Our first unoffical visit...What was this?

Looking forward to hearing some others that may have gone on several visits and can compare among the schools the level of coordination and hospitality.  On the one UV we did, it was very well coordinated with several individuals involved - very smooth handoffs from one to the other (in other words, they were doing most of the waiting).

I would not write them off, but you may have gotten an e-mail that was a little general in nature and maybe sent out to a larger group (100+).  Small D1's are looking at 2018's now, but depending on their timetable, you may have been one of the earliest takers.  I would be interested to know how that school generally recruits, both from a calendar standpoint as well as a geographic standpoint (do they have any verbal commitments for 2018s on either PG or other site - what did their 2016 class look like?).  They may be using that e-mail to stir up some interest but really have little intent to start any real discussions with kids for another 6-9 months.

That sucked. Go with your gut, even if they come around eventually...do you really want your son to go there? You'll hear it on this board early and often....go where you are loved/wanted! Imagine if this tour was for you and they were a company selling themselves/services or their product to you and this happened. Sounds like a bunch of yahoos. 

2017LHPscrewball posted:

Looking forward to hearing some others that may have gone on several visits and can compare among the schools the level of coordination and hospitality.  On the one UV we did, it was very well coordinated with several individuals involved - very smooth handoffs from one to the other (in other words, they were doing most of the waiting).

I would not write them off, but you may have gotten an e-mail that was a little general in nature and maybe sent out to a larger group (100+).  Small D1's are looking at 2018's now, but depending on their timetable, you may have been one of the earliest takers.  I would be interested to know how that school generally recruits, both from a calendar standpoint as well as a geographic standpoint (do they have any verbal commitments for 2018s on either PG or other site - what did their 2016 class look like?).  They may be using that e-mail to stir up some interest but really have little intent to start any real discussions with kids for another 6-9 months.

I asked the coach who gave us a tour and he told me they havent signed any 2018's and that they wouldnt start until late spring/early summer. PG and our local HS baseball site confirms this.

Shoveit4Ks posted:

That sucked. Go with your gut, even if they come around eventually...do you really want your son to go there? You'll hear it on this board early and often....go where you are loved/wanted! Imagine if this tour was for you and they were a company selling themselves/services or their product to you and this happened. Sounds like a bunch of yahoos. 

What really sucks was that i think they actually impressed my son with the school campus tour. He actually said he could see himself going there, which from him is practically a gushing endorsement.

Go where he is loved. Did he feel the love? That is not to say, cross the school off your list. They may show more love later, but for now, they do not seem to.

I assume from the note to meet the coach at the baseball field after the tour that he know when you were coming. Did he give you a date and time to schedule, or did he just have you schedule at your convenience and let him know?

Most of the visits my son took, The coaches provided dates and times and had someone meet my son at the admissions office before and after the our. Now my son was getting this type of interest from D3's and not D1's. But that told him that the D3 schools loved him and the D1's he was more of a nice to have, and if it wan't him it was probably another kid they could get. 

So take note and compare this to how any other school treats him. Their interest can go way up, if they dins out other D1 schools are recruiting him, especially if they are in the same conference. 

threeunassisted posted:

Shoveit4Ks posted:

That sucked. Go with your gut, even if they come around eventually...do you really want your son to go there? You'll hear it on this board early and often....go where you are loved/wanted! Imagine if this tour was for you and they were a company selling themselves/services or their product to you and this happened. Sounds like a bunch of yahoos. 

What really sucks was that i think they actually impressed my son with the school campus tour. He actually said he could see himself going there, which from him is practically a gushing endorsement.

Was this your son's first campus tour? Give him time to do a few more before accepting he's impressed. The first tour is like the first girlfriend. It's great until the next one comes along.

BishopLeftiesDad posted:

Go where he is loved. Did he feel the love? That is not to say, cross the school off your list. They may show more love later, but for now, they do not seem to.

I assume from the note to meet the coach at the baseball field after the tour that he know when you were coming. Did he give you a date and time to schedule, or did he just have you schedule at your convenience and let him know?

Most of the visits my son took, The coaches provided dates and times and had someone meet my son at the admissions office before and after the our. Now my son was getting this type of interest from D3's and not D1's. But that told him that the D3 schools loved him and the D1's he was more of a nice to have, and if it wan't him it was probably another kid they could get. 

So take note and compare this to how any other school treats him. Their interest can go way up, if they dins out other D1 schools are recruiting him, especially if they are in the same conference. 

We scheduled at our convenience and let him know. There was no one that met us from the athletic dept. We had to find our own way from admissions to the off campus baseball field. (They gave us a map, and it wasnt too hard to find, but still)

I mean its pretty obvious to me at this point that my son isnt real high up their (or anyones) list of "must gets", despite all the positive feedback he received over the summer. I guess i just dont see what their benefit is from stringing along a kid who they are obviously not that into. Its not the end of the world, just curious, IMO. If they just wanted to get in on a kid just in case he blows up later on, it seems like they could have done that without inconveniencing us. If i had known the baseball portion of our day was going to last 15 minutes and consist of us barely meeting the recruiting coach, we would have waited and gone on a campus tour at some future date and not missed a day of school.

