recruiting spreadsheet

Spreadsheet?

Sounds like you should start with those schools with strong accounting programs!

lodi,

A similar question was asked in the thread below, with some info and debate you may find helpful....

http://hsbaseballweb.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/4686003481/m/8201010803/p/1

Our focus was high-end academics, lots of playing time with legitimate opportunities to play MLB-sanctioned (scouted) summer leagues.

We contacted 50 schools. A D1, D2, D3 mix.
The "official" list started at semester break, junior year.

1.) Percentage of upperclassmen.
(The more seniors there are, the more likely you will be there as a senior.)
2.) Underclassmen starting at your position(s).
(Remember that many top schools primarily recruit shortstops)
3.) Program improving? struggling? or static?
4.) Proximity to big city, mass transit, airport, etc.
5.) US News & World Reports academic ranking.
(If you seek specialty graduate placement/training, (i.e. med/law school) include the schools' graduate placement success.
6.) All Contact Data including D1, D2 etc.
7.) Track all communications (sent and received), including skills videos. Note form letters vs personal contact.
8.) Identify coaching specialties. Hitter's school, Pitcher's school.

Once the BIG list is distilled, on-campus visits follow. These are not easy to fit into a spreadsheet, but only 3-4-5 legitimate options will remain, so they are easy to compare.

1.) Coaches' mindset, vibe, demeanor, management style/system?
Is it about him? about you? about the team?
2.) Personal fit with players already in the system?
3.) Baseball Stuff:
On-campus field? Training Facilities? Weight Room(s)?
4.) College Lifestyle/quality of life?
5.) A program's clear history of developing/improving players. (over time). To do this you need to track alumni stats/playing time over 4-year spans.

Not sure of the need for a spreadsheet list but to each his own.

The most important list is the one that the coach keeps, who he is going to recruit and who he isn't and his list is always changing based on talent and academic eligibilty and his needs for his program.

Put together a list of schools that you (the player with your assistance) would like to attend by way of academics and ability. Once the player hits varsity, takes SAT/ACT and one receives clearinghouse division eligibilty, then the player can contact those programs he wishes to attend.

I see that are have sustained injury, IMO this should be your focus for right now.



Spend your time working hard on conditioning, on the field and in the classroom.

quote:

Put together a list of schools that you (the player with your assistance) would like to attend by way of academics and ability.

Spreadsheets are (sortable) list.

Haverdad, good post.

IMO, 80% or more of the posters that come on here need to start somewhere in their search for schools. Those that are lucky to be in the 20% or less where the schools come to them can have a more laid back wait until later attitude. The sooner you determine your target schools, that you have the baseball skills to compete at, the better.

Certain methods such as spreadsheets or the use of lists are appropriate if the parent/player feels that this is a good way to manage their opinions/options. I applaud the parent/player who cares enough in the first place to put such effort in their search.

The final decision as TPM has stated in many posts will come down to program needs and player comfort with a lot of things about the school, which can be found on a list and in the heart. Using a list can help organize a very large data set which is challenging in the beginning where the final options/opportunities do ultimately become clear at the end of the process.

The list of schools should begin with where your son wishes to go for a degree, just like every other HS student in the country. That's just my opinion and should be based on his academic record first. Most people place the top programs in the country on their list, and don't really consider that most likely this won't work for them. That's really what it is all about.

It doesn't matter what type of player you are, not all programs are a good fit for even the best in the country.

You can make all the lists you want, no matter what type of player you are, if you don't get the exposure or do well in the calssroom, lists are worth nothing.

JMO.

I like and agree with all of these ideas here. We kept an XL spread sheet for colleges. I typed it, but son dictated it (with my agreement). We used academics first (we knew, as will all others, where we thought he "fit"), so we ranked them this way top down. Then we put in a column for level of baseball, location, major field of academic interest, and then a column for who contacted who first (did we contact college/coach or did he hear from them). Then we kept another column about HOW MUCH contact and how he responded - emails usually, sometimes letters and then of course questionaires filled out and sent. We started "big" many schools, and then the last column (the contact one) showed us how it tapered off. Hope that makes sense.

Oh, and we started the list in summer of his soph/jr year, when he got his first contact letters from a couple of very small colleges.

