PG Profile Question

It's been discussed here before but probably was due to a hijacking of an OP and therefore not popping up on the search button.  I see this going either way.  In all honesty, I really don't think it has any type of influence.   I can't see how it helps or hurts to leave blank or list schools. 

Personally, I believe if you do list schools, you should put some serious thought and homework into it.  The schools you list should match, so to speak, the data posted on your page (ACT/SAT scores, velo, 60-time, etc).  I think it's one way to demonstrate that you have a realistic sense of what type of ball player and student you are and therefore can be taken seriously.  Nothing wrong with listing some reasonable reaches (both academic and baseball).

I really can't see how any coach would find kids through searching "who has my school listed on their page?"  I don't think that's realistic at all.  

Don't overthink it. (I know its hard) Just leave it blank. The purpose of the PG rating is for a validation of what a coach saw. (IMO at least)

My son listed schools he was interested in and never attended a showcase so he had no grade. Sometimes i wish he would have and we could compare that to where he is today. I was bit jaded though..I'll admit, as i knew kids who went to those events that were average at best and read there write ups/grades (higher than i would've suspected) and wasn't impressed with many of the "paid for" opinions. In looking back, i guess PG was in a no win position of being brutally honest and limiting future income from that family or make chicken salad out of chicken %*#@ and keep em coming back. I have no idea who looked at his profile and frankly wasn't sure it happened often if at all. Great advice above, don't overthink it and continue to work hard.

Shoveit4Ks posted:

My son listed schools he was interested in and never attended a showcase so he had no grade. Sometimes i wish he would have and we could compare that to where he is today. I was bit jaded though..I'll admit, as i knew kids who went to those events that were average at best and read there write ups/grades (higher than i would've suspected) and wasn't impressed with many of the "paid for" opinions. In looking back, i guess PG was in a no win position of being brutally honest and limiting future income from that family or make chicken salad out of chicken %*#@ and keep em coming back. I have no idea who looked at his profile and frankly wasn't sure it happened often if at all. Great advice above, don't overthink it and continue to work hard.

It don't think the PG grade means all that much. Its the things PG measures (i.e. Velocity, 60 Time, Bat Speed, EV, height/weight etc..) and performance during the events than matter. 

Now, a coach could do this PG search: "Find uncommitted 2020s rated as "10s" who have my school listed in their "Schools Interested In" box?"  

That might be a worthwhile search for an RC on a very, very slow day at the office.

I imagine most coaches look to these pages more for confirmation (as has oft been said on here), than for discovery.  Would be like a gold miner reading the San Francisco Chronicle to find where the best place is to pan for gold in 1849.  

Shoveit4Ks posted:

My son listed schools he was interested in and never attended a showcase so he had no grade. Sometimes i wish he would have and we could compare that to where he is today. I was bit jaded though..I'll admit, as i knew kids who went to those events that were average at best and read there write ups/grades (higher than i would've suspected) and wasn't impressed with many of the "paid for" opinions. In looking back, i guess PG was in a no win position of being brutally honest and limiting future income from that family or make chicken salad out of chicken %*#@ and keep em coming back. I have no idea who looked at his profile and frankly wasn't sure it happened often if at all. Great advice above, don't overthink it and continue to work hard.

Thank you for posting this. I too saw this with both PG and PBR scouting reports. I know they try to put a positive spin on a player but for me it is a bit disingenuous. Those kid's families I know had the disposable income to showcase their budding star, however I feel this is feeding the "keeping up with the Joneses" syndrome and it does have an impact on families with stricter budgets.    

This always happens with PG threads....guys TRY to stick to the original OP.  Are your kids listing schools?

For my son he is listing schools, local schools that have a really good shot at showing up to a PG event. Also schools that he plans on attending their camps, just in case they check.

I know a few super studs and they are listing conferences rather than schools, like SEC.  I understand this approach since if you are qualified to go to Auburn you are qualified to go to LSU...and who would want to leave off a powerhouse school?

CaCO3Girl posted:

This always happens with PG threads....guys TRY to stick to the original OP.  Are your kids listing schools?

 

Shoveit4Ks posted:

My son listed schools he was interested in

 

Easy PG Police.

