The process

My two cents.....I've distilled your poat to this passage above.  I strongly urge you to further define exactly what the "best school" is or could be.  Everybody's journey is different, and your job is to help or guide your son to that goal.   There will be distractions, disappointment and hopefully success at the end.  My best advice is not to compromise too much on what it is your son wants from his college baseball experience, and whatever his goal is after college.  He should be trying to understand how the process works and when his recruiting window is open.  Getting in front of the right coaches at the right time is incredibly important.  I would also seek to understand what it is that separates your son from the thousands of other recruits just like him.  Is it his grades, projectability?  

Your son is off to a good start with coaches telling him they will be watching.  Take those comments at face value....coaches will be watching but don't expect anything more and don't be satisfied with just "watching".  Coaches are the masters of ambiguity and mis-remembering.  Never stop reaching out and learning about new schools, programs, and opportunities to meet new coaches.  As you do more and more of this, you should be learning where your son fits in the hierarchy of talent and where he can leverage his talents.  Use HSBBWeb as a 24 x 7 x 365 resource. Lots of excellent people here with priceless experience that can help you if you ask the right questions.

What position on the field is going to be his college position (you've listed CIF, P, and C)....what position does he excel at?  Based on your son's current 60 time, he would be limited in the field unless he was a pitcher, C or a DH that puts it over the fence. Coaches want to limit the number of guys slowing down the basepaths on their offense.  

Good luck!

Last Stretch , first off congrats on high achiiever. I would concur with Fenway particularly on the position? Mid 80's now could be P? What position does summer coach project?

I would suggest augmenting what you are doing with him attending a Showcase where schools he is interested in attend. For us it was the Perfect Game All academic Showcase in Fla. That was where he first generated interest and it was June after Junior year. Headfirst and Stanford are others if he is interested in Academic schools. Like your son ours was a two way in HS and Summer but only pitched at Showcase as that was where he projected. By then he had test scores as well, they are important as it can be a differentiator along with grades.

Good luck keep us posted. 

Good stuff as always from fenwaysouth!

Based on what you've posted, 6-4, 200 lbs,, mid-80's, he already sounds like a college player and/or beyond.  The fact he is not shaving yet indicates he has many years for physical growth and strength ahead of him.  

To answer your question  about bird in the hand.  Don't feel like there is some time clock ticking out there.  Put yourself in some coach's shoes.  If you liked someone and were following them, would you just completely give up on them because they didn't have it figured out before their high school junior season even began?  If I were a coach and intrigued by a prospect, they would stay on my list until I filled every position or until the prospect found someplace else.  Encourage your son to continue to improve and get before as many coaches as possible.  All it takes is for ONE to fall in love with him and hopefully, that also aligns with his academic goals as well.  If he continues to develop his talent, continues to get exposure, then don't worry about some imaginary time-frame.

Laststretch....for a 2016, the time to get him noticed/recruited is starting right now.  Hit a couple showcases/camps this winter where some of the schools he is interested in will be attending.  Next summer will be very interesting for you....trust me...a 6'4 200 pound kid will get plenty of interest.  LIke others have said....reach out to the coaches of the schools that interest your son....don't sit back and wait on them.  Get them your son's HS and summer schedules as soon as they are ready...and keep in contact with them. 

On this day, in particular, I am thankful for feedback! Trying to go in a straight recruiting line. 4 D1 college contacts in the last 6 weeks, 2 fallback, 2 not even on his radar. But I take that to mean they are one of the "go where you are loved" options. Has talked to HC/RC of one dream school, but nothing like the 4 recents. It is hard to read between the lines. I do not mean to wear out my welcome, or be terribly long.

I have garnered much information from HSBBW, as an observer here, have been able to aquire/apply info to our particular situations w/ time to spare. Suddenly, it seems like a vortex, a wormhole

There are alot of moving pieces to the college recruiting puzzle, that I do NOT have a grasp on....I can see why parents get advisors.

2016 spent summer/fall w/travel team going to events, in front of BB people (HC,RC, assorted assistants/scouts,etc) at college campus tournies and PG events.  I leave that to summer coach/team.

In 2013/2014 Oct-Dec a few showcases/prospect camps he is academically intereted in. One school he was interested in got scratched b/c he did not like the area.  Kind of unofficial visit w/ BB thrown in. One school he visited he texted his summer coach and said "I can go to school here." We were checking all them out, more or less. Has gone either as a PO or 3B/C, shown well enough Ex; I observed the HC at MID D1 camp last weekend move from behind HP, walk to 1B side eveytime 2016 got an AB (and 2 other position players too). 2016 had 7 AB's If he worked a walk they told him to stay in there.  I took that as good??? I dare not ask anywhere but at HSBBW. Have found it too hard to 2 way at events or it is not even an option. At a PO event the PC talked to him for a long while after his BP, and end of event, asked him to send his bio/resume/schedule. I also took that as good??? Has gotten "send us your schedule, we'll be following, on our recruiting board, or nothing, no curiosity, etc" in both roles. 2016 has gotten bold and directly asked the HC at last 2 events "what are u looking for in 2016 class?"

Funny thing at the most recent event the HC said MIF, OF, maybe a catcher, don't call us we'll call you. He left thinking "move on" The next day he gets follow up email from RC, "send us your HS/summer schedule."

