Taking my 2018 on an unofficial visit and wonder about etiquette. My father, a college professor, is coming along. We have a tour, meeting with a prof planned at a D1 that's has shown interest, then going to watch practice and a camp over the weekend.
when I took my non athletic daughter on visits, I went to everything. Is that okay in this situation or does coach want to see son on his own? Wondering specifically about going to practice and watching camp?
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To your specific question I would hope that my son's potential future coach would want me or my family to watch practice. We have been to several practices at son's school over the years and have been greeted warmly each time.
If I wasn't I personally would take some pause with that program
Every visit is different but typically it includes:
1. Campus tour by someone in admissions department so you and your son can see the school from an academic standpoint. These are standard and feel free to ask whatever question you may have about campus life.
2. You may get a tour by an upperclassmen baseball player of the athletic facilities. Again feel free to answer any question you may have.
3. You will also likely have a meeting with admissions department as well as financial aid. (separate from athletic aid)
3. You will also likely meet with various coaches, including the head coach so encourage your son to have a list of questions to ask. (practice them with him in advance... he may not want to role play but do it!) Feel free to ask respectful questions to them also. (not about playing time, but life on the road, anything that you might be interested in knowing more about)
4. Of course attend practice. Your son will likely be in the dugout so you will be in the stands and feel free to wander around and check things out on your own. Regarding the camp you probably don't want to sit around for that, but they may have a scrimmage game so go to that if you want. By all means if you run into a player feel free to ask them about their opinion of the program, academics or any other question that is not too embarrassing.
You are part of the decision process so get all of your questions answered as your son may spend the next four years there and you want to be comfortable knowing he will be safe and has an environment for him to succeed.
Enjoy they are fun
On all the visits (official and unofficial) my son attended, my wife and I were included in most everything. The tours were presented to all of us (speak to son directly when it was specific to him, and address us parents when it was pertinent to us).
We were welcome to attend practices, scrimmages, games, and when invited over a football weekend (or any sport), NCAA allows the school to provide up to three tickets to you.
Prep your son for a wide variety of questions and also prep him to have some questions of his own (as BOF mentioned). You also need to think ahead of what key information you must have and ask if it isn't presented along the way.
I know your is unofficial, but on official visits, they may send the player off with other players during the evening to hang out in dorms/houses and see student life outside of school and baseball.
The school is trying to sell itself to your son as much as your son is trying to sell himself. You'll typically find the visits to be very enjoyable and informational. I'd be very surprised if you found the staff to intentionally exclude you from anything. They know that this is your 16/17 yr old kid and that Mom and Dad have as much (more) say in any final decisions than the kid.
Tell your son to be himself, be comfortable, and enjoy the ride.
Thanks to all for your help. Had our first big visit this weekend, and this all seemed right on target.