My feelings are that the spread sheet approach may fill some emotional need of the parent but it is a total waste of t6ime. we started by looking at a list of colleges ( acomplete List ). We were only looking at D1 4 year and D1 JCs and 1 NAIA. The next criteria was in the South or hot weather area. The next was no boonies ( cities only). Then I oganized the schools into folders under mu favourites based on location. Location as in Real Estate was the most important criteria. Then we looked at education but undergrad to me is not as important as post grad. Once we eliminated the ones we didn't want we had folders with the colleges that we liked. BB was low on the list. We then started an email campaign and waited to see what response we got. The coplleges that responded which were most of them, I then contacted by phone and sent DVDs to them. I then followed up and kept emails and reponses in a real folder (hard copy). In the end I had folders that contained all the responses and ongoing talks. The ones we had no interest in got set aside as a possible backup. It was clean and simple with minimal waste of time and effort. No spread sheet, no misinformed rating system, it came down to gut feeling and most importantly the scholarship.
For us it has been great and my son has just announced he is getting engaged to his girl friend of 2 years. I am not sure who is happier , him or Mom and Dad.

BHD,
Congrats to your son on his pending engagement!

I totally agree with your first statement, spreadsheets aren't necessary. Lists can begin when actual serious recruiting begins. By serious, I mean, what is your email address, here's my number call me anytime and personalized letters, personal invites to unofficial visits.

Attend a showcase where you will receive a qualified rating. Pursue options (that fit your budget). Work on skills to improve yourself and your opportunities. Prepare for your required tests. Work hard to get onto good teams in HS that play good competition so you get on someone's list so that letters will come and you can make your own list. Contact schools he is seriously interested in and hasn't heard from AFTER you determine he fits their criteria.

Don't drive your players crazy with this stuff, they hate that.

Bobble,

I didn't know your trade was psychoanalysis.

Frankly, I'm at a loss as to how a single page of exportable, sortable Excel data is functionally less useful than a "folder" system.

Spread sheets work well for me

Perhaps those that have a disdain for them do not know how to utilize them !!!

I still use them for my benefit with the kids on our team---one quick glance and I know where we are at

I'm a very mathematical person myself, but some of this is a bit too overly analytical even for my tastes.

Keep it simple:

1. Start with not more than 10 schools that fit you academically.

2. Be honest about your chances for baseball money or other aid. Then, eliminate from the list any place you cannot afford.

3. Learn as much about the baseball programs as you can. Eliminate any place that looks like a bad apple.

4. Visit the rest, take your time there, take the typical student tour and meet with the baseball coaches as well. Watch a home game. Is there fan support? How do the players and coaches behave during a game? Does the team appear well drilled or lackluster?

5. On the long drive home, talk everything through with your parents. Compare and contrast to other schools already visited. (You don't have to agree with them, but you should listen to them.)

6. Repeat until you've completed the list. By then I'll wager you will have a strong feeling where you want to be.

What I really hate to see is when kids put baseball in # 1 instead of academics. That to me is a recipe for disaster, certainly in the long term and more than likely even in the short term. It is especially a mistake to go to a school that will not challenge you academically in pursuit of a baseball opportunity that might well prove more elusive than you had hoped.

Whatever works best for you is what you should do (duh). We kept a spread sheet of information, started after he started to get his first questionaires. He did not hear from all schools, so he contacted those he had interest in who did not contact him first. Some he heard back from, some he did not, and that went on the list too.

If file folders work, go for it. If lists work, go for it. But I do elieve that you should have some way to organize it all.

And as Midlo said, academics first.

*believe.

Ok just to get things back on track, lodi14 (son)
is in 8th grade, may require shoulder surgery.

Personally, spreadsheets would be the farthest thing from my mind at this time.

JMO.

So I guess because he doesn't yet fit the profile of a recruitable junior (but there are many readers who may be learning from this post besides Lodi) that he should not worry about these things?

I think if more parents/players start researching college before high school, that they will learn that academics are the biggest part of the equation. I joined this messsage board in 2003 when my son was in middle school. Over the last 5 years we learned all the great pointers all you "old timers" provided that focused us on what is important. We even enjoyed the jousting that occasionally occurs.

