One Recruiting Story

Interesting read, thanks for sharing.  Chance plays a huge role in this process, more than many would like to admit.  In my son's case he joined a Summer travel team about 250 miles away in large part so that we could see more of my family during the Summer.  It turned out that the travel coach was extensively connected and the team was followed by a number of solid programs, one of which he committed to.

Thanks @K9

For sure, I'm convinced that chance, luck or being at the right place at the right time is part of the equation.

Son switched travel teams summer after jr year, to play for a team that got more exposure. It was tough because he loved the current travel coach. D3 coach was following a teammate and saw son pitch, wrote his name down. Later that summer same Coach attended game to watch an opposing pitcher, son was the star on the bump that day, coach remembered him. Still didn’t contact him. Son was invited to attend a showcase event because they had several pitchers back out last minute. Once again, son was lights out. Faced nine batters, struck out eight and a weak comebaker to the mound. D3 coach was there, still didn’t say anything to him. That week he finally had his PC reach out via email and invite him to campus. Honestly, we had never heard of the school, but once we started to research the school, it was an excellent fit academically. We were somewhat disappointed with ourselves for not being familiar with the school. Son committed to the school Nov, 2020. So far it’s been a great decision. Best part was son went back to his old travel team to play summer after sr year and he spent last summer as the pitching coach for two of their teams (14u and 17/18U). It’s looking like this summer will be spent playing summer ball for the pitching coach of a school that recruited him, but he turned down. They had a real good connection.

Francis7, K9….you are 100% correct. Right place, right time.

@LuvMyKids - great story and another example on how one decision can lead to big results.

I can tell you that one year prior to my son's verbal commitment, the school that he signed with, was not one of the ones that was on the radar. 

It was around November 2019 when we first became aware of it. But we weren't digging deep on it at that time. We learned more around January 2020 and it wasn't until a few months later where things really heated up. Son verbally committed in October 2020.

Like you, I'm sorta questioning myself for not having it higher on the list sooner. But very glad it worked out in the end.

@Francis7 posted:

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That's a lot of stuff in a 3 year period. And, I'm convinced that it's all connected - attending that catchers camp, joining that team and meeting the pitcher, and switching teams with that pitcher to get aligned with an organization that had the connections to get the attention of coaches.

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The story just proves that you never know what's going to lead to what in your recruiting journey. Something that seems like nothing might just be the springboard to something big happening. It all matters.

No question @Francis7.  But here is the thing....your son knew what he wanted and you helped him get there.   Your son made these opportunities possible by being fully engaged in his future.  I'm sure many of us can share a similar story of travel coaches, college coaches or regular people that have shared their recruiting experiences and opened up a handful of opportunities that we didn't know were there (or knew how to get there).   The thank-you-list is long, but we put ourselves out there asking a lot of questions and researching anything we could get our hands on especially as we changed our strategy and target schools half way through his high school junior year.

Serendipidity struck many times in my son's recruiting journey.  I could list a half-dozen events or chance meetings that eventually would land in my son's lap but in the end he made his own breaks through a lot of hard work on the field and in the classroom.  No doubt your son did the same.  Yes, it absolutely ALL matters.

Totally agree @fenwaysouth

At the end of the day, it's my son who made it happen. His play got the attention of the coaches. And he's the one who did all the talking with the college coaches. We didn't meet his future college coach for the first time until months after he made of offer. The first time we met him for the visit was the first time we had any contact with him. It's also the last time we had any contact with him. My son is in constant contact with him and it's their relationship, nothing to do with us at all. So, luck and stuff can tee stuff up. But, at the end of the day the kid has to make sure opportunities don't go wasted  - and it's what the kid does that often creates the opportunities.

Francis...i hate to say it but we got you beat, hands down, on the coincidence/chance journey thing.  My son's a 2023 so we have one more year. I'll hold off on the whole story until, hopefully, this time next year but his story starts at 8u, involves a serial liar, a murder, a career cut short due to cancer (he's cancer free now and living his dream), another serial liar...and that just takes us to 13 u (but is integral in getting him to now at 16 years old!).  suffice it to say, it's been a wild and crazy ride

I remember Francis by another name on another board. His kid’s story into the teen years was a soap opera. It made me wonder if Francis was crazy and if his kid had the talent. I suggested he find a travel program with good instruction. It all worked out well for Jr.

Jett

@RJM posted:

I remember Francis by another name on another board. His kid’s story into the teen years was a soap opera. It made me wonder if Francis was crazy and if his kid had the talent. I suggested he find a travel program with good instruction. It all worked out well for Jr.

Jett

Like a lot of fathers of kids playing baseball, I admit that I would over- think things when he was 8 through 12. Thankfully I learned to back off after Cooperstown. I know a lot of fathers who didn't and many of them are now watching their kid play their last year...if the kid hasn't quit already.

I'm grateful to have seen the light and stepped back. But, I also feel that my son would have requested it anyway, even if I hadn't done it on my own. Once he became a teenager, he assumed control of his own path and made his own decisions regarding baseball.

I want to hear that one @mattys !

@RJM posted:

I remember Francis by another name on another board. His kid’s story into the teen years was a soap opera. It made me wonder if Francis was crazy and if his kid had the talent. I suggested he find a travel program with good instruction. It all worked out well for Jr.

