player websites as a recruiting tool?

Jerseydad,
In this high tech day and age the personal website could probably be one of the most effective tools in promoting your son but something about that approach tends to touch a nerve with me. In my business I pay monster.com to access their database for prospective employees but I don’t think college recruiting has gotten to that point. It might be because I’m older but they seem too presumptuous to me. I started a thread about Marketing vs. Selling your son and I feel as if the personal website is and example of “selling” instead of marketing. If you chose to use the electronic media to market your son then I would think a link to his summer team’s website or even a link to his personal bio on that website would be more effective. If your son’s team doesn’t have a website I think that would be an area that a parent with website knowledge could help out. While my son was in high school I personally started and maintained two websites on eteamz for his high school team and his summer team. Each player’s bio contained everything a college coach could want. Just my opinion.
Fungo

Fungo

As always, you have great insight. I guess I was looking at the potential of a player website to serve the same purpose of a hard copy bio/resume. Not something that would be loaded with fluffy stuff that grandma and grandpa would want to see.

When I look at the example of the bio that is given in the HSBBWEB articles, I wonder if it wouldn't be easier for a college recruiter to open up a link from a letter of introduction (via email) that takes them to a visually pleasing bio on a web site as opposed to sifting through another stack of letters/bio’s from a 1000 other prospective recruits. I would also think it would be easier to update a website as the resume builds as well as include links to the high schools & travel team’s websites that you mentioned. Another benefit of a website might be to include a link to the high schools and travel team’s schedules. Most of these schedules are now available on line. I understand that some coaches prefer snail mail, but why not offer both?

As for the marketing aspect of a website, I guess my feeling is that if a player can’t deliver on the field, all the marketing or selling in the world probably won’t get him an offer from a school. However if a player does have the goods why not package it in a way that is easily accessed and gives a recruiter an overview of the players abilities. Why not put a bow on the package if it is not over the top. This might be especially helpful if you don’t live in what I call the “baseball belt” (south and west). A little marketing of the facts might help a player get a look before the colleges move on to their normal recruiting grounds.

jerseydad,
Please don't trust my opinion because I myself have to ask myself why it strikes me as it does. I know the power of the internet is such that a coach could access thousands of players at the touch of a button or a player could market himself to hundreds of colleges just as easy? Maybe it could be so effective in the distribution of information that it would just add to the confusion?

You know the Gatling gun (first machine gun) was invented by Doctor Richard Gatling for the purpose of saving lives. Dr. Gatlin thought its awesome firepower would end wars and save lives.

Jerseydad..you have a pm

Jerseydad, I am one of the guilty salesmen. Here is my son's website, which I simply used WORD and saved it as an html file, and loaded it onto my ISP-provided personal web space.
http://home.ntelos.net/~jtbaseball/

I simply did a one page profile, included some action shots, and links to articles and his HS and Legion website...
...and his video file.

Sure hope this helps.

I check out your web site and did some research on your kid too

at 2004 PG ID camp he ran 7.18
2005 BG at Coastal ran a 6.94 and threw 2.08.

The video footage is good, but did see many things that needs improvement. He feet are way too wide, little or no stride.

Plus show 3B throws in infield outfield practice

Plus dont show catchers throws where the ball is dying to 2b.


But the good news coaches can see pretty much what your kid can do on the web site

The Man,

I disagree about the wide stance. Some of the hitting video is very good. There are many great hitters with extremely wide stances.

If I was a coach looking at this video... I would want to get a better idea of arm strength. I agree with "The Man" I think a better view of the arm would be helpful. The video really doesn't show arm strength that well.

Also, I would drop the music, but guess that's not a big deal. Music tends to make it look more like a production than real scouting video.

Overall, very nice, hope it works. Best of luck.

PG,

Doesn't Skillshow use background music, or is that just for the promo on their website? We signed up with them for your event last week in Ft. Myers, met Tom Sr. (Great guy!) and was assured (of course!) that we'd be happy with the results. Can't wait to see.

JT,
you might put gpa/sat/act scores in the headline part at the top. Seems like that is the first question most scouts/coaches ask when they call.

I agree with PG. The music is a distraction. These productions look too produced and take away from the talent.
I didn't know the level of play from the video.
I am sure it works though but could be less produced.

I can understand Fungo's concerns ... at the end of the day, a college coach or pro scout has to see real talent with their own eyes and base their evaluation upon their own judgement of the player on the field. Nothing in a website will ever replace that.

