How to get on the radar

Size won't hold your son back, especially given his position. My son is a not very big pitcher, but that didn't hold him back. He has tools that overcome this seeming challenge. There is a second baseman on his college team that's all of 5'8" and 140 pounds. And he is a key player for them. I would not focus on size but compare your son's tools to those at the next level.. get some realistic feedback from qualified voices.. then decide where he best fits.

As far as getting on the radar, you betcha. Get his name out there NOW by emailing coaches, attending showcase, etc. The top schools begin the recruiting practice early (my son's school knew him as a freshman) and follow their progress into the junior year, where the top players commit early. Good luck.

My 2B isn't big, either. He got noticed early because he played 2B when the SS and the C were being scouted (both are now D1 commits). Scouts came to see them, and a couple of them started following the young guy, too.

Get your son on the best team you can find, one that plays in the national WWBA tournaments. He does not have to be the star. If he can play, he will get noticed. Good luck!

Dustin Pedrioia was always the smallest guy on the field starting in Little League, but that didn't stop him from swinging for the fences every time at the plate. Arizona State tried to run him off at first glance. They are darned glad they didn't. An extreme work ethic and never say die attitude has taken him to the top of MLB players. Size only matters if you let it.

Read the timeline here. You are just fine as far as timing. Your journey really starts next summer so start planning now. 1) Get on a team for the USA baseball 16U tournament in June. 2) Plan on the WWB National tournament in Tucson in Oct. 3) Plan on the Arizona Fall Jr Classic. 4) Find a competitive summer team that plays Connie Mac ball or another competitive wood bat league.

Identify the schools he is interested in, do the research now, it will take you some time to figure out where he might want to go. Send them a letter/email at the end of his HS season with any highlights and outline his summer/fall schedule. Follow up with another email letter at the end of summer with his fall schedule. Pick a combine or two to see how he really stacks up against the competition. This should get him on a few lists and it will start to become clearer by his Jr season where he might fit. Relax, enjoy, but plan in advance.

Good advice so far...I would add that, when smaller size is in the mix, it might be wise to find venues where a lengthier exposure is possible (target college 3-5 day camps, week long quality national tournaments)...this way the person scouting can see play after play, day after day if needed. In general, a smaller player is not going to make quite as big an impact in a two day showcase, where a few ground balls are fielded and a couple of rounds of bp are taken. One of these could be useful in getting the speed, etc. on the map.

Prior to WWBA 17u Nationals in Marietta (between jr/sr year), I would say my kid was barely on the radar as far as serious interest. He "only" had the local jc in his offer pocket. (He went to a top tier week long camp of one of his favorite D-1's a few weeks prior.) After a good, consistent production in the WWBA, he had interest from 6 D-1's...serious interest from 2-3 quality programs...and is now in his 2nd year at a good D-1.

Summary of my advice...pick 2 or 3 target programs and attend a summer camp or two there...get on a good team (after the soph and jr years) that competes in the quality national tournaments.

Lightning in a bottle does happen, especially after much hard work.

by top tier week long camp, do you mean a camp of a big DI and not like a showcase?

canthappen


If the boy has talent the scouts will take notice, trust me

quote:

If the boy has talent the scouts will take notice, trust me

True, but you would be wise to keep your expectations low. My middle-infielder, an extremely lean player who still performed quite well as a college freshman, had only 3 D1's pursue him and quite a few lower-level programs showed zero interest. Even the school that he signed with had to look past his slight frame. His select coach said one of the college's coaches commented, "He's not much to look at, but...."

Just remember - it only takes one.

Put him up against the top competition in and around your area. If he does exceptional and plays "above the competition" it won't matter what size he is. Someone will take him as long as the exposure is there as well.

There is nothing that you can do! It's up to your son.

quote:

Originally posted by NyMetropolitans22:
by top tier week long camp, do you mean a camp of a big DI and not like a showcase?

Yes...he went to one of his "favorites" week-long advanced camp...a few weeks later, the recruiter for that college was at the Marietta event, "following up" on him while scouting others...good, consistent performance "over time" at both of these events led to a decent recruited walk-on offer...kid decided elsewhere, but still.

quote:

Originally posted by Ryan Robinson:
There is nothing that you can do! It's up to your son.

Ryan...I have come to respect your input on many issues in the last few years. While I believe I understand what you are trying to say here, I will just have to disagree with the statement in general.

I want to believe (and do believe) that a big portion of the exposure his last couple of years of the process would not have happened had I not been fairly actively involved. I have one of the most disciplined, focused kids you could think of (academically & athletically)...but at 16-17 years old, they are still learning much about the process (as was I)...and life in general.

DaddyBo
I do agree that parents play a role in providing money, transportation, moral support, advice, etc to their kids but I think at the end of the day it really comes down to the players work ethic, willingness to sacrifice, make-up, and ability coupled with performance. As you well know some parents will take things to far but I've always been a supporter of parents having contact with coaches. I understand what you are saying and also agree with you.