The important thing is to get and stay involved with your kid and if it is a spreadsheet, a file folder or what have you, it is never too early to worry about these things IMO.

I think in reading over lodi was talking about HIS shoulder, not sons. Sorry 'bout that confusion.

Two things you have to do, three actually, work hard on the field and in the classroom, and remain healthy. The rest will work itself out as your player gets older. Things change dramatically from middle school to HS.

My son was a pretty good ball player and student in 8th grade, how the heck would we know where things would be when he was 17,18? College was the furthest thing from his mind. And I think at that age he was going to be either a pro golpher, or pro bowler, or the next David Copperfield (into magic). Let your kids be kids, they won't have so many issues when they become adults. That's the problem with parenting these days, they are planning their kids future after just arriving out of the womb.

But that's my opinion as an old timer..... you know one of the ones you may have learned from.

TPM, I think I am closer to your opinion than it appears. We are both concerned about academics. I just know that by the time you are a sophomore and you haven't been focused on the classroom, and then you start thinking about what colleges you may want to attend...you may be too late - with or without baseball. Spreadsheet or no spreadsheet.

17 took two high school courses that were available in the 8th grade, which worked out well, allowed him to take 2 additional Advanced Placement courses in high school. Now, if baseball was not in the picture, our concern for academics would have been just as strong.

I still think you are pretty hip for an old timer...

#2 and #3 both used Excel spreadsheets to keep track of recruiting info - who did I contact? Who responded? How much interest on either side? #1 used old fashioned paper folders to organize things. No matter what your system, being organized is an important part of the process and your method should be one that works for you.

For an 8th grader, I would say start with a list of things you THINK might be important to you now (it's never to soon to start thinking and planning IMO) and let the list grow along with you. Right now, you might make a list of teams that interest you (and if it's because they are the best 20 teams in the country, that's an OK place to start) and then start following some of the players that are recruited to attend those schools - see how you compare as you develop as a player. Or you might choose some local players to follow and see where they decide to go play ball and take a look at some of those schools.

The other advice is all good - stay focused on your grades - but one good way to stay focused is to have a dream and a goal to work towards. Playing college baseball is a great goal to have. You're a smart boy to be thinking about it now, rather than in your sophomore or junior year when you may already be academically behind the 8 ball.

Bobble... I've used many spreadsheets for many purposes over the years. Never felt they fulfilled any emotional need. Nor were they a total waste of time by any means. I think you are confuzzled. Hopefully the use of spreadsheets will not keep my sons from finding future happiness! Congratulations to your son by the way.

TPM

What is the title of this thread?

re: "Ok just to get things back on track, lodi14 (son) is in 8th grade, may require shoulder surgery."

Perhaps I wasn't paying attention, but this important bit of information didn't seem to appear anywhere in the starter post.

However, assuming education should actually help kids develop "basic job skills", a home-based head start with basic spreadsheet/data base skills seem(ed) useful to us.

P.S. Although I couldn't draw a straight line between Point A and Point B, HaverSon's eventual major was econ/finance.

Ok, must apologize for voicing my opinion, didn't realize that kids get so many recruiting letters that one needs a spreadsheet system to organize... so early. I think that the spreadsheet question was just to organize schools into divisions. But thanks to all who gave their opinions on how to organize, if one wants to.
BTW, do you all think that college coaches keep spreadsheets (the majority). I think most of their letters probably get filed under G.
And I did correct myself, Lodi is a parent not a player.

TR you asked a question, are you not able to read the heading? Do you have anything to contribute here?

For what it is worth, my daughter is finding that using a spreadsheet is a useful tool in keeping track of colleges - and she doesn't plan to play sports in college. She is looking for a small liberal arts college - and there are literally hundreds of them around the US. A spreadsheet allows her to organize the information about the schools and to do sorts on things like percentage of students who live on campus and percentage of incoming freshman who return for a second year at that school - both things that are important to her in selecting a school. The spreadsheet just makes things faster.