RJM posted:

threeunassisted posted:

Shoveit4Ks posted:

That sucked. Go with your gut, even if they come around eventually...do you really want your son to go there? You'll hear it on this board early and often....go where you are loved/wanted! Imagine if this tour was for you and they were a company selling themselves/services or their product to you and this happened. Sounds like a bunch of yahoos. 

What really sucks was that i think they actually impressed my son with the school campus tour. He actually said he could see himself going there, which from him is practically a gushing endorsement.

Was this your son's first campus tour? Give him time to do a few more before accepting he's impressed. The first tour is like the first girlfriend. It's great until the next one comes along.

Yeah i know. It was just nice seeing his "too cool to get excited about anything" attitude get put aside for a few minutes.

threeunassisted posted:

BishopLeftiesDad posted:

Go where he is loved. Did he feel the love? That is not to say, cross the school off your list. They may show more love later, but for now, they do not seem to.

I assume from the note to meet the coach at the baseball field after the tour that he know when you were coming. Did he give you a date and time to schedule, or did he just have you schedule at your convenience and let him know?

Most of the visits my son took, The coaches provided dates and times and had someone meet my son at the admissions office before and after the our. Now my son was getting this type of interest from D3's and not D1's. But that told him that the D3 schools loved him and the D1's he was more of a nice to have, and if it wan't him it was probably another kid they could get. 

So take note and compare this to how any other school treats him. Their interest can go way up, if they dins out other D1 schools are recruiting him, especially if they are in the same conference. 

We scheduled at our convenience and let him know. There was no one that met us from the athletic dept. We had to find our own way from admissions to the off campus baseball field. (They gave us a map, and it wasnt too hard to find, but still)

I mean its pretty obvious to me at this point that my son isnt real high up their (or anyones) list of "must gets", despite all the positive feedback he received over the summer. I guess i just dont see what their benefit is from stringing along a kid who they are obviously not that into. Its not the end of the world, just curious, IMO. If they just wanted to get in on a kid just in case he blows up later on, it seems like they could have done that without inconveniencing us. If i had known the baseball portion of our day was going to last 15 minutes and consist of us barely meeting the recruiting coach, we would have waited and gone on a campus tour at some future date and not missed a day of school.

Okay this part concerns me.  Did they offer school tours on non-school days or on a break from your kids school?  You said you scheduled at your convenience, but it doesn't sound like it was very convenient.

Frankly, just sounds to me like a somewhat bungled afternoon by them.  Sometimes you can tell if people are good at their job from things like this.

I agree with the others - go where you're loved.  Until they do better, keep them on your list but keep looking.

CaCO3Girl posted:

threeunassisted posted:

BishopLeftiesDad posted:

Go where he is loved. Did he feel the love? That is not to say, cross the school off your list. They may show more love later, but for now, they do not seem to.

I assume from the note to meet the coach at the baseball field after the tour that he know when you were coming. Did he give you a date and time to schedule, or did he just have you schedule at your convenience and let him know?

Most of the visits my son took, The coaches provided dates and times and had someone meet my son at the admissions office before and after the our. Now my son was getting this type of interest from D3's and not D1's. But that told him that the D3 schools loved him and the D1's he was more of a nice to have, and if it wan't him it was probably another kid they could get. 

So take note and compare this to how any other school treats him. Their interest can go way up, if they dins out other D1 schools are recruiting him, especially if they are in the same conference. 

We scheduled at our convenience and let him know. There was no one that met us from the athletic dept. We had to find our own way from admissions to the off campus baseball field. (They gave us a map, and it wasnt too hard to find, but still)

I mean its pretty obvious to me at this point that my son isnt real high up their (or anyones) list of "must gets", despite all the positive feedback he received over the summer. I guess i just dont see what their benefit is from stringing along a kid who they are obviously not that into. Its not the end of the world, just curious, IMO. If they just wanted to get in on a kid just in case he blows up later on, it seems like they could have done that without inconveniencing us. If i had known the baseball portion of our day was going to last 15 minutes and consist of us barely meeting the recruiting coach, we would have waited and gone on a campus tour at some future date and not missed a day of school.

Okay this part concerns me.  Did they offer school tours on non-school days or on a break from your kids school?  You said you scheduled at your convenience, but it doesn't sound like it was very convenient.

I am only off two weekends during their fall practice schedule. One they were going to be on the road recruiting. The other we already had a family trip planned for my mothers birthday involving my siblings and aunts and uncles and stuff. The way this was all presented was that we were strongly encouraged to attend a practice.  So as much as we didnt want to, we let him miss a day of school. Because we thought there was a baseball facet to this visit that wouldnt be available in winter or spring.

As im typing this all out and organizing my thoughts about this for the first time, im actually starting to get a little pissed. I 100% feel like we were misled. I mean i expected the recruiting process to have its fair share of salesmanship, but this seems so pointless. Just to try to trick us into attending a camp? That just seems so outlandish. This is a decent sized school with a pretty decent baseball program. They dont suffer for recruits, or students forking over big tuition checks. I just dont get it.

This is interesting.  At the D1s we UV'd we understood which coaches were interested and which ones weren't simply by whether they were willing to meet with us before or after the admissions tour.   The ones that were available gave us the whole tour, pretty close attention, were on time, but not gushy.  Several we contacted ahead of time told us right away they weren't "available" which was the signal we took to mean they weren't interested.  Too bad your hosts weren't more clear at the outset.  I share your frustration  with that.  I've heard many reasons given here for why coaches don't outright say no, but I've yet be satisfied by them.  Not sure what you may have been able to do to understand that from the get go, other than making direct contact with the coach ahead of time, and not rely on just letting admissions know that that is your connection.  Not sure if that's the case here.