Jett

Ha - I remember those guys too. I don't get over there as much anymore, but noticed it's still alive and reasonably active.

"The-one-who-used-to-go-by-four-initials" has come a long way on his baseball journey. :-)

@T_Thomas posted:

Ha - I remember those guys too. I don't get over there as much anymore, but noticed it's still alive and reasonably active.

"The-one-who-used-to-go-by-four-initials" has come a long way on his baseball journey. :-)

He’s only half crazy now. 😀 But now he does ask some relevant questions. The freshman experience question is one of the best questions asked on this board.

@Francis7 posted:

Like a lot of fathers of kids playing baseball, I admit that I would over- think things when he was 8 through 12. Thankfully I learned to back off after Cooperstown. I know a lot of fathers who didn't and many of them are now watching their kid play their last year...if the kid hasn't quit already.

I'm grateful to have seen the light and stepped back. But, I also feel that my son would have requested it anyway, even if I hadn't done it on my own. Once he became a teenager, he assumed control of his own path and made his own decisions regarding baseball.

@RJM posted:

He’s only half crazy now. 😀 But now he does ask some relevant questions. The freshman experience question is one of the best questions asked on this board.

Agree that the freshman experience post is a very good one. But for every good topic post there are 5 from the crazy half. I would like to see more balance. JMO - but it’s shared by many FWIW.

+1 adbono

@adbono posted:

Agree that the freshman experience post is a very good one. But for every good topic post there are 5 from the crazy half. I would like to see more balance. JMO - but it’s shared by many FWIW.

It’s why I used to ask him if Florida was carpeted how long would it take to vacuum.

@RJM posted:

It’s why I used to ask him if Florida was carpeted how long would it take to vacuum.

@adbono posted:

Agree that the freshman experience post is a very good one. But for every good topic post there are 5 from the crazy half. I would like to see more balance. JMO - but it’s shared by many FWIW.

I think a 20% success rate is good. Not every artist can have Michael Jackson's BAD album with 5 top 10 hits.

@2022NYC posted:

I think a 20% success rate is good. Not every artist can have Michael Jackson's BAD album with 5 top 10 hits.

I was being kind offering up 20%. Actual hit rate is much lower.

Ok, so he is in a salesman rate...still not too shabby. No one kicking TA Edison's  nethers for some of the far out patents he submitted.

I don’t want to pick on Francis too much. His intentions are good. He never gets in pissing matches. To me there are four kinds of original posts …

1) Really good ones that get a lot of quality response (ex: freshman experience)

2) Decent posts that get a few responses and move on

3) Irrelevant posts that aren’t as important as the OP thought they might be.

4) WTF posts

It all depends on the poster and situation. The most important responses I got from a post was when my son tore up his knee in his first game post junior summer. He was expecting offers off a tournament the following weekend. A few people here talked me off the ledge. I don’t remember the specifics. But ClevelandDad’s (kid played at Coastal) post had the most impact.

I still pass on the most important part of his response to those who post about injuries at the wrong time … If your kid wants it badly enough he will rehab and play college ball.

@Francis7 posted:

I want to hear that one @mattys !

quick version:

started at 8u/9u with a good baseball guy/horrible business guy. didn't know that at the time.  i knew it was time to skedaddle when he asked for his monthly fees in cash.   turns out he wasn't paying his assistant coaches and one, a future mlb pitcher and his equally big and talented cousin were about to lay him out.

moved on to a team coached by one of his coaches.  another great youth coach and baseball guy but equally a train wreck .  his upside was that he knew that.  he was starting a team and was going to have his girlfriend (long term, very smart and organized) and sister (accountant) run the business while he just did on-field stuff. 

things went well until, at about the same time, his girlfriend's godbrother was murdered and his nephew (the cousin from the first team) discovered he had cancer during a physical before a procase after he finished college.  GF went to pieces bc the godbrother was someone she grew up with and she turned to drink and drugs.  life spiraled out of control for a while.  Sister couldn't work on the team business (understandibly) bc of her son's medical condition.  that left the trainwreck to run the team. 

we made it through cooperstown with me and another parent running a lot of it.  no financial incentives...just to keep the team together. 

long story short, my son ended up with a great coach and a pretty bright future so far. 

the nephew, thankfully, is cancer free. he tried to come back but didn't have it in him after a year of chemo.  he got his barber's license and moved to hawaii.  he told me that they prescribed him medical marijuana for the chemo and he kinda liked it!  now he's doing well and enjoying all that life has to offer.

the gf eventually straightened up, got her masters and is doing well. 

the trainwreck coach is doing better.  his life went haywire for a while but he seems to be digging himself out.  i have nothing but love for him but i wouldn't trust him with a cent of my money.  as many messed up things that happened, i highly doubt that anything he did was malicious.  he truly loved the kids.  He's just bad at being an adult sometimes.

3) Irrelevant posts that aren’t as important as the OP thought they might be.

4) WTF posts

--RJM

        OR

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

@RJM posted:

I still pass on the most important part of his response to those who post about injuries at the wrong time … If your kid wants it badly enough he will rehab and play college ball.

I reflect on your kid's history and when I want to feel sorry for my kid then I talk to the knucklehead and wished I used the nerve blocker on this tongue.