quote:
Gets virtually no interest.
Why? - because he hasnt gone to the "right" places or played for the "right" summer team or had the "right" connections - and hasnt gotten any help from anyone.
It's definitely a pity, but we can't exactly blame the "system." This may be a poor analogy, but imagine someone who wants to get hired as a paralegal. She fails to send resumes to law firms and does not make calls to schedule an interview. Instead, she goes to a job fair with potential employers such as the municipal transit company, retailers, and fast food restaurants. Not surprisingly, she never does get that paralegal job. Is it right for her to blame the "system" for her misfortune?
Whenever we want
anything, we have to take active steps to achieve our goal. If we want to attend a college, we need to take the ACT or SAT, apply to the university, and make sure our transcript is sent in. If we want a certain job, we need to do various things to get it.
Granted, there is a lot more information out there about applying to colleges and getting a job, but it is not that hard to find out information about baseball recruiting. If one googles "baseball recruiting," the link to HSBBW is at the top of the second page. If one googles "college baseball recruiting," the link to HSBBW is the fourth one down on the first page. For technologically-savvy teenagers, this should not be all that difficult.
Even if this player hasn't played for the "right" summer team, he has had -- and
still has -- abundant opportunities for free or low-cost exposure. Here are four ideas:
1. He can attend free pro tryouts in his area in May and June and introduce himself to the scouts there, telling them what his goals are. Following is a post from a Washington Nationals scout's website: "I receive several phone calls each day from college coaches looking for players. These calls range from Division 1 coaches to junior colleges. If you have the desire to play, send me an email including the following: name, school, position, sat/act scores (extremely important), address, phone, email. A lot of coaches want to know the test scores. If i have seen you play i will also include a recommendation. No guarantees, but it will get your name circulated. As of today, we have had seven players receive or talking to colleges through our high school hitting nights, games, etc...plus many more that have been contacted after the scouts showcase."
2. He can attend low-cost camps or free tryouts at area junior colleges, who usually are still looking for players in the spring and summer of a player's senior year. I know of one D1 in Texas that charges $30 for its camp and one in Oklahoma that charges $50. I know of several JUCO's in Texas that hold free tryouts in late spring and summer. Surely, there are similar programs in the Southeast that this player can contact.
3. He can call, email, or write the recruiting coordinators of programs he is interested in and give them his playing schedule for the spring and summer. He can give them names and numbers for his references (high school and summer coaches, etc.).
4. He can post his information in the "Unsigned Players" portion of this website.
I am very optimistic about this player's chances because he already has you, itsinthegame, on his side. Surely, everything will turn out fine for him in the end and I hope you will update us all with the results!