My son used a spreadsheet as well in managing his school selection process - I would describe it as having four types of information -

1) School info (city, state, number of students)
2) Academic (average SAT, GPA, Majors)
3) Student life (% of students who commute)
4) Baseball (conference, retention rates, etc)

He also had a binder for managing the correspondence with the colleges - emails, letters, etc. regarding baseball.

When it came time for applications, he also managed that process through a spreadsheet - e.g. SAT scores sent, transcripts sent, which teachers were asked for recommendations, when were they sent, what work remained on each application etc. By the end of the process, close to 200 individual items had to be mailed to one school or another - the spreadsheet made sure that nothing dropped.

Was all of this useful? I think so - when you are looking for a fit - (academic and or athletic) - and you do not have an obvious choice (e.g. you don't have a childhood dream school showing up at your HS games), then you have to do work. A spreadsheet is a tool for organizing that work. In both my daughter's case and my son's, the spreadsheet is used more as a database than an analytical device - just keeping track of the details and providing a means of quickly sorting things out.

I do agree you have to be organized in the school selection process.

Thanks.

quote:

the spreadsheet is used more as a database than an analytical device

In our case, it was simply a data base to:

1.) Identify deal breakers: (i.e. too big, too far from an urban center, program heading the wrong direction etc.)

2.) Track what was said, promised, sent/received etc.

3.) (And most importantly) meet our "emotional needs".

Much depends on the individual player, his desires, and his talent. I'm fairly computer savvy but I really never saw the need for a spreadsheet when it came to the recruiting of my son. Yes one does need to be organized but I think we can "over tech" ourselves while doing some tasks. There is a well used phrase in recruiting called "narrow down" which in essence means to eliminate schools. You can eliminate by size, divisions, geographic areas, cost, conferences, scholarships, academics, etc. I can remember my son's first two recruiting letters. Slippery Rock was the first, and Valparaiso University the second. My son never opened Slippery Rock (went into a cardboard box) and when Valpo's letter indicated they had JUST installed an electric scoreboard he said he wanted a larger school ---- it also joined Slippery Rock in the box. Not that they were inferior schools or programs ---- there wasn't a "fit" in my son's opinion. I did use a filing system to file the recruiting letters, showcase/camp invites, pro scout correspondence and "boilerplate" info packets (Clearinghouse, stats, HS transcripts, ACT etc.) standing ready to respond to those inquires my son found favorable.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by TPM:
BTW, do you all think that college coaches keep spreadsheets (the majority). I think most of their letters probably get filed under G.
QUOTE]

I don't think coaches don't use spreadsheets, they use contact management software to keep track of thier recruiting classes, current players, alumni, and donors....

quote:

Originally posted by TPM:TR you asked a question, are you not able to read the heading? Do you have anything to contribute here?

Gotta lean with Rizzi here, (& again...that's twice in the same week).

The fact of the matter is Rizzi has been helping
people (other than his son) for twenty plus years.
As for me, try 40 plus years.

What do you have to contribute?

First of all I love spreadsheets. I have used them for decades.
Using them for college recruiting is just a bit too clinical for me. Recruiting is a exciting time and it cannot be quantified and spit out as a numerical value. If you are using a spreadsheet just to keep track of info it is just a list.

We absolutely used it as a list - nothing was quantified (e.g. nothing was weighted as a 5 vs a 3). But there was a lot of information to sort, tasks to keep track of, etc. - and spreadsheets are good for that.

I agree that trying to build a formula to create a School A gets 76.01 and School B gets a 74.3 would not be a useful exercise. Recruiting or selecting a school is not something that can be quantified in my opinion.

We used a spreadsheet however it was toward the end of the recruiting process to log information about his unofficial visits.

It became apparent when he was at a school during his visits that he found enough about each school that he could have convinced himself that "this is it" ... that is until he went to the next school and then they had a lot to offer that he could be happy with as well.

His agent (advisor at the time) actually suggested that he make a list of the most important things to him in making his college choice, then after each visit while everything was fresh in his mind he should give each of his "qualifiers" a ranking of 1 to 10. (10 being best) His qualifiers mirrored much of what was on HaverDad's list.

I took his rankings and logged the information into a spreadsheet. By the way, independent to my son rankings I did my own version. When it was all said and done based on his ranking and feel it came down to two schools and he probably would have been very happy with. He did his unofficial visits pretty early in the process (winter junior year) and quite a bit of time passed before he needed to make a decision. Personally I found that referring back to some of his rankings were great talking points in making his final choice.

