late bloomer not noticed, now what?

bp, welcome to the board

a good guy to get some feedback from would be TR at College Select, he is often on here & knows your area

my 2 cents is that it's never too late to get some attention - tho anytime during the hs season is tough because colleges are playing as well. that said, if you make some connections, and generate interest - a college coach often can get a pretty good read on a player with a few calls to trusted sources

if TR doesn't chime in soon, I'll help you find him

.

quote:

Originally posted by bpares:
our son is a classic late bloomer (also a young HS senior, with a July, 1988 b-day), didn't hit his stride until mid-Jr year. Had a solid varsity season and strong Sr Legion season as a 16yr old.

What are his chances of 'walking on' to a decent D3 team? What % of D3 players are recruited? It's a shame his (likely) strongest season will be moot when it comes to being noticed by college recruiters.

First of all, welcome to this site. You will find great advice from a lot of very special folks.
I think you are giving up hope way to early especially for DIII in your area of the country. Provided the GPA is good/solid, with a lot of work, your son may well end up being much more than a walk on. DIII coaches make their living by finding "late bloomers."
I would work with your son to identify schools where he has an academic interest and begin working the baseball side.
DIII's are actually just now starting their intense recruiting. Get letters to each coach and follow up with calls. Remember, it only takes one to have an interest.
I know one parent who contacted a school in June of 2005. Their son had the school ranked in his top two but was uncertain about his ability to compete/walkon. He is now at that school and may end up being the number 2 or 3 pitcher at a highly competitive DIII. Mine was considered to have been a "late bloomer" and ended up at a DIII where he had a very nice career starting every game over 4 years. If I can be of any help, please let me know or send a PM. Good luck and be optimistic.

D3 or not, it is not too late at all.....A number of my sons teammates did not get recruited until late in their senior season.

There is still plenty of time....My son had not even considered the D3 school he eventually committed to until January of his senior year......

Get on the timeline, identify the schools he would like and start contacting them....best of lluck, if I can be of any help let me know.

Thanks all for the prompt replys...nice to have joined the group.

It seems like the stream of advice is that you never know...

Is it wise to have a one-on-one session with a scout or someone - any recommendations? Matt did attend a Perfect Game session, did OK, but not a stand-out. His grades are pretty good, 1200-range SATs. Seeing how he did in a wood-bat league, against players 2-3 years older was very positive. Appreciate any/all suggestions.

bp,
as a DIII coach in the Northeast...I think you'll find many DIII players are alot like your son...late bloomers, or just overlooked. I can tell you that in our program I'd say 80% of freshman are recruited but walkons always come out and heck you never know...my jr captain starting 2b who was 4th on the team in hitting las year was a walk on! You've got a PM Too!!

bpares,

Welcome to the site,

Just an FYI;

I didn't get noticed or get my college scholly, until AFTER I graduated HS.

There's plenty of time, just be proactive get your son to send those letters out to schools

Goodluck!

bpares, welcome to the site!

All good advice given above. One more D3 walk-on success story: At my son's D3 almost all the players were recruited, but last year his Junior teammate who had been an unrecruited walk-on as a freshman, won the conference batting title. Just make sure your son "does his homework" as described above, researching which D3 schools might be the best fit for him. Good luck!

By the way, infielddad didn't mention this above, but his "late bloomer" D3 son did okay for himself - he is now a minor leaguer.

bpares, you have a PM.