Sept. 1 for Juniors

Coaches (or really a baseball secretary) will start by sending an intro letter and asking you to fill out a questionaire.

They will also send info giving you more information about the school. A lot of this is sent to a lot of players on a standard mail lists. All it means is you are at least on the radar scope. (but no letter may also mean simply they don't have your address) A hand written letter from a coach, especially the head coach is starting to show real interest, but again doesn't mean you will get an offer when the times comes...

As the College season starts in the spring, you recieve newspaper clippings, and other things exalting their program. Some coaches would send inspirational quotes, etc, asking for your schedule or any events you might be attending and where they might be able to see you play.

Letters are nice and I remember my son's first letter had a Gold embossed ND on it... And we all thought that was pretty cool... Lots more (dozens fom that school) followed, but no offer ever came from that particular school.

But why not go ahead and PRIME the system... Send your OWN introductory letter (or email) to the schools you are interested in. Send them your FALL schedule... Tell them about yourself. This all becomes a business and the colleges send out their PR so why not do the same. A little PR can help. (also as I mentioned the school may not have your address... so... help them out)

Oh One more thing.. My son is now a College sophomore, and we still receive a letter now and then...

Guess some schools don't update their mailing lists. (including some of the POWERHOUSES)

quote:

Originally posted by SDBB:
Oh One more thing.. My son is now a College sophomore, and we still receive a letter now and then...

Guess some schools don't update their mailing lists. (including some of the POWERHOUSES)

That's funny! Don't they know your son is the STUD first baseman at Wake?

We liked that gold letter from ND also! Pretty impressive.

The best letter that son ever received was from a coach (Brown University) who had seen my son play in a tournament. He must have been on the road, so for lack of a PC, it was hand written. That letter was the most well thought and sincere letter I have ever read.
Another hand written letter had come from Coach Rooney, now at LSU, with the explanation that he had left Stetson and gone to ND. I certainly appreciated his sincerity and candid letter. My son liked him alot.
Clemson sent the most, they like to send weekly updates on the team. And as I think back now, little things you don't notice then have meaning now.

Your son will enjoy all letters (so will you) and it will add incentive for him to do the very best he can for a chance to turn those letters and questionaires into phone calls come July 1 and then offers next fall!

Starting the letter file was an enjoyable time in the recruiting process. As TPM says in the mix were a dozen or so hand written letters/notes that really gave my son the feeling of sincerity. We also got the gold letter and a game visit from them....

We got plenty of letters from the Paw people but sat down one eveniing with another parent and compared letters...the only difference was the Dear----, they were just run off mass mailings that came once or twice a week.

Then there were the Holiday Cards/Greetings, Thanksgiving, Christmas, birthday, and good old St Patricks Day. Some coaches are very creative and will add a personal touch to every letter. I hand wriiten comment on the outside of the envelope didn't go un-noticed.

It is an exciting time, enjoy it, you'll miss it when it's over. Just don't read to much into it. While it means your on a list, it doesn't mean you'll be a recruit.

Does the 9/1 date apply to DII and DIII as well??

I THINK that DII must follow the Sept. 1 guideline as DI's have to.

However, DIII's do NOT have to follow these guidelines, as they are not offering Athletic $$$'s. As a matter of fact, we had already received some communicatioins from DIII's during the fall of LAST year.

Looking for a clarification:

Currently (Sept. 1 through Sept. 14), we are in the NCAA "quiet" period. No off-campus recruiting contact allowed.

Would the materials mentioned be considered a "recruiting contact"? Just trying to get my definitions staight. But if the correspondence mentioned is considered a "recruiting contact", then would this mean that in actuality college coaches could not send out material until AFTER September 14?

Boy, this stuff is confusing (at least to me..)!!!!

Go to the NCAA site and download "A recruiting guide for Athletes" (or whatever it's called) as a reference.
Page 27 gives specifics as to all types of contacts, recruitung materials, phone, visits, etc.
Answer to question, yes you can get recruiting materials now.
The bulk of the responsibility for following timelines goes onto the coaches, they pretty much know what they are doing.

Just remember you need to be proactive and for many recruits the letters aren't going to just start coming for no reason.

Also realize coaches are still focused on 07's for the most part.

IMHO remember be proactive with your contacts.

TPM- Thanks for the clarification. I have downloaded the guide, but this stuff is still confusing to me. I figured one of the "veterans" (such as yourself) would set me straight!

