The 411 on helping your son play College Baseball

RJM: Again, about 7% of high school players go on to play college baseball at any level.  You probably didn't know that expert. By the way, D3 players (dont know why you are slighting them) do sign commitment letters. see: https://www.nsr-inc.com/scouti...ment-letter-to-sign/

Players that sign D3 commitment letters get full rides to their schools.  Unlike D2, D3, NAIA, and JCs, if they decide to stop playing ball, they keep their scholarships.  You learn something everyday huh expert?  And by the way, Ivy League schools also don't provide athletic scholarships.  Are those "faux" ceremonies as well expert?  

You said most D3s were not in the northeast.  I sent you a pic of all D3 baseball schools showing otherwise.  You change the subject.  You should not be on these boards brother. You got no clue.  You bring nothing to the table.  This is too easy.

Baseballmom: NCSA worked for us.  Worked for many others.  I don't make a dime from them and very little of my article speaks about NCSA. You are the one keying on it. It's just another resource.  One of many.  I have also been on this site plenty of times over the last couple of years.  Some real good information, some well intended, but wrong, and some just disturbingly wrong.

By the way, I simply posted an article of what worked for me.  Didn't find too much camaraderie, I'm sorry.  Just a lot of childish attacks.  I love the game as much as you do.  We used NCSA and WE were rewarded.  I don't care if people use it or not.  If you don't believe it's a good resource, then don't use it.  It worked for me.  Maybe it wont for others.  I have nothing bad to say about it.  It helped us get through the maize.  I wont be afraid to mention it here. Be glad it worked for me.  Show some camaraderie.  Show some support no?

By the way, most players dont play D1.  Many who do will end up transfering to a D2 or D3. Playing D2 or D3 is like a scarlet letter around these boards.  Understand, most of the players will never go pro.  The majority of those who do, will fizzle out in Rookie ball.  Just the facts.  What maters is not that you went to the SEC or ACC.  What matters is that the boys go to a quality school, get their degree, get to play competitively, make long lasting friends, and come out more well rounded than when they came in.  Not impressed by all the SEC, ACC, Big 10 players talk.  Many of the best coaches did not play D1.  The current Vandy pitching coach played D3.

Rocky Alvarez posted:

By the way, D3 players (dont know why you are slighting them) do sign commitment letters. see: https://www.nsr-inc.com/scouti...ment-letter-to-sign/

Players that sign D3 commitment letters get full rides to their schools.  Unlike D2, D3, NAIA, and JCs, if they decide to stop playing ball, they keep their scholarships.

Rocky, I honestly don't care that you will say nasty things about me for posting this, but this is simply too egregious and if someone new read your post they could seriously be led astray. Division 3 schools are not allowed to give athletic scholarships — "Division III schools do not offer athletics scholarships."— NCAA web site, link shown below.

http://www.ncaa.org/student-at.../future/scholarships

People can sign whatever they want to and have whatever ceremony they want to, and they often do. That's okay and fun for them and for their families. But it doesn't mean anything.

Folks, ...his only posts are this thread...his profile bio: "recruiting junkie"...HMMM, so take it for what it's worth... his opinion...under the guise of selling a recruiting service...

Too bad he didn't ask for help a few years ago...those $$'s could have been better spent on skills training, or lessons...

Rocky Alvarez posted:

RJM: Again, about 7% of high school players go on to play college baseball at any level.  You probably didn't know that expert. By the way, D3 players (dont know why you are slighting them) do sign commitment letters. see: https://www.nsr-inc.com/scouti...ment-letter-to-sign/

Players that sign D3 commitment letters get full rides to their schools.  Unlike D2, D3, NAIA, and JCs, if they decide to stop playing ball, they keep their scholarships.  You learn something everyday huh expert?  And by the way, Ivy League schools also don't provide athletic scholarships.  Are those "faux" ceremonies as well expert?  

You said most D3s were not in the northeast.  I sent you a pic of all D3 baseball schools showing otherwise.  You change the subject.  You should not be on these boards brother. You got no clue.  You bring nothing to the table.  This is too easy.

As I posted before you’re inaccuracies are not worth the response. But the one thing that really validates you don’t have a clue is players don’t sign NLI’s unless they are receiving athletic money. Even D1 recruits not receiving money don’t sign them. Keep it coming  You’re entertaining. Don’t forget your meds.

Iowamom23 posted:

Rocky Alvarez posted:

By the way, D3 players (dont know why you are slighting them) do sign commitment letters. see: https://www.nsr-inc.com/scouti...ment-letter-to-sign/

Players that sign D3 commitment letters get full rides to their schools.  Unlike D2, D3, NAIA, and JCs, if they decide to stop playing ball, they keep their scholarships.

