Invite to visit Fall Practice

My son made 2 visits in which he watched practice.  On each one, the RC asked us to arrive in the AM for a campus and baseball facilities tour followed by a sit down meeting with him in the locker room.  This meeting was a feeling out process for the coach and my son and was very informal.  The meeting lasted a little over an hour and they talked about a lot of things, from girls to cars to football and of course baseball.  We then went to lunch and came back and watched the practice from the stands.  The RC and HC acknowledged my son but did not interact with him while practice was underway. Once practice ended the HC stopped by briefly to chat followed by the RC who thanked us for coming and asked us to stay in touch.  

Proud Papa posted:

My son has been invited to attend a Fall practice for an A-10 school. He's a rising junior who is starting to get some attention from New England D1 schools. What should we expect when we visit during a practice?

One more question: He's been a catcher the last few years (throws 80 from behind the plate with a 1.92 pop and 85 from 3rd) but this school is interested in him as a pitcher. He will be the varsity catcher for one of the best  teams in MA (with D1 commit pitchers) and likely won't get to pitch unless another catcher shows up. He may get time on the mound next summer, but is this something we should discuss with the school? 

Appreciate your insights?

I assume that he pitched this past summer?  Is that where they saw him throw?  If so, they must have seen something they liked to invite him to campus.   Is he interested in being a pitcher.....if so, then sure, discuss it with them, they'll want to know that his pitching will be limited this spring.  If he wants to remain a catcher/3B, then obviously you need to let them know that also.  No sense in wasting yours or their time on recruitment if he doesn't want to play where they are projecting him.

Would going to this school outweigh any thoughts about being a PO? From your post, I sense that the other interest is for C. Good experience watching practice and son should have some takeaways from it. I'd leave this option open, especially if this school was a target. Actually I am thinking it's nice the school communicated how they see him.

HS teammate of son got an offer from power 5, but it was as a PO. He was a RHP/1B in HS who could hit with power. School he committed to indicated he would pitch, but also be able to DH some when not pitching. Freshman year he was included in team BP so he could "keep his stroke fresh." Sophomore year, no BP. He is probably the number 2 or 3 arm on staff. One of top pitchers in his summer league this year; he's also attending one of the  top schools to receive a degree so things worked out OK.

Thanks for the feedback. I think they saw him pitch at the camp he went to on campus this summer (wife took him). I think he likes the idea of PO but not sure he'd end up happy only playing occasionally. If it develops to an offer or if other schools project him as a PO then i think he'll be fine with it. As he's never been a full time pitcher I worry what happens if he doesn't develop as a pitcher and then where is he.

Does the school have a good pitching coach?  Gotta assume they liked what they saw when he threw at the camp to think that they can take his arm strength and develop him into a pitcher once he gets there.   What is his velo from the mound?  Height/Weight?   A lot of teams look at projectibility as much as current talent....especially for big kids that throw hard. 

Proud Papa; whatever happens do not give up his "day job" which is a catcher. Is he a "one handed" catcher? Does he shift when catching? Does he go to the batting cages with a friend? Pitching and catching has a different arm angle when throwing. Do you know the Boston Red Sox scout in your area?

Bob

Proud Papa posted:

Thanks for the feedback. I think they saw him pitch at the camp he went to on campus this summer (wife took him). I think he likes the idea of PO but not sure he'd end up happy only playing occasionally. If it develops to an offer or if other schools project him as a PO then i think he'll be fine with it. As he's never been a full time pitcher I worry what happens if he doesn't develop as a pitcher and then where is he.

I think that is a wise concern.

I know a 2018 who threw 80 as a rising freshman and became a PO on one of the best Travel Teams in our region.  He was also a good hitter & third baseman.  Fast forward 4 years and he's throwing 83 and all those summers of not hitting really shows.  Kid might not play in college.

not saying that would happen to your son, but I think it is important to be as versatile as you can be.

Congrats on the invite to watch practice and visit campus.   I would absolutely take them up on their offer.  This is a golden opportunity for your son to begin to understand how this "recruiting thing" works, meet with coaches, possibly tour campus,  and to see college level players that may or may not be the right level for your son.  You don't know unless you go.  We did a lot of these kinds of visits and it really helped us figure out what my son liked and didn't like about different baseball programs and colleges.   Essentially this is an unofficial visit as defined by the NCAA.

See what they have to say about the catcher/pitcher thing.   Let them bring it up, and listen to their reasoning and how they approach it with your son.  Possibly, they've had success with converting catchers to pitchers. in the past and they value it.  Again, he is there to learn. 

Good luck, and JMO.

Follow up - We were on campus at the practice this week. He was the only recruit there for the practice, got a tour of the facilities including locker room, weight lifting and trainers area, met the baseball academic counselor, and spent time talking with players.

Turns out they also run a clinic for local kids (we live 90 minutes away), pitching coach worked with him all during the clinic. When pitchers went to throw in the  bullpen, head coach came over just to watch him and he threw very well. When most of the other boys left all the coaches were talking to my son and i joined them after a few minutes. Discussed the catching vs pitching, they think he's a good catcher but believe his potential is much higher as a pitcher (he's 6'1 190 with a live arm, sat at 87, hit his spots and curve ball was very sharp with control). They said they're open to finding the best position for him considering the  arm strength but not sure if i believe that. 

Ended with them saying again that they're very interested, want him to come down again, catch a basketball or football game and talk some more and asked him when he wants to commit. He would like to do it sooner rather than later. He's going to PG WWBA in Ft Myers next month and we've heard that can generate a lot of activity (if you show well).

He really likes the coach, players, facilities are good enough and for an A-10 team they play a nice non-conference schedule against a number of Power 5 schools (they win some of them) and school offers some of the majors he likes. 

He'd like to play in the south for a bigger program but this feels like a great fit and he agrees.

All in all, a great experience and well worth the time.

It's been said before in this site.  Go where you love and where they love you back.