How to Kick off the Recruiting Process?

You need to be seen by these coaches and these schools. That would mean that you would go to their camp and make your interest in their program known.

An e-mail out of the blue will accomplish little unless you are a known "commodity".

As a general rule I would not immediatly ignore schools that don't currently interst you.

My son ended up at a school I would have never guessed at in a million years. All it takes is the right interest from the right coach and a good visit to the campus. You never know, the campus you "heard" about might not be the campus you "see".

Kick it off with a good conditioning program so that you will be ready for spring ball and work hard in the classroom.
Work up a plan that makes sense, sending out emails is meaningless unless you have some serious stuff to show for it. Attend a good showcase to get an objective evaluation and make sure that you are working on summer plans, that's more important as a sophmore than worrying about sending emails to a coach who probably won't respond unless they have something that is worth responding to.

Thank you very much. I appreciate all of the input!

Can I add to this thread with another question, about kicking off the recruiting process? When is it best to spend the $$ for showcasing. Is it really necessary...how many ...when?? A family could go broke. Some perspective from old timers might help us newbies make good decisions!

I think your answers will be 'it depends,' but can those of you with experience give a sense of when it is best to send a kid to his 1st big showcase? Is it really necessary? Is one enough in the summer after 10th grade?

At $600 ++ per showcase, my gut (and my husband!) says we are not likely to send our 2013RHP to more than one this year.

For a 2013, is it a good start to the recruiting process to have 1. intense winter conditioning 2. solid travel team with v. good college visibility 3. one big showcase (PG or Headfirst), and 4. doing a few key college camps this fall? (and of course doing well in school!!!)


I realize that is a bunch of questions, not just one! I appreciate the collective wisdom on this board, and I think the posts will help all of use 2013 / 2014 parents.

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OP posted.....I have began recieving emails and letters from a few colleges, but none that really interest me. I am a 2013 so these emails are real general and don't mean much. Should I begin emailing coaches and schools that I would like to play for? If so, what should I include in these emails?

First, establish the level of player your son is. As CollegeParentNoMore suggests, I would NOT cross anyone off the list at this time. Yes, have your son start corresponding with ooaches to introduce himself. If you are seeking a school that recruits nationally, it makes sense that you go to national tournaments and showcases. If you are seeking a college that is more regional or state specific, I would find a more regional showcase and camps. You can tell by looking at their roster. In both cases, ask the coaches where they will be and from what events they mostly recruit. IMO, it makes sense to start showcasing after sophomore year for national programs and then later for more regional programs. Also, you have to take into account what divisions these schools are in. A D1 will usually have more recruiting dollars, so they can go to more events by having coaches at multiple events at the same time.

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BaseballmomandCEP posted....1. intense winter conditioning 2. solid travel team with v. good college visibility 3. one big showcase (PG or Headfirst), and 4. doing a few key college camps this fall? (and of course doing well in school!!!)

This was what we did (above) in general terms. We did 1 PG event per season with travel team, and one individual showcase (HeadFirst) between junior and senior year. Travelling far and wide in the Fall of senior year did not make sense for us, as he was carrying tough (APs) academic load. We would do the same if we could do it all over again, but we would probably change the % to favor more individual showcases and select camps. Recruited = Passion + Skill + Exposure + Persistence + Luck.

Good luck.