Interesting tidbits from recent recruiting survey

It's all cookie cutter. Ask a coach whether he would have 5 90+ pitchers or 5 sub 85 guys with character. The coaches down in Georgia are scouting talent not character. Yes it helps, but it is not the most important quality. Unless you're an absolute jerk or can't read, your talent will get you a baseball scholarship.

8/10 for parental involvement. Not even sure what that means. 

PABaseball posted:

It's all cookie cutter. Ask a coach whether he would have 5 90+ pitchers or 5 sub 85 guys with character. The coaches down in Georgia are scouting talent not character. Yes it helps, but it is not the most important quality. Unless you're an absolute jerk or can't read, your talent will get you a baseball scholarship.

8/10 for parental involvement. Not even sure what that means. 

I think they meant the impact the parents have on the ultimate decision to attend  particular school.  And I would have to believe the character question is in addition to athletic prowess.  I agree.  A 90+ guy will always trump the 83-85 guy with a great disposition. lol

But the 89 guy with good character will trump the 90 guy with bad character.  i think many coaches are tired of babysitting stupidity in college.  I know of three local guys who were dismissed from teams this year for bad choices.  too many good players out there to have to deal with some of this stuff.  When they use the word recruit it tells me they are good enough to be considered so then the intangibles. 

I wonder what they truly mean by negative parental involvement.  I know the stories but is that all?  I know some coaches have told me one of the most frustrating aspects of recruiting is having to not only sell the player but the parents.  Some see it as negative when parents start asking the tough questions but I think that is our job.

PitchingFan posted:

I know some coaches have told me one of the most frustrating aspects of recruiting is having to not only sell the player but the parents.  Some see it as negative when parents start asking the tough questions but I think that is our job.

To me, this is a no-brainer. A) Many times the parents are footing the bill, B) physiologically, the kids' brains are not done cooking yet, and C) many parents have been-there-done-that-got-the-tee-shirt. My thought is that if the coaches aren't welcoming of the parents then maybe that isn't the place for the kid. Obviously every situation is different but it would seem to me that a coach is somewhat naïve if they think the parents don't need to be sold as well, especially with the cost of an education these days.

This "tidbit" is nothing but a marketing strategy from a recruiting services viewpoint (& obviously the OP)...Not objective, so not much real value...Who conducted this "survey" or research? Was it done by a neutral party?   Who, specifically were the respondents? Was it designed for only certain levels of Coaches/recruits? Or is this a "cherry-picked" version? Where's the entire survey?

This info is so generic, it's fodder. Best advise is do your homework. Due diligence...example, back in the day, son was recruited by a couple SEC Schools...Low & behold, a quick check with NCAA showed that one institutions was on  probation...known cheating to keep kids eligible...Another infraction & they could be suspended...

Just ask the recruiting coach or head coach a few important questions...What kind of Academic support? Is there a "proxy test giver" when guys are on the road? 

Be sure your athlete knows what a syllabus is! Be sure he establishes an open line of communication with profs, etc...

Concerning character, these Coaches have "spies in the land", I assure you! Coaches talk! It's a small world.

In my opinion NCSA is a waste of time & money.    NCSA is just another scam in the travel ball world.

^^^^ 

3and2Fastball posted:

In my opinion NCSA is a waste of time & money.    NCSA is just another scam in the travel ball world.

If we're going to go there, I'll give my two cents as someone with direct experience. After being referred to NCSA by a friend, we had an initial "evaluation" call and it was a HARD sell that took up at least the last 15 minutes of a 45 minute call. The dude knew that my son was on the phone as well and said some things that made the sense of urgency seem greater than it was. Despite this, we signed on anyway because we didn't know anything. I found HSBBW (and a couple of other no-cost treasure troves of information) two months later and would not have spent the $2034.00 that was required had I known about them earlier. The service was very useful in one way; the consolidated database of colleges and ability to search based on any number of filters, including things specific to baseball. Still not worth two grand but hindsight is 20/20 and I don't beat myself up about it. It ended up having little to no impact on my son's recruiting journey.

If NCSA is selling, I'm not buying.   Recruits and parents have to find their own way and do the hard work.   There are so many paths that require the recruit think for themselves.   Nobody can do it for you, and nobody is going to work as hard.  Save your hard earned money.

As always, JMO.

So you did it again Rocky.  You started a thread that bashes NCSA and recruiting sites.   I'm not sure if your plan is advertising for them or you are just sold on them but here goes.  I tell anyone who asks unless you have $2-3000 to throw away you do not need a recruiting site.  You can do all the work yourself or you can give me $3,000 and I will tell you what you want to hear.  For $3,000, I can be very appeasing. 

Fenway & PitchingFan...another 

And, Fenway, you know best! You're our resident expert on D-3's! So you're  "JMO" garners the greatest of respect in this community! 

tequila said "Still not worth two grand but hindsight is 20/20 and I don't beat myself up about it. It ended up having little to no impact on my son's recruiting journey.

