Recruiting Process - One Perspective

Got the same email, found it very interesting (might have saved me 'a little' dough had i read it a year or 2 ago).

-DD

I agree that a skills video may start the process, but frankly it is just the first step of being identified as a POTENTIAL student athlete. The comment about being seen and the "YOU" reminded me of this article from my son's former program; which basically mirrors the other coaches comments about "eyes on YOU", However programs need to see a player play and multiple times to gain confidence in their decision, and to do this you have to play where they are, which are at tournaments. So this is where I think you are mistaken, a video is the first small step as well as references from travel and HS coaches, and having skills that are identifiable on the field. 

Here is the article for those interested. It gives you a perspective how difficult the recruiting process is, even at the D3 level. 

http://usatodayhss.com/2016/re...-university-baseball

Great article BOF. Thanks for the link!!

bof, very helpful article!

Thanks for the article!! My son got a email from a college that stated they had looked at all the video but needed to see him personally. He was invited to attend their college camp to further evaluate him. The article was on point. 

Great points!  That is EXACTLY why I am running my showcase during the new Quiet Period in Jan/Feb!  We will not only stream the showcase online to 34 committed college coaches but we will also provide custom videos via Play In School (playinschool.com) to every player.  They can use the videos to market themselves afterwards.  The whole point of the camp is to get on college's radar screens for the summer.  At that point, the colleges will follow the player's progress in summer games.

Coastalvabaseball.com

There are thousands of stories similar to the one linked below. Every college wants players to show up at their camp.  But they usually first find them elsewhere.  College camps need to be open to all players,  so for every prospect they want, they will get 25 or more they have no interest in.  While this is true, it can still be beneficial if players learn something from those camps.  It is always best when multiple colleges want the same player.  Being on a good travel team or attending good showcases are still the best way.  Just make sure you don't skip over the word "good"

http://uselitebaseball.com/llo...p-at-south-carolina/

Thanks for sharing the email and the article. Very useful information.

"... if your metrics fit the bill, and your polish is noticeable, that is when we as a coaching community made a point of seeing you play during the high school and summer season......coaches track players during gameplay who fit the bill metrically and have polish to their game that they see as valuable. 

The word "polish" is used twice.  Anyone care to expand on the meaning of the word "polish"?

I would hate to speak for the coach, but I'll take a stab at what he is referencing:

*Solid, clean, smooth fundamentals and fluid 'actions' that flow seamlessly into natural playmaking ability*

Polished = move in ready, makes it look easy, etc.

Not Polished = needs work

Polish, at least to me means a combination of fluidity, fundamentally sound, smooth, great footwork....etc.   Polishing something takes time and players that move around the diamond with confidence and are always in the right spot, seem to always look "polished". 

Polish... looks like he was born to play this game!!!

BOF posted:

I agree that a skills video may start the process, but frankly it is just the first step of being identified as a POTENTIAL student athlete. The comment about being seen and the "YOU" reminded me of this article from my son's former program; which basically mirrors the other coaches comments about "eyes on YOU", However programs need to see a player play and multiple times to gain confidence in their decision, and to do this you have to play where they are, which are at tournaments. So this is where I think you are mistaken, a video is the first small step as well as references from travel and HS coaches, and having skills that are identifiable on the field. 

Here is the article for those interested. It gives you a perspective how difficult the recruiting process is, even at the D3 level. 

http://usatodayhss.com/2016/re...-university-baseball

BOF, that interview has SO MANY gems of really good insight regarding the recruiting process and what coaches look for...  more in that short interview than I have seen in any other piece.  I nominated for a golden post.

Everyone with players entering the recruiting phase MUST READ !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

....I'm not a video guy . I don't say that to be argumentative and my opinion should taken with a grain of salt.

My son's experience in the recruiting process just contradicts what the coach sent out in his email. It certainly doesn't make him wrong or me right. It's just a different philosophy .

My son played on one of the top travel teams in the country ( 2015 Ranked #3 PG ) and it DID MATTER...I mean, RC's showed up at their PRACTICES.

