What pieces of advice, specifically? Several things really helped us. First, get the honest assessment and realistic idea of where he fits in (D1, D2, D3, Juco) and accept the feedback you get back. Understanding each level of college ball looks for certain measurables and that they tend not to vary from these stats much helped narrow down the search and save us me money. This was the most important piece of advice I received. It saved us lots of money I don't have.
Second, go where they want you. He had the option of a possible walk-on at a couple of D1s, but they were lukewarm offers at best. As many on here have said, you can definitely tell when you're actually wanted. The excitement of a program towards a recruit when they want them is really neat to see (it was also a proud parent moment to see that kind of love towards my son).
Third, go to individual college camps. At first, we just went to the big showcases hoping something would happen. In reality, he didn't have the skills to showcase at that level (mostly D1 coaches). "Showcase when you have something to showcase" is what I've read on here a bunch of times. Going to individual college camps allowed for 1 on 1 interaction with the coaches. This is were my son really had an advantage, I think. Talking with coaches, they were able to see the kind of person he is, how coachable he is, and that he really never had any lessons. When coaches found out he was pretty raw, his projectability went up drastically. This gets skipped in the big camps, I think. The specific college camp was important for my son because his velocity and speed were not elite, so other variables needed to be seen.
There are a bunch of other things as well. Contacting colleges before going to showcases, how to handle yourself during off times at showcases and at games, how to interpret camp invites and recruit letters (also very important). The list goes on and on. Further, for my 2 younger sons, I now know to develop a plan for recruiting and to spend money on training before attending showcases (should they decide to try and play college baseball) rather than just going to camps hoping something will happen. I keep thinking of things as I type, but I think this is long enough as is. Again, thank you.
