What Situation Would Make a College Coach "Pull The Trigger" and Make an Offer

One of my baseball teammates said it was the first d1 offer he got that made him get more. It wasn't a school that he wanted to go to,  BUT it was in the same conference as a school he loved. When the coach of school he loved heard about it, he offered the next day. I imagine the coach thought, "I don't want to be facing this kid for 4 years, when he could be on my team".

Said player has started since day 1 of freshman year. 

Great question, and good info already. I'll be following this for more insights. 

What would pull the trigger for an offer? 

What does your son have that sets him apart from the hundreds of other players a coach has seen? Could be a lot of differently things. How the pitcher prepares in the bullpen.  How that players teammates act toward him. How patient is the hitter at the plate. Is he a lefty? Does he run fast?  Just an example, of what I think might make the coach make an offer.

It's not all about the things that are noticeable. You can tell how interested a coach is by how many times he shows up to watch.

Definitely coaches dont want their guys facing someone they feel will be an impact player.

JMO

If the kid they offer ahead of your kid declines their offer. 

My son accepted his first offer so I'm not going to be able to help a lot.  I do know that when the coach came to watch "one more time" as he worded it, my son went 3-3 with 2 doubles and a triple against a pretty good team...and also struck out all 3 kids he threw to on 11 pitches the offer came right away.  

Shoveit4Ks posted:

If the kid they offer ahead of your kid declines their offer. 

A+ for that answer, direct and to the point.

Son had a good day at a PG tournament event.   Then at  Ft. Myers in the fall he had a lot of recruiters probably 30 schools watching him.  The next 3 weeks phone calls from mainly SEC and a couple ACC.  We narrowed down the list to 3 and went on some visits.   They all offered on the visits.  He picked what he thought was best for him.  

The other three sons were a bit different , the two oldest went Juco first  then D1 mid-major.   Actually 2013 just finished last year at Tennessee Tech an up and coming program.  And the third was an academic guy, so did an ED.

Being recruited from a Juco is much different than being recruited from high school

I really think its fairly simple.  They will make an offer when they're convinced they see something they like that can fit and play well in their program.

If anything, most schools will offer at the earliest time they can to get a jump on potential competition.

First of all you have to understand how much talent is out there.

Maybe a kid runs a 6.7 sixty but there are lots of kids who run that fast who also might be better power hitters.  Etc

Out of all the talent, across the hundreds of D1 schools, the cards start to fall in place.  

Some of it depends on factors you have no control of, maybe even most of it has to do with factors you have no control of.  Roster needs at individual schools really vary.   What you can control is your work ethic away from events, and your attitude, focus & hustle at events you are seen at.

"Deciding factors" could be hundreds of different possibilities.  At the travel program I coached at, the owner of the program was instrumental in getting players seen and placed.  Even with those connections, the kid still had to perform when they were scouted and their measureables needed to be in the range of criteria of what the school wanted.

if I could break it down in the simplest terms:  1) Verifiable measureables.  2) Performance at scouted events. 3) Somebody credible vouching for you who is a non family member...  And when there is an opening on a roster AND you can get through Admissions AND you are next in line on their board, an offer will come.

My two cents....

For the majority of recruits....the obvious answer is that he has to have talent and be a fit at the most basic level.    So, that reduces the overall field somewhat.  Then the recruit has to further separate himself from the field with something extra (tools, grades, attitude, projectability, draftability, family tree, intangibles) that appeals to the coach/program/admission's dept....that even further reduces the field of recruits.   Then I think the recruit has to show a GENUINE interest in the school, and then sell himself in a big way.  Communications and relationship are essential at this last stage.  Coaches have a way of divining whether that interest is genuine or not.  

Then you have to hope and pray for an offer.

fenwaysouth posted:

My two cents....

For the majority of recruits....the obvious answer is that he has to have talent and be a fit at the most basic level.    So, that reduces the overall field somewhat.  Then the recruit has to further separate himself from the field with something extra (tools, grades, attitude, projectability, draftability, family tree, intangibles) that appeals to the coach/program/admission's dept....that even further reduces the field of recruits.   Then I think the recruit has to show a GENUINE interest in the school, and then sell himself in a big way.  Communications and relationship are essential at this last stage.  Coaches have a way of divining whether that interest is genuine or not.  

Then you have to hope and pray for an offer.

  

I think the bolded is an underestimated factor.

What's interesting to me is that we all here who have responded have players with different level skills and ability. Its easier for some than others .

So I feel that it's VERY important that one gets into a situation where they are playing in front of, or have contacted the right program. No one is going to offer anything if they don't feel that the player is right for their program.