Also , this travel team had a NO VIDEO policy for recruitment. Their thinking was " If you want to recruit our guys you need to show up and see them" . The travel team had an in house recruiting consultant and the kids sent out email to schools but no video.

Also, certain events or showcases DO MATTER..... Area Codes, team USA trials , PG Nationals . These events are STACKED with RC's . A Greek chorus of 2 dozen radar guns behind home plate. 'Guns up....Guns down, Guns up'

Also, academic kids are different . head first, Stanford camp. These events are HUGE in the recruitment of academic guys

I agree w/ the comment about individual 'on campus' camps. In my opinion , the BEST way to be seen and or recruited is to be on campus at a particular school.

I realize that my son's situation was unique. Comparatively speaking , most kids don't play on high profile travel teams. So, I understand that.  but I would also add that I've met a lot of kids and parents of kids that have been recruited for NCAA baseball and I've never heard of a situation where a kid was offered because of video

Anything I type is just my opinion based on my experience

wait what? polished? I can search and find half a dozen threads on this site where college coaches prefer you to be a 2 or 3 sport athlete and raw waiting for them unwrap your obvious physical skills.

Honestly, I read the OP as "Polish".  I've been confused the whole time.

I always try my best not to paint every situation with the same brush.  Different coaches, different stages of the recruiting timeline, etc. call for different methods.  When Ryan was a Sr., he got a call from West Virginia's PC, he said he had heard about him, and he wanted HD Video.  We didn't have any, so we put some together ASAP, and put it on Drop Box for the coach to access.  He immediately called back and asked when Ryan would be pitching next, because he was flying out to watch him pitch.  Once he came out, he said he really liked what he saw, (Ryan topped at 89 on his gun that day.).  He said that they were down to one spot, and the staff was going to meet later in the week, and they had 1 spot between 3 guys, and Ryan was one of them.  Ultimately, they did not choose Ryan, but to say they don't use video, and to not have video ready for college coaches is ludicrous. 

By the way, other coaches have asked for video along the way.  Is seeing the player important? Yes, it is the most important, but having video when the coach is clear across the country, can be very helpful.

Maybe part of the discrepancy between the experience of Ryno and StrainedOblique may be geography (SoCal vs. Idaho)?

StrainedOblique said "I mean, RC's showed up at their PRACTICES" -- that's the case with my son's travel team in SoCal, too.

My son received this email the other day.  Although somewhat generic in nature, I think that if nothing else, video is a starting point to determine if there is even a potential fit with a school and program.    

Thank you for your interest in XXXXX baseball.  Having gone through the college search ourselves, we understand how tedious the process can be.  You are to be commended for making such a concerted effort to learn as much as you can about college baseball programs.

For us to have an opportunity to evaluate you as a possible member of our baseball program, we ask that you submit the following:

1.      A Videotape:

• Game footage, an individual workout, or both. (Via the internet or DVD)
• After receiving this video, the coaching staff will review it and then determine if we have a need for you in our program.  

2.     Your team’s schedule, as we may have the opportunity to see you play in the future. 

3.     We also ask you to fill out our online questionnaire.

• You can do so by clicking on this hyperlink......

StrainedOblique posted:

....I'm not a video guy . I don't say that to be argumentative and my opinion should taken with a grain of salt.

My son's experience in the recruiting process just contradicts what the coach sent out in his email. It certainly doesn't make him wrong or me right. It's just a different philosophy .

 

No question each individual player's recruiting process is unique. In my 2017's case I'm sure that coaches seeing the kid play in person was the ultimate deciding factor, but  I'm equally sure that being able to show these coaches a good video also had a major impact on the process, especially since my kid did very few events, so most coaches saw him only once in person.  Typically what would happen is the coach would reach out to express interest, and the kid would send a link to his video, and the coach would come back with stronger interest and positive comments about what they saw.  

Just to be clear, no school will offer your son a scholarship because they saw him on video.  They will, however, add him to their follow list, which leads to seeing him in person to further evaluate.  

Video is PART to the equation.  I can tell you that at least 34 D-1 schools are EXTREMELY fired up to see the coastalvabaseball.com Showcases being streamed online.   Why?  They want to start the evaluation process.