Navigating 15U w/ a Limited Budget - Options. Opinions Requested

Iowamom23 posted:

Now I've realized that my son is making his own success, and while the outside stuff (travel ball, lessons, etc.) we've provided have helped him improve, the truth is — coaches are looking at him and what he does on the field, not at his resume.

 

While there is a lot of truth in that, the path for position players is a little different than for pitchers.  Position players need to be seen more often, usually, and need a wider display of talents (hitting, defense, speed, arm etc) in order to stand out from among a bigger group of prospects.  

Ultimately nobody will care about a resume, period, but specialized training can help a player prepare for Showcases at 16U/17U in ways that few Travel Teams can.... thus the point of the thread

3and2Fastball posted:

Iowamom23 posted:

Now I've realized that my son is making his own success, and while the outside stuff (travel ball, lessons, etc.) we've provided have helped him improve, the truth is — coaches are looking at him and what he does on the field, not at his resume.

 

While there is a lot of truth in that, the path for position players is a little different than for pitchers.  Position players need to be seen more often, usually, and need a wider display of talents (hitting, defense, speed, arm etc) in order to stand out from among a bigger group of prospects.  

Ultimately nobody will care about a resume, period, but specialized training can help a player prepare for Showcases at 16U/17U in ways that few Travel Teams can.... thus the point of the thread

yes, that's true. In freshman year,  people pointed to our shortstop, who started varsity as a freshman, and said, "he's amazing, he'll go D1." I think he has one offer and is now starting to look at JUCO.

I don't think any of us really realized how hard it is to get noticed as a position player.

Iowamom23 posted:

RJM posted:

adbono posted:

MidAtlanticDad posted:

SanDiegoRealist posted:

My point is that nobody who knows this kid would have thought in a million years he was going to get an offer by an SEC school.

I assume that you're looking at this from the perspective of a parent trying to help his son get recruited. My perspective comes from knowing dozens of kids who have gone through this process. I see two likely outcomes from your example recruit. 1) He is a developing athletic specimen, and smart college coaches can see that, and he will quickly earn playing time at his SEC school (or get drafted out of high school). 2) His recent success was an anomaly and his game will never play at the level that his SEC school requires.

 

IMO, getting the SEC offer is not the measure of success. Getting on the field and playing college ball at the right level, with the least amount of disruption to your academic pursuits is a better measure success to me.

 

JMO, but I doubt the recruiter really cared about the kid hitting .370 at a couple of tournaments. He saw much more than that. Probably consistent hard contact, projectable strength and speed, quick feet, strong arm, etc. If he didn't see those things, or his projection is wrong, the kid will probably never play there or maybe not even get on campus.

 

I definitely agree with you that connections matter. My point is simply that too often the fruits of those connections are not what's best for the player. And very few of the guys who really belong at the upper echelon of college baseball get missed by the top schools regardless of which travel team they play with. I actually think those travel team connections are much more valuable at lower levels of college baseball, where there are lots of guys at similar levels of talent.

MidAtlanticDad,  my perspective comes from the same place as yours and I want to tag on to what you said.  An unrealistic assessment (by parents and/or player) of a kid's abilities is the most common problem that I see. Unless you are being contacted by MLB scouts about the potential of being drafted, you don't have the talent to play in the SEC. That's just reality.  Many people don't realize that a high percentage of each recruiting class that reports to a D1 power program never sees the field at that school. They bounce down to D2, D3, and JUCO. It often takes a semester or 2 for that to happen.  IMO, once you get past the upper echelon of talent it is difficult to separate the other very good players. That's why the increase in over-recruiting at so many schools.  They want 3 months to evaluate players before they decide who they really want. And even when a kid plays on a well known travel team, attends some high profile events (where all the scouts are watching -sometimes), has a good PG ranking, etc. - there is no guarantee that you get the expected results. Here is a case in point & while it is surely the exception it merits consideration. An old teammate of mine is one of the most successful HS coaches in our state (just won state championship). He has been a college HC in JUCO & D1 but has been back in HS for past few years. Couple of years ago he had a player that fit the bill I described above. Kid played 2 sports (football), played on nationally known travel team, had good PG ranking, made all tournament at WWBA 16u & 17u - and he was still lightly recruited. HS coach called a HC at a Big 12 school (that he knew) and suggested that he take this kid because everybody had missed on him.  Big 12 coach listened and that kid started 55 games and hit over .300 as a freshman.  HS coaches with credibility can do things like that. If you happen to play for a HS with one of those count your lucky stars!!

Re: Unfealistic assessment by parents and kids. After a "reach" commitment the kid is off at college having to determine on his own (without parents) if he's in the wrong place and needs to transfer. Or will he get a legitimate shot next year.

Anyone who heads to college ball at a high level has the draft in the back of their mind when they enter college. They can't wait two years to decide to transfer. The player doesn't want to be sitting out his draft year due to transfer. Then he has no choice but go down to D2 or D3.

Met yesterday with a D2 coach who had three D1 transfers coming in next year as seniors from some big programs. We wondered why, and this makes it make sense. Also, makes me think a little differently about some of the schools courting my son. Fun to have some "big dogs" in the race, but maybe smarter in the long run to go where he knows he fits, knows he will play, and knows he can get better.

 

well said

The position players I have seen play from youth through HS that go to solid D1 schools are far above "good" HS players.  They typically have 3 plus tools.  

Speed seems the number one skill that separates players.  

Fielding ability seems to be the least, granted all have fielding ability but having an exceptional glove isn't much of a seperater from an average glove.      

If I had a kid competing for a position at the next level I would spend a lot of effort maximizing his speed training.  

real green posted:

The position players I have seen play from youth through HS that go to solid D1 schools are far above "good" HS players.  They typically have 3 plus tools.  

Speed seems the number one skill that separates players.  

Fielding ability seems to be the least, granted all have fielding ability but having an exceptional glove isn't much of a seperater from an average glove.      

If I had a kid competing for a position at the next level I would spend a lot of effort maximizing his speed training.  

I think the big things are speed, arm strength and hitting.  Kid has a friend who stormed onto the seen this year as a D1 prospect.  I read about him and having seen him play I thought no f'ing way.  The kid "sucked" last year -- couldn't hit water if he fell out of a boat.  Decent defender, but not great.  I asked my kid.  He said - "he turned around his hitting this year."  And just like that, committed to a D1 last week. 

Agree on Speed & Hitting for position players.   Just how great of a hitter you need to be seems directly proportionate to how fast you can run.   The slower you are, the greater the hitter you need to be...

The way to get noticed is an eye catching measurable. For pitchers it's 90 on the gun. For position players it's a 60 time, throwing velocity or exit speed. A player can be only above average and catch notice with one eye popping measurable. On the other hand a kid without any eye popping measurables who can play the game has to prove he can play game after game.