timeline changed?

They're not looking at high school freshmen. They're seeing these kids as accomplished, skilled travel players. The timeline for top shelf studs has moved up. For everyone else it's the same.

Agree with RJM that this is not really that new. Son's teammate committed to D1 as freshman. 6'4 with velocity that would play then. No real downside for staff.  If you get a verbal commit kids won't be recruited by others from what I have seen. Kid doesn't develop like you thought you have ways to get out of your side before or after a short time at school. 

Seems the player bears most of the risk in these deals. 

Saw the Tweets as well. Don't love the move towards football type "I received an offer from X" but I imagine that will become the norm in baseball too. 

ok so these kids are just viewed as already developed and ready.    It does look like it was an open wkd camp on campus.   One of the kids is Darren Woodson's son,  former Cowboy hall of famer.    Their profiles on Perfect Game may be a bit stale but they didnt seem overly tall or to be throwing exceptionally hard yet,  but I guess easy to project.   I cant tell that any of them commited,  just received offers.  

You added something I was about to add; projectability. But like Backstop added the kid is taking all the risk. He's off the market. Yet when NLI time comes senior year the coach may say, "I'll honor my commitment to you. But I don't expect you to ever see the field here." How fast do you think that kid runs away? Now he's out looking for takers when most slots are filled.

https://twitter.com/Austinwall...?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

looks like another freshman was offered and accepted,  from what i understand his father is a very well regarded HS baseball coach. 

Dallas Baptist got a commitment from a 9th grader in Liberty Hill (Chandler Freeman) as well. 

gunner34 posted:

I have 13 yr old, 7th grader  early developer myself so wondering what we should be doing.   He is   5"10  150lbs  throwing high 70s,  with a lot of  late movement and very good offspeed pitches.   He is very polished for his age and we typically take down a lot of well known teams when he is on the mound,  He loves playing with his friends and is very loyal to a neighborhood type team.     

Gunner34, I have a 13 year old, 5'10, 160#, 8th grader (stupid birthday)...so I hear ya!  It seems like we are behind the recruiting 8-ball to get our kids seen and we don't want our kids to miss the boat so to speak.  Here is what I have learned being on here:

1. Have your son play on the best local team he can where he gets consistent playing time.

2. The biggest and best team in your area may not actually be the team for him.

3. Don't even whisper the concept of PO unless it's clear he can not and will not ever be able to identify a curve, or if his hitting is beyond low end.

4. Don't showcase unless your kid has $600 worth of something to show. 

5. Our kids could stop growing tomorrow, loose interest in the game, or hurt themselves in some way in that they can't play anymore. We should enjoy today.

I have vowed not to freak out until 10th grade...maybe rising 10th grade....but still, not this year.

My son committed first day of school his junior year. I would encourage most to take their time. 

Two years has seemed like a long time   My son has pitched really well at large events thankfully so felt like he has shown his future coaches that he is still willing to work  in those two years his future head coach turned down an offer from a Power 5 school and what was to be his pitching coach left 10 days before signing day   Kids are oblivious but I can say at times those two years were very stressful as a parent   

I can't imagine all the stressors that would take place over 4.  For me I wouldn't have wanted it to be that long.

CaCo and Gunner,

You're not "behind the 8 ball".  Don't let ego get in the way and feel as though you need or that there is any pressure to commit early.  There will be plenty of great offers available when your kids are rising Jr or Sr's.  Don't let the chatter create urgency where it isn't needed.

I went through this with my son very recently.  He had interest prior to his freshman HS season and offers became rolling in during that season.  He saw many of his friend (who frankly, he was better than) receiving and committing to offers during this same time.  He felt pressure to commit.  I would say that the majority of that pressure was fueled by his ego of feeling left out and seeing his peers committing and receiving the accolades for doing so.  I held him off from committing for two years.  During that time, he received many more offers, most better than the initial offers he was once considering accepting.  He also saw existing offers increased.

In the end, he committed to a school that wasn't even a consideration a year earlier.  Their offer not only ended up being one of the best financially, but he is very comfortable that he's found a great fit with the coaching staff, facilities and (yet to be seen) academics.

