Plan for D2 or D3 exposure

You are well on your way.

Your focus in this posting is baseball. My advice is start spending time with your son and get him to focus on what his life will be like at college. Help him find an academic progam that excites him, let him find a campus and living enviroment that he will find a home. Share with him what kind of family budget makes sense and how that may impact his college choices.

Work with him in applying for scholarships. Continue to help him focus on his grades and academics; it serve him well in terms of creating opportunities and finding success in the future.

As to finding a baseball program, continue doing what you have started. Educate yourself as to recruiting events where his target schools find recuits. Hlep him schedule visits to colleges where he might have an interest; help him meet with admissions as well as with coaches and recruiting directors.

Keep working it, your son will find a home which makes sense.

bludevil_bk,

Do your homework on the Top 96. They will show the coaches attending, so make sure you research which coach is coming. I have seen numerous schools sending volunteer assistants in place of Head Coach or Recruiting Coordinator. Just be sure if you are targeting certain schools they have the right coaches showing up. JMHO.

Thought Top 96 was the worst event I invested in. Wouldn't do it again. Way too much standing around, he can do that for free.

Get a video done,all coaches want to see him perform and you will be able to send or have a youtube site . Also get the SAT/ACT completed ASAP. Everyone wants to know the scores before they start recruiting

Bludevil_bk,

Looks like your off to a great start, and your son understands the recruiting process. He has a plan and he is executing on the plan. Here is my two cents of advice.

1) Discuss with your son if he wants to play for a flagship school where he will possibly sit the bench for a couple years or does he want to play for a school that he'll have a genuine opportunity to play immediately. This can be one of the biggest decision factors as you move forward in this process.

2) Be patient and don't settle - Wait for the right situation that meets all of your sons needs.

3) Be flexible - You have a list of schools, including top schools. Don't be afraid to change the geography to inlcude more schools that fit the profile of school you are looking for. This will give you a broader reach. We ended up changing our geography a few times.

4) Good academics give you more choices.

Huntermac95 gave you excellent advice about the "decision maker". HC should be in the loop as things get more serious.

Good advice above. My emphasis would be on minimizing what you spend on showcases, one or two are plenty, almost too much. Focus on your list of desired schools, attend camps of your favorites but be sure you make contact with a coach in advance so that they look at you specifically. And if you are playing in the same region as a desired school, be sure to share your summer schedule with them, as well as info as to whether you are playing with or against other top notch recruitables. The more they can see in one visit the more likely they are to come.

End of the day, unless a top D1 prospect, academics are key. Don't wait until the end of the Junior year to shore them up. And focus on maximizing your SAT or ACT scores even if where you are applying does not require them. Academics drives far more in aid than does baseball, again speaking to the D2 and D3 level.

PS Get a video or two out on YouTube or BeRecruited as well.

quote:

Originally posted by sandnat:
Also get the SAT/ACT completed ASAP.

IMHO, not so soon as to not be completely ready to take that first one. An inaccurate score based on taking it too soon can be more dangerous than not having it at all.

We've seen several DIIIs on the east coast for whom the standardized tests are optional.

Two camps in Virginia for DIII exposure that I can highly recommend. Both have DII and DI attendance as well.

Best in Virginia - July - Held at Hampden-Sydney College, just outside of Farmville, Va.
http://www.vabaseballcamps.com/sc_testimonials.html

Don't let the name fool you. Kids attend from all over the East Coast.

Second one is the Fall camp put on by Nick Boothe at Virginia Wesleyan. They hold two different session in November. Here is a link to the 2011 camp details if you want to get an idea of what to expect in 2012.
http://vwcathletics.com/inform.../pdfs/11showcase.pdf

I don't think you can go wrong with either of these camps.

I often hear DII and DIII mentioned together. Wonder why that is? It makes more sense to lump DII with DI. DII is much closer to DI than it is to DIII.

I understand that people will say there are high level DIII programs that sometimes beat DII or even DI teams. But there are DII and NAIA teams that sometimes beat DI teams, too. It doesn't make all the divisions the same. From a strict baseball point, DII has distinct advantages over DIII. There is a real reason why it is DI, DII, or DIII, rather than DI and all the others.

From a recruiting standpoint, there are obvious differences. From an "overall" talent standpoint there are differences between each level.

For the record, I love small college baseball and used to coach at a couple. One was an NAIA school that offered athletic scholarships. When you have athletic scholarships to offer, it's a much different ball game. Recruiting possibilities increased a lot.

Anyway, it's all good, but I see a very big difference between DII and DIII. Obviously the NCAA says there is a big difference. Of course, that doesn't mean the DIII isn't the best situation financially, for academics, or for baseball, once everything is considered.

My point is that good exposure can also be much different between all the divisions. BTW, even when it comes to academics, there are top academic schools at every level. It does always amaze me of how many small colleges are great academic institutions. Academic quality among the divisions is much closer than the athletic quality. There are always exceptions.

PGStaff, good points, I fully agree.

Thanks to all responders, past and future.

Very Special thanks to the following for sharing your expertise and insight: (in order of response)
ILVBB
HunterMac95
Calisportfan
sandnat
fenwaysouth
redsoxfan21
twotex
1baseballdad
PGstaff
Threebagger

As a reader to my post, if you have perspective on this topic or experience, please free to share. It is all valued and being utilized!

