The "marketing" game??

JT

The most important thing you can do is to visit campuses, narrow down your choices, then, if possible, arrange a one on one with the coach.

CV

JT there are a couple of things factor in here. Number one is your son’s talent level. You need to have a good assessment of your son’s talent so you can help guide him into a good fit. All divisions have great talent but a lesser talented player may never see the field at a large D-1 while he may see significant time at a D-III or a small JUCO. What schools can satisfy your son’s academics needs? Is his course of study offered at all schools? I agree with CVSting about narrowing your search down and making visits is the normal process but only after your son has drawn sufficient interest from multiple schools and I’m not sure that is the case at this time. “Narrowing your search” may be a little premature at this time. We want maximum exposure between the junior and senior year of high school (NOW) with the anticipation of drawing interest from multiple schools allowing us to “pick and choose” by this fall. The fall showcase team is good but there should be more exposure prior to the fall showcase team. Not sure how much exposure your son will get from your comment “My son is playing Legion ball, attending a tryout for a Blue-Grey event and attending a Best in VA Showcase”???? Without knowing your son’s talent would I be off base by suggesting a major showcase like a Perfect Game event? The process of "marketing" your son it is basically:
1. Get maximum exposure to draw interest
2. Analyze interest he gets from schools
3. Narrow your search down by eliminating schools
4. Select a school based on his/your criteria
Fungo

Thanks, Fungo. I'm not sure what his talent level truely is (DI?, DIII?) Defensively he is DI (imho), and his bat has really come around this year. We are working to get to a PG event in late summer or fall.
BTW--my dad is from Humboldt and lives in Trenton!

JT, Best of luck to your son! Small world...our house is just across the bottom from where your father lives. If he ever drives by tell him to stop by. Can't miss us!

Hey Fungo,

If you are ever in Hornsby (Hwy 64), stop by Sharecropper's and say hello to my Mom and Step Dad.

The sooner you get to a PG or T1 event the better. Many schools will have already made commitments to players by late summer/early fall and its helpful to know early in the process where you skill level stacks up. Plus making phone calls to coaches is very frustrating if they don't know who your kid is.

Also keep in mind that marketing if done wrong can be a disaster !!!

TR

could you plesae share with us what would be the correct way to market your player. I wouldn't want a disaster on my hands.

Your vast knowledge could benefit us all.

Let's face it, NCAA baseball scholarships don't usually amount to a lot of money. Your player marketing should focus on schools that you can afford to pay for yourself. Visits give an idea of how he likes the area and the school (some are "ugly" and some are "nice" with no set criteria for either one.) Another question is does he have an interest in academics, or does he just want to play baseball? Major? Check rosters online. Junior college? Call the coach and arrange a tryout in the fall. Where would he want to go to school if he couldn't play baseball? You know that just because the s chool is D1 it doesnt mean that the baseball is better than some D2. Don't get hung up on the Div.

a little pointer let the colleges coaches know they can see you at XX showcase. But keep in mind if you kid has no baseball talent/ tools no amount of showcasing will matter

Drivel

One way to find out your talent level is to attend a shwocase or two---the response the player gets will tell him what his talent level is--if the majority of calls and letters are Division II or III then he knows what schools he should target --if the majority are Division I then he takes that route--- not every player is a Division I player and that is nothing to be ashamed of-- a select few players get to play college baseball at all, so go for the level that your talent permits you to play at

and if you get no calls from any colleges?

showcases should not be a cattle call or a collection of players who cant play in one place
but some hs showcases are

Drivel

Where did you get the term "cattle call" ?

That is a Broadway term--did you ever get to Broadway?

Also FOR YOUR INFORMATION most kids have a pretty good idea of their talent level--

AND

Despite what YOU think most HS varsity starters can play college baseball somewhere--it may not be Division I but it will be somewhere

Sorry TOFU Hits you are so far off base. 90 % of HS Players will not play college baseball at any level.

But the world is filled with clueless parents whose kid cant break 75 mph and spend thousands of dollars on HS Showcase and travel teams thinking they are top 25 college material.

what college have you coached for

DRIVEL

Read what I said--- VARSITY HS STARTERS not varsity HS players--

What college have I coached for? I never said I did--- what college did you coach for and can it be verified ? Contact please

By the way has Angefire contacted you yet?--they are still looking at all their free sites to see those that are abusing the rights given to them-

TR

sorry watching house of flying daggers


觸怒的一個將被轉換為一

Dibble

Your argument with TR aside - consider this.

How is a player to know WHY he received no calls from colleges? Any player who automatically assumes no calls means he can't play anywhere is never going to play anywhere.

A showcase does two things for them. First, it gives then a chance to compare themselves to players outside their own conference. They may very well stink it up at the showcase, but they will have learned something essential, and that is that their talent is not at the level they once believed it to be. In that way the showcase would have been valuable to them.

Second, it gives coaches whom would otherwise never know who they are a chance to see them. Believe it or not, it actually is possible that a player is not right for 100 coaches and yet there is one who would consider that player a perfect fit for his present needs and syle of coaching. This is the type of player who needs the showcase the most.

Being proactive may not always get you what you want. But NOT being proactive gets you no where.

quote:

Being proactive may not always get you what you want. But NOT being proactive gets you no where.

AMEN

I don't know why people continually classify college programs as simply D1 or D2 or D3. Putting the top 50 or so D1 programs aside there are many D2 and D3 schools that are just as talented as many D1 teams if not more talented. This a baseball phenomenon and not a necessarily a college athletics phenomenon.

