Summer Ball & College Recruiting

You have a PM

Have you contacted the schools he is interested in? I would think that if he sent information to the coaches at those schools with some of his stats and indicating his interest in their programs, that those coaches would be able to tell him what he could do to peak their interest. If the schools are all in one region, you may be able to catch most of them at the same showcase or camp and avoid having to relocate your son for the summer. Or they may tell you that they will be attending certain showcases in the south close to you. Hopefully you will get some other feedback, but I think contacting the colleges your son is interested in would be a great way to start.

BostonBound, you are wise to be looking into this now. I'm sure others will chime in, but here's a suggestion: have your son contact the recruiting coordinator at the school(s) in Boston that he's interested in (via email or phone) and introduce himself, mentioning his good grades, a few facts about himself (position, height, weight, etc.), and the fact that he lives in the South but is very interested in attending their school. Have him ask for the best way to get seen by their staff (what showcases do they attend and can he get seen at one of their camps?). Then have him ask if it would be necessary to play on a summer team in the Northeast if he is seen by them at a showcase or camp. If so, he can ask what teams they recommend. Their responses should give you a great deal of guidance.

Best wishes!

oops - was typing when casey posted with essentially the same info.

Casey, I guess great minds think alike!

What is the organization he can play with in the Northeast?

You need to contact TR he runs CollegeSelect Baseball. Your son if he plays in WWBA events will be seen by many schools from the Northeast but not near as many if he is playing on a team based out of the Northeast. I would contact the schools he is interested in in that area too. Good luck

In addition to College Select, also look at the list of schools that attended the PG Northeast Top Prospects showcase and the Top96 showcase/camp at Tufts last year. Chances are that almost every school you're interested in attended one or more of those events.

Will the summer team in question actually be playing up here or simply practicing here and attending the bigger tournmanents down south? There are not a lot of elite travel programs for rising seniors in the Boston area so to get good competition those teams have to go elsewhere.

Many of these same schools will also be at Stanford for their camp in the summer. The Stanford camp is attended by most of the hi-academic colleges in the NE.

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Many of these same schools will also be at Stanford for their camp in the summer. The Stanford camp is attended by most of the hi-academic colleges in the NE.

Great tip. You might also want to check and see if these schools attend the Headfirst Showcase.

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Originally posted by Coach May:
You need to contact TR he runs CollegeSelect Baseball. Your son if he plays in WWBA events will be seen by many schools from the Northeast but not near as many if he is playing on a team based out of the Northeast. I would contact the schools he is interested in in that area too. Good luck

I second contacting TRHit. College Select runs a couple of showcases many of the school will attend.

Thank you! You guys are such a great source of info, and we're relieved not to be navigating all this alone....

I did connect with TR - he is tremendously helpful and had great input. I plan to stay in close contact with him, and certainly get son to his showcases.

Son did connect with many colleges via email & followup emails, so he's in touch with some of these schools. He attended a couple of Prospect Camps in early Fall to get seen, did very well at one, just ok at the other. He heard from a number of coaches after those events, although we get a whole lot of 'please attend our camp' stuff.

He has a target list of schools, coach contacts at each & he's emailing a 'resume' with stats, scores, etc. (so, as a Junior, maybe he's on track timeline-wise?) He's looking at Ivies, and D2 private, strong academic schools (for some reason, wants to get a good education out of all this....)

As for the summer 09 plans, he is considering playing for Bobby Jones with the South Bergen Mets in NJ. He & Bobby connected well last summer and in a couple of tournaments this Fall. He likes the team, likes the coaching, and feels he'll get the exposure up there he wants. We have family up that way that might be able to provide housing; but it will certainly be a costly proposition.

We are aware of the Stanford camp & interested, but frankly all these flights, showcases, etc. are getting pretty pricey - particularly since we may be looking at a school that won't offer $$$ for baseball. We're in the never-never land of too much money to qualify for financial aid, not enough money to feel like we can afford to waste it. Sound familiar?

Headfirst camp in Richmond, Va attracts all the Ivies, top academic schools in Northeast and looks like is a little closer than Stanford.

I see others have suggested HeadFirst which is what I was going to post as well. First-rate group of guys and an excellent 'showcase' format with college coaches, in uniform, all over the place. If it's any closer for you, I see they are adding an event in Dallas this year, with the list of committed schools beginning to evolve: http://www.playheadfirst.com/sports_national_honor_baseball_1.jsp

Great suggestions, and I do think he will do Headfirst - there are schools there that he might like if takes a look. Academics are important to him (as he plans to be a bazillionaire to support electronic and other riveting diversions). And we'll do the NE tour in COLD weather so he knows what he's in for!

Having gotten through this college stuff with our daughter, we do know we'll survive this! We keep chanting: Two more years to an empty nest and margueritas on the beach!

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And we'll do the NE tour in COLD weather so he knows what he's in for!

I escorted my daughter on a visit to a Massachusetts school in January. When it was over she said to forget about the visit to a school in Maine. She's in Florida.

Ditto on the Stanford camp recommendation. Numerous Northeastern schools are there (6 of the Ivies, Boston College, Navy, and others). Plus you get an extremely well run camp, with a few days in gorgeous Northern California. Last, they do provide a detailed evaluation which is considered reliable by most baseball coaches around the country, and you can use this to open the door at a lot of schools.

Headfirst Camp schedules around the Stanford Camp for its California program, and a majority of coaches attend both. For a list of coaches who attend the Headfirst camp, see http://www.playheadfirst.com/sports_national_honor_baseball_2.jsp

If you head out to California, your son can do both camps, and spend a week there.