Absolutely pursue and go where you're loved.

justbaseball posted:

Frankly, just sounds to me like a somewhat bungled afternoon by them.  Sometimes you can tell if people are good at their job from things like this.

I agree with the others - go where you're loved.  Until they do better, keep them on your list but keep looking.

I think you probably caught them off guard.  If your son has a solid spring season and maybe some good summer outings, the "love" will definitely ramp up.  Get some background on the coaching staff and how the program is managed and see if there might be a fit.  I'd say chalk this one up to bad timing and proceed accordingly.  If you take another visit same time next year and same thing happens, then cross them off the list.  Half the folks on hear will tell you to pick a school assuming no baseball.  You mentioned the school was "local", but still 2 hrs away so sounds like it may be one of the few options that are in fact close by - which is sometimes a plus and sometimes a minus in the eye of the student.

smokeminside posted:

This is interesting.  At the D1s we UV'd we understood which coaches were interested and which ones weren't simply by whether they were willing to meet with us before or after the admissions tour.   The ones that were available gave us the whole tour, pretty close attention, were on time, but not gushy.  Several we contacted ahead of time told us right away they weren't "available" which was the signal we took to mean they weren't interested.  Too bad your hosts weren't more clear at the outset.  I share your frustration  with that.  I've heard many reasons given here for why coaches don't outright say no, but I've yet be satisfied by them.  Not sure what you may have been able to do to understand that from the get go, other than making direct contact with the coach ahead of time, and not rely on just letting admissions know that that is your connection.  Not sure if that's the case here.

 

Absolutely pursue and go where you're loved.

Im not sure if i made this point clear or not, but we didnt contact them. They contacted us. While we obviously knew the school existed, it isnt one my son really had any interest in, until their coach started emailing my son on Sept 1.

Had you had any previous contact with this school/Coaches? Have they seen your son play? Did they know who your son was prior to the email/invite?

My 2018 has received the same kind of 'welcome to the recruiting class of 2018-we're excited to be recruiting you' emails from  few schools like Stanford, Notre Dame, Duke, etc. None of which he is really 'qualified' to play for. Mind you he does get good grades, but he's not a major D-1 type prospect.  None of them asked us to set up a visit as we are out of state from all of them. Many if not all did provide upcoming camp info and inferred we should sign up (yeah right...lol).

We have gone on a couple unofficial and unannounced visits where we have run into coaches/RC's and have been treated better than what you describe above. These were visits by ourselves just to check things out as we were in the area. Bumped into a couple coach's that spent quite a bit of time with us showing us the facilities, answering and asking questions-they even actually showed some genuine interest even when not having a clue who we were when we showed up.

So, based on what you describe I would say the "offer to schedule a visit" was more of a mud slinging attempt to see what might stick and worse case pitch a camp to you?

Like mentioned above....keep them on the list (if your son is interested) and hammer them with info, video, tournament schedules, etc. and gauge their response to see how they really feel about your son. If all you get back from them is responses with come to our camp you'll know quickly how they feel about him.

Just my .02

-DD

Another thought - when our sons got a letter/email like this, they contacted the coach back personally and quickly.  From those exchanges, you could tell if it was serious or not nearly every time.

One thing about recruiting, similar to job hunting.  You gotta do your best to read the tea leaves or else you'll waste a lot of time.  I'm not even saying I'm good at it, but you gotta try.

DesertDuck posted:

Had you had any previous contact with this school/Coaches? Have they seen your son play? Did they know who your son was prior to the email/invite?

My 2018 has received the same kind of 'welcome to the recruiting class of 2018-we're excited to be recruiting you' emails from  few schools like Stanford, Notre Dame, Duke, etc. None of which he is really 'qualified' to play for. Mind you he does get good grades, but he's not a major D-1 type prospect.  None of them asked us to set up a visit as we are out of state from all of them. Many if not all did provide upcoming camp info and inferred we should sign up (yeah right...lol).

We have gone on a couple unofficial and unannounced visits where we have run into coaches/RC's and have been treated better than what you describe above. These were visits by ourselves just to check things out as we were in the area. Bumped into a couple coach's that spent quite a bit of time with us showing us the facilities, answering and asking questions-they even actually showed some genuine interest even when not having a clue who we were when we showed up.

So, based on what you describe I would say the "offer to schedule a visit" was more of a mud slinging attempt to see what might stick and worse case pitch a camp to you?

Like mentioned above....keep them on the list (if your son is interested) and hammer them with info, video, tournament schedules, etc. and gauge their response to see how they really feel about your son. If all you get back from them is responses with come to our camp you'll know quickly how they feel about him.

Just my .02

-DD

He had a really good day at a showcase (4 HRs) that the school was at. I guess im figuring out that what i thought was actual recruiting is likely like you said "throwing some crap against the wall"

Not the end of the world. I guess i just feel like they risk burning a bridge on a kid before the bridge is even finished being built. IMO this is a huge black mark on them. If my son ends up being a D-1 talent, they would have to work hard to overcome this in my mind. But i guess its their program to run however they want.

