What do college coaches say?

For my son, the coach was very good about not really saying either of those things. He was recruited pretty heavily by the school, so (he's a freshman now) I think they do really like him, but the coach would just tell us that he's a great player that will be given every opportunity to compete and earn a spot. I think that's the best way to go if you're a coach.

One coach said he'd get innings as a freshman. That was at a cold weather school just transitioning to D1. As far as I can tell kids of similar ability who went there did get innings. The coach from Navy didn't make any promises, he just wanted to see if a Navy career was a reasonable option first. A coach from a good academic D1 in Norcal was absolutely straight with him and told him exactly where he stood - having to compete with 4 or 5 others for the last couple roster spots. A JC coach told him he'd get plenty of exposure by going there. He didn't. In general they were trying to sell but did it honestly. Even the JC coach had things happen beyond his control. The AD made him cancel games against elite scout teams they had scheduled. A coach at a D2 told him he was between D2 and D3 but was more than willing to have him walk on. The JC he went to was stronger than the D2.

Generally speaking we happened to run into the honest ones. Maybe if he had a few more mph on the fastball at the time we would have heard more flattering things.

I hope I'm not speaking out of turn but when CollegeParent's son who was a very good D1 player did a 4-2-4 I think the coach at the local JC told him the same thing he told my son - come on out and show what you've got, no guarantees.

Two examples of what coaches said:

A DII head coach said my son would be the starting center fielder the minute he set foot on campus(exact words). They saw him immediately stepping in as a leadoff batter they would build their basestealing offense around. They had a new coach who let go of many returnees and wanted to build a new team. They offered a full ride and pretty well told him whose money was being cut to pay for it. They were not a real successful program in the previous years.

A DII head coach offered him an opportunity (thats all he promised.) This was at a storied winning program. They did give him and us an invited visit where they paid for everything and the coach and his wife even took us out to dinner, so I guess he did show extra interest. Offered a good scholarship but not as much as the other school. This coach did not promise anything really. But in the end that's the one my son selected because he felt uncomfortable being promised too many things by the other school and he also liked the facilities and baseball tradition more. Of course we'll never know if the other school would have kept their promises.

4thGen must have talked to 25 coaches from DI and DIIIs. Some had very elborate projections on where he would fit into their programs. They ranged from he'd be in the pen and not likely to pitch his Freshman year to he'd be very likely to start at SS.

I can't tell you how honest they all were, just that the coach at the school he chose was honest.

One other thing I thought was pretty cool was that Hopkins took a lot of time to explain how they quantified everything. Coach Babb could tell you what your workouts would be from the summer before you enrolled, how many at bats or innings you could expect in the fall and the stats he looked at for making spring playing time decsions.

My guy was told that they had the JUCO players they wanted and he was the sole frosh outfielder they wanted to bring in---doesn't get much better than that

Son went to a camp at a school that saw him at a showcase. Then he was invited to a visit, during the visit the coach says " We've been talking about you for days. Kid, you have skills that can't be taught. If you continue to hit, the way we have seen you hit the last few times, you have the opportunity to be our # 4 batter as a freshman." The offical visit is tomorrow.

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Originally posted by baseball168:
For my son, the coach was very good about not really saying either of those things. He was recruited pretty heavily by the school, so (he's a freshman now) I think they do really like him, but the coach would just tell us that he's a great player that will be given every opportunity to compete and earn a spot. I think that's the best way to go if you're a coach.

IMO, that is all a coach should say when recruiting a player.

Everything that is being said about our son at this point we are taking with a grain of salt. Until he finds the right fit, has made a committment and signed a NLI, it is just words. And as we know, actions speak louder than words.

What a coach offers financially illustrates most clearly how they anticipate a player to fit into their organization.

If a player is recruited as a walk-on the coach may have high hopes for the player to fill a great need the team may have.

Any player offered such a spot is provided the opportunity to show that the coach made a great decision by giving him the chance.

If on the other hand a player is offered 50%, 60% or more, especially as a position player (since most of the money understandably goes to pitching) that is an indication that the coach expects the player to provide a positive impact to the team.