He could have easily committed much earlier which would have been a huge mistake.

During that time, we didn't do anything differently than we had been doing.  We sought teams that worked to develop his skills and play against the highest level of competition they could.  Personally, he worked to strengthen his weaknesses and develop his strength and speed in accordance with his natural growth and abilities.

Don't get caught up in the twitter hype.  Like I told my son, that's cool for about 48 hours, then when the dust settles and your 15 minutes are up, you're left to the commitment you've made.  Make sure it's the right one for the right reasons.

Nuke83 posted:

CaCo and Gunner,

You're not "behind the 8 ball".  Don't let ego get in the way and feel as though you need or that there is any pressure to commit early.  There will be plenty of great offers available when your kids are rising Jr or Sr's.  Don't let the chatter create urgency where it isn't needed.

...........................

Don't get caught up in the twitter hype.  Like I told my son, that's cool for about 48 hours, then when the dust settles and your 15 minutes are up, you're left to the commitment you've made.  Make sure it's the right one for the right reasons.

Nuke83 - A tip of the cap to you and your advice.  Bingo and Yahtzee!

All relevant points made so far but it bears saying again for someone that may be new to the board that the 9th and 10th graders getting offers  make up a very small % of the kids that end up on D1 rosters.  The percentage is probably triple what it was even 5 years ago but still relatively small. 

Based on what I've seen and read, my best guess is that the recruiting timeline for D1 would look something like this. 

Committed as Freshman: 5%

Committed as Sophomore: 15%

Committed as Junior: 55%

Committed as Senior: 25%

If anyone has anything better than a guess, it would be interesting to find actual commitment %'s. 

The percentages change depending on which level of DI baseball we talk about. At the highest level you will see a much smaller % of senior commits. At the lower levels you will see a much higher % of senior commits.

That said, most DI programs understand they have to recruit younger players these days.  Waiting for what is left over is not the way to build a winning program.

And yes, the early commitments are a bit one sided in favor of the college.  But in the end, pretty much every commitment ends up favoring the college. The college will be the same no matter what, but you might be miserable there.

I wonder what percentage of early commits (Sophomore and earlier) actually wind up going to the college they've committed to???  

From what little I've observed, very few do.  So. . . if very few do, what's the point of anyone trying to commit so early (unless maybe it's something like a parents alma mater that they're trying to lock in)?

So, it seems to me as many different things can change over time the more time given the more likelihood that one's interests and goals will change.  And college coaches going for very early commits are not doing it in the family's best interest, but only their own since there is no binding obligation for either party to honor such a commit.

The advice Nuke gave is spot on!!  Read it and read it again. So much of the early commit is ego stuff. I told my son to be patient as well because from where I come from, your word is gold. I would not have allowed my son to back out of his verbal unless something catastrophic happened. 

We did take coaches very much into son's college decision, even though most advise not to. I was very particular in the pitching coaches at the schools recruiting son. I know coaches can and do change schools, but I just felt like it was very important to have a pitching coach who not only had a great track record of getting kids to pro ball, but more important a coach that took care of his pitchers. 

One last important piece of advice, research how the school handles players injuries. Unfortunately, we have had to deal with this. Thankfully, the school has done everything they promised. I couldn't be more pleased. 

University of Texas is a $50,000 / yr school.  25% baseball scholarship leaves about $38,000 for the player to fund.  Doesn't sound like a good deal to me. 

I take it for these schools the grades, choice of high school classes (ie AP vs woodshop), SAT and ACT scores don't matter or do they give freshmen a minimum they need to meet and if they don't the offer is revoked? Do they just need to meet the NCAA minimum (which I think is 2.3)? I have heard of a player who has two of the top D1 UC's after him as a sophomore but has been on academic probation in high school - how is that possible?  Yes, I am new to this site which I have found very helpful so far - thank you!