"I guess i just dont see what their benefit is from stringing along a kid who they are obviously not that into"

Their benefit is money generated from their camps. The more kids the more money.  

threeunassisted posted:

DesertDuck posted:

Had you had any previous contact with this school/Coaches? Have they seen your son play? Did they know who your son was prior to the email/invite?

My 2018 has received the same kind of 'welcome to the recruiting class of 2018-we're excited to be recruiting you' emails from  few schools like Stanford, Notre Dame, Duke, etc. None of which he is really 'qualified' to play for. Mind you he does get good grades, but he's not a major D-1 type prospect.  None of them asked us to set up a visit as we are out of state from all of them. Many if not all did provide upcoming camp info and inferred we should sign up (yeah right...lol).

We have gone on a couple unofficial and unannounced visits where we have run into coaches/RC's and have been treated better than what you describe above. These were visits by ourselves just to check things out as we were in the area. Bumped into a couple coach's that spent quite a bit of time with us showing us the facilities, answering and asking questions-they even actually showed some genuine interest even when not having a clue who we were when we showed up.

So, based on what you describe I would say the "offer to schedule a visit" was more of a mud slinging attempt to see what might stick and worse case pitch a camp to you?

Like mentioned above....keep them on the list (if your son is interested) and hammer them with info, video, tournament schedules, etc. and gauge their response to see how they really feel about your son. If all you get back from them is responses with come to our camp you'll know quickly how they feel about him.

Just my .02

-DD

He had a really good day at a showcase (4 HRs) that the school was at. I guess im figuring out that what i thought was actual recruiting is likely like you said "throwing some crap against the wall"

 

Not the end of the world. I guess i just feel like they risk burning a bridge on a kid before the bridge is even finished being built. IMO this is a huge black mark on them. If my son ends up being a D-1 talent, they would have to work hard to overcome this in my mind. But i guess its their program to run however they want.

 

 

 

I don't want to sound like a jerk, but you need to put your ego aside, and understand that this stuff is going to happen in recruiting.  Don't take it personal, and don't get your feelings hurt.  It is really hard to know how things are going to shake out, and where your son will be in a couple of years.  Don't cross anyone off at this point.  Do like some of the others have suggested and chalk it up to inexperience, and it may have just been bad timing!  These guys are busy, and it may not have been intentional. 

I would have son reach out to them, and if they don't respond, then I would move on.  I wouldn't let this one situation cloud my judgement.

Trust me, it is going to be easy to feel like your son is being slighted along the way, and some of these coaches are amazing!  It baffles me how they conduct business, but I am not in their shoes, so I can't honestly say that their approach is wrong from their view.  From where I am standing, I wouldn't act that way, but they may have their reasons.

Keep an open mind, and give them another chance.  Unless you are a can't miss prospect, they hold a lot more leverage than you do. 

Sorry to be dense about this, but how personal was the first email from the coach? Did it have an unsubscribe feature at the end of it?

And, was your communication after the initial email from the coach directly  to the coach, or the admissions office, or both? 

Florida State Fan posted:

"I guess i just dont see what their benefit is from stringing along a kid who they are obviously not that into"

Their benefit is money generated from their camps. The more kids the more money.  

I mean obviously i get that. My son has gotten plenty of emails inviting him to camps where the person writing the email does everything they can to make the email seem like its a personal invitation. We totally expected those.  Letting a parent take their kid out of school   and drive 2 hours just to trick me out of a couple of hundred dollars is next level D-bagginess, IMO. 

i havent mentioned the school, but at this point if someone asked, i would probably post it. Is my $200 worth that?

rynoattack posted:

threeunassisted posted:

DesertDuck posted:

Had you had any previous contact with this school/Coaches? Have they seen your son play? Did they know who your son was prior to the email/invite?

My 2018 has received the same kind of 'welcome to the recruiting class of 2018-we're excited to be recruiting you' emails from  few schools like Stanford, Notre Dame, Duke, etc. None of which he is really 'qualified' to play for. Mind you he does get good grades, but he's not a major D-1 type prospect.  None of them asked us to set up a visit as we are out of state from all of them. Many if not all did provide upcoming camp info and inferred we should sign up (yeah right...lol).

We have gone on a couple unofficial and unannounced visits where we have run into coaches/RC's and have been treated better than what you describe above. These were visits by ourselves just to check things out as we were in the area. Bumped into a couple coach's that spent quite a bit of time with us showing us the facilities, answering and asking questions-they even actually showed some genuine interest even when not having a clue who we were when we showed up.

So, based on what you describe I would say the "offer to schedule a visit" was more of a mud slinging attempt to see what might stick and worse case pitch a camp to you?

Like mentioned above....keep them on the list (if your son is interested) and hammer them with info, video, tournament schedules, etc. and gauge their response to see how they really feel about your son. If all you get back from them is responses with come to our camp you'll know quickly how they feel about him.

Just my .02

-DD

He had a really good day at a showcase (4 HRs) that the school was at. I guess im figuring out that what i thought was actual recruiting is likely like you said "throwing some crap against the wall"

 

Not the end of the world. I guess i just feel like they risk burning a bridge on a kid before the bridge is even finished being built. IMO this is a huge black mark on them. If my son ends up being a D-1 talent, they would have to work hard to overcome this in my mind. But i guess its their program to run however they want.