NoviceDad- Points well taken, with one exception. The person that needs to be proactive is MY SON!! We want to help facilitate the process. But we are trying to reinforce that he needs "drive" the process.

THANKS!!!

quote:

Looking for a clarification:

Currently (Sept. 1 through Sept. 14), we are in the NCAA "quiet" period. No off-campus recruiting contact allowed.

Would the materials mentioned be considered a "recruiting contact"? Just trying to get my definitions straight. But if the correspondence mentioned is considered a "recruiting contact", then would this mean that in actuality college coaches could not send out material until AFTER September 14?

jbbaseball -
No, the various contact periods regulate in-person contact by a coach, not mail. Mail can be received at any time. Before Sept 1st of a player's junior year the mail is suppose to be general/non-recruiting in nature like questionnaires and camp brochures. After Sept 1st coaches can send "recruiting" stuff, meaning more personal mail along with the general stuff.

I am an '08 grad, and today started making a folder for the "letter file" as Coach Merc called it. Some letters are formatted very differently than other. Some seem more personal, some give more information. I don't want to name any schools, but how should I go about interpreting these? I am in the process of filling out any and all questionnaires I get, but still I am new to the process. How do I know they're really interested or if, like TPM said, I'm just another dot on the ever-growing mailing list?

JH

Feel free to phone me anytime if you want or need clarification on anything during the process

JH,
Just fill out all of those questionaires, play your best and do well in school, and you will find out if you are or are not just a dot on their mailing list.

Don't worry about intepretations!

JH -
You really can't tell much by how a letter "looks". Too many variables, like the coach's recruiting budget, any support staff, his personal recruiting style, etc.! Sort of like reading tea leaves! At this point be happy & skeptical at the same time about the contact. As your '08 gets closer to his senior year your son will know how serious they are by the schools that call and what the coaches have to say. Enjoy this time. Getting the mail will newer again be so much fun!

Thanks for the responses. TPM- good advice, thanks.

TRHit- I definitely will, but for now I was just curious, its all just starting up for me you know. It's funny when we were in East Cobb I was rooming with Hugh and he brought along all his college stuff. His first letter came September 1st, 2005 (and it, too, had a gold ND). I started to get jealous and was like "I want one". But it's all good I guess lol. Thanks a lot though. Oh, and tell the catcher, "Stump" from Ct. that I miss him I liked throwing to him lol

JH

He is a good one isnt he

You are more than welcome to join us anytime for another weekend

My coaches were impressed by you

TRHit- Got nothing negative to say about him.

I'd love to join you guys whenever we don't have game(s) one weekend. I'll keep in touch with you and if you ever need an arm again you have my number.

JH

Always need GOOD ARMS

Call me tomorrow

Haha will do.

In fact Josh I am still up--call me now if you wish--who knows what will happen tomorrow

I had to laugh about the stories of getting that very first mailing from Notre Dame.

Yesterday, the first few arrived here for Midlo Son, with Sept. 1 postmarks. The biggest package came not from ND, but from LSU.

Who coaches at LSU? The former ND guy!

And we didn't get a ND letter ... at least not yet.

Looks like this is Coach Mainieri's plan of action -- get there first!

Midlo Dad,
Son got the ND letter, never an LSU letter, however, in the end, LSU was one of the considerations, without a letter.
Wanna switch?

Enjoy!

My 08 also starting receiving letters. One from LSU saying they had seen him play. We hope it is a good sign and were pretty excited about it. We were not sure what to think and trying to stay calm.If it wouldn't be for the new coaching staff there we wouldn't have really cared at all. Can this guy turn things around at LSU? We will wait and see.

TPM, interestingly enough, Midlo Son asked me repeatedly why I would discourage him whenever he brought up Notre Dame. I suggested he look up South Bend on a map! I think the season ends before the spring thaw arrives there. (And then there's the whole tuition and travel expense thing ....)

LSU sent us the same form letter that Lovethegame25 got, although the word processor inserted son's name in the letter to make it look real personal. I have to say though, it's not every day someone pays $3.80 to mail you something! I am not sure I buy the claim that they saw son play in person, but who knows. Between the cost of the postage and the contents, I have to imagine this didn't go to everybody, and that's a nice thought.

The media guide they sent (hence the heavy postage) was interesting. Almost all the players are Louisianans (if that's the right term). I wonder if my son could decipher the accents of his teammates there!