2019Son had a former teammate commit in Dec. to a top SEC school, and couple kids he has played against have committed to California schools. Still, PG lists a grand total of six 2019 kids with commitments at the moment (of course, many more with verbal offers), so it's not like freshman commits are rampant. 

lionbaseball posted:

University of Texas is a $50,000 / yr school.  25% baseball scholarship leaves about $38,000 for the player to fund.  Doesn't sound like a good deal to me. 

That's for OOS, right? Most of their roster is usually in-state, and in-state COA is about half of that. 

MidAtlanticDad posted:

lionbaseball posted:

University of Texas is a $50,000 / yr school.  25% baseball scholarship leaves about $38,000 for the player to fund.  Doesn't sound like a good deal to me. 

That's for OOS, right? Most of their roster is usually in-state, and in-state COA is about half of that. 

Yes.  OoS.  

Louise posted:

I take it for these schools the grades, choice of high school classes (ie AP vs woodshop), SAT and ACT scores don't matter or do they give freshmen a minimum they need to meet and if they don't the offer is revoked? Do they just need to meet the NCAA minimum (which I think is 2.3)? I have heard of a player who has two of the top D1 UC's after him as a sophomore but has been on academic probation in high school - how is that possible?  Yes, I am new to this site which I have found very helpful so far - thank you!

Louise,

Welcome!  These are verbal commitments, nothing is guaranteed and of course you know that the player must be accepted  based upon course study, GPA and test scores .  That doesn't happen and can't happen until their senior spring.   

gunner34 posted:

https://twitter.com/Austinwall...?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

 

looks like another freshman was offered and accepted,  from what i understand his father is a very well regarded HS baseball coach. 

 

Shouldn't really be a surprise Gunner, that "Austin" would want to commit to University of Texas as early as possible.

lionbaseball posted:

University of Texas is a $50,000 / yr school.  25% baseball scholarship leaves about $38,000 for the player to fund.  Doesn't sound like a good deal to me. 

compared to the market place it doesn't sound out of line. I don't what schools your family is looking at but I can tell you my '17 has none on his list under 40k and several over 50k - if you want to argue college is not worth cost, I think, depending on the planned career path you could make that argument stick. At the end of it all 40 to 50k is right there, not on low side but nothing to draw attention either.

old_school posted:

lionbaseball posted:

University of Texas is a $50,000 / yr school.  25% baseball scholarship leaves about $38,000 for the player to fund.  Doesn't sound like a good deal to me. 

compared to the market place it doesn't sound out of line. I don't what schools your family is looking at but I can tell you my '17 has none on his list under 40k and several over 50k - if you want to argue college is not worth cost, I think, depending on the planned career path you could make that argument stick. At the end of it all 40 to 50k is right there, not on low side but nothing to draw attention either.

He is looking for it to cost him nothing.

My son was not a Frosh commit, no offers were made and i would guess if you saw him then, you may think he was a D2-3 guy at best considering his size. He did commit "too" early  for his particular situation...not so much early in regards to age/class. He was a Jr and it was the fall. It  ended up being about 6 months too soon and not based on ego but on not so great advice at the time. We were relatively lost as well, got an offer after Soph year by mid major then D1 power 5 came. Everybody said "you should take this" and "this is D1 power 5 baseball". Everything ended up ok but learned a valuable lesson and found this site after he already made his final decision so our sounding board did not include the wisdom of this group.

great advice offered here, hope your journey ends well and good luck.

TPM posted:

old_school posted:

lionbaseball posted:

University of Texas is a $50,000 / yr school.  25% baseball scholarship leaves about $38,000 for the player to fund.  Doesn't sound like a good deal to me. 

compared to the market place it doesn't sound out of line. I don't what schools your family is looking at but I can tell you my '17 has none on his list under 40k and several over 50k - if you want to argue college is not worth cost, I think, depending on the planned career path you could make that argument stick. At the end of it all 40 to 50k is right there, not on low side but nothing to draw attention either.

He is looking for it to cost him nothing.