 

 

 

I don't want to sound like a jerk, but you need to put your ego aside, and understand that this stuff is going to happen in recruiting.  Don't take it personal, and don't get your feelings hurt.  It is really hard to know how things are going to shake out, and where your son will be in a couple of years.  Don't cross anyone off at this point.  Do like some of the others have suggested and chalk it up to inexperience, and it may have just been bad timing!  These guys are busy, and it may not have been intentional. 

I would have son reach out to them, and if they don't respond, then I would move on.  I wouldn't let this one situation cloud my judgement.

Trust me, it is going to be easy to feel like your son is being slighted along the way, and some of these coaches are amazing!  It baffles me how they conduct business, but I am not in their shoes, so I can't honestly say that their approach is wrong from their view.  From where I am standing, I wouldn't act that way, but they may have their reasons.

Keep an open mind, and give them another chance.  Unless you are a can't miss prospect, they hold a lot more leverage than you do. 

I dont really feel slighted, or have my feelings hurt. I just find the whole situation weird. I guess im a little upset about my kid missing a day of school for this, but like ive posted its not the end of the world. Ultimately it will be my son's decision. He still thinks he is being recruited by a D1 school, and im not going to burst that bubble.

"i havent mentioned the school, but at this point if someone asked, i would probably post it. Is my $200 worth that?"

This quote makes it seem like you feel like your son was slighted by the staff, and I can't imagine that they invited you up there just so they can get your $200. 

I promise you that taking a step back, and not getting your feelings hurt will help you!  I got upset several times when it seemed like the coaches liked my son, and believe me there many times when they acted like they really did.  Maybe they did really like him, but they liked another just a hair better, and they couldn't pull the trigger until the other kid made his decision. 

Do not publish the name of the school, and put a hit on that staff.  Trust me, these coaches all know each other, or know someone who knows them.  Do not let your hurt feelings hurt your son's prospects.  Keep in mind that these guys move to new schools all the time, and at the new school may have different recruiting priorities.  These guys do not forget prospects. 

For instance, maybe the pitching coach LOVES your son, but the HC doesn't, or he LOVES someone else.  Let's say the PC moves on to another school the following year, and he remembers your boy.  If you have tarnished his feelings about you and your son, you have now just ruined a great opportunity for your son.

threeunassisted posted:

rynoattack posted:

threeunassisted posted:

DesertDuck posted:

Had you had any previous contact with this school/Coaches? Have they seen your son play? Did they know who your son was prior to the email/invite?

My 2018 has received the same kind of 'welcome to the recruiting class of 2018-we're excited to be recruiting you' emails from  few schools like Stanford, Notre Dame, Duke, etc. None of which he is really 'qualified' to play for. Mind you he does get good grades, but he's not a major D-1 type prospect.  None of them asked us to set up a visit as we are out of state from all of them. Many if not all did provide upcoming camp info and inferred we should sign up (yeah right...lol).

We have gone on a couple unofficial and unannounced visits where we have run into coaches/RC's and have been treated better than what you describe above. These were visits by ourselves just to check things out as we were in the area. Bumped into a couple coach's that spent quite a bit of time with us showing us the facilities, answering and asking questions-they even actually showed some genuine interest even when not having a clue who we were when we showed up.

So, based on what you describe I would say the "offer to schedule a visit" was more of a mud slinging attempt to see what might stick and worse case pitch a camp to you?

Like mentioned above....keep them on the list (if your son is interested) and hammer them with info, video, tournament schedules, etc. and gauge their response to see how they really feel about your son. If all you get back from them is responses with come to our camp you'll know quickly how they feel about him.

Just my .02

-DD

He had a really good day at a showcase (4 HRs) that the school was at. I guess im figuring out that what i thought was actual recruiting is likely like you said "throwing some crap against the wall"

 

Not the end of the world. I guess i just feel like they risk burning a bridge on a kid before the bridge is even finished being built. IMO this is a huge black mark on them. If my son ends up being a D-1 talent, they would have to work hard to overcome this in my mind. But i guess its their program to run however they want.

 

 

 

I don't want to sound like a jerk, but you need to put your ego aside, and understand that this stuff is going to happen in recruiting.  Don't take it personal, and don't get your feelings hurt.  It is really hard to know how things are going to shake out, and where your son will be in a couple of years.  Don't cross anyone off at this point.  Do like some of the others have suggested and chalk it up to inexperience, and it may have just been bad timing!  These guys are busy, and it may not have been intentional. 

I would have son reach out to them, and if they don't respond, then I would move on.  I wouldn't let this one situation cloud my judgement.

Trust me, it is going to be easy to feel like your son is being slighted along the way, and some of these coaches are amazing!  It baffles me how they conduct business, but I am not in their shoes, so I can't honestly say that their approach is wrong from their view.  From where I am standing, I wouldn't act that way, but they may have their reasons.

Keep an open mind, and give them another chance.  Unless you are a can't miss prospect, they hold a lot more leverage than you do. 

I dont really feel slighted, or have my feelings hurt. I just find the whole situation weird. I guess im a little upset about my kid missing a day of school for this, but like ive posted its not the end of the world. Ultimately it will be my son's decision. He still thinks he is being recruited by a D1 school, and im not going to burst that bubble.

