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On vacation two weeks ago we stopped by a highly regarded D1 as we were having our 2013 son check out a number of schools in the area to see what types of campuses he liked, facilities, etc.

As it happened the school was conducting baseball camp for middle school players and my son waited until after the practice ended and asked the coach if he could talk to him for a minute.

He introduced himself,told the coach he would like to play at the school someday, etc. Coach thanked him for stopping by, said they were always interested in pitching. He also told him that by stopping by and and taking advantage of the opportunity to speak with him that he was showing he was interested in the program.

Upshot is that my son has now broken the ice with talking to not only this coach, and he will be less nervous talking to any other coaches he will meet in the future. (the first one is always the hardest!) He followed up with a email after he got back thanking the coach for his time.

He will try to attend a high school camp at that school either next summer or following.

With that little bit of effort, he established a introduction he can build on, and who knows? Maybe he will attend that school in a couple years and play ball for them.

Never leave any opportunity unexplored!
Original Post
I think it's great that your son took advantage of the opportunity. I have seen many on this board who say it's too early and others who say if you aren't doing anything by now you're already late.

We did something very similar - last fall when 2013 was a sophomore we went to a mid D-1 Open House day on a high school holiday. We did the campus tour, listened to the sessions, etc., just to see if the SCHOOL seemed like a good fit. It did.

2013 was scheduled to attend a showcase at this same school two weeks later, so he had emailed the coaches in advance to let them know that we would be on campus for the Open House and would try to stop by. Of course they could not/did not reply.

Following the open house we stopped by the baseball office and the recruiting coordinator came out and spent 15 minutes just visiting with our son. He explained what he liked about the information on his Web site and gave us suggestions of things that coaches (all coaches) like to see. He explained the angles they like for the videos, etc.

He thanked us so much for stopping by and said he had been expecting us. He thought it was terrific that we had spent a school holiday driving two hours from home for a sophomore to check out a school. Two weeks later at the showcase he remembered 2013's face and name and told him it was great to see him again.

Breaking the ice is by far the toughest thing for a 16-17 year-old kid. I've seen it written here many times: remind your kid that these coaches talk to teenagers every single day. They're used to it and they know how to talk to them.

I've continued to be impressed that the recruiting coordinator took the time. Yes, I know it's his job. But as we continue to visit schools we are seeing that some folks (in athletics and not) just don't make you feel welcome.

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