Room/Board/Tuition at UT was $21,000 yr for 2013-2014 school year.  (in-state, from common data set)

TPM posted:

old_school posted:

lionbaseball posted:

University of Texas is a $50,000 / yr school.  25% baseball scholarship leaves about $38,000 for the player to fund.  Doesn't sound like a good deal to me. 

compared to the market place it doesn't sound out of line. I don't what schools your family is looking at but I can tell you my '17 has none on his list under 40k and several over 50k - if you want to argue college is not worth cost, I think, depending on the planned career path you could make that argument stick. At the end of it all 40 to 50k is right there, not on low side but nothing to draw attention either.

He is looking for it to cost him nothing.

best of luck.

old_school posted:

TPM posted:

old_school posted:

lionbaseball posted:

University of Texas is a $50,000 / yr school.  25% baseball scholarship leaves about $38,000 for the player to fund.  Doesn't sound like a good deal to me. 

compared to the market place it doesn't sound out of line. I don't what schools your family is looking at but I can tell you my '17 has none on his list under 40k and several over 50k - if you want to argue college is not worth cost, I think, depending on the planned career path you could make that argument stick. At the end of it all 40 to 50k is right there, not on low side but nothing to draw attention either.

He is looking for it to cost him nothing.

best of luck.

When I entered UT as a freshman, I believe it was $1600 a semester. Times have changed.

Nuke:  thank you, I really needed to be able to read a post like yours today.  

I guess I am the odd man out in this discussion as 2018 committed this fall.... I will say that we did as much homework as we could do.  I disagree with the statement that most early commits do not show up. For 2018's school all of the players that committed in the 2012,2013,2014 and 2015 class are on the current roster except for those that were drafted or had off field issues....

I will say that the number of early commits is very very low in comparison to the number of roster spots. Really only the top level programs are recruiting early and they have to do it.  Other schools in their conferences are getting commitments and if they do not they are left out.

Sure the commitment favors the school, the player has to continue to do his part and show up as the player the coaches thought he was going to be.  In 2018's case he is very local to the school and even plays a couple of HS games at the school . I am sure the coaches will stay up with his progress.

I think parents need to take a breath and chill out.... I say this , because I was the worst when 2013 and 2014 were coming up.  I had to learn that committing early is nice if it's the right place... but if not , like others have said just keep doing what you are doing until the right place comes along.

One thing I do not hear enough on this topic of D1 recruiting is the fact that a lot of these D1 programs are going to have 1/4 if not 1/3 of their roster made up of Juco players.   Very little risk to the school and high upside.. Most of the Juco players that move to D1 have proven they can play with college players either getting batters out or hitting college pitching and making the grades.

I have learned that its a merry-go-round for sure, but eventually your player will find a school that has his major and hopefully a team that he wants to be a part of.

The early commits are almost exclusively among the cream of the crop younger players. If you look at the PBR top 200 2018's (and this doesn't include players from California or Texas), 97 are committed.  My own 2018 would commit this early for only ONE school, and they aren't one that has offered. I don't see him making any decision, otherwise until after Jupiter next fall and only then if he has offers he likes and his target school seems disinterested. I do, however, believe that for the upper tier of D1's, if you haven't committed by the end of the summer after your junior season, you have a problem. Usually a recruiting class is filled by then. They, of course, are still willing to take on the exceptional late bloomers (they'll work out the numbers in that case), but that's about it and they can't promise a lot of scholarship $$ simply because they've allocated most of it by then. Now, move to lower tier D1's and below and it's a different story as they, for a variety of reasons, have to wait later to make decisions.

roothog66 posted:

The early commits are almost exclusively among the cream of the crop younger players. If you look at the PBR top 200 2018's (and this doesn't include players from California or Texas), 97 are committed.  My own 2018 would commit this early for only ONE school, and they aren't one that has offered. I don't see him making any decision, otherwise until after Jupiter next fall and only then if he has offers he likes and his target school seems disinterested. I do, however, believe that for the upper tier of D1's, if you haven't committed by the end of the summer after your junior season, you have a problem. Usually a recruiting class is filled by then. They, of course, are still willing to take on the exceptional late bloomers (they'll work out the numbers in that case), but that's about it and they can't promise a lot of scholarship $$ simply because they've allocated most of it by then. Now, move to lower tier D1's and below and it's a different story as they, for a variety of reasons, have to wait later to make decisions.