It would appear from your willingness to share the name of the school that you do feel slighted, and that's okay.  You feel what you feel.  The advice on this thread to call ahead to judge real interest is a good one.  You won't make this mistake again.  Live and learn.  And in my very uneducated opinion this D1 coach, or his department, cared enough to send an email on the first possible day of recruiting....I think your kid is being recruited by a D1.

CaCO3Girl posted:

threeunassisted posted:

rynoattack posted:

threeunassisted posted:

DesertDuck posted:

Had you had any previous contact with this school/Coaches? Have they seen your son play? Did they know who your son was prior to the email/invite?

My 2018 has received the same kind of 'welcome to the recruiting class of 2018-we're excited to be recruiting you' emails from  few schools like Stanford, Notre Dame, Duke, etc. None of which he is really 'qualified' to play for. Mind you he does get good grades, but he's not a major D-1 type prospect.  None of them asked us to set up a visit as we are out of state from all of them. Many if not all did provide upcoming camp info and inferred we should sign up (yeah right...lol).

We have gone on a couple unofficial and unannounced visits where we have run into coaches/RC's and have been treated better than what you describe above. These were visits by ourselves just to check things out as we were in the area. Bumped into a couple coach's that spent quite a bit of time with us showing us the facilities, answering and asking questions-they even actually showed some genuine interest even when not having a clue who we were when we showed up.

So, based on what you describe I would say the "offer to schedule a visit" was more of a mud slinging attempt to see what might stick and worse case pitch a camp to you?

Like mentioned above....keep them on the list (if your son is interested) and hammer them with info, video, tournament schedules, etc. and gauge their response to see how they really feel about your son. If all you get back from them is responses with come to our camp you'll know quickly how they feel about him.

Just my .02

-DD

He had a really good day at a showcase (4 HRs) that the school was at. I guess im figuring out that what i thought was actual recruiting is likely like you said "throwing some crap against the wall"

 

Not the end of the world. I guess i just feel like they risk burning a bridge on a kid before the bridge is even finished being built. IMO this is a huge black mark on them. If my son ends up being a D-1 talent, they would have to work hard to overcome this in my mind. But i guess its their program to run however they want.

 

 

 

I don't want to sound like a jerk, but you need to put your ego aside, and understand that this stuff is going to happen in recruiting.  Don't take it personal, and don't get your feelings hurt.  It is really hard to know how things are going to shake out, and where your son will be in a couple of years.  Don't cross anyone off at this point.  Do like some of the others have suggested and chalk it up to inexperience, and it may have just been bad timing!  These guys are busy, and it may not have been intentional. 

I would have son reach out to them, and if they don't respond, then I would move on.  I wouldn't let this one situation cloud my judgement.

Trust me, it is going to be easy to feel like your son is being slighted along the way, and some of these coaches are amazing!  It baffles me how they conduct business, but I am not in their shoes, so I can't honestly say that their approach is wrong from their view.  From where I am standing, I wouldn't act that way, but they may have their reasons.

Keep an open mind, and give them another chance.  Unless you are a can't miss prospect, they hold a lot more leverage than you do. 

I dont really feel slighted, or have my feelings hurt. I just find the whole situation weird. I guess im a little upset about my kid missing a day of school for this, but like ive posted its not the end of the world. Ultimately it will be my son's decision. He still thinks he is being recruited by a D1 school, and im not going to burst that bubble.

It would appear from your willingness to share the name of the school that you do feel slighted, and that's okay.  You feel what you feel.  The advice on this thread to call ahead to judge real interest is a good one.  You won't make this mistake again.  Live and learn.  And in my very uneducated opinion this D1 coach, or his department, cared enough to send an email on the first possible day of recruiting....I think your kid is being recruited by a D1.

If you call ahead, and they don't return your call, they may not be able to, so you'll need to call back.  This can be frustrating.

My 2018 receive personal emails from    Colleges all the time D1,D2 and Juco . He always responds back with a thank you for recognizing me as a possible recruit and a brief note why or why not he want be attending. You have to remember that the baseball community is really close so I would not name any colleges that you may have thought misled you. 

I would read nothing into it.

Your son did go of a tour of a potential school and discovered (hopefully) things he liked and things he didn't from the student side of the equation. So, the visit itself wasn't wasted.

On the grand scale of coaching priorities, UVs are as low as they go.  Anything can intrude - a personal matter, a player needing attention, unexpected meetings - and it will have priority. 

Stick with things you can control : developing his baseball skills so that during the upcoming season he's ready and hitting the books hard.  

A routine of the pitter-patters of coach-speak is the open invitation to schedule or drop by on an unofficial visit. (I'd advise everybody visiting a campus to both take the tour and drop by the coaches office; make sure you have your transcript and score for the coach.). But I'd read nothing into what happened or didn't happen; it was just another stop on the recruiting path. It wasn't personal.

I can understand your frustration and our family certainly had plenty of frustration during the recruiting process but our son attended many camps/showcases at D1 and D3 schools and I highly doubt that what you went through was some highly coordinated event to get you to spend $200 on the camp.  They will get 100+ players at that camp just from sending semi-personal email invites that seem like they are interested - they don't need elaborate schemes to fill it.  They'll get plenty of players they never emailed who just want to play there.  And, these coaches don't sound organized enough to be running something like that anyway - just my opinion.  

