Questions on Prepping for Recruitment

VABBDad -
First, welcome to the HSBBW! You are in the right place to not just have your questions answered, but to get advice and help throughout this process.

You are here at the perfect time for your son. I'm not going to try and answer your specific questions - I'll leave that to others - but I can assure you are going to get solid info and advice from the folks here.

I'm glad you are here.

Like Rob Kremmer I too would like to welcome you to the HSBBW. First off recruiting is a process and not an event so no one thing guarantees success but success is almost always guaranteed. Many things come in to play during the recruiting cycle. There is no cookie cutter approach because every player and every situation is different. Let's get basic. Your son's talent needs to be matched up to a school's needs. This matching up of talent and need is called "fit". A good "fit" makes for a rewarding experience. In order to start the recruiting process your son needs to have talent and be exposed to college coaches (this is already happening). Some exposure happens every time your son takes the field or takes a breath around a baseball. EVERY team he plays for provides exposure. ANY event he attends provides exposure. ANY person that sees him play and passes on his information to another person provides exposure. Your job at this point is to help guide him to maximize his exposure to coaches of colleges where he would be a good fit (and not break the bank in doing so). Your timing is right. Start now. Be proactive. Summer teams are important. Match his talent to a summer team's talent and make sure their schedule would provide opportunity for exposure. Attend a few showcases if your budget allows. Showcases vary in price and effectiveness. Again you don't have to break the bank here. B&G is talked about here on the HSBBW so I'm sure there will be others that can address their effectiveness. Be aggressive but not obnoxious. Have your son research schools and contact those schools. Request information about their baseball program and if your son is already interested in that program indicate his interest to facilitate his recruitment. You can facilitate his recruitment with unofficial campus visits, camps, provide coaches with his HS schedule and his bios etc. Again there is no cookie cutter approach. His talent will change and his recruiting will change over his HS years. Be prepared to adjust. You need to constantly be evaluating your son (without him and other parents knowing it) and make adjustments in his recruiting approach. You will be inundated with invites to showcases and camps. Don't get caught up in the hype. Understand THEIR motives and YOUR goals and a good ending is sure to happen. Plan your work and work your plan. Keep us posted.
Fungo

Rob and Fungo,

Thanks, for both the welcome and the advice - both are greatly appreciated. Looking forward to learning more on this thread and the board as a whole.

I would suggest you look at the time line on this site. It is at the fae left of your screen. There is a green vertical line at the far edge of the screen. Put your cursor over it and a pull down menu will appear. Go to recruiting time line and that will be a good place to start.

quote:

BobbleheadDoll

BobbleheadDoll - I really appreciate the advice so far. If I may be so forward - please keep pouring it on.
Obviously, each of us in similar situations, come to a point where decisions have to be made by us - no one else - at the very least those decisions should be based on one's analysis of each opinion and insight presented. I’m not a baseball Einstein, nor am a baseball knuckle-dragger. That said the advice offered here – and from what I have gathered so far – could prove invaluable. Again, thanks and keep it coming.

Another idea is to go to the "find" function on the menu bar at the top of the postings and type in subjects that you have questions about in the recruitment or showcase forums. Chances are whatever you are wondering about has been discussed in the past and you can do some catch-up research pretty quickly.