Coaches offer scholarship dollars if they really want that player. What people don't talk about is how that coach will go back to a player already on the roster and tell them he needs his money. 

If a coach offers an opportunity with no money, the player is a walk on, period.  Regardless of whether it's a target school or not, it's not always a safe bet you will make the spring roster.

All son ever wanted to do was go to Miami. He would have committed as an 8th grader. Funny thing is, once the player grows up a bit physically and emotionally they become much smarter than we realize.

The early commits taking place are essentially to take the player off the market.   Many are the cream of the crop who will more than likely never set foot on campus because they will go pro. Most are extremely projectible and will be a super stud in 3 years, not as freshman or sophomore studs.   The top college recruiters are better at  recognizing this than some ml scouts. That's why they win championships and why their players get drafted early. 

There are many players that commit later in their HS careers.  Committing doesn't have to always be to a D1.  

Here's the thing. There is a program out there for everyone. It may not be the program they want an offer from, more than likey but it can happen. It just doesn't happen for everyone at the same time.

Shoveit4Ks posted:

My son was not a Frosh commit, no offers were made and i would guess if you saw him then, you may think he was a D2-3 guy at best considering his size. He did commit "too" early  for his particular situation...not so much early in regards to age/class. He was a Jr and it was the fall. It  ended up being about 6 months too soon and not based on ego but on not so great advice at the time. We were relatively lost as well, got an offer after Soph year by mid major then D1 power 5 came. Everybody said "you should take this" and "this is D1 power 5 baseball". Everything ended up ok but learned a valuable lesson and found this site after he already made his final decision so our sounding board did not include the wisdom of this group.

great advice offered here, hope your journey ends well and good luck.

I have reason to believe the right choice was made.  One doesn't have to be a 6'5" stud to find a role on a top D1 team or the next first round pick.

Louise posted:

I take it for these schools the grades, choice of high school classes (ie AP vs woodshop), SAT and ACT scores don't matter or do they give freshmen a minimum they need to meet and if they don't the offer is revoked? Do they just need to meet the NCAA minimum (which I think is 2.3)? I have heard of a player who has two of the top D1 UC's after him as a sophomore but has been on academic probation in high school - how is that possible?  Yes, I am new to this site which I have found very helpful so far - thank you!

They do come with stipulations.  For example, when my son was offered by the AF Academy, he was given a certain number he had to hit on his ACT.  He retook the ACT, and fell 1 pt. short.  As a result, he decommitted, because there was no guarantee he would hit that score.  Reopening his recruitment put him in a bind as far as receiving the right offer late.  He did get some incredible offers at that time, but they just didn't fit him then.  (Even though I would have hopped on one that a fellow board member here helped him to land.)  Anyhow, he ended up at a JC, and because of his progression, I fully believe he will be highly sought after soon. 

The point I would make is that those who have state that committing early can be an ego thing, I would agree in most cases.  I probably got too caught up in that, and it was probably the reason that Ryno committed early.  I don't think it was totally ego though, because I truly believe the AF Academy would have been a great place for my son to become a man.  Please put your ego on hold, be patient, and let it all play out. 

old_school posted:

lionbaseball posted:

University of Texas is a $50,000 / yr school.  25% baseball scholarship leaves about $38,000 for the player to fund.  Doesn't sound like a good deal to me. 

compared to the market place it doesn't sound out of line. I don't what schools your family is looking at but I can tell you my '17 has none on his list under 40k and several over 50k - if you want to argue college is not worth cost, I think, depending on the planned career path you could make that argument stick. At the end of it all 40 to 50k is right there, not on low side but nothing to draw attention either.