My son received a few e-mails just like your son received.  My son exchanged a few e-mails with the coaches before we tried to schedule a visit.  Each visit we made, we were positive the coaches knew we were coming and who we were to meet and where and what time.  You said you scheduled at your convenience.  I don't think you really understand how incredibly busy the baseball staff is, all day every day.  If they didn't know you were coming, then did you really expect them to drop everything at a moments notice?

Threeunassisted,

100% agree with Rynoattack and Goosegg.   This is part of the overall recruiting experience; good, bad or indifferent.  These things happen, and this is part of the due diligence process.  As you do more and more of these visits, you learn a lot about the schools, their athletic programs and how they handle their business.   My son went to many un-OVs and OVs and not all of them were good.  One of his OVs was an absolute disaster.  We laugh about it today, and it has become a family joke.   Most of the schools we visited were a very positive experience, and a few were exceptional.   In a few years when you look back at all his recruiting experiences, you'll remember exceptional and disasterous....trust me on this.

So, keep them on the list for now and keep communicating with them until it doesn't make sense to do so.    The most important thing is to learn how the process works at each school, understand where your son is valued, and learn coaching language nuances.    

Good luck!

Goin_yard posted:

My son received a few e-mails just like your son received.  My son exchanged a few e-mails with the coaches before we tried to schedule a visit.  Each visit we made, we were positive the coaches knew we were coming and who we were to meet and where and what time.  You said you scheduled at your convenience.  I don't think you really understand how incredibly busy the baseball staff is, all day every day.  If they didn't know you were coming, then did you really expect them to drop everything at a moments notice?

I didn't get the impression they expected the coaches to drop everything to come meet them.  The OP said when they got back to admissions after their tour, there was a note for them to go to the baseball field and call the coach when they got there.  It sounded to me like it was the coach that initiated the plans to meet up....and then backed out.

So, keep them on the list for now and keep communicating with them until it doesn't make sense to do so.    The most important thing is to learn how the process works at each school, understand where your son is valued, and learn coaching language nuances.  

This.  The process has also been described as a kind of dating, but in an entirely new language, with every one of Fenway's points being equally important. 

I liken it to a kind of speed dating--lots of schools in play at once-- but in slow motion since it takes a couple of years to close the deal.  I hope my son doesn't date as many girls in his lifetime as the number of schools he's been in touch with in the last two years.  Lots of options, trying to make that great first impression, trying to determine their interest, trying to understand where his own interest lay,  "come hither, young man" flirtations, cold shoulders, unanswered texts and calls,  other calls that were answered, on both sides, before the first ring was done.  Thank God he has his own phone and computer.

CaCO3Girl posted:

threeunassisted posted:

rynoattack posted:

threeunassisted posted:

DesertDuck posted:

Had you had any previous contact with this school/Coaches? Have they seen your son play? Did they know who your son was prior to the email/invite?

My 2018 has received the same kind of 'welcome to the recruiting class of 2018-we're excited to be recruiting you' emails from  few schools like Stanford, Notre Dame, Duke, etc. None of which he is really 'qualified' to play for. Mind you he does get good grades, but he's not a major D-1 type prospect.  None of them asked us to set up a visit as we are out of state from all of them. Many if not all did provide upcoming camp info and inferred we should sign up (yeah right...lol).

We have gone on a couple unofficial and unannounced visits where we have run into coaches/RC's and have been treated better than what you describe above. These were visits by ourselves just to check things out as we were in the area. Bumped into a couple coach's that spent quite a bit of time with us showing us the facilities, answering and asking questions-they even actually showed some genuine interest even when not having a clue who we were when we showed up.

So, based on what you describe I would say the "offer to schedule a visit" was more of a mud slinging attempt to see what might stick and worse case pitch a camp to you?

Like mentioned above....keep them on the list (if your son is interested) and hammer them with info, video, tournament schedules, etc. and gauge their response to see how they really feel about your son. If all you get back from them is responses with come to our camp you'll know quickly how they feel about him.

Just my .02

-DD

He had a really good day at a showcase (4 HRs) that the school was at. I guess im figuring out that what i thought was actual recruiting is likely like you said "throwing some crap against the wall"

 

Not the end of the world. I guess i just feel like they risk burning a bridge on a kid before the bridge is even finished being built. IMO this is a huge black mark on them. If my son ends up being a D-1 talent, they would have to work hard to overcome this in my mind. But i guess its their program to run however they want.

 

 

 

I don't want to sound like a jerk, but you need to put your ego aside, and understand that this stuff is going to happen in recruiting.  Don't take it personal, and don't get your feelings hurt.  It is really hard to know how things are going to shake out, and where your son will be in a couple of years.  Don't cross anyone off at this point.  Do like some of the others have suggested and chalk it up to inexperience, and it may have just been bad timing!  These guys are busy, and it may not have been intentional. 

I would have son reach out to them, and if they don't respond, then I would move on.  I wouldn't let this one situation cloud my judgement.

Trust me, it is going to be easy to feel like your son is being slighted along the way, and some of these coaches are amazing!  It baffles me how they conduct business, but I am not in their shoes, so I can't honestly say that their approach is wrong from their view.  From where I am standing, I wouldn't act that way, but they may have their reasons.