Rocky, I honestly don't care that you will say nasty things about me for posting this, but this is simply too egregious and if someone new read your post they could seriously be led astray. Division 3 schools are not allowed to give athletic scholarships — "Division III schools do not offer athletics scholarships."— NCAA web site, link shown below.

http://www.ncaa.org/student-at.../future/scholarships

People can sign whatever they want to and have whatever ceremony they want to, and they often do. That's okay and fun for them and for their families. But it doesn't mean anything.

......and you would not sign an nli for the ivies.....no athletic $$, no nli....that said, the ivies will give the most reasonable needs based financial aid.....and cant we all just get along...lol.

I'm all in favor of having as many personal experiences available online as possible.  People who google "college baseball recruiting" will find your blog entry, will find this site, and will find many other things.  Many people (we were certainly among those) will not know anything about the subject, and won't know what to believe.

I think that the reason you are being criticized here is that your son is going to play at a D3 school, but you aren't transparent about that in your blog entry.  In fact, your title says "get a college baseball scholarship," but that doesn't, in fact, seem to be what your son has.  When we started, we had no idea what the different NCAA levels meant.  Over time we figured it out (with a lot of online reading).  Many who find your blog will not know this.  When you say "it doesn't matter what kind of money it is, academic or athletic" - that is entirely true from the point of view of a family's finances.  But, it is not necessarily true relative to how a player will be viewed by a coach at a D1 or D2 school.  That's what people here are trying to say - that your blog entry doesn't make that clear.

The most crucial part of your blog entry is where you say, "A recruiting service will provide an honest evaluation of your son's talent."  This is, indeed, extremely important to know.  Some posters here have jumped on you for that, and said that is the job of the travel coach.  That is also true.  Any of them will work fine if you are a D1-type player.  However, the fact is that neither a recruiting service nor a travel coach are necessarily going to provide an "honest evaluation," although they might provide a hopeful evaluation.  If you are a D3-type player, some travel organizations are not very good (or interested) at helping.  A recruiting service obviously worked for you - but, how did they evaluate your son?  You don't make that clear.  Any other ways of being recruited, of the kind suggested on hsbbw (going to appropriate showcases, sending emails to coaches, going to appropriate camps) would probably also have worked, too.  What you need to do is say, more clearly, "Our recruiting service told us that with his size and measurable numbers, our son was most likely a D3 player, and that with his grades and SAT, he could get an academic scholarship at XXX schools."   That is a piece of information that many people could use.

When we first started googling about baseball recruiting, we found HSBBW the main site.  I read some of the articles, and they were so out of date ("send a videocassette...") that I assumed that all the information was just something old.  I only found the forums when I googled something more specific.  Many times on this site, people have noted this, but the static pages have never (or rarely) been changed, I think.  A ton of links don't work.  New items, like this blog entry, seem fresher and more relevant to people who are googling.  I think that's why so many posters here are trying to point out some things about it that could be improved.

Iowamom:  ahhhh, anyone who has read my article knows I stated D3s don't give "athletic" scholarships.  They give academic scholarships.  Neither do the Ivy League schools.  And I never said "anything nasty" about you.  And yes, every signing ceremony is just that...a ceremony.  

Baesballmom: LOL.  Yes, I get paid.  You are funny.

Thanks Anotherparent: Correct, my son will play D3 at a top academic school.  Had opportunities to play at other D3, NAIA, JC as well.  He has a high SAT/ACT and great grades.  Healso was recruited by two D2s, but the school are not as prestigious and the love from the coaches wasn't nearly as much as he got from the school he is going to play for.  The money we got was also substantially more than any athletic  money we could have gotten elsewhere.  We made a decision to focus on D2, D3, and NAIA schools.  Thats the best fit for him.  

I see what you say about the title.  I changed it.  I also removed NCSA from the article.  Now I don't have to hear that I am working for them and getting paid to mention the company. LOL.  

So funny how I write an article that might help people whose kids are starting the process, and I get attacked.  Then I am told this is a supportive community. lol.  I wrote what worked for me.  And by the way, don't think for a minute all these people's kids all played D1 baseball.  Some may have, most didn't.  Many are very angry at life.  Maybe cause things didn't go their way. 

"By the way, D3 players (dont know why you are slighting them) do sign commitment letters. see: https://www.nsr-inc.com/scouti...ment-letter-to-sign/"

Those are ceremonial only, and I doubt that many schools use them. My son's does not.

"Players that sign D3 commitment letters get full rides to their schools."

Hahahaha. Do they get a pony too?

It would be nice if that was true, but it's not. 

Letsgo: You say, "the ivies will give the most reasonable needs based financial aid."  They don't differentiate between students and athletes.  Ivys go by a simple formula.  If you make good money, even though your boy is a stud, expect to play $80,000.  You will pay the same any family will pay with the same financial situation.