Free!  Or close to it.    Fortunately my oldest 3 have had and do have full academic rides.  I don't have the money to send my kids to college but I do know that there are many scholarships and grants to lessen the impact.   Saddling a kid with a lot of school loans is irresponsible. 

roothog66 posted:

The early commits are almost exclusively among the cream of the crop younger players. If you look at the PBR top 200 2018's (and this doesn't include players from California or Texas), 97 are committed.  My own 2018 would commit this early for only ONE school, and they aren't one that has offered. I don't see him making any decision, otherwise until after Jupiter next fall and only then if he has offers he likes and his target school seems disinterested. I do, however, believe that for the upper tier of D1's, if you haven't committed by the end of the summer after your junior season, you have a problem. Usually a recruiting class is filled by then. They, of course, are still willing to take on the exceptional late bloomers (they'll work out the numbers in that case), but that's about it and they can't promise a lot of scholarship $$ simply because they've allocated most of it by then. Now, move to lower tier D1's and below and it's a different story as they, for a variety of reasons, have to wait later to make decisions.

Most of the time those players that have been identified to be a top 100  need to commit early . honestly it is a different type of recruiting schedule.  As you know I have an early commit.  And we all know where he committed to .... IF your player is being offered from top 20 program why wait ?  What is there to wait for?  As far as it being an ego thing, I have not seen this I'm sure it happens though not as much as you think .The players ( sophomores) that I know that committed this fall could not afford to wait and take a chance on losing a spot.  When Florida, Vanderbilt and Louisville are making you an offer, what are you going to do not commit? 

The top 100 or 200 will commit early, then the next 500 , then the next 500 and so on.  When the top D1's are finished then the mid-levels will come in and they will also take Juco players....  

Instead of worry about who is committing early, I would be more concerned with finding the right school the right coach and the right environment . Also I would want to find a team I could get some playing time... it's one thing to commit and another to sign, then make the travel team, then get in the game, then become a starter... and keeping your grades up and not breaking an NCAA rule that you did not even know about.  Playing at a top 20 school is very very difficult thing to do. 

There are going to be very high high's and very low low's not every player is ready for it.  I will say that 2018 committed early because of the school, the coach, the offer and a few other variables....

2013 and 2014 went the Juco route to get playing time and mature that was their best option and it turned out good for them.  I think the parents are more concerned about the early commit so they can say hey look what jr did....  It's an individual thing and every case is different. So what if your player does not commit until the jr year.  If when he gets an offer it's a good fit and the money is right for the family then commit.  Yes 2018 committed early but it will be no advantage to him over a jr. commit  when he gets on campus.  Same class and you have to produce.

I committed to Bowdoin as a five year old. I had a sweatshirt that said, "Bowdoin Class of 19??." I would have been 6th generation. By the end of soph year of high school it was obvious to my father I wasn't going to play at Bowdoin. Even he didn't start there. He played football for two years in the Big Ten before transferring after an injury.

My great grandfather played football, ran track and played baseball for Bowdoin late in the 19th century. I found the letter from the football coach ...

We have a game a week after students arrive. Please start running a mile per day. Please quit smoking. If you can't quit cut back.

bacdorslider posted:

Instead of worry about who is committing early, I would be more concerned with finding the right school the right coach and the right environment . Also I would want to find a team I could get some playing time... it's one thing to commit and another to sign, then make the travel team, then get in the game, then become a starter... and keeping your grades up and not breaking an NCAA rule that you did not even know about.  Playing at a top 20 school is very very difficult thing to do. 

There are going to be very high high's and very low low's not every player is ready for it.  I will say that 2018 committed early because of the school, the coach, the offer and a few other variables....

To be clear, it isn't that I (and I assume the other parents of 8th/9th graders on the board) are worried about WHO is committing early.  It is more a concern that we aren't putting our kid out there in the right places to be seen.

I inadvertently "hid" my player on a sub standard team in a sub standard park because I didn't know any better for 9u-11u.  I wasn't thinking about the future I was thinking about a little boy having fun playing baseball, and to be clear I would do it again if I had a do-over.  At 12u I took him for his first pitching lesson at an academy type place that several people said had really good instruction.  I didn't take him because I was trying to make him the next MLB super star, I took him because he was hurting his arm while pitching.  While there, the coach of one of the best 12u teams in GA saw my son pitching, he came over to talk to me.  He asked a few questions while he watched my son pitch.  He said "Why have I never heard of this kid, where the heck have you been hiding him?" I told him where my boy had been playing and he said "Yup, that would do it."