Keep an open mind, and give them another chance.  Unless you are a can't miss prospect, they hold a lot more leverage than you do. 

I dont really feel slighted, or have my feelings hurt. I just find the whole situation weird. I guess im a little upset about my kid missing a day of school for this, but like ive posted its not the end of the world. Ultimately it will be my son's decision. He still thinks he is being recruited by a D1 school, and im not going to burst that bubble.

It would appear from your willingness to share the name of the school that you do feel slighted, and that's okay.  You feel what you feel.  The advice on this thread to call ahead to judge real interest is a good one.  You won't make this mistake again.  Live and learn.  And in my very uneducated opinion this D1 coach, or his department, cared enough to send an email on the first possible day of recruiting....I think your kid is being recruited by a D1.

I was never going to out the school. I was just trying to make a point. Maybe i did it poorly, but im not that guy who would burn a bridge for no reason. As this thread evolved, it became obvious to me that i had misinterpreted this schools interest level in my son. Like ive said multiple times now, its not the end of the world.

Goin_yard posted:

My son received a few e-mails just like your son received.  My son exchanged a few e-mails with the coaches before we tried to schedule a visit.  Each visit we made, we were positive the coaches knew we were coming and who we were to meet and where and what time.  You said you scheduled at your convenience.  I don't think you really understand how incredibly busy the baseball staff is, all day every day.  If they didn't know you were coming, then did you really expect them to drop everything at a moments notice?

We did exchange several emails with the recruiting coach, hammering out a date to make this visit. When we finally found one that worked for both of us, the coaches last email said something to the effect of...."That works for me....will see you on xxxxxx"  There was no doubt in my mind he knew we were coming. Or at least he should have. This is why the whole episode at the baseball facility seemed so weird to me. We went to the morning campus tour, at the coaches suggestion. It was explicitly stated the morning tour fit better into the baseball programs schedule, when in fact the afternoon tour would have ended much closer to the actual practice time and wouldnt have required us to stay up there all day long. It was also pretty obvious that attending that days practice wasnt really an option, even though, again, it was explicitly stated that we go there to watch a practice. The bottom line is i took my son out of school to go attend something that wasnt what was advertised. Part of that is on me. I readily admit that. I should have done more research. But we could have gone on a campus tour any weekend over the next year. The baseball portion of the day, which lasted 15 minutes, wasnt anything that couldnt have been conveyed via an email.

Its done and over now. Im not upset. I just think it was a strange way to do business. I am willing to accept that the coaches just got too much scheduled at one time and we were the ones who suffered. If thats what happened, Im ok with that.  I appreciate everyone's input. Im sure, as some have suggested, we will look back on this someday and laugh.

Do you mind me asking if you had given anyone your sons test scores and GPA before arrival?

And who did you initially make the appointment  with?  The admissions office didn't give you the correct information about the morning tour being better, so don't be mad practice was at 4, which BTW, practices are always late afternoons.

FWIW, don't ever take your son out of school for an unofficial visit unless you are certain there is real interest.  Real interest is not in the form of a form letter, that comes Sept 1.  That's just the beginning of the beginning, in most cases, for most players.   

Once you begin to realize how it works, you won't take it so personally.

TPM posted:

Do you mind me asking if you had given anyone your sons test scores and GPA before arrival?

And who did you initially make the appointment  with?  The admissions office didn't give you the correct information about the morning tour being better, so don't be mad practice was at 4, which BTW, practices are always late afternoons.

FWIW, don't ever take your son out of school for an unofficial visit unless you are certain there is real interest.  Real interest is not in the form of a form letter, that comes Sept 1.  That's just the beginning of the beginning, in most cases, for most players.   

Once you begin to realize how it works, you won't take it so personally.

He actually just took the SAT for the first time a couple of weeks ago. He put his gpa on the recruit questionnaire the recruiting coach told him to fill out.

The recruiting coach told us to choose the 900 am tour, not the admissions lady.

I'm not taking it personally. It's obvious I misjudged their level of interest in my son, but thats not their fault. I just think it's a poor way to start a relationship with us. I was fully aware that we weren't going there to be wined, dined and signed. I guess I was prepared for  coaches  glad handing us under the premise that maybe one day they would want to sign my son. I wasn't prepared to feel like we were intruding or bothering them. Maybe this is how it is normally at most schools for all but the very top recruits. I don't know. Like I've said a hundred times now it's not the end of the world. I've learned from it, so even if this school never recruits my son, it was a net positive. 

Without test scores and transcripts,  etc. they cant recruit you seriously.

No program will, even studs because if you cant pass admissions their work is fruitless.  

I am sorry that your first experience was not a good one.

Again here is a tip, dont waste time or money on an unofficial visit until they see that info.  And visit during spring to watch a game.  Unless of course the coach has had contact with you previously.  

Instead of visits st this time have your son concentrate on getting better, and make sure this coming summer will be a productive one.

I wouldnt get mad at the coach, no one would believe how hectic this time of year really is. 

Good luck. PM if you have any questions.

This has been a very enlightening thread.  I hadn't given much thought to the mechanics/expectations of school visits.

I think most parents (me included) have had some sort of disappointment in the process.  All you can do is learn from it and refine how you go about it.  Lots of great advice here.