Letter from ACC Coach - Are They Interested?

Have your son keep them updated and you will know soon enough what the story is

Monty, welcome to HSBBW! As you probably already know this, you have "stumbled" onto the best baseball website known to mankind!

If you have the time, you can easily find this topic that you have posted under other Topic headings but they will all basically give you the same information. I know it's exciting to get this interest to you and your son. Encourage him as you have to show interest in them as well, i.e. letters, emails, etc.

Good luck!

Do not ignore this one! You will find out their level of interest soon enough. If this is one of two dream schools why wouldn't he persue it? Even if they have sent this to 1,000 players... He is one of the 1,000. I doubt they will be sending weekly letters to 1,000 kids. But if they do, doesn't he want to be one of the 1,000?

Go for it !!


What have you got to lose ?

Great advice from everyone.

It certainly won't hurt -- and it could very much help -- if your son demonstrates interest in the program.

Three years ago my son (then a h.s. sophomore) emailed a recruiting coordinator and asked if he could meet him before a college game. The recruiting coordinator said sure, visited with my son for a few minutes at the game, and later came to see my son play. My son now plays for him in college.

I agree with PG. The most important thing is that your son has been contacted, not who else or how many others.
Also, if the coach left his cell# on the letter or e-mail have junior give him a call. It may require a little prodding from you the first time or two; but I assure you that junior will get off the phone feeling better about himself(self confidence)and with a smile on his face. I can still see mine after his first phone call. Enjoy!

Some schools will send out a weekly "update" letter to players they have IDed as potential recruits. Its there way of building a relationship. If your son does indeed turn out to be a player they are interested in they hope that this early communication sways him in his decision down the road. It sure doesnt hurt to let them know that you are interested as well.

Thank you all for your advice. I am going to have him read your comments. To answer one question, the coach did give him his cell number in the first letter (last week) and told him to call anytime if he had questions. I should have thought to point that out to him.

My kid as been inviited to 4 Jr days in Dec and Jan for D1 schools in NE/NY but he can't make them because of basketball - he contacted all of them to say thank you and he is still interested in their school so I don't think it will hurt him not going.

That brings up another question, whats your take on kids like mine you play three sports (football, basketball and baseball), do you think a college coach would like to see a player start of focus on his best sport by his junior year in hs?

quote:

do you think a college coach would like to see a player start of focus on his best sport by his junior year in hs?

Not necessarily. College coaches want players to do what is in the college coach’s best interest. A college baseball coach may be looking at a 3 sport prospect and the player may decide to focus on his best sport --- which may be basketball. This leaves the college baseball coach with one less prospect. I know you didn’t mean that but I thought I’d throw that in. The real answer is probably "YES". This allows "his" prospect to become a better player in "his" (the coach's) sport.

I had some the same thoughts as you when my son was in HS --- But I knew sports are supposed to be rewarding. In my opinion some players and parents forget the purpose of sports and sacrifice the “rewards of sports” in quest for the “rewards of sports”. If you can’t enjoy the moment in sports then it can be a frustrating experience.

According to all the baseball gurus my son had a D-1 scholarship and a spot in the pro draft “in the bag”. High school football came around and he wanted to play football. He played football. There's no doubt in my mind that he enjoyed the last two years of high school football more than he enjoyed his last two years of professional baseball. We as parents have to listen to what our sons say they want, mix that in with what we (with our vast amounts knowledge) think is in their best interest and talk about it.
Fungo

Sans the risk of injury or that he might go with another sport in college, I would think most coaches would see a players that can play 3 sports as a plus.

Not only does it show your sons athletic ability, any kid that can be that busy in HS and have good enough grades to get into college shows a lot about the kids ability to handle the time commitment playing 3 sports demands.

Not sure if the pro draft is a possibility but if so being a 2 sport athlete (that has the potential to play a sport other than baseball in college) can also help to negotiate a higher signing bonus. Not 100% sure on the rules but I believe a team can spread out the signing bonus over a longer period of time. That way the team keeps the MLB commissioner happy by not blowing away the suggested slot money and the player many times gets a higher signing bonus than if he was just a 1 sport athlete.

Definitely stay in touch by e-mail.

Unfortunately while there is nothing to keep your son from going to the games at BC, he should understand that the coaches will not be able to discuss anything with him there (NCAA rules). I tell you this so that he will not mistake their attention to the rules for a brushoff.

If he were to go to games at their home field, however, then they could talk to him as much as both sides mutually wanted. In fact, they could arrange an "unofficial visit" for him along with it. That might be a "junior day" or something set up just for him to suit his schedule.