THAT is the concern of the 2021/2020/2019 parents on this board.  It isn't that we are worried about 2019's and 2020's committing, and it isn't that we want the ego trip, we are worried that we aren't taking our kids to the right places to be seen when obviously others are in their age group.  Not that we all think our kids are the top 1%, but we worry that we are messing something up for our kids because we are ignorant.  I've since learned that there is time, what a kid does below 14u doesn't matter...but others will flock to this board out of concern that they are messing things up for their kid by not doing XXXXX.

CaCO3Girl posted:

bacdorslider posted:

Instead of worry about who is committing early, I would be more concerned with finding the right school the right coach and the right environment . Also I would want to find a team I could get some playing time... it's one thing to commit and another to sign, then make the travel team, then get in the game, then become a starter... and keeping your grades up and not breaking an NCAA rule that you did not even know about.  Playing at a top 20 school is very very difficult thing to do. 

There are going to be very high high's and very low low's not every player is ready for it.  I will say that 2018 committed early because of the school, the coach, the offer and a few other variables....

To be clear, it isn't that I (and I assume the other parents of 8th/9th graders on the board) are worried about WHO is committing early.  It is more a concern that we aren't putting our kid out there in the right places to be seen.

I inadvertently "hid" my player on a sub standard team in a sub standard park because I didn't know any better for 9u-11u.  I wasn't thinking about the future I was thinking about a little boy having fun playing baseball, and to be clear I would do it again if I had a do-over.  At 12u I took him for his first pitching lesson at an academy type place that several people said had really good instruction.  I didn't take him because I was trying to make him the next MLB super star, I took him because he was hurting his arm while pitching.  While there, the coach of one of the best 12u teams in GA saw my son pitching, he came over to talk to me.  He asked a few questions while he watched my son pitch.  He said "Why have I never heard of this kid, where the heck have you been hiding him?" I told him where my boy had been playing and he said "Yup, that would do it."

THAT is the concern of the 2021/2020/2019 parents on this board.  It isn't that we are worried about 2019's and 2020's committing, and it isn't that we want the ego trip, we are worried that we aren't taking our kids to the right places to be seen when obviously others are in their age group.  Not that we all think our kids are the top 1%, but we worry that we are messing something up for our kids because we are ignorant.  I've since learned that there is time, what a kid does below 14u doesn't matter...but others will flock to this board out of concern that they are messing things up for their kid by not doing XXXXX.

At 11,12,13 even 14 until the player reaches HS it doesn't really matter.  The player, as with most, has a lot of maturing and growing up to do in 3-4 years.  I don't agree with what roothog posts here, about not getting an offer by junior summer the player is now in trouble. That is the way he perceives the situation, but I am sure that he is also learning a lot about what coaches want and what the don't want. Don't let what he says scare you. Or about a 2020 player working his butt off in the gym,  don't let that bother you also. That doesn't get you a spot on a roster and for most, not a spot on a top 50 either. As badcor has said, most of you DO NOT have a clue about playing for top tier college programs, or even for most d1 programs as well.

But it just seems to me and others that many of you are so afraid that your players will miss out on something, and they won't.  If people are smart than they will come here, read all the material ask intelligent questions gather information and learn about the process. That's why this board is in place, and it has helped hundreds if not more to find a place to play that fits their player.

Again, listen to bacdor. He came here with a chip on his shoulder, really drove himself nuts at times but over time he has really learned a lot, and he gets it.  Stop questioning every thing said here, read and take what you feel is good info for YOUR player.

CaCO3Girl posted:

bacdorslider posted:

Instead of worry about who is committing early, I would be more concerned with finding the right school the right coach and the right environment . Also I would want to find a team I could get some playing time... it's one thing to commit and another to sign, then make the travel team, then get in the game, then become a starter... and keeping your grades up and not breaking an NCAA rule that you did not even know about.  Playing at a top 20 school is very very difficult thing to do. 

