Legal?

mtownfan, Yes to all of the above. For the most part the restrictions are put on the college and the college coaches to protect the student athlete from undue pressure from recruiting pressures. While the college coach cannot call the student athlete, he can talk about anything IF you call him. On the topic of e-mails, the NCAA does not put any restrictions on e-mails at this time.
Fungo

So would it be a good idea to call or email a coach at this time?

mtownfan

A lot depends on what you have happening baseball wise--if you are still on JV it makes no sense to contact them---if you are a varsity contributor it makes sense--you have to be the judge of your situation

I think you certainly can make contact now.

Although, college coaches are just beginning their season your chance of talking to one may be limited.

I would send an email or letter and introduce yourself letting the coach know of your strong desire and interest in their program.

This will get you on his radar screen and you can continue your pursuit as your high school career progresses.

quote:

Originally posted by TRhit:
mtownfan

A lot depends on what you have happening baseball wise--if you are still on JV it makes no sense to contact them---if you are a varsity contributor it makes sense--you have to be the judge of your situation

TR...I'm kind of on the fence with this. I don't think it hurts to start the process. Possibly show some interest, let them know of showcases you have or are planning to attend. The reason I say this is that as we've seen on a number of topics

1- High School stats and season can/do have minimal impact on recruiting
2- Due to talent levels of some schools (and coaching decisions) many Sophmores do play JV.
3- JV or Varsity you are probably going to start the process in the Summer/Fall after your Sophmore year anyway. Based on rational of waiting till your Varsity a player may wait until Spring of his JR year which I feel is later than you would want to.

Just since my son started the process, it has sped up tremendously, with that in mind I do not see the harm in starting the process of contacting school. I probaly would start with introductory letter and than e-mail as primary contact with phone call a little later. your thoughts?

quote:

Originally posted by Fungo:
On the topic of e-mails, the NCAA does not put any restrictions on e-mails at this time.
Fungo

I thought coaches were prohibited from initiating contact via e-mail but CAN respond, much like phone calls, no?

Beezer

NCAA ruled e-mail is like snail mail, not phone calls. NCAA also regards text messaging the same as snail mail, reasoning you are not obligated to reply anything.