That's been the consensus on hsbbweb since the inception! Glad you "found the light!"Still not worth two grand but hindsight /20 and I don't beat myself up about it. It ended up beat myself u little to no impact on my son's recruiting journey

baseballmom posted:

That's been the consensus on hsbbweb since the inception! Glad you "found the light!"

Unfortunately found the light $2K lighter in my wallet!

In my era recruiting was all word of mouth and coach’s help. There weren’t showcases and travel tournaments. I was fortunate to play on teams with other scouted players. Thirty years later my oldest (daughter) became a softball prospect. I had no idea what to do. 

Her travel program bumped her up to the Gold team. The coach told us to make a list. He said it was all going to happen fast. Girls are physically mature entering high school. I was advised do not use a recruiting service. A teammate’s parent with two girls already in college softball offered to help by sharing his experience. He advised do not use a recruiting service.

When I joined this board my son was fourteen. From experience I understood the process. But I still needed to know timing and destinations for baseball recruiting.

A friend’s son didn’t have a clue on the process. My first advice? Don’t pay anyone. I’ll help and you join hsbaseballweb for multiple alternate opinions. They hired an individual consultant for $1200. He gave them horrible advice. The mother finally asked how I know as much as this guy and respond faster for free. 

I told her I’ve been through it. But I’ve been on hsbaseballweb (at that time) for three years. What I don’t know or want more information I post a question and tell you the intelligent responses that relate to your son.

So my 2022s travel org (community based - t-ball rec through college wood bat) signed the whole team up, along with the 2020s and 2021s. NCSA did a webinar for the kids and then they try to upgrade (to what I am not sure) you via individual calls . It's been helpful to understand the process (transcripts, measurables, video, awards etc . Kid has a few DIII and 1 DI search and follows and some camp invites after a month of being in the system, but I had no idea it cost 2k!

Best recruiting advice I can/do give to anyone who will listen is to get on HSBBW!  Everything you ever needed or wanted to know can be found here and the 2 best parts are the people here who are more than willing to help and the cost!  My son even tries to help out younger classmates by pushing them to get active in their own recruiting as well as checking out the site.  Unfortunately fear and pressure from many of the recruiting services get many to buy into the hype of needing to use them.  

PitchingFan posted:

So you did it again Rocky.  You started a thread that bashes NCSA and recruiting sites.   I'm not sure if your plan is advertising for them or you are just sold on them but here goes.  I tell anyone who asks unless you have $2-3000 to throw away you do not need a recruiting site.  You can do all the work yourself or you can give me $3,000 and I will tell you what you want to hear.  For $3,000, I can be very appeasing. 

I referenced a survey that was just released.  I said specifically I was not plugging NCSA.  However, it's difficult to mention a survey and not mention where it came from.  I did not include a link to the survey. 

Some swear by Perfect Game and some say stay as far away as possible, because all it is is a money maker.  Some think specific prospect camps like Headfirst are worth their weight in gold.  Other's believe it's ridiculous and silly to spend that kind of money on any camp.  These things are all resources.  You use the resources you want, don't use the ones you don't believe in.  It's entirely up to you. People on here have a right to hear from all of us.  I like NCSA.  Respect that.  You obviously don't like NCSA.  I respect that.  Parents should hear about specific horror stories about different companies like NCSA, Perfect Game Prospectwire, BeRecruited, etc. But you should not try to censor anyone who likes these services who may have positive things to say. Yo are an anonymous person on this board.  we don't know who you are.  You can't be vetted.  How do we know if the information you share is valid? How do we know you are not being paid to bash NCSA?  See how silly this becomes.  If you have specific stories that you can share that are constructive that can help people, share them.  You don't have to be nasty about it.

And by the way, the reality is my post had nothing to do with promoting anyone.  a few of you have made it that for some strange reason.  

 "Some think specific prospect camps like Headfirst are worth their weight in gold.  Other's believe it's ridiculous and silly to spend that kind of money on any camp.  "

I  have been on this site for 6 years now (I think) and have read at least a dozen threads on Headfirst and can't recall a single person saying anything remotely like that about it. Is that your opinion? Or can you point me to an online resource that presents that opinion. Are you bundling college prospect camps with HF and the like?  If so,  I would advise you not to. They are apples and oranges.

 "You don't have to be nasty about it."

Ironically that's what I thought about you when you attacked me for no reason in your first thread on this site.

No one is censoring your post. But you have to understand everything NCSA (or similar organizations ) posts has marketing in it. 45% leave their first team is FUD (fear, uncertainty, doubt, you better acquire our help so you don’t shortchange your kid). Do you think it’s coincidence it’s the first data point? But where did the data come from? Who was polled or what group was analyzed?

You have every right to post you believe in the value of recruiting services. But everyone who disagrees has the right to post their opinion. There probably won’t be enough posts to make an accurate data analysis. But from my twelve years on the board I would say the view is eight or nine to one against recruiting services. 

Make your point. If people disagree make a counterpoint. But don’t take it personally. There isn’t a person on this board who hasn’t faced disagreement.