in the process. HC told son multiple times I know I am the only SEC HC recruiting you personally. That was a big deal.
I've never heard it phrased buyer or seller. I like that. I always say it is according to who needs who more in travel ball and college. In travel ball, the players who are needed by the team more than the player needing the team are the ones who play for free. In college recruiting, it greatly affects the offer. The schools that needed son were the ones who made the great offers. The ones who were equal were the ones who made good offers. Good part for son was he didn't have any that he needed. Those are the walk-ons (preferred or not).
I had never seen the perspective of buyer versus seller. But, it’s essentially the same as pursued and pursued. It all comes back to do they love you are are they interested?
It's hard to tell, it can happen either way. In son's case he had a RC come see him almost every weekend the summer of his junior year. Coach would often say hi to me and son had talked to him quite a few times. Back then I think the day they first could call was July 1st. Son got 1 call that day....around 4pm. From a RC/PC of a school that he had had absolutely no contact with...and we had never seen him at any game, though he said he had seen son play several times. That was a Tuesday. He invited us to come up to the school (45 minutes away) on that Thursday. Great visit. RC came to watch him throw again the next day. He had a great outing. Got an email later in the day saying to call the RC in the morning. He did, was offered and accepted. Entire recruitment lasted 5 days.
The first time you go thru the process it's exciting. Seems like everybody is interested and you're always analyzing every piece of communication.
Second time thru you don't bat an eye until the financial aid paperwork is submitted and you there is an offer you've heard in person with your own ears.
