What do you do?

We can take this one step further from my own experience---My sons HS Coach was let go 10 days before the season was to start in his senior year--- we put down the AD's name and phone number and did not miss a heartbeat

OK. You're in TX. That probably means the HS AD is the head football coach who isn't very interested in baseball. Maybe he has never seen a single game. (Spring practice is pretty important)

I would also speculate, being in TX, that your son is playing summer ball on a select team. Use your select team head coach as a coaching reference on your recruiting forms.

My son's HS coach was a reluctant participant in filling out recruiting forms. We bypassed him by using select coaches on all of the 'important' forms (i.e. preferred colleges). All of the select coaches (Currin, Dixon, Fuqua, Carpenter) in some form another provided reference information to the college coaches recruiting my son.

dbg

Isnt it the AD's job to work with and for all his kids---where I come from they are an ally even if a football coach

with dbg...Select coaches & tournaments they played in were more vital in helping my son!

If you have to have it...Doesn't the former HS coach have a cell phone # for you? or a home email address?

TR, yes, logically it is part of an AD's job....but, typically in Texas it's all about football...some of these AD's don't even know who plays baseball! or are resentful that athlete's chose baseball over football, as in our case. Too sensitive, those guys!

We have some flaws, down here in Texas.

I'd put down the former high school coaches name.

By the time contact is made he'll have his new number and the recruiter will find him.

They coaches keep up with each other, very very well...down here in Texas anyway.

Friday Nite Lites !!!!!

Are you Texans proud of this mentality?

TR, it would be nice in all places if the AD supported all sports. However, to give you an example (and I'm not in Texas) it was only 2 years ago that the AD got the football team to NOT practice in the baseball outfield during the fall. You can imagine the condition of the outfield after an entire fall of football practice, leaving aside the fact that the HS team could not play fall ball. Oh, and on that front, while spring football is sacrosanct in my state, the high school athletic association just rejected a proposal to allow the high school baseball coaches to coach their baseball players for 10 days in the fall.

Unfortunately, I have to agree with the other Texans-football rules. This will be our AD's second year and all I think he could say about my son (he does know who he is!) is that he's a good ball player. Our summer started with expansion plans starting at the school-new gym, weight room etc.-only problem is they tore down our batting cages and bullpen in the process! Coach tried to explain that batting cages and bullpens are like our weight rooms-we HAVE to have them. They are now gone and there's no room to rebuild!!!!Just wanted to give you an idea of the mentality here and no we're not proud of it at all. AD is a very nice man just new to the school and focused on football.

Coach will give us his numbers when he gets there-he's not staying in the Houston area. I know he'll be busy with his new team/job, etc. so I just hope he remembers!

quote:

Friday Nite Lites !!!!!

Are you Texans proud of this mentality?

Before you go beatin' up on Texans, come spend a couple weeks down here and learn a little somethin' about our state and our citizens. You can watch a rodeo while you're here. Make you sure you stay through the end and watch the rattlesnake roundup.

BTW, I ain't no Longhorns fan, but dem Friday nite lites help develop dem burnt orange UT football players into NCAA champeenship team.

DBG

Been to texas--didnt like it--prefer AZ or New Mexico

Also been to a rodeo before you were born in all probability---

I you have AD's like you speak of then something has to be done--perhaps have one for football and another for all other sports

JUMPING TO DEFEND THE TEXAS NATION!!!! I have to tell you, during the time I was coaching at Trinity University in San Antonio I was living in a town called Converse, home of Judson High School who won the Texas State Football Championship while I was there. Having grown up in New England and attended a great Northeast football high school (Xaverian Brothers HS, home of Matt and Tim Hasselbeck), I was absolutely blown away with how big football was! What a wonderful experience to be a part of that community during that time!

Now, after reading through these posts, I really feel like one of the things that has been overlooked in the whole recruiting process is the importance of a 5-7 minute videotape showing the players abilities. Being able to contact a former coach (high school or select) is a nice option to have if there are questions about the players personality and motivation, but as a recruiter you ultimately find that out for yourself through the recruiting process. When college coaches have a spreadsheet with over 2000 names on it they all start to blend in with each other. 1000 questionnaires later it seems like everybody was all-conference, hit .410 and was named their HS team's MVP. We need to see something to seperate that kid from the rest. Many (read "Most") college programs don't have the funds to travel and watch all of these players play in person, and may rely on a videotape to ascertain a players ability levels. Keep it short and simple. For position players show them hitting from a profile view off a tee or soft-toss. Then, show a camera angle from benind the hitter as he takes BP so the coach can see how well he goes the other way with the outside pitch, and how well he reacts to the inside pitch. It will also provide the coach with a chance to tell if this players swing would make him a singles guy, a gap-to-gap guy, or a power guy. All are important for what the coach has in mind for the position he is recruiting. Always show clips of the player fielding his position (ground balls/fly balls) and uncorking a few solid throws across the infield or from rightfield to 3rd base. Lastly, show the player hitting and running to 1st base so that the coach can get his own running time on the player. All of this can be done in a staged setting. It is very frustrating as a coach to receive a video that shows 4 live-game at-bats each consisting of 8 pitches until something happens. Show the coach the fundamentals, and he can likely see in his mind's eye what type of potential the player has.

I'm sorry if this post was too long, but I'm hoping to use my experience in this to help the parents and players get the most out of this experience without pulling your hair out!!!!

God Bless Texas.