Since I work in the web development business, I come at this from the perspective of how a website can be used to present information in a way that is easy to find. It 'aggregates' what would otherwise be scattered in may different locations, either on the web or in a file folder on someone's desk. A player 'profile' website shouldn't 'package' or 'promote' ... it should simply organize key information such that a coach or scout can quickly view admittedly superficial information that only helps identify whether this player fits their own criteria as a player to 'follow'. I don't have any running 'dialog' on my son's website describing him or his abilities ... just events, accomplishments, factual information, contact info, photos, videos. Nothing subjective, all verifiable. If they want to know more about his abilities and character, they'll see him play and/or talk to his coaches ... they're not going to talk to me. I just drive the car and keep the food coming .

No website is going to replace talent or make a player into something he can't deliver on the field. There is no substitute for real talent. It can provide a single location for quick and easy updates for schedules, stats, videos, etc., that simply saves time from having to 'google' all that or make a bunch of phone calls. Instead of having to go find out when/where a player is playing via a HS website, a club website, email distribution with several scout ball teams, or several phone calls ... one centralized player calendar with all those events listed on one page can reduce 30 minutes of 'googling' into a two minute exercise to find the calendar and print out a one page summary of everything that player is doing for the next month ... making it easier for a coach or scout to allocate their valuable time. Clearly, truly extraordinary talent will be known by just about every baseball guy on the planet. The larger pool of "very good but maybe not extraordinary ... yet" players can get a very diverse spectrum of exposure based upon geographic location, ability to attend some national events, and many other circumstances. A website just suppliments these other means to get exposure.

How to build a website? Many, many options ... from the businesses that specialize in player profile websites (i.e., Skillshow, etc.), to general purpose subscription 'portals' that you can customize (Yahoo Sitebuilder, I used my own Smith Micro web-portal), to do it yourself with your favorite HTML editor and an ISP provider. It all depends on how technically "hands on" you are and what you do or don't like doing yourself. It's a lot like remodeling a bathroom ... some people enjoy doing it themselves, others know their limitations and will pay a professional. If anyone has specific technical questions, I'm happy to help or provide assistance ... give something back to this great community ... you can PM me if you like.

My son's is website is www.seanbonesteele.com

IMO, if using a player website, keep it professional by sticking to simple facts and references. Ex: GPA & SAT scores followed by the High School counselor’s name and phone number; Speed and/or Arm Strength stats followed by links to showcase reports or videos and a reference list of coaches and scouts contact information. In other words, don't "sell" with long personal bios that list “all-everything” awards. Market instead with simple facts and where they can be verified.
JMO

I don't think anyone thinks a video will turn an average player into a super star. I don't know why people always think that if you have to market a player he id a dud that you are trying to dress up as all that.
The concept a picture is worth a thousand words applies to a video as well. A video is factual. The problem is when the media it is presented in becomes a slick work of art.
I approached by marketing from a coaches point of view. No time too busy so show me something quick. If the player has talent you show it simply. Even if and probably is that he will only look at a few frames of a couple of videos. A few looked at all of it and as I said asked for more as the summer progressed.
I had some coaches say he had to go and strut his stuff in front of them but we had a lot that would commit just off the video.
The main thing is you have to give them the info they need via the video and a description of who you are pitching to.
A lot of the coaches knew the players and the teams. We never missled any of the coaches. Most of them just had to see the video. Some of the offers we got were from a Long Island Tournament but most were from a showcase and the videos.
No video no matter how good it is will turn your son into a star if he isn't. If he dosen't have the goods you get no offers. I make the assumption the people that are interested in this are people that think their son has the talent. I din't use any special effects or sound which I am capable of doing. It can become more about the production than the player.

pbonesteele, That is a very impressive website! WOW! Let me be honest. I talked to my son about a website during high school. At that time I was actively maintaing two team websites on eteamz and had the ability to set up a personal website. I asked him about how he felt about a personal website. I showed him some other sites that other player had. He said no way. He wanted me to be active in his recruiting but he would never agree to a website that featured him. Did you get any negative comments from your son?
Fungo

Fungo ... well, I didn't get what you would call 'direct' push back. He understood it's purpose and what lay ahead of him on the college recruiting scene when I first put it together his sophomore year. He's also a kid that doesn't waste much mental energy on what random people think unless it's an earnest thought from someone he respects. He did get teased by some of his teammates at first, but it didn't last long ... most understood what it meant to aspire to play college ball, they knew his ability, and they knew his head is 100% about putting the bat on the ball, getting guys out, and competing at full effort ... he's not a big talker between the lines, it's all about the game. Off the field he's very social, humble, and well liked ... just a kid having fun. After two minutes thought, it was just "sure, whatever".

