Just wanted to post a quick note and say THANK YOU to ALL who've contributed and continue to contribute their invaluable time, energy, resources, and experiences to this unique and special place. We've learned so much, and continue to do so. Invaluable contributions from @RHP_Parent, @Ster, @anotherparent , @speeddemon @2022NYC , @RJM , @TPM , @Goosegg, @TerribleBPthrower, @HSDad22 @NotABaseballGuy et al would repeatedly surface in threads of interest (and I'm sure I'm forgetting others). Thank you @Consultant and @Adbono for just being yourselves and being "right" virtually all the time and keeping us grounded in a Zen way. Thanks most to @Fenwaysouth for being a patient, selfless, and encyclopedic resource we leaned on the most and to @BB328 for just listening and riding the emotional roller coaster during my craziest and lowest moments. Kiddo recently (verbally) committed and is one of the 56ish. We know and understand this is still just the beginning and there's MUCH work left to do both literally and figuratively on short, intermediate, and long timeframes.
Some quick and random thoughts that I'm echoing and parroting from all those above (and others). My observations do have an HA angle but I hope are generally useful.
Grades matter from day one in HS
While this process can be DIY'd and done on your own, having an advocate and being part of a trusted organization can be a force multiplier when you have the ability/ projectability for desired level.
Social media is VERY powerful both good and bad. When used appropriately, it too can be a force multiplier (again, both good and bad). Post covid, social media, in our experience, played a rather large role during the recruiting process. There just cant be enough time for coaches to fly out/travel and see all prospects play. A 30-60 sec clip through flatground can have a greater impact than recruiting services (in our experience)
Dovetailing, playing more often in a geographic area where your target schools are helps. And If that sounds so obvious then why don't more people do it?
The advent of the cellphone and all its fancy cameras and the availability of free resources like twitter, YouTube studio, in conjunction with other force multipliers had WAY more impact and were much more cost effective than things we got less utility out of like NCSA, though I do agree w/ @Ster that emails through NCSA DID get read. There absolutely IS value in that, just not IMHO commensurate with what the "service" costs. Coach "Follows" on son's twitter/X, from both quantitative and qualitative perspectives, were VERY different from what he had on NCSA/Fieldlevel (At least Fieldlevel's base service is free). I will also add we made the mistake of thinking signing up for NCSA earlier (rising sophomore) would yield a better value, since the cost is the same no matter when you sign up. Wrong. It only got us pigeon-holed out of the gate. IMHO, same money would've been better spent on HF.
You WILL know if you're being recruited. You will be called, DM'd, or texted. 99.9% of camp invites are money makers. There, I said it. Having said that I DO absolutely feel college camps have cost effective utility and tremendous value if one is fishing in the right pond and emails (***& FILLS OUT ONLINE RECRUITING QUESTIONAIRE ***) appropriately ahead of time, esp if you're local or no extensive travel is entailed.
Evaluate existing college rosters of target schools. Even cursory glances can be telling. If all the pitchers are 6'6" and taller, it may not matter if you can throw 90 from a smaller stature when they average 85. Look at player age as well. Do they like older more mature players or do they like high upside young guys? I noticed trends here but full disclosure I have a bias towards this issue. Is there a geographic dominance on the roster etc.
As @adbono always says, fish in the right pond. I will add that sometimes the pond finds you virtually after you've maximized all cost efficient resources (above).
We did not do any PG showcases. We did a PBR team type showcase through our travel organization at the time. We did play many PG events and leveraged performances and metrics/ velo through our cellphone, twitter, and YT. I must add that FIVETOOL played a HUGE role in exposure, but not in the traditional travel tourney space sense, and was more of a byproduct of my final point (below).
We did not do HF or SB. We were signed up for what I felt was a specific hi-value Best in US Showcase (which will we now pay forward) and AZ fall senior classic tryout (which we have to cancel). We were prepared however to do at least one (HF/SB) or the other if necessary. Looks like many of the SB Long Island sessions evaporated. There used to be four, now there's only one. Many have said that doing earlier HF/SB in cycle is prudent. I could not agree more. Others also have said that having TEST SCORES in hand is helpful as well. Also could not agree more. Good decisions and planning beget good decisions... PSAT is OK but real deal is (much) better. Son took first digital SAT ever. It was a cluster for many and scores for many were LOWER than PSAT a few months prior. I do believe college board has rectified that some. As another aside it was my observation that a trend may be emerging that (outstanding) schools may be choosing NOT to "stay in their lane" and instead depart from the accepted recruiting timetables and cut in line so to speak. With one school it was commensurate with a coaching change (we were impressed by).
Take standardized tests as early as possible and PREPARE/ study for them. Also understand the differences between test mandatory and OPTIONAL schools. My gut feeling suggests that athletic level and size may have to be higher for optional schools. We got tremendous mileage and value out of the online Prepscholar service for round $350 and just doing the practice tests from the college board. Every kid learns differently. Sometimes the pricey in-person services are worth every penny.
Do one's best to not worry about what others are doing. Celebrate their successes but remain focused on one's own athletic and academic goals. Toiling away in anonymity will pay off one day. Be prepared to show out when given (precious few) opportunities.
Metrics to me are like money... undoubtedly important, but not the be all end all and chasing them in a vacuum may have other untoward & unintended consequences. A mistake we made last year was chasing velo and exit velo... wrecked mechanics for both hitting and pitching. I must admit, until metric thresholds are reached, this is an intrinsically FRUSTRATING, paradoxical, and contradictory topic to reconcile and approach. Dont chase metrics but coaches won't look at you until they're at least close. I get it. I guess if you do it "the right way" it all just kind of works out?
It feels like LADY LUCK HAS TO play a role. Beyond controlling what one can control, LUCK may be the X factor. @fenwaysouth preaches this and I whole heartedly agree. Sometimes you make your own luck. This was true for us when moving travel orgs for this year.
HEALTH IS PARAMOUNT. A severe injury at the wrong time is devastating. My heart sunk to the basement seeing the # of HIGH SCHOOL (juniors) kids getting TJ this past March/April, many of whom were OUTSTANDING prospects. We flirted with our own injury issue at what felt to be the worst time and had to thread the narrowest of needles coming back. It definitely affected chances with one target school that uncharacteristically started recruiting earlier this year. Not a day goes by that I dont mentally wish all those injured kids well.
As EVERYONE here states, ENJOY THE RIDE. Looking back, last year was much more fun. Our 6+ hour drives to Louisiana or 9+ hour drives to Hoover were much more fun than our 3am flights to Baltimore this year. Driving through and seeing/experiencing different and awesome parts of the country, playing in front of NO COACHES at "high level" tourneys against stout teams from all over the country purely for the joy of baseball I DID enjoy in the moment at the time and only relish even more now.
Finally, I would be remiss if I did not mention the disclaimer that it helps to run the gauntlet through one of the highest levels of HS baseball in the country. Without stirring up the hornets nest, playing "varsity" here is a completely different animal. Parts of Cali, AZ, FL, and GA are all also just different. I'm sure there are other areas I'm neglecting. There are ridiculous high-level players and travel teams from EVERYWHERE, but the mean for HS play (at 5-6A) here is eye popping. This had to play a role in recruiting as well.
Again, THANK YOU to the HSBBW community!
