Setting up unofficial visit

Here is the skinny:

Check their schedule and make sure they are at home this weekend

If so call the coach/or email him and tell him you will be coming by

He can talk to you when you are on campus

If he knows he is coming he can set up a guided tour of the campus for you

TR-
Thanks for the info.
We have checked the schedule and they are home this weekend (should be a good match up).
I will make sure he emails the coach and tells him the specifics.

Correct me if I am wrong, but if my son calls during the day and the coach is available, the coach CAN speak to him? Correct?

yes he can talk when you call, try before or after lunch ...

email your travel timetable to him & cc to an assistant coach, asst. may have more time to respond ... they are pretty busy now, but may give you a "best time" to call

if son is at school you can call, cause with afternoon practice, midweek game, & late dinner with the "fam", coach is probably not hanging around the office alot

scratch the tour ... it's Sunday

coach & team are on the field 2-3 hrs before game



good luck

jbbaseball:

Remember there are two sides to the student/athlete coin. You can set up a visit through the admissions office and ask them if they can schedule you a time when you can meet with the head coach or recruiting coach, etc. Some will set it up and some will not. However, even if the coach does not set up visits through the admissions office, by setting up a regular campus visit through the admisssions office, it gets your son's name not only in the coache's computer but the schools computer also. And your son might be able to meet with teacher's in his preferred major, other students to get a feel for the life on and off campus, etc. It never hurts to try.

TW344

At the risk of offending a few people.

I’ve read many times on here… How and when to call the college coach… How and when to make an unofficial visit.

I don’t mean to speak for all coaches, but coaches have very little time to deal with everyone who wants to make an unofficial visit or call to talk about their interest in the program. Can you imagine a day in the life of the U of Texas or Stanford coaches if they had to deal with that?

The truth of the matter is (and this will surprise many here) college coaches recruit who they want, players don’t recruit the college. The most important item… Are they (the coaches) interested in you???? That should be the first step!

That said, if someone is an extremely talented player, there is nothing wrong with expressing genuine interest in a particular program via letter or email. Tell the recruiter of your interest and more importantly tell him about your ability and academics. Create some interest before making phone calls or taking unofficial visits.

The bottom line: It’s the recruiters decision if he wants to recruit you. All the phone calls and unofficial visits in the World will not change that. They simply don’t have the time or the interest to deal with every Tom, Dick or Harry! They actually want to pick their own players!

Once the above is understood, a lot less time and effort will be wasted chasing the Wild Goose! If you create the interest first… Your calls and unofficial visits will actually mean something. Sorry, but that’s my opinion!

As for visiting the college for other reasons… Most all will welcome you with open arms. (admissions doesn’t care how good a baseball player you are in most cases) If you think you can play baseball there, then by all means visit the school to see if you like the school. Watch the baseball team, to see if you like that.

Then send a letter to the coach telling him you visited and liked it and would he be interested in a player of your caliber. Chances are, if you’re an excellent player the coach will do his job and follow up. He might even appreciate the way you went about things.

PG

I agree with you in part

In this case the player is an '08 who has interest in the school and I see no problem in an unofficial visit to see the school and watch the team play

I agree that all too many think they are studs and could be wasting the coaches time but if I were a college coach and the player and his parents want to make an unofficial visit to find out more about the school I would make sure I would find time to say "hello" at the very least. After all athletic people are agents of the college

Appreciate all of the feedback. As mentioned in my original post, we are intending on visiting the campus on a Sunday, which I know in many cases precludes a formal campus tour.

My son filled out the school's online questionaire for prospective student-athletes, so we'll see what that brings.

At the end of the day, we're still heading out to the school to watch them play. We'll get a chance to check out the campus and anything beyond that, we will consider "gravy".

PS My son was already invited to their summer camp. Based on our visit, he'll probably make a decision whether to attend the camp or not.

THANKS AGAIN TO ALL!

a very good post by PG,
sometimes the obvious is overlooked or taken for granted by those (Me) offering advice

thanx

PG..a lot of what you posted makes sense....but my son would not be at the school he is at...if not for making a phone call to the coach....son got the coaches attention and then we followed it up with references.....It's D3.....and maybe that's the reason.....? If so....wouldn't want to discourage others.....because not everyone on this board is going D1....

