NCAA contact rules

A HS player can call/email/write a college coach at any time---

The contact rules are one way rules limiting coaches, not players. They are designed to prevent the player from being pressured or harrassed.

A player can contact a coach in any manner at any time, as much as he wishes. The only limitation to that is that if the player were to come in personal contact with the coach off campus during non open recruiting times, the coach may only greet the player and/or parents but may not discuss anything with them.

In my opinion a player should only contact a coach for camp information. Every player or parent thinks they are talented. Attend the camps and if they like you you will know pretty quickly. Do not make the mistake of sending tape or stats to a college coach...they will be thrown in the trash. Let the High School baseball coach do the promoting. College coaches are swamped with mail and usually only look at the mail from high school coaches, scouts etc.

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Do not make the mistake of sending tape or stats to a college coach...they will be thrown in the trash. Let the High School baseball coach do the promoting.

Some college programs do look at tapes. TCU's recruiting coordinator told us they look at every tape they receive.

Also, many high school baseball coaches do not promote their players. Oftentimes, if the player doesn't promote himself, no one else will.

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Originally posted by Papidad:
College coaches are swamped with mail and usually only look at the mail from high school coaches, scouts etc.

Papidad,
I will respectfully disagree with your opinions on this matter, but wanted to ask, where does your experience with the above quote come from?

Papidad,

I'm so glad you've had great experiences with your high school coaches. Although our high school baseball coach was a good guy, he did absolutely nothing to help advance not only my son to the next level but other players as well - he wanted to concentrate on winning at the high school level.

Almost every single college coach my son sent info. to at least emailed him and asked for transcripts etc. and many D3 do recruit off video. They will follow up with contacts but they do recruit.

Every school and coach is different. As a coach, we will review each and every tape/ or DVD these days that come in. In the Mid Atlantic area, HS coaches are not very active in the recruiting process. We just did a big open house yesterday, and the parents had expressed their concern about exposure. I told them they need to take it upon themselves, send out video's follow up, gauge the coaches interest. I tell people that the video will tell me if I have interest in their skill set, they have something there I like. Then our staff follows up to watch the players play 2-3 times if possible to figure out where they will fit in our program. That's how we do it, and I know many coaches in this area share that process but I'm sure other coaches have other processes...

In the fall of his junior year, my son sent e-mails to the head coaches at about a dozen schools that met all of his, and our, criteria for a 'good fit'. He also gave them a link to a video he'd posted on youtube which was set to 'private' so only those with the link could access it. He received quick, personalized, and communicative responses from all but one coach.

I am definitely an advocate of e-mailing and providing a video link that is one click away instead of a 'hardcopy' tape or CD. These guys definitely are busy and the easier you can make it for them, the better. It may not sound like a huge deal, but to have to insert a CD or video in a player is much more time-consuming, relatively speaking, than clicking the mouse and getting an instant video which is then very easy to navigate through without a remote control and all that.

My son,a lefty pitcher, also had great response after sending a email with a video link. He had a great HS junior year going 8-1 and throwing 80-82. But because of all the innings he pitched, he only mustered 76-78 during the summer showcases and alot of D1's, D2s showed minimal interest. Since he just turned 17 two days ago, I believe he will develop late and have a great HS senior season. He most likely will play D3 as he has alot of interest there. I would not be surprised to see a nice MPH increase this HS season as he is working out daily. Some D3 school is gonna end up with a nice lefty on their squad. But I digress, the video link really helped anytime we sent it as to a school. We finally have it down to a manageable group of about 5 D3 schools. My advice, get the video link and email all the schools that fit your situation. -and good luck

I think video links are an outstanding idea. A quick and easy way to let a college coach see your stuff.

Southpaw Son, best wishes with your son's senior year. It sounds like your son has a great college career ahead of him. Krak's son is a freshman pitcher at a D3 and has been really gaining in velocity in the past couple of months. I have a feeling your son is going to do the same thing as he physically matures. Let us know how things go!

I like the video link idea. I'm assuming you could put together a short (5 minutes?) type promo piece and post it online instead of sending a CD and just as good if not better response.

I posted video of my son on YouTube.

Whenever a coach wanted to see video, my son just sent the link.
Saved big $$$, and I was shocked how many views it got (certainly not just coaches).

It was one of the pieces that fit the puzzle for my son to end up where he did.

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Do not make the mistake of sending tape or stats to a college coach...they will be thrown in the trash. Let the High School baseball coach do the promoting. College coaches are swamped with mail and usually only look at the mail from high school coaches, scouts etc.

I am a D2 college softball coach, and I would say that your comment could not be further from the truth. However, I would say that I do not put as much credence into mailings or emails that have that "cookie-cutter" feel that lets me know that I am not the only one receiving the information. If a kid mentions something personally about our school or program that shows they are sincerely interested, then I will pop that video in right away and contact them ASAP.

We sent many to D1 schools who have been in the college world series in Texas and the southern region, these schools are able to pick and choose who they want so I am sure they have more than they could possibly look at. When my son worked out for them most could not believe they had not heard about him, we told them about the videos that we had sent and this is where four of them told me they do not usually look at tape from parents....they did make offers though. Not every school is the same.

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Originally posted by CPLZ:

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Originally posted by Papidad:
College coaches are swamped with mail and usually only look at the mail from high school coaches, scouts etc.

Papidad,
I will respectfully disagree with your opinions on this matter, but wanted to ask, where does your experience with the above quote come from?

This is all great information. My son sent out informational letters to many schools and he recieved some nice responses from some surprisingly well known programs. All have asked for video and we will send some out. I understand this is also a quiet period, so when can schools begin contacting recruits again?

MAXX is giving good advice. You have to catch the coaches attention and show sincere interest in the college. I always had a great photo at thye top of my emails and mentioned why my son was interested in the college. Almost every coach got back quickly. The ones that didn't I tracked down with a phone call and it was usually because they were busy. One I talked a few times and he finally called back with an offer. I think people talk themselves out of opportunities. It is important to make an effort and to do it wisely. My son's offers were all from video and emailing except 1. That was from a roving scout who saw my son at a tournament.

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Originally posted by tralpaz:
This is all great information. My son sent out informational letters to many schools and he recieved some nice responses from some surprisingly well known programs. All have asked for video and we will send some out. I understand this is also a quiet period, so when can schools begin contacting recruits again?

Schools can be contacting recruits by telephone and email during the quiet period, just not during the dark period. Telephone contacts are limited to once per week from the coaches, but are unlimited to the coaches.

Sending a video with your email is key. Stats are more generally disregarded but most coaches I know watch all of their videos. Bigger schools get swamped so try sending to an assistant or recruiting coordinator. Follow up to make sure they get it. Make a quality, well edited video and try to keep it to 5 minutes or less.

Also, as a side note, I know a lot of coaches that prefer the player make that initial contact, not the parent.