2018 has had some brief email contact with a couple schools that will be at a showcase this coming weekend. Wasn't sure about the do's and don'ts when it comes down to talking to each one right in front of one another...how brief or lengthy should the conversation go and will it likely disinterest a school if they see a player actively talking to another school?
Thanks!
Replies sorted oldest to newest
Good question... I'm sure your son is going to the Headfirst or Showball Camps this weekend.... We'll be at Headfirst and kind of curious about that as well....
SUGGEST: Refine your post to incorporate: Do's and don'ts when it comes down to talking to each Coach right in front of one another at a Showcase.
You'll likely get more people to chime in...just a thought...
We attended HF on Long Island, not sure if all the locations are run the same way but in general you'll have two kinds of interactions with the coaches. Make that three:
There are coaches on the field coaching each team and there are several of them. There will be a lot of discussion about what's happening (maybe even some joking around) between the coaches/players that will be interaction but not specific to that player and being recruited by that school. It's a good way to get to know the coaches a little outside of recruiting and players can pay attention to what sort of personality the coach has.
There are coaches between the fields watching games. I found that they were generally alone or with the other coaches from their school - not in packs of coaches. That's when I saw players approach them to talk. I sat near-by while players lined up to speak with the Macalester HC on one field and then later sat near the Harvard HC while players did the same thing. Most of those discussions were about grades, test scores and what field the player was playing on next - and would the coach be there or could they be there.
Then there were conversations initiated by the coaches after seeing the player - where it was one on one and started by the coach. These were usually off to the side, right after a game and no other schools were around.
There may be other situations but those are the three scenarios that I saw the most while there over 2 days. For the purposes of the player tracking down the coaches and having a discussion with them I think you'll find the opportunity to speak with them alone without other schools around.
I wouldn't worry about that too much. Kind of analogous to being at a mixer or a speed dating event (not that I have any experience with those)
If anything, seeing your kid talking to other coaches can serve to reinforce a coach's own evaluation. If the kid was standing around and nobody was showing any interest, he might question his own interest in the kid.
Coaches know players are there to meet lots of coaches, and they are there to see lots of players.
You'll also see the coaches hanging with each other before, during, and after these events. I think you can assume they exchange a few notes. (But it's not like HS where the cool guys and girls only hang with their own kind. You might see a top D1 having lunch with bottom tier D3!)
I'll add in - the whole camp is built around the players interacting with the coaches. There is no "I shouldn't speak to that coach" mentality built into the event. You'll get a book with their pictures and name, they'll be introduced in front of the entire camp and there will be lots of discussion about how the players should talk to them. The camp staff is open to helping with introductions and/or speaking with the players about how to go about introducing themselves if there is someone who has trouble with that. There are those here who even have stories about Brendan helping them with one thing or another.
Heading in to the event I'm sure there will be nerves about talking to the coaches one on one, what should be said, when to do it, etc (on top of playing well) but when you get there you'll see that they do their best to try to take some of that pressure off on the outside the field stuff.
World's collide ...
Gov posted:Good question... I'm sure your son is going to the Headfirst or Showball Camps this weekend.... We'll be at Headfirst and kind of curious about that as well....
SUGGEST: Refine your post to incorporate: Do's and don'ts when it comes down to talking to each Coach right in front of one another at a Showcase.
You'll likely get more people to chime in...just a thought...
Thanks Gov...just changed the topic.
Not going to HF or Showball, just a local showcase where about 8-10 schools will be in attendance, but about 5 or 6 of those are on his PG profile listing that carry the program he is interested in (PT).
JCG posted:I wouldn't worry about that too much. Kind of analogous to being at a mixer or a speed dating event (not that I have any experience with those)
If anything, seeing your kid talking to other coaches can serve to reinforce a coach's own evaluation. If the kid was standing around and nobody was showing any interest, he might question his own interest in the kid.
Coaches know players are there to meet lots of coaches, and they are there to see lots of players.
You'll also see the coaches hanging with each other before, during, and after these events. I think you can assume they exchange a few notes. (But it's not like HS where the cool guys and girls only hang with their own kind. You might see a top D1 having lunch with bottom tier D3!)
Makes sense...I'll just make sure he does a quick introduction with the ones he hasn't met yet i guess. 2018 emailed them last night and already received responses from ones he sent his PG profile to, so having them link up beforehand should be a good thing.
phillyinNJ posted:Gov posted:Good question... I'm sure your son is going to the Headfirst or Showball Camps this weekend.... We'll be at Headfirst and kind of curious about that as well....
SUGGEST: Refine your post to incorporate: Do's and don'ts when it comes down to talking to each Coach right in front of one another at a Showcase.
You'll likely get more people to chime in...just a thought...
Thanks Gov...just changed the topic.
Not going to HF or Showball, just a local showcase where about 8-10 schools will be in attendance, but about 5 or 6 of those are on his PG profile listing that carry the program he is interested in (PT).
If it's a small showcase, the coaches will seek out your player and not approach if he is in conversation.
JMO
The only exception to talking to others I ever heard was with regards to Stanford. But that was 10 years ago when their level of success was similar to Vandy's now.
The idea was, if others saw you talking to them they would back off thinking they didn't have a chance. We even had one ACC coach tell me a year later that he did, in fact back off because he heard Stanford was a "done deal." (It wasn't at the time he backed off).
Your choice if you want to consider that type of thing or not? I agree with someone above who said it may(?) confirm to a coach that his assessment is correct and your son is good enough to play at a higher level.
I believe competition is a good thing for your son - let them see there's competition.
justbaseball posted:The only exception to talking to others I ever heard was with regards to Stanford. But that was 10 years ago when their level of success was similar to Vandy's now.
The idea was, if others saw you talking to them they would back off thinking they didn't have a chance. We even had one ACC coach tell me a year later that he did, in fact back off because he heard Stanford was a "done deal." (It wasn't at the time he backed off).
Your choice if you want to consider that type of thing or not? I agree with someone above who said it may(?) confirm to a coach that his assessment is correct and your son is good enough to play at a higher level.
I believe competition is a good thing for your son - let them see there's competition.
He did end up talking to a few of the coaches (a DII expressed high interest in him and a DIII that he has not been talking to sought him out to tell him how well he did and was impressed) along with a few of the DIII's that are carrying the degree he is pursuing. He mentioned he felt a little weird talking to so many in the same area, but told him i'm sure they all understand. The next 12 months should be extremely exciting for him...