My opinion (ok,parental objectivity is difficult to prove) he still projects in several positions. Maybe it is b/c he is 6'4"/200. I say he can hit, but will he continue to hit? Projecting hitting is for smarter people than me. It is too hard for me to even interpret HS age BA/hitting. I believe, for my 2016, it is largely dependent on consistency at the plate and what happens the next 2 years, he bats 3,4,5 in HS (and summer (does not hit when he pitches, nor do any of the 2 ways). HS (6A) plays 1B, mostly. Played 3B when 2015 3B ahead of him pitched. He played 3B more last year 2015, 3B moved to V. 

As far as P. Starter pitcher make-up. I think it is easier for me to be objective. He pitched some V innings as Fresh/Soph. Pitched alot of JV games/innings. Has 2 college starter commits & pitching specialists ahead of him. 2016 hoping for velo to come. Throws about 90 across the diamond, FB mid 80's. Velo not a negative for him at all, and in my limited knowldge can see where velo is projectible, he hits his spots, gets outs, knows how to pitch. He understands the magic #90, as a RHP.

Summer coach plays him at 3B and P, but he catches for him too, his best pop is 2.0, game is slightly higher, for not being a FT catcher his exchange is good, soft hands, receives well, calls a good game, huge behind the plate for blocking, throws very accurate BB's.

Footspeed is not where an elite would be or where he would dream for it to be if dreams came true like that , but it continues to go down. At 11 he was as round as he was tall and a blazing 10.5. If he had swallowed the kool-aid then..... linebacker.

JMO (I am not sure I am qualified to have too much of an opinion either).....not as much negative as I would have suspected @ footspeed, maybe because he is huge, 16, not shaving, P/C possibility and has 2 HS seasons to drop 1/2 second? (I really have no idea) He recognizes below 7.0 as another milestone......more for smarter BB people.  It is also why he has chosen not to give up on P/C. 

IMHO, his grades will allow him to have more options of higher academic universities or over less academic BB players. He's no Rhodes scholar and has to work at keeping GPA as high as he can (control what you can control)

Clevelanddad/Fenwaysouuth: Nail on the head!!!, That college timeclock is somethig I do not grasp.

Find it hard to grasp the coaches side, as  the coaches are "masters of ambiguity and misremembering" and they have done this over and over.

2016 is concerned about coming across wrong by being able to bluntly ask "did you see any moments of greatness that gets me on the board at this school?"

I do not grasp being in contact with multiple schools, waiting for your dream schools return contact. He has reached out agressively to his target schools.  

Summer/fall are really going to be a frenzy if this is any sign of what activity is on the horizon.

One of the schools that has reached out to him is a no (as it is too far, too far north than he wants to go).  How do you say that when you are geared toward do not quit a job til you have a job?

I am not sure what to take at face value. I am afraid by the time I do know, it is going to be over.

Thanks for offering up your .02, i am one grateful observer!

laststretch,

You are doing the right things.  This is not an easy thing to understand, and there are many moving parts.  Understanding the coaches side requires you to step back and understand their situation and objectively evaluate your sons talent....this comes with experience in this process.  Coaches don't make decisions/committment unless they want to or they have to make a decision.  They also have a timeclock, so always keep that in mind.  It seems to me you understand your son's strengths and weaknesses but don't (yet) know how that applies in the recruiting marketplace or hierarchy.  I'll give you an example...right in the middle of all of our recruiting efforts with my oldest son a big SEC school shows interest and invites us to visit.  They tell my son one of their commits has fallen through and they have interest in him but no athletic money.  Reading between the lines, we figure he'll get a lot of academic money but struggle to make the team (every year) or even find the field in 4 years.  The interest was flattering, but this was not a overall balanced situation for him.  It was through places like HSBBWeb that you get an understanding and perspective, and really begin to understand what the coaches are thinking. 

Learning to juggle multiple schools comes with the territory.  Our goal was to replace a school that we crossed off of our list (or they crossed off the list) with 3 more schools.  It was difficult to do, but it meant that we had to get out of our comfort zone quite a few times.  This required that we open up the geography to continue to look at more and more schools that met our criteria.  We live on the East coast, and ended up looking at schools all the way into the middle of the country.  Everybody has different organizational (emails, calendaring, contacts) methods, and you've got to find out what works for you.  My wife and I helped my son initially, and they he did the rest on his own.  When it got to be too much(busy junior year), he'd ask for help

Take everything a coach says at face value.  The interest your son is getting is just that...."interest".   Coaches want to know more about him at this point.  Once they begin showing serious interest....you will know it.  In most cases, they'll want transcripts, schedules, who else is interested in him, and when he is going to ready to make a decision,   This only happens through dialogue between your son and the coach or his travel coach to the college coach.  My oldest son played for a well known travel team.  The travel coach contacted many schools on our behalf,but we also had our list of schools we were contactly seperately.  We'd talk to the travel coach every couple weeks to make sure we were coordinated.  His first two D1 offers were through his travel coach, and were important in helping building a market for him.  In your post, you mention a travel coach and his connections.  I'd consider taking a similiar approach with coordinated efforts....a divide and conquer approach.  It may be worth your time to sit down with the travel coach to review exactly what kind of targeted approach you can come up.

Good luck!.