And most kids do not have a pretty good idea of their talent level as it applies to college, that is partly why %40 of student-athletes who enroll in a 4-year college leave or transfer and do not graduate from the school they originally enrolled in.

ghouse

For once I have to agree with you.

Not only that but if you can go to a "lower level" Division I program you will still play Division I baseball--check out the Division I programs who are in the lower part of their conference standings-- odds are you can play there rather rapidly --why?--very simple-- they arent winning with the talent they already have and this gives the incoming player a great shot at playing rapidly.

One reason my son chose New Mexico State was because he had a shot at playing quickly--he red shirted his frosh year and started the remaining 4 years--his first start as a redshirt frosh was in Tempe AZ against ASU-- that aint too shabby folks--starting in D-I and against that sort of talent

In fact when he was at NMS they were in the Big West aith Long Beach State, Cal State Fullerton etal-- that is some pretty stiff competition

If your heart is set on playing at the D-i level do as I suggest--check out the teams with losing records in their conferences--you will be surprised at what can happen.

Very intersting thought TR.

If you can get past his bravado TR has some great knowledge to share with us all. He may be a little gruff, but he has helped lots of folks.

Keep it up TR

w'forddad

I would be careful how you analyze and speak of people-- after all it was you who sent me that
series of foul mouth emails/PMS which are now filed

Consider yourself lucky that you are still able to access the site

As for bravado. your private messages showed me that you have none at all, not to mention manners and not acting like and adult.

To make judgements on a person you have never met or even talked to tells me something about you and that is about all I need to know about you

TR calm down, I was being positive about your knowledge, this was not a slam. I was letting people know that we have had our differences in the past but your knowledge about baseball and recruiting is top notch.

but as a person you are still a S O B!

you last post shows all that you are one arrogant *****.

w'forddad

How can you term me anything, much less a ***--you dont even know me--I wont pass judgement on you--I dont know you, not that I want to

By the way my Mother would be very upset with you if she saw this post--she KNOWS I am sweet and luvable--

you do have a sense of humor! I am learning more about you all the time TR. Shoot, before you know it you are gonna as me to call you Tom.

Yes sir, TR, you are as lovable as that slice of Sicilian pizza you've mentioned in a past post. Sometimes you make me wonder if you're not part Calabris, though. (A little sort-of joke for the second generation Italian Americans on the boards.)

As long as my Mom amd Pop still love me and my wife loves me and thinks I have a sense of humor and my players and parenst respect me, I don't ask them to love me, then I am fine

Its

The only place I order Sicilian Pizza is in The NY area.

The problem for me is simple--as you get older you dont have patience for those who need to hide behind phony IDs and send PMS and Emails that are totally profane.

Oh well we will just keep on keeping on !!!!

ALL-
Financially, lets say my son goes to a division 3 college and plays ball with them his 1st year and is successful at it. how then do i market him to a division 2 or 1 college. also is it a good idea to start him in a lower division of college such as a junior college?.

quote:

Originally posted by Hirrel 13:
ALL-
Financially, lets say my son goes to a division 3 college and plays ball with them his 1st year and is successful at it. how then do i market him to a division 2 or 1 college. also is it a good idea to start him in a lower division of college such as a junior college?.

Very difficult to "market" from DIII to DI or DII.
In part you need an NCAA approved release from the DIII in order to talk to another NCAA school. Second, the NCAA has a ridiculous rule that allows the player to transfer and play but a player cannot transfer from DIII and receive any athletic scholarship money for the first year. If you are to "market" from DIII, that may actually only happen by playing in summer wood bat leagues where your son will play against DI and DII players and if he proves he can succeed, he may get some interest. On the other hand, don't think the grass is greener at the DI. You may be better off at the DIII. Feel free to let me know if you have any other questions. Mine went to a DIII, did pretty well, had some pretty good options to transfer to DII and DI's so we know the process and pitfalls reasonably well. BTW, he stayed at the DIII.

Infielddad-
very-well, thank-you.

TR,
I am sorry that you have had to endure garbage from w'forddad. I know what it is like.
I do think he is very lucky he is still posting.

Knowing the talent level of your child is immensly important in this game. Knowing which schools to market that talent to is even more important. Finding those schools is harder. Try myinstantreplay.com college database that allows you to search colleges by dividion, sport and state. It is a pay service, not a recruiting service, more of a marketing service which gives you the tools and control to market your chils as efficiently as possible. It is also a great way to get information on schools.

Sorry for the delayed response, and just a few comments regarding the Marketing process:
1. TRhit has been involved in the process for years, he knows what he's talking about, and if you don't believe what he's saying, check it out yourself either via the NCAA website, a College Coach, or someone you know who has a ballplayer playing at an NCAA member institution.
2. There's plenty of info available on "participation rates" and "probability of competing at the next level " but its a fact that Less than three (3) in 50 (~5.6%) of HS Senior boys interscholastic players will go on to play..."
3. There are a number of factors to consider for both the Student-Athlete and parents when considering "playing college ball" like:
- Major offered?
- Distance from Home?
- Academic Qualifications (SAT/ACT/GPA ok?)
- Opening on Squad? (Do they need me?)
- What's the Coaches philospohy?

From a marketing standpoint:
- What Tournaments/Showcases to attend?
- Should I go to that school's summer "camp"?
- Am I/Is my son athletically skilled enough for that program, that Division, that Conference? (What's the "reality" of the skills?)
- How can I get the Coach and/or his Assistant's aware of my existance?
4. It never ceases to amaze me how people are quick to attack, especially someone like TRhit, who has posted info on these forums for years, helped a number of kids and families with information, and continues to do so in spite of occasional personal attacks.
4. If you don't know what the hell your talking about, zip your lip.