There are going to be very high high's and very low low's not every player is ready for it.  I will say that 2018 committed early because of the school, the coach, the offer and a few other variables....

To be clear, it isn't that I (and I assume the other parents of 8th/9th graders on the board) are worried about WHO is committing early.  It is more a concern that we aren't putting our kid out there in the right places to be seen.

I inadvertently "hid" my player on a sub standard team in a sub standard park because I didn't know any better for 9u-11u.  I wasn't thinking about the future I was thinking about a little boy having fun playing baseball, and to be clear I would do it again if I had a do-over.  At 12u I took him for his first pitching lesson at an academy type place that several people said had really good instruction.  I didn't take him because I was trying to make him the next MLB super star, I took him because he was hurting his arm while pitching.  While there, the coach of one of the best 12u teams in GA saw my son pitching, he came over to talk to me.  He asked a few questions while he watched my son pitch.  He said "Why have I never heard of this kid, where the heck have you been hiding him?" I told him where my boy had been playing and he said "Yup, that would do it."

THAT is the concern of the 2021/2020/2019 parents on this board.  It isn't that we are worried about 2019's and 2020's committing, and it isn't that we want the ego trip, we are worried that we aren't taking our kids to the right places to be seen when obviously others are in their age group.  Not that we all think our kids are the top 1%, but we worry that we are messing something up for our kids because we are ignorant.  I've since learned that there is time, what a kid does below 14u doesn't matter...but others will flock to this board out of concern that they are messing things up for their kid by not doing XXXXX.

I understand I was there too 7-8 years ago.. not knowing what to do and what not to do. I was not directing my post at you. And I should have been more clear. It seems the crux is why 2018-2019 players are committing and if it is a good thing for the player or just a good thing for the school. Or maybe why they are committing.

I was trying to say that some players have to commit early, but that is only a small piece of the equation and the fact that a 2019 commits does not mean that another 2019 has lost out.  These kids change so much, and the bottom line is colleges are always recruiting and if said player is good enough it will not matter if he is a fresh , soph or jr when he commits.

The fact is if you are good enough and you go to PG or even PBR events "they" will find you.   There's no one way to do this.....it's a ever changing process.  Good luck to your son, he's lucky to have a parent that is promoting his abilities. 

When my son 11-14, he played on a local team (city population of less than 35K), we were a big fish in a small pond. 11 players, all but 2 pitched. Some better than others.  Won several Texas area World Series but it really meant nothing as far as recruiting goes although 3 from these 11 will be playing at a D1 school.  From 14-16, played on another team, again local. Went to some colleges in Texas to play. Some boys got recruited by some lower tier colleges but not a lot. Son turned 17 in May of his Junior year. As of May 1 of that year, he had zero scholarship offers.

Until he reached puberty, I don't think what team he played made any difference.  When he was 14-16, he did not play at the right venues to be seen but again not sure it made a lot of difference. He is a RHP.  Some of the non-recruitment was due to the fact what few colleges did see him were not seeing what they wanted/needed to see from him.

In the Summer before his Senior year, he played on a couple of out of town teams. One was not very talented though played in some PG tournaments. He did well and coaches/scouts saw him pitch and he got noticed.  He then got an opportunity to go to another team which was going to some National PG tournaments.  He got an opportunity to be seen again AND he did well. It has to be that combination.

Had he done well prior to age 16 and didn't progress to where he was when he was 17, he may have got recruited but the offer may have been rescinded prior to him signing his NLI.

As was alluded to someone else earlier in this thread, he played baseball because he enjoyed it. It was fun. I would do the same all over again in a heart beat. I would not travel with a major team out of a bigger city just to play baseball

ps: The only reason that I can see to travel a long ways to play on a major organization team when you are younger is to develop the correct habits, swing, mechanics etc. For those of us in a small town, it may be a crap shoot as to whether your son is getting good coaching or not.  And for some/many of us parents, we cannot tell the difference.

Just my opinion from my experience