Thank you CACO for getting back to the topic I was asking about.....whether or not to list schools interested in on PG profile.    I would think that if a kid lists Kennesaw State as a school they are interested in....then a K state coach with the Scout level access would be able to pull up all kids that list interested in and maybe even fine tune that down to a distance radius, etc.... I would think that coach would love to see that John Doe who lives 25 miles away and goes to powerhouse high and is interested in KS (and has some tournament data with measurables to back up that level of play) would garner some interest.....even so much as being able to send a coach to a highschool game??  Just curious at the fine tuning a coach has access to within the PG site. 

stayfocused posted:

Thank you CACO for getting back to the topic I was asking about.....whether or not to list schools interested in on PG profile.    I would think that if a kid lists Kennesaw State as a school they are interested in....then a K state coach with the Scout level access would be able to pull up all kids that list interested in and maybe even fine tune that down to a distance radius, etc.... I would think that coach would love to see that John Doe who lives 25 miles away and goes to powerhouse high and is interested in KS (and has some tournament data with measurables to back up that level of play) would garner some interest.....even so much as being able to send a coach to a highschool game??  Just curious at the fine tuning a coach has access to within the PG site. 

Mr. Ford has said they have a search function and that coaches can and do show up to say the 16u WWBA with a list of kids names that have KSU listed on their profile.  He's also said that they can do a search for a player who has at least 3 All Tourney team selections, is a 2020, minimum 85mph fastball, within a 100 mile radius of the school.  Apparently the search function can be very specific.

I also know for a fact that KSU does show up to local high school games and even practices. They are well known for it. They send the low level coaches first, but the HC has been seen at HS games.

Back on point (and apologies to Ms. Mineral, the bestest thread monitor). PG gets a lot of traffic by school officials, so why not? I have not seen an incidence where a school bypassing a prospect because he listed a rival instituion as a preferred choice...in fact ilmy instutiton would love to gloat if it could take a bonifde prospect from a rival school

Here's a response from PGStaff on this topic, along with everyone else's.

http://community.hsbaseballweb...91#36351268646252891

As mentioned, coaches usually look for measurables and despite what's also mentioned they look for grade (10, 9, 8 etc).  List schools if you wish but make sure they are reasonable. Coaches like recruiting those players that are reasonable in their goals.

I have always wondered why folks see the need to showcase over and over and over. It won't, despite what some think, get a coaches attention. Join a travel team and go play.

For what it's worth, recruiters and head coaches know about EVERY player in their geographical area. So IMO it's wise to become interested in those programs, including all divisions. Thats who they like to recruit. It doesnt always apply, but in most cases it does.

Always remember, someone is always watching.

MidAtlanticDad posted:

Here's a response from PGStaff on this topic, along with everyone else's.

http://community.hsbaseballweb...91#36351268646252891

This

CaCO3Girl posted

I also know for a fact that KSU does show up to local high school games and even practices. They are well known for it. They send the low level coaches first, but the HC has been seen at HS games.

What is a low level coach? Maybe you meant assistant?

Some HC go recruit, others leave it up to the people they pay to do that. If the HC is a hitting coach he needs the pitching coach to go watch, vice versa.  It all depends on the program.  So maybe the Kennesaw coach is the hitting or pitching coach so he needs to watch the player. Keep in mind that HCs from smaller program have to work harder at recruiting in some instances.

I listed only the colleges that made an offer; just in case. My son didn't engage in the PG stuff. It was all for me.

IMO this is another "feel good" place for parents. If you find yourself jumping to other players pages to see what Colleges they posted and other comparative I indecies; it's more about your feelings.

I found PG to be an excellent place to compare my boy to others. In retrospect, it was not a healthy process. My son would tell me, " stop watching PG, " coaches are not going to make decisions based on PG.

He was correct. I still troll for time to time when a family asks for recruiting guidance.

Sometimes the TRUTH is embarrassing. 

Admitted Voyer Parent

BaseballBUDDY posted:

I listed only the colleges that made an offer; just in case. My son didn't engage in the PG stuff. It was all for me.

IMO this is another "feel good" place for parents. If you find yourself jumping to other players pages to see what Colleges they posted and other comparative I indecies; it's more about your feelings.

I found PG to be an excellent place to compare my boy to others. In retrospect, it was not a healthy process. My son would tell me, " stop watching PG, " coaches are not going to make decisions based on PG.

He was correct. I still troll for time to time when a family asks for recruiting guidance.

Sometimes the TRUTH is embarrassing. 