Many D3s can work with parents and will offer specific academic scholarships or grants to help families pay the tuition.  I have found D3s have much more leeway than the Ivys, truth be told.  And call it what you want, but D3 athletes do have signing days.  Just look all over twitter.  See here:  http://www.ncaa.org/division-i...bratory-signing-form

Who cares what you call it.  It's an opportunity to celebrate playing college baseball with your family, friends, players and coaches.  But it's not a real "NLI".  What does that even mean? lol.  We are not worthy!  We are not worthy!  lol

JCJ:  Again, 77% of D3 schools have a student body under 2,999. https://www.ncaa.org/sites/def..._edited_20180119.pdf

Oh, and for all you high brows who dispute that D3 athletes have signing ceremonies, here you go: https://www.dpsk12.org/dps-sen...ational-signing-day/

Go ahead, disparage them you supportive community, you!

Ivys go by a simple formula.  If you make good money, even though your boy is a stud, expect to play $80,000.

Once again, not true. A family with one kid, a 100K income and 500K in assets pays under 25K per year for Harvard.

125K, under 30K per year.

150K, under 35K per year

Rocky Alvarez posted:

Letsgo: You say, "the ivies will give the most reasonable needs based financial aid."  They don't differentiate between students and athletes.  Ivys go by a simple formula.  If you make good money, even though your boy is a stud, expect to play $80,000.  You will pay the same any family will pay with the same financial situation.

Many D3s can work with parents and will offer specific academic scholarships or grants to help families pay the tuition.  I have found D3s have much more leeway than the Ivys, truth be told.  And call it what you want, but D3 athletes do have signing days.  Just look all over twitter.  See here:  http://www.ncaa.org/division-i...bratory-signing-form

Who cares what you call it.  It's an opportunity to celebrate playing college baseball with your family, friends, players and coaches.  But it's not a real "NLI".  What does that even mean? lol.  We are not worthy!  We are not worthy!  lol

I was not insinuating that other schools cannot provide merit based aid..i.e. academic scholarships.  I was simply pointing out that as it relates to the "formula" that ivies apply to needs based aid, they are much more generous than most other institutions.  At least that was my experience.  I think it's important for families to understand if they aren't making six figures the ivies may be more affordable than they could imagine.  If you value that type of education/experience it may be worth exploring.

As to why this is a controversial post, I suspect it has mostly to do with the recommendation that a recruiting service is useful.  To that I cannot speak.  We didn't use one.. ..what my son did do as a HS freshman was create an xls work book of target schools.  He started with Forbes top college website to find schools matching his interests/test scores and cross referenced to school and conference sites to round out info.  In less than a day he had a list of schools, costs, required scores, coaching contacts, etc.  He worked off that list (tracking contacts, etc) for three years until he wound up committing.

I guess we could have paid a service but it seemed funds were better utilized elsewhere (training, travel costs, team fees, camps, etc)

And since I brought up camps I'd simply like to add that while the money spent on that  channel yielded no direct results, what I would say (at least for my son) is that the lack of success at these events lit a fire under him....he trained harder/smarter thereafter.

Rocky Alvarez posted:

Oh, and for all you high brows who dispute that D3 athletes have signing ceremonies, here you go: https://www.dpsk12.org/dps-sen...ational-signing-day/

Go ahead, disparage them you supportive community, you!

I think everyone is splitting hairs on this......I would encourage everyone to have a signing ceremony....its a great accomplishment/milestone.

Signing an nli, however, comes with quite a few strings...its at that point that the verbal commitment becomes an actual binding agreement.....that can only be undone with actual reprecusions.

True Letsgo!!.  I agree.  Any player who works hard enough to get to play college ball should be celebrated. But yes, once you sign that NLI for a D1 or D2, you are entering in to an agreement that you play for their pay.  You quit, there goes your scholarship (for the most part).  But with D3s once you are accepted, you can quit down the road, and you will still keep whatever academic dollars they gave you, because it was not an "athletic" scholarship.  Coaches will not be too happy though as you know if you do this.  

Letsgo!!, I just read your other post.  Yes, if you come from a family that is not well off and you have D1 talent, you have the possibility of going for peanuts.  I know many players might want to choose an LSU over a Harvard, but man, that Harvard degree will be worth its weight in gold.   

Rocky Alvarez posted:

True Letsgo!!.  I agree.  Any player who works hard enough to get to play college ball should be celebrated. But yes, once you sign that NLI for a D1 or D2, you are entering in to an agreement that you play for their pay.  You quit, there goes your scholarship (for the most part).  But with D3s once you are accepted, you can quit down the road, and you will still keep whatever academic dollars they gave you, because it was not an "athletic" scholarship.  Coaches will not be too happy though as you know if you do this.  

 

To keep your athletic $$ you must be a good citizen, stay eligible and not quit.........academic money can have other requirements - maintain specific GPA (mich higher than eligibility).  

At the end of the day you need to ask questions and read the fine print.  The academic money they may show you may only be for one year..or four.....the same can be said for athletic money (although I'm pretty certain p5 must give aid for 4 years)