If you'll bare with me, I do have a funny story. This site was always intended as solely a resource for coaches. The URL was included in initial email dialogs with colleges, etc., but otherwise it wasn't something that was 'promoted'. His sophmore year, he's pulled up to Varsity to pitch, but it's understood it's a short relief role ... we had two stud seniors: Phil Hughes was drafted 1st round (Yankees) and Cole St. Clair is an upcoming standout at Rice. No sophomore was going to see much game time behind that combo. So one of our games gets televised by the local Cox Cable TV station. He didn't pitch ... Phil Hughes was just cutting batters down with his 94 mph FB ... but Sean did get to DH. So later in the week we're sitting on the couch watching the delayed cable broadcast of the game late at night. Good enough. Then he comes up to bat on TV ... and the Cox announcers start talking on-air about ... his website. He literally came out of the chair "Dad, what the heck?". I just shrugged and said "don't ask me ... I didn't tell anyone". Turns out the HS athletic director thought it was cool and linked it into the HS website himself. The seniors worked him for a few days, but he got over it.

Thanks for the feedback. I wasn't expecting any as I was just trying to offer advice. The point about putting the level of play on the highlights is a GREAT point, so the college can know whether its HS or Legion play.

Also, to explain the descrepancies from the web site info and the research (btw, thanks for looking the stuff up), pop and 60 are his BEST times. Thus the following questions:
1. Should I match the times on the web site to the actually documented times
2. Should I just include the raw footage sounds instead of the music. I thought the idea was to make a slick production.

So far, the video has been well received by the colleges--perhaps they are better at filtering the sound and focusing on the player. Anyhow, thanks for all the great advice, as usual. BTW, we have had some similar feedback on the wide stance and that is being addressed.

Pop time...you have a PM

I like what Skillshow does with the info on their players video sites--it gives the showcase where the 60 yd times, catchers pop times and pitchers radar readings were done--thus it gives the college coach a frame of reference and he knows who to call for information on the player

If anyone wants to see an example of a Skillshow site, drop me a PM or e-mail and I'll send you a link to the one they did for my son. I thought it was great and the original purpose was a keepsake after the National.

I have created a website for my brother and started it about 3 years ago when he was a freshman in High School. Although most of you are correct on seeing a Player in person is the best way to recruit, the website idea just gives hopefully that little extra edge on helping the player getting shown that might not have happened in the first place. I definately know that my brothers site: Seanyost.comhas helped in his recruiting ventures so far. I think its easy for coaches to email each other and exchange the information and it gives them something to do when their bored

Coach Merc - It was nice to meet you at the ABCA this weekend.
Jersey - The concept of posting a webpage with a players information is still new and I can understand why some people, like Fungo, might be resistant to anything that is NEW. We teach people with our website that this is a marketing TOOL for recruiting and helps the players get noticed. Like has been said already, a coach still needs to see the player in person, get to know them personally, etc. But by having your own webpage, it saves the coach from having to take the time to view a video in a vcr and it saves the player money on mailing videos to perspective coaches. A player can spend $.39 on a letter directing a coach to their webpage rather than mailing a video for $3.00. Also, nowadays, it does not cost a player a lot to create their own webpage and it makes sense to take advantage of technology. Can it really HURT to have a webpage? No. Can it hurt to rely exclusively on that webpage to get recruited? Yes.

Ebasball I am not disagreeing with the overall point of a web page.
1st I think my DVD/cd approach was cheaper overall.
2nd you do not need a VCR but can be setup to use one.
3rd you donot have to view videos like you do in a VCR. My DVD had atleast 15 edited games that are viewed with windows Media Player that all coaches have on their computers. The DVD/CD shows all the games news clips and snap shots in a normal windows window. You can view each item seperately and go to any spot you want. It is easy simple and unadulterated by over production.
the video has to show the player skills. I liked phone's page but my only critic was his lack of angles on the pitching videos. You have to see some side angles. I liked the colours because they were easy to read and the layout was pretty good.
I find in general most web pages and videos are more about production which takes away from the performance.
A DVD/CD you put in your drive click on it and there it all is for you to look at what you want. A cover page in MS Word is there to be printed and you have a description of each item. This also gave me an excuse to follow up to see if they had viewed it.
This is a very inexpensive way to get out there.