There are usually a few weekends where the college teams are playing, before your son's team will be taking up his weekends. He should ask in an e-mail whether this is possible.

First - if a college coach includes a handwritten note, that is clearly an expression of more interest than just being on a mailing list. No way they are writing hand written notes to 1000 players. I would absolutely respond accordingly. Among other things, the coach is trying to gauge mutual interest.

On the topic of multiple sports: this has been a subject of much discussion here. There is no question in my mind that playing multiple sports through high school comes with some cost in terms of baseball. Among other things, it takes away the possiblity of exposure during the fall and/or winter. It also slows skill development to some degree.

That said, it is far from a show stopper. There are LOTS of players in D1 baseball who played multiple sports. I'd daresay the majority of D1 baseball players played more than one varsity sport in high school. (This is just a guess. Maybe someone actually has data on this.)

It is also true that some college coaches consider it a plus if a kid plays more than one sport. In my view they see it as a confirmation of athleticism - not necessarily that the other sport makes them a better baseball player.

In our case, my son played football. That meant no fall baseball, no fall showcases, and even made Christmas break camps dicey, since he wasn't really in baseball form at that time. No question that this made exposure harder to get.

But in recruiting, coaches seemed to understand. His college coach did not discourage him from playing football his senior year, but part of that could be because he himself was a multi-sport athlete. I imagine that the attitude varies coach to coach.

We knew there was injury risk playing football his senior year, but bottom line, we figured HS sports is a one-time-through thing. He did not want to give up his senior season, and it all turned out fine. His team made it to the state championship game, he was voted 1st team all state and runner up for state player of the year. He would have really regretted not being a part of that.

There is only one guy who can tell you. The guy who wrote the letter.
Hand written doesn't mean anything. When coaches send letters out they know people pay more attention to personalized letters. Marketing 101.

bobblehead


Totally wrong in my mind---totally wrong---a personal note means the coach sat down and took the time to do it--- I dont understand that you cannot undertsand why that means something---

quote:

When coaches send letters out they know people pay more attention to personalized letters.

Good point. It is attempting to indicates the coach has increased interest --- recruiting 101

I asked a friend of mine if a handwritten note meant something, he said you bet it does! He also said something else to me, how do you all know what college coaches are thinking? This was in response to whether sending emails were a worthless effort or not. Advice given was also to return all questionaires that you have an interest in, regardless of where you are in the recruiting process or level of HS play. They do get read.

I agree with Fungo, this is more recruiting 101 than marketing 101.

You bet handwritten notes mean a lot. Even if they are sending out dozens of hand written notes; you are much closer than the hundreds of photo copied news chippings and computer generated letters without any hand written notes that acknowledge specific interest.

quote:

Hand written doesn't mean anything.

I'm sorry but this is just wrong. The major programs have hundreds of players in their follow/mail list. To think that they are writing hand written letters to all of them is just ridiculous.

quote:

Originally posted by Rob Kremer:

I'm sorry but this is just wrong. The major programs have hundreds of players in their follow/mail list. To think that they are writing hand written letters to all of them is just ridiculous.

quote:

Pick up the phone, call ACC coach, and ask him, "what will it take for my boy to be a contributor in your program"?

OS I'm confused. While my son made the majority of the calls I also made a few of them. What kind of a response would you expect to get by asking a question of: "What will it take for my boy to be a contributor in your program". That almost sounds as if you're asking how much money you need to donate to the athletic department in order for the son to play.

I would be more prone to ask what kind of interest they had in my son. After all isn't that what you want to know?

If it is a hand written note to a camp it is to fund raise. It will get better response.
Marketing 101

If a coach is interested in you he will get on the phone.
Recruiting 101

A D1 coach or his coaches cannot , under any circumstances call a freshman, sophmore or junior.

Hand written notes are written in hand for one purpose. The coach is letting you know that he is very interested in you and wants you to know it. Camp letters and recruiting letters are mailed in bulk to many many players. When a coach takes the time to write you a personal note in hand he is sending you an obvious message. Now I have seen a ploy before. I saw a hand written note inviting a player to a camp. But then I noticed the note had been photo copied and the only thing that was not was the players name. It was an attempt to make it seem like the player had actually received a hand written note to attend the camp.

TPM I am aware of that. He is a JR and soon will be able to receive calls. A camp invite is a camp invite whether hand written or not. A coach who is interested will call to recruit a prospect when allowed. Camps are generally fund raisers.
Picture the coaching staff organizing a fundraiser from lists they have purchased. they are talking strategies on how to get a good response. Yes there may be some they have seen but many they haven't. If the coach has seen a player he will let him know when and where.
Of all the colleges we talked to only one tried to sell us a camp and that was Miami U. The others kept in touch with emails and phone calls when permitted.
If you get a solicitation in the mail you have to judge whether you want to spend the money of not. Are you interested in the college ? Act accordingly. College ball is a business's you all know. Be skeptical but don't avoid ones you are interested in. The coaches know that recruits are looking for a glimmer of hope.