I did wish they had enclosed a magnifying glass with the letter, didn't you? They spent $3.80 on postage, then went out of their way to squeeze the cover letter onto a single page. I'm getting too old for the fine print stuff!

P.S. LTG25 --What do you mean by "turn things around"? Just because they aren't winning the CWS every other year the last few years doesn't mean they're caput. Or are there other issues we should know about? (Send me a PM if you prefer.)

Midlo,

I can assure you that at least one coach from LSU has seen your son play.

The expectations at LSU - Win the National Title!

* 13 times in the College World Series the last 20 years
* 5 times National Champs
*21 straight NCAA Tournament appearances from 1989 to 2005 (streak broken last year and changes made immediately)
*Leads the nation in college attendance nearly every year.

Midlo,

I sent you a PM.

Midlo,
Now you have two pm's.

A lot of the things you talk about (location,school population) have to do with finding the right fit.

I want to clarify my last post. I didn't mean for it to sound like we were ungrateful for any letter he received. Down here we are just excited about the coaching change they made.

OK.....son got his first "recruiting" materials today. Letters from D1's, and one is his "dream" school.

I know this question has probably been asked, but I'm too lazy to do a search. His dream school has asked for his current transcipt. Don't get me wrong...he's got a 3.78/4.0 and is taking honors and AP courses, so it's not a bad report.

For the "veterans" out there, would there be any reason NOT to send the transcript in?

whatever they ask for, send it.

quote:

For the "veterans" out there, would there be any reason NOT to send the transcript in?

if you're wanting them to cross you off their list


.

jbbaseball -
It's a good sign to be asked for a transcript. The Coach wants to know if they should continue to evaluate your son or not, and getting the transcript completes a big hurdle.

This is where players with talent can get eliminated and why the HSBBW continues to chant GRADES, GRADES, GRADES! Good Luck!

Son received a few letters from schools that are on his top 10 list this week. I was surprised that many of them were pushing for him to call to set up "unofficial visits" this fall. A few even dangled tickets to football games. They certainly know how to get a 16 year olds attention don’t they!

Here's the question, what's the advantage of going on these visits so soon? Wouldn't it be better to visit during the baseball season?

Jersey Dad,
we took a lot of unofficial visits during jr year. During an unofficial visit, a coach/school can give 3 tickets to the recruit but cannot pay for any other expences.

J H and Bee----

Ok ....I'm a knucklehead!! Points well taken.....we don't have a transcript "in hand", but we'll make sure we get one from our guidance counselor ASAP......

PS>>>>>side note, it's funny how this stuff works out.....my wife has pretty much been on the sidelines with this stuff.....2 letters come today, obviously addessed to my son. She "texts" my son at school. Asks if she can open the envelopes....he says OK...but don't tell me what they say.....oh boy....I guess it is going to be an interesting 18-24 months!!!!!
I know some of the "stuff" can be tedious...but there are certainly some fun/amusing parts to this whole "process"

I can say this my son has always had one school that he said if they called that was where he was going no matter who contacted him and showed interest. Well that has changed dramtically. On Sept 1 he got several emails from major D-1 programs. Including the school that he has always dreamed of playing at. But since 2-1 he has recieved two letters and two more emails from another very good D-1 program that he got to play at this summer. All of a sudden he is changing his tune. I do believe that the school that "shows the most love" as they say and is consistently staying in touch can sway a young man very quickly. Who know who will offer anything to him when the time comes. But there can be no doubt that kids remember who was there in the beginning and who consistent in their approach.

My son received the same letter from LSU last week that lovethegame25 and Midlo Dad received. I was talking to a coach at a camp today and he said a few kids on his team received the same letter stating that a coach from LSU had seen them play recently and were very impressed. Is this just good old marketing from a new regime at LSU or do they really have that many coaches out scouting everywhere? I vote for marketing but I would like to hear from others that may have experience in this area or with this coaching staff.

Shuttle- I would side with the marketing notion here as well. I am an '08 grad also, and although I didn't receive a letter from LSU, I did receive several letters that i would classify as marketing. However, there were also some that weren't, namely some of the schools that sent more than one letter and certainly the ones that responded to emails (even more especially those that tend to do so within the day, some of which even within the hour ). Discerning between these two can be very difficult. In your situation it sounds like the scouts could have just seen all of the players at the same tournament. But then again, it could just be a top D-1 school marketing.