While I am an advocate of online streaming video given how easy it is to organize and distribute ... there is one big limitation: it is really only effective if a coach has a decent internet connection (DSL, Cable modem, etc., school's broadband connection). Trying to view an reasonable quality streaming video over an old dialup connection would be mind-numbingly slow.

I just assume that the majority of coaches these days have access some form high speed internet, but I don't know if that's a valid assumption. I know I'd turn my PC into a flying missle if I had to tolerate a 56KB connection.

BBHead ... yup, I agree, I should have gotten some side-views. Logistically I just haven't spent the extra effort, mainly because my backup volunteer job is as the varsity team's photographer. So I usually set up the video camera in some unobtrusive spot behind home plate, turn it on and walk away ... then spend the rest of the game walking around with my digital still camera.

In the end, the college coaches that were most interested made a point to see Sean in one of the summer's various events, games, tryouts, camps, tournaments, etc., and they weren't shy about watching him in the bullpen to get different angles on his mechanics.

You did a good job on your site. I laboured over using a site as I am on the computer almost all day.
The coackes I talked to, alot of them did not have good computers and some schools blocked all images coming into their net work. A couple had to take the DVD to the computer Dept. Their computers were clunkers.
I also took 3 1/2 in DVDs with me to ball tournaments where I knew scouts/coaches would be and handed them out. I didn't do a lot of that because most of the schools we were interested in were far away.

Bobble - If the dvd method worked, good for you. This forum is about the best way to help players and their parents with the recruiting process. If you found that to work for you in your scenario then more power to you. I am all for whatever works. That is why we on this website should not be so quick to dismiss people's ideas or ways of going about recruiting. A lot of talk on this site has suggested that recruiting services are bad, but for some people it might be a good fit. For people like yourself, the dvd method works equally well. Also, in my original post, I was referring to vcr videos as being a more expensive method than having your own webpage. Yes, mailing dvds is cheaper than mailing vcr tapes, but you still run the chance of something happening to the dvd. On the internet, you do not have to worry about delivery of the video. So each method has its ups and downs, depending upoon how you look at it.
To address phone's issue of high speed connection...it is only a matter of time before dsl and high speed connection methods completely replace dial-up. As it is today, many phone companies offer high-speed connection cheaper than dial-up. If a coach is not computer savy, than methods, like the dvd method, are better suited for those coaches.

I agree with most of your points but did not dismiss anything. This is a discussion of pros nad cons to assist people in choosing a way to market the ball player from the experience I had.
The biggest thing I have found which ever media you use is that people tend to over produce the presentation. They are both great metods but I prefer the DVD approach and put forward my reasons.

Like pbonesteele, I work in the web development area. Even so, when my son was a H.S. sophomore, I inwardly scoffed at a high schooler having a self-promoting website.

When my son was a junior and began getting recruited, I changed my tune and put together a site for him that would list the basics.

It seemed like a logical way to keep track of his records, etc.

What I failed to consider was that my son's modesty and subsequent embarrassment over the site. He took a ribbing from friends and eventually asked me to take it down (of course I did). So, what came naturally to me was VERY unnatural and uncomfortable for him. He was fortunate to be scouted, but was the only one who was that year. So, I think the website, combined with the scouting attention made him feel singled out, and he is not comfortable in that role. (Have I mentioned what a great kid he is??)

I like that more and more H.S. teams are launching sites that serve to showcase ALL the kids on a team. I would have volunteered to do that but our coach wasn't into it.

Looking back, I think this is a natural and easy way to demonstrate some of a prospect's potential and I would like to see more of it. Part of helping our kids grow into adulthood is teaching them that it's ok to acknowledge one's own talent as long as you do so with dignity, grace, and humility.

If anyone else is working on a site for their kid, I'd be glad to send you a link so you can see how we did ours. I'm not posting it here out of respect for my son.

My son has a SkillShow page. It is easy to update and the people at SkillShow are very helpful. I am about as techno-ignorant as they come, and I can manage it. Update GPA, SAT scores, stats (oh no!), etc. You can send email and the page is attached when the coach gets the message. There is your son smiling at him! It is not the only tool - but I am glad we have utilized it. I see a lot of Skillshow pages with nothing on them. I think that is a waste of $$.

A friend of mine is a high school football coach and uses a site called vidswap.com to exchange game film with other schools.

Anyways, he got me to sign up for their free service and I received an email talking about how their going to be offering a player bio type of page in the near future. Apparently it's going to be free and similar to a myspace page just more "professionalized" and tailored to coaches and recruiters needs. Thought I would throw that out there for parents looking to possibly build websites for their kids.