Finally, please don't interpret my thanks as an end to my search for information or effort to assist my son on his journey. I continue to welcome all comments and check the post daily.

I agree with PG on the whole classification of programs DI, II, III.

Out here on the West Coast at least, DII’s tend to be state schools, with lower academic requirements. (except for UCSD which is actually more DIII like since they don’t offer scholarships, but this is another story…) DII’s tend to have a broader spectrum of schools and programs, much like you will find with D1’s schools also with a broader range of academic requirements. DII’s are also the only level that can take D1 drop down’s without a sit out year. You also cannot go from DI to DIII without a sit out year. (and vice versa) In the top DII’s at least, you get a steady flow of D1 drop downs looking for playing time, which can, and does make it difficult to project where you fit on a roster. Every year drops downs show up and take spots unexpectedly, at least in the top programs this is something you need to be aware of. If you look at the top DII programs they are loaded with these players.

DIII programs are really different than almost any level of baseball. First they tend to be high academic and of course they don’t offer any athletic scholarships. You will generally have to have high grades and GPA’s for these schools first to get in, and second to get any academic money. This makes DIII so different from DII they really should not be lumped together.

At the DIII level there is also a distinct break at the top 50 programs from the rest of the ~360 schools. The top 50 programs have a much higher percentage of “D1” kids and getting playing time on one of these teams is more difficult. I have not seen any but I am guessing the bottoms are more like a D1 schools club team. On my son’s top 25 team DIII team for example, only two freshmen travel and get any playing time. Their top 3 pitchers would probably be a weekend starter on any D1 program, but they tend to be older than D1 programs. (where many of the top pitchers get drafted after their Jr yr) They have 6 kids throwing in the 90’s and innings behind the three starters are slim. They do have less restrictive roster limits so a player has the time to develop and many schools encourage larger rosters.

In the end, every school, regardless of the level, has a feel and a way that they run their program, so like everyone says here, do your homework.

quote:

Originally posted by BOF:
DII’s are also the only level that can take D1 drop down’s without a sit out year. You also cannot go from DI to DIII without a sit out year. (and vice versa)

A player can transfer to a D3 without sitting out a year as long as he would be academically and athletically eligible at his previous school. A player can definitely transfer from D1 to D3 without sitting out a year.

quote:

Originally posted by twotex:
We've seen several DIIIs on the east coast for whom the standardized tests are optional.

The good news for kids who have a strong academic record in a challenging curriculum, yet seem to be challenged by the SAT, is that there are far MORE schools making it optional than those requiring it.

And the better news is that even at those schools requiring the SAT it does not mean you won't get academic aid due to a low SAT score. Yes it makes it tougher but in my son's case his top choice school accepted him but said because of the SATs academic assistance was in doubt. He then sent them copies of the significant offers from the 5 schools offering him academic money, along with more information on a challenging Senior course load with great results, and they put it before a review committee.. Result? He's been offered roughly as much as most of the other schools and now will likely attend his top choice.

And, bonus, in a respected DIII Baseball program.

So he's passing on a DII invite at a good academic school, as well as a number of good DIII opportunities in order to focus on the place that should best help his career prospects, and where he is genuinely excited to get to.

The point here is basically to reinforce what the site has said many times:

Baseball is likely to end in your last year of college eligibility (amateur ball excepted). With that in mind, consider your future and pick a school best able to get you a firm foundation for a career, in a place where you believe you can grow socially, and as a final differentiator, where you can continue to play ball.

And like anything else in life, if someone tells you no, figure out why they are saying that because many times they may not be seeing things as they are. Personalize the contact and get past rote responses.

For my son it has meant the school of choice, with as much academic aid as others were offering, but only after pushing back, and, oh yeah, he'll be playing ball in a good conference. Life is good.

quote:

RedSoxFan21 said....The good news for kids who have a strong academic record in a challenging curriculum, yet seem to be challenged by the SAT, is that there are far MORE schools making it optional than those requiring it.

And the better news is that even at those schools requiring the SAT it does not mean you won't get academic aid due to a low SAT score. Yes it makes it tougher but in my son's case his top choice school accepted him but said because of the SATs academic assistance was in doubt. He then sent them copies of the significant offers from the 5 schools offering him academic money, along with more information on a challenging Senior course load with great results, and they put it before a review committee.. Result? He's been offered roughly as much as most of the other schools and now will likely attend his top choice.

And, bonus, in a respected DIII Baseball program.

So he's passing on a DII invite at a good academic school, as well as a number of good DIII opportunities in order to focus on the place that should best help his career prospects, and where he is genuinely excited to get to.

Congrats RedSoxFan21 and RedSoxfan21 son! That is a VERY interesting situation and outcome. Thanks for sharing.

RSF:

From and inside point of view one of the best things you can do for your son once he has narrowed it down is to get the applications , fafsa , etc. all filled out and completed for that school.

Then get your video out or get your visit/workout set up. Schools are must quicker to bite or offer a kid who they know if already accepted and has got all the groundwork taken care of.

And don't be afraid to hound them call and email until you get a response worst thing they can say is no

Its said time and time again but remains true ,,, Go where your going to play and you feel comfortable and happy being for 4 years

Thanks FWS and TT!