A player that is a position player, that gets a strong offer, is expected to produce day one, not sit on the bench to learn the program and hone his skills, so he is ready when called upon.

This is the language of baseball that we have learned.

A bit different perspective but every kid I tried to recruit heard the same thing. "Our goal is to win the national championship"

If that didn't seem to create any interest, we stopped trying to recruit that kid.

Same approach at two NAIA Schools, one scholarship one not. Obviously couldn't get most the kids that the DI schools were all after. Actually got some kids better than the DI schools around us.

We never promised anything other than we were going to play harder and smarter than anyone in the country and we were going to win. Some kids like that kind of stuff! In fact, the kids that liked that the most are the ones we wanted the most.

BTW, We never won the national championship, but it was always the goal. Did make it to the regionals 6 straight years.

I really believe that certain kids really want to win as much as anything else. Not sure that true winners need any guarantees.

That said, the financials ended up being the determining factor in most cases.

What baseball 168, TPM, floridafan and PGStaff are perfect as to what to say - we want to win, we will give you every chance to earn what you get, we think this about your ability based on the money we are offering so you decide if this is what you want as well. If a school offers anything other than this a huge red flag should be going up.

Wouldn't the skill level of the recruit play into what was said/promised? (e.g a PG 8.0 vs PG 10.0) and also the relative strength of the rest of the recruits?

Also the strength and recent success of the program?

The coach said..........

"I wouldn't give this percent to an out of State kid to sit on the bench."

In the end we figured out it was a subliminal challenge to the boy not to let the coach down after he made the schools commitment......and it worked.

"The best nine go on the field every game. You will earn innings straight up on your ability."

"You will work harder than you ever have, on and off the field"

They were correct.

My son had very little smoke blown in his direction, overall. Maybe 'cuz he was a six foot high 80's righty....

"He has a chance to make an immediate impact as a freshman"

Baseball version of "I'll respect you in the morning."

My player got a large out of state scholarship and nothing was ever promised to him about playing time, but it was pretty well understood that he would play a significant role while there.

Keep in mind scholarships awarded (at D1) are different than they were years ago.

Floridafan (like that new avatar ) is right, if a position player is given a large scholarship, he will be expected to be in the line up every game, it's also what pro ball is about, the big bonus guys play every game, regardless of production. However often times those given smaller scholarships make their way into the lineup for every game. The player who proves himself an asset to any team, regardless of bb scholarship awarded or bonus, will play. Funny how that works.
However, in college you have that chance of losing your scholarship if you don't produce, no one in pro ball takes away your bonus money.

As far as pitchers getting the large part of the lion's share, a lot can depend on the coach's philosophy. One D1 school here in FL awards larger scholarships to hitters over pitching. This team bases their strength and reputation on the long ball.

My husband was always the one who asked why they were interested in son, some gave their reasons in terms of his ability, but where he attended used the phrase "we need YOU to help us get to Omaha". PG is right, they like that stuff!

Thanks TPM I like it too!


Missed you in the chat room...

I was pleasantly surprised when ALL the College Coaches we visited played it "straight up." You may have had to read between the lines to understand their statements, but never the less, I did not get the feeling that anyone was trying to "pull the wool over our eyes."

We found that the School and Coaching Staff he ultimately decided upon, handled the recruiting process the most professionally;

they let it be known early they were interested.
they scouted him over 35 at bats (he's position guy).
they offered full Tuition and books at the very first (only) visit.
they told us all why they wanted him (his bat), where they projected him playing (that changed), but didn't promise starting or playing time.
they have a National Championship and another appearance this decade, and actively promoted their program, tradition, staff and academic experience.

We had done our homework "due diligence" within the baseball community before going and came away even more convinced. Son verbally committed within a matter of days (by August).

He has never looked back. Told me last week that he is very happy with his decision. He may have chosen differently, if not for baseball, but definitely likes the school, loves the Staff, his teammates, and is excited about how "good" all the players are!

We couldn't ask for more. Now it's up to him to make his mark, earn playing time and work to become the best he can be!

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they told us all why they wanted him (his bat), where they projected him playing (that changed), but didn't promise starting or playing time

Yep, and if he hits he plays, Bottom line!!!!