Bobbleheaddad,
First off, the original post was not about a handwritten note, that was mentioned later if one were to get one.
I do agree that sometimes the letters one receives is designed to make one feel that he is signaled out as receiving this type of correspondance. It is quite common for most programs to send weekly updates and ask for you to do the same.

I am telling you from asking a HC, told me that hand written notes( in addition to the other correspondance)DO mean something other than the weekly reports, the New Year's wishes, etc. If you want to argue that, fine with me. This wasn't what the original post was about anyway (hand written notes).

I thought you were arguing with me .

Bobble,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykmV_lqXtuQ

quote:

I thought you were arguing with me .

I WAS arguing with you. You said "Hand written doesn't mean anything."

Now you are qualifying, saying it is a marketing ploy if it is on a camp invite. If it is "marketing 101" to hand write messages on camp invites, then it looks to me like very few college coaches took marketing 101, because of the dozens of camp invites my son has received, I can't think of a single one that had a hand-written note on it.

But the several hand-written notes my son did get from college coaches, every single one of them followed through with serious recruiting interest.

Yes, hand written means something.

My son had several D1 and a D11 offers and not 1 hand written note. The colleges that were interested got in contact with him to talk about his plans. That is what means something. Mostly emails and or contact with his coach expressing their interest. As I said only Miami talked about a camp and I discarded that as fund raising.
Colleges will recruit you if interested not try to get you to go to a camp.

So to sum up your argument, it would be:

"My son didn't get any handwritten notes, therefore handwritten notes don't mean anything."

Yes and that includes several other D1 players that I know.
Letters to camps are fundraisers. If they have to invite you to a camp they usually haven't seen you or they haven't made their mind up if they have. Coaches that see you as an A list player do not usually mess around and make their interest known.
My son was recruited by UNLV for over a year based on his DVD. They called as soon as they could legally do so but we also had weekly emails and offers of tickets to Football games etc. If I knew what I knew now I would have pressed for an offer. Instead we held on until the last minute and an offer never came. They signed a JC transfer even after all the emails and talk of paying for his education. They told me he was an A list prospect. Fortunately we had several backup plans.
So what I am really saying is be skeptical. Only deal with programs that you are interested in and that show an interest in recruiting you. Be very skeptical of camp offers hand written or otherwise.
If a college is interested they will do more than invite you to a camp. Not one college mentioned a camp other than Miami. D1 JCs offered us private showings because they refused to commit based on the DVD. The ones I remember were Pensacola and Miami Dade.

quote:

Originally posted by Rob Kremer:
So to sum up your argument, it would be:

"My son didn't get any handwritten notes, therefore handwritten notes don't mean anything."

Rob,
Why bother to argue, BHD seems to know what every coach is thinking and has taken this topic way off it's original course. I think that most can figure out a camp invite is a camp invite and may have absolutely nothing to do with future interest.

All I know is that mine received two that I can remember and I think that both meant that they were very serious and their way of letting him know how serious they were. Both letters were sent after July 1, so it was above and beyond the phone calls. Neither one ever offered, as son realized that they were serious and he was not and let them know asap so others would have that opportunity.

This is a very long process and one that is often times difficult to figure out. The best information supplied here is to fill out every questionaire and follow through when asked to by the coach. I would never call a coach early in the process (before July 1) unless asked to by him, it's important to go through the courting process, and both parties should get to know each other. I know that my son learned very quickly though conversations with a coach it was not someone he wanted to play for, dream school or not. Funny how plans change, unless you are just searching for anyone to take you on as a player, that isn't always the best "fit".

Coaches that court players seriously for a year and never offer do so for various reasons, one is that they found someone else, two is their plans for that position changed, and maybe they just didn't feel that you were right for their program, regardless of how good you were.

BHD,
We all have opinions on how the process should work, based upon our experience. What worked for one may not work for another. You sent videos, never, even for a full scholarship would we have considered that. Mine was going to play for someone that saw him play, live and in person. He turned down almost every coach that said, "I heard that you were good for our program". Now maybe for someone else they would accept that, but for most, I think that they would not. What worked for one, doesn't work for another.

BHD, what does your last post have to do with anything? Everybody knows that camp invites are for moneymaking. The question at hand had nothing to do with camp invites. How your son was recruited and by whom is totally irrelevant to the statement you made about hand-written letters being meaningless.