Admitted Voyer Parent

 

 

 

True confessions is good for the soul.

Your son should be posting his preferences after doing his homework.

MidAtlanticDad posted:

Here's a response from PGStaff on this topic, along with everyone else's.

http://community.hsbaseballweb...91#36351268646252891

Speaking of gold miners........nice nugget  MADad!

TPM posted:

BaseballBUDDY posted:

I listed only the colleges that made an offer; just in case. My son didn't engage in the PG stuff. It was all for me.

IMO this is another "feel good" place for parents. If you find yourself jumping to other players pages to see what Colleges they posted and other comparative I indecies; it's more about your feelings.

I found PG to be an excellent place to compare my boy to others. In retrospect, it was not a healthy process. My son would tell me, " stop watching PG, " coaches are not going to make decisions based on PG.

He was correct. I still troll for time to time when a family asks for recruiting guidance.

Sometimes the TRUTH is embarrassing. 

Admitted Voyer Parent

 

 

 

True confessions is good for the soul.

Your son should be posting his preferences after doing his homework.

Not of fan of replying with previous posts, but these two just sort of made a lot of sense to me.  I did find PG to be somewhat a a validation source for me.  If you can avoid getting caught up in who's kid is going where, the basic information of a particular class of players can provide some comfort (or correction) on whether you are fishing in the right pond.  Stats aren't the full story, but if all the kids going to State U are throwing 5+ mph harder (across the board) and are maybe 3-4 inches taller (again, across the board), this can clue you in that State U is probably a long shot.  We (I - since we are being honest) used it much more for understanding broad fit than for trying to garner exposure.

As for listing schools, I like the response from #1 AC who recommended that you put some thought into it first.  If you are shooting for LSU, then you can probably leave blank (they will find you if you are good enough).  If you are shooting for KSU and live not too far down the road, then it probably makes sense.  I suspect this field is used to possibly get some kids on the "pay attention" list.  For instance, you are CF on a team with some stud pitchers who ARE getting followed by mid-tier schools.  Some coach plotting out his Lakepoint visit can easily get a nice "database" of his known prospects along with some basic info on all the other kids running around on the field (including opposing team members with a simple click of a button).  Not that I know anything about the schools, but if some kid not on his radar kind of stands out - and maybe has Georgia Southern listed along with his hometown - well maybe KSU might also be a fit and the kid's name maybe gets highlighted.  Not saying the kid is getting an offer, but perhaps including the actual school or a similar school, it simply makes a little more sense to give the kid a second look or maybe check back the next day if they are playing next door.

Ryan listed his schools, and some he had visited, and some he had not.  In the end, I agree with the old PG Staff post - if the player is not committed, and a school is interested, they are still going to recruit him.  It doesn't matter what schools they post.

I have a sneaking suspicion that those databases are also used by the schools to generate invitation lists for generic camp invites. Think about it, Johnny indicates he'd like to go to State U, they will use that desire to generate income for their program by sending him camp invitations. So, by a certain definition, listing schools may get you in front of those coaches, but you may end up paying for that privilege.

I agree with many on here, use the measurable (with a grain of salt) to compare apples to apples and to see what kind of a profile the school is creating in their recruited players. Are they taking smaller, leaner, athletic guys as pitchers? Are they tending toward larger frames? Guys who are physically mature at age 11?

Its unfortunate that PG has masked the self-reported GPA on player profiles now, because that was also as useful as any other measurable. If you were shooting for Ivy league and had a 3.9 GPA and a 29 ACT, it would be handy to know if they had a history of having that caliber of player in their past recruiting classes to reinforce if you are fishing in the right pond. But, alas, PG has now forced you to pay for that nugget of knowledge...all about the revenue.

My son did list school's of interest. My thinking in having him do it was that it sort of identified where he saw himself and his interest level. A coach could look at the schools he was interested in and get a sense of what kind of college he saw himself at, if he chose to think about it that much. My guess is many didn't, but. . he knew what schools he was interested in, why keep it a secret?

My son listed conferences rather than  individual schools as he didn’t want to limit himself by listing just a few. But I actually like IowaMom’s son’s approach better. Seems smart. 

Best advice given early in thread.  Don't overthink it.

Go44dad posted:

Best advice given early in thread.  Don't overthink it.

But if we don't overthink, much of the conversation on this site would go away!!!