I do feel that PG has given very good advice. Set up a visit with the school and drop by to watch the game. And then contact the coach.
This time of year, coaches are very busy on gameday, no matter what level. They do invite for unofficial visits, but as PG suggests, it is most likely who they are interested in impressing. You would be amazed at what goes on before and after games.
One of the purposes of camp is for you to attend and get to see their facilities and meet the coaches. I do beleive once you do that, and you are good, it will generate more interest also. That is why you have been invited.
Last fall at Clemson scrimmages I saw a young player go up to meet the recruiting coach after the game, he handed the coach his resume and his schedule.

Nice way to generate interest.

quote:

but my son would not be at the school he is at...if not for making a phone call to the coach....son got the coaches attention and then we followed it up with references.....It's D3.....and maybe that's the reason.....? If so....wouldn't want to discourage others.....because not everyone on this board is going D1....

LadyNmom,

Excellent point! I should have been clearer. I was referring to DI schools. Often players do select the DIII school they wish to attend. Also, the DIII coaches don't receive the same amount of phone calls and requests for visits.

By the way, small college baseball is (to me) the greatest game of all. There are many reasons for thinking that way, but it's another topic all together.

I think PG makes an excellent point.

Perhaps a happy medium. Why not send the coach your bio. Fill out his questionnaire etc.

Once that is done, then set up the unofficial visit to see the school, watch the team, etc.

By all means send the coach an e-mail that says I will be here that day. Don't pressure him with questions about making arrangements to meet, just a friendly heads up. Then leave it up to the coach.

If what you sent him has already generated some interest he may well set up time to visit with you.

If not, don't press it, and don't despair. Work on doing what you do best to garner his future interest - on the field at your own games.

Great advice all around. Just wanted to add that for anyone planning ahead, consider taking these unofficial visits in the FALL. During the season coaches have very little extra time to spend on recruiting.

RHP05

The one advantage of making an unofficial visit in the spring is being to see the team and coaches in action during pregame practice and the game itself--it is worth it even if you do not get to meet the coach face to face

Seeing how a coach and his staff to me is one of the keys for "the fit"


another aspect to think about--when we travel we suggest that the parents and players take the time to drive around the campuses in the area during our down time--- just seeing a number a varied campuses can help a player in his decision making as no two campuses are the same--I am not talking about the baseball facility , just the campus in general

Great advice by all here. We (@ Saint Michael's) always encourage our recruits to see as many campuses as possible and to ask as many questions as possible everywhere they go. As TRhit said...no 2 schools/campuses are alike...and we always want to make sure people are completely comfortable before committing to us because it is a huge decision that will impact the individual for life.

Those of you that receive tickets for gameday, it's sort of an invitation for an unofficial visit.

The college games we attended last weekend had several HS kids in attendance at the coach's invitation. Coach told us he sent invitations to JRs last week to watch a game this spring and was surprised that four families made the trip the very first weekend.

Here's how it worked for them.
Coach sends generic invitation to LOTS of Jrs.
Family responds that they will be coming. When you arrive, your name is on a list and you are handed tickets. Only 3 allowed by the NCAA. Kids that got there early made their way down to the dugout (from the front row of the stands) and introduced themselves to the nearest coach. Good manners! Nice chance to thank the coach for inviting you. Then a few other coaches would wander over and meet the recruit. Since its in season, the coaches all have jobs to do. You really can't expect much individual attention, but seeing a baseball game is a great chance to see how things really operate.
When you visit as a JR and its unofficial, there are guidelines the coaches must follow. Last year we were offered 3 tickets to lots of events including baseball, football and basketball games. You can still request campus tours, etc., but it might not come from the baseball staff. If the interest picks up your SR year, you'll get more attention from the coaches and they are allowed to do much more with you on your official visit.

Visiting officially in the fall of your senior year will get you lots of entertainment from the baseball staff. But you're visiting during football season. We really enjoyed visiting during the baseball season since that's our family's passion. If you can do both, you really get a feel for the school. And if you make the trip, it expresses to the coach that you are interested in their school.

KC is describing a Junior Day visit where a college sends out invites to potential recruits.

It's a nice honor to get one and of course if you can go you should.

The OP said they were going to attend the schools' summer camp. That's where the player will have his opportunity to shine. IMO, just visit the campus and enjoy the game. Dont worry about visiting the coach during his season. You will get that this summer.

At the school recruiting my son, you needed to let them know in advance you were coming allowing them time to do paperwork. Because of his baseball schedule we were not always able to do that. We went to the game unknown to them and gave us an opportunity to see how they ran their team, treated their players, etc. We even went to a practice one day and watched. They didn't have a clue we were there.

jbbaseball,
Just go and have a great time!