So let me ask it another way: In the winter of a kid's junior year, he receives a hand-written note from a D1 coach saying "I saw you, I like you, I will be following you."

And you say this is no more significant than a form-letter "Dear HS baseball player" that asks him to fill out the on-line recruiting questionnaire?

Rob I thought I was clear. That is more a direct contact. As usual you and TPM make More out of what I said than it is worth. I read his question a few times and if they are not pushing a camp it is direct contact hand written or not. Doesn't mean they will sign him or anything beyond initial interest. Clearly some colleges will put a lot of personal contact to wards a player and in the end it may mean nothing. That is why I gave a personal experience. It went way beyond a letter and was active recruiting. Calls emails, ticket offers ,unofficial visits etc. Parents have to understand the recruiting process. Learn the buzz words, stall tactics and learn to discern what is important. He said he was interested in a couple colleges that sent him personalized letters. I am not sure that means his name on it or hand written. In any case respond if you are interested but view things with a skeptical eye.
The alternative. If you don't get a handwritten letter they aren't really all that interested ?

Guys,

Thanks for the input so far. I do want to clarify that I never said my son got a handwritten note, I am sorry if my orginal post was misleading.

He has received one personal letter each of the last two weeks from this ACC school. Bothletters are personalized with name, address. Looks to me as something different that "dear prospect" (we have some of these). Letter one have first name in body of letter as well as coach's personal number.

Last week another personal letter with dates school is starting, practicve on this date, first game against this team on this date. Much about players drafted out of high school who improve their draft postion after going to this school. A ton about academic support. Key to me was they said they will be mailing him an update letter each week during the season and they want him to do the same once his season gets started.

As a NH player I know its flattering to him his school even knows his name. They have told him they will be coming to watch him in NC at the Tournament of Stars and the two weeks be will be at East Cobb.

The letters are nice but can he match up to the competition. At least he will get the chance and the letters will be a lifetime momento.

Got to run to his basketball game - not responsible for poor grammer and spelling

There are some schools that send out weekly updates with information to a select group of prospects. At least in the past, that list included K-State and Baylor.

If the coach is giving your son his cell phone number, that sounds pretty promising to me. I doubt coaches give that out to hundreds of players.

Best wishes to your son!

nhmonty,
It was clear to us that you never said hand written correspondance, it was just something added.

You won't know what it all means until July 1, just tell your son to keep working hard on the field and in the classroom.

However, despite what's been said, if your son gets a handwritten note, IMO, it means something.

BTW, for new folks coming and asking the same type of questions, the questionare is the coach's opportunity to see if you profile as a player for his program. With the info submitted, he decides if you will or will not be in his future correspondance or worth (yes I said worth) pursuing. That first correspondance may or may not come with a camp brochure. He needs to gather all of the facts, what type of pjayer you are and what type of student you are. He will use this and other info (showcase info, coach recommendation) as well.
Most schools do not actively recruit from their camps, but I know of many players who were in correpondance with a coach, went to camp and got an offer on the spot. If you live on the other side of the country and in serious discussion with coach, the trip to camp may be worth your while. Jumping at every camp invite is not always a good thing to consider if you are limited on your finances.
That's why coaches ask to send your summer or fall schedule to them.

quote:

Last week another personal letter with dates school is starting, practicve on this date, first game against this team on this date. Much about players drafted out of high school who improve their draft postion after going to this school. A ton about academic support. Key to me was they said they will be mailing him an update letter each week during the season and they want him to do the same once his season gets started.

Both points that are being considered are both correct in this case. Is it a computer generated letter that was sent to several players? Absolutely. It's amazing the capabilities that "mail mergers" have in personalizing letters! Are they genuinely interested in you as a player? Absolutely. Not one time did i present my phone number to a recruit that I wasn't interested in. I would say that i spent on average 2 hours a night on the telephone talking to recruits. Adding a possible phone call from a kid that i don't feel is capable of playing in my program at the time being is not going to happen. If he gave you his phone number he's interested. Back to what i stated before, if it's not handwritten then other guys received it. What can you take from that? CALL THE COACH! Not you initially as the parent but your son needs to call the coach. They want to develop relationships with players. They sent that letter to the players who are on the top of their recruiting board. Other players got the letter and other players called. They are building a relationship with that coach as we speak. Your son needs to get involved as well. After your son speaks to the coach he'll have a better feel for what their interest is. The coach will probably try and set up another planned phone conversation. Give it awhile and then once you get an understanding of the coaches position on your son you can call and ask any questions that you may have. Hope this helps!