At the end of the day his "feel" for the school he chose put him over the top but I did find the spreadsheet to be helpful to keep everything from running together. To each their own, there is not a right or wrong way to do things.

Thanks for all the replys. Just so it is kept straight it is the parent not the player that has to have surgery. TPM , I did see you caught that.
Maybe spreadsheetwas the wrong term for what I was trying to get across but I can see the term was picked up in the correct context. Great info put out there. I know at this point he is not being recrited but I myself want to be prepared when the process does get started. I think it is only fair to him that myself and Mrs. lodi14 are prepared. I hope everyone understands where I am coming from. This place has so much knowledge that it can become confusing to a new person in the process. That is why I'm out here asking these questions now instead of "Too Late" . It may help my son not make a mistake or 2 down the road.
Again thanks to everyone for their contribution.This is a perfect example of why this forum is so great.

lodi14 you won't make a mistake because you found this site.

Make sure that you visit the main board, it gives you a timeline regarding recruiting.

I understand you want to begin the process early to be prepared.

What you can do as your son enters HS, is begin discussing the differences in divisions and the different options for college. You might be surprised what he wants in a school and program may not be what we as parents think they want. Another thing, you and Mrs. can begin research on tuition costs, public vs. private, in state vs. out of state. This is probably the biggest thing, as you would heve to make out a plan for paying for school down the road based on what your financial situation might be in 5-6 years. Parents sometimes are so happy that their players are being recruited by certain schools and then the reality hits, how are we going to manage this. I personally wouldn't worry too much about the other stuff until son was older. Things change, NCAA rules change, coaches change, programs change, players change.

lodi14 one thing you can do that will really help you is go take in some games over the next couple of years. Go watch some college games at different levels from D1 - D2 - D3 - Juco. This will give you an idea of just how talented the players are at these levels of play. Also I would suggest taking in some high school games that your son is not playing in. If your son is playing you are going to focus on him and your not really going to watch the actual game as much. Learn who the top players are in your area , the ones that have signed with college programs and then go take in some games and watch them play. The best thing people can do is get out there and see for themselves. Good luck

quote:

Originally posted by lodi14:
I'm trying though.

In the process of defining requirements that include:
What,
How,
Where,
Who,
When,
Why...
(...the 5 "Wh" + H..).....

my experiences towards any xls design includes the following "Does It Fit" type topics:

1. Academics
2. Baseball Program
3. Playing time
4. Socio-economics
5. Does the coaching staff care

There are several individuals near Lodi, WI, who have been through the collegiate recruiting experience, would be sensitive and helpful to you, from which an informational interview could be initiated. And last time I checked, are nearby in Madison, Fond du Lac and Oshkosh.
emme for details.

Our situation was that son was inundated with questionaires shortly after a very good showcase outing. 71 D1's in three weeks. Many of the schools we knew nothing about. Add to that, we really had no idea what juniors interests and inclinations were, and it could have become overwhelming without organization. For us a spreadsheet was invaluable.

Here were the categories that we used initially to help us sort out

Name
ACT/SAT avg
HS GPA avg
Size
pub/priv
Cost (All Inclusive)
Selectivity Rating (published by Princeton Review as to difficulty of admission)
% In State Students
Student/Faculty Ratio
Financial Aid Rating (Princeton Review)
Location
Conference
2006 Record (son was 2007)
2006 RPI

And then on 1 to 10 scales two columns, one for schools interest in junior, and the other for juniors interest in the school.

We found it very helpful in both elimination and addition procedures of schools. The list eventually grew some and it was great to use the spreadsheet because we could sort it under the two columns of interest, come up with the front runners and then quickly compare other statistical data to narrow it down further to the target schools that we wanted to visit.

I would reccomend the spreadsheet to anyone as a means of keeping things straight and quickly accessing information. There was just so much there that there was no way junior or I were going to keep it straight without somehow referencing some data. The spreadsheet just put it all in one convenient place.

I was curious where you put all the BB pamplets/programs etc that you receive. Folder ?