When too...

Send now along with your schedule, especially if its a college you are interested in that is near you that can come and watch you play.

2013 are you a soph in HS? If so I see no benefit to contacting anyone right now. Just play the game. Work on your game. Focus on helping your team win games. Establish yourself at the hs level. Then when the season is over make sure your playing some quality summer baseball and working on getting better. Maybe take in a showcase or two. Talk to your hs and summer coach about what schools you are interested in. Get some feedback on where you might fit in both as a player and student. Start working on what schools would or could be a good fit for you.

I can't see a college coach coming out to see a soph during his college season based on contact from the player. If your really good and some scouts and coaches start contacting college coaches about you then I am sure that would carry a lot of weight. Right now I would focus on what I posted first. Thats what is really important.

100% I completely agree with Coach May.

Thanks Coach May, your advise as always is wise. When i think about it, its kind of a silly question, why would a college coach take time out of his season to watch a sophomore who hasn't established himself on varsity yet.

One more question, when i do send my introductory letter, should I have a highlight video prepared and include it, or wait for the coach to ask for one?

Besides what Coach May has posted makes a lot of sense, I do beleive that NCAA rules prohibit off campus visits until junior year.

The OP is referring to the possibility that a college coach might come watch him. Note that D1 college coaches can't evaluate players during a dead or quiet period, but these refer to a calendar restriction. There is no restriction on the age or school year of a player who is being evaluated.

After all, if a coach comes to watch one player (e.g. a senior), it is impossible to be sure that he won't see juniors, or underclassmen playing or practicing. It is simply not practical to limit evaluations to juniors or seniors, and the NCAA doesn't try.

A D1 coach can't make off-campus contact with a player (meet and talk to him away from the college campus) until after July 1 following the junior year--the same date as initiating a phone call. June 15 for D2, and no restriction on D3.

I certainly agree with much of what is said above. Play with all your heart and to your best ability in every play and coaches/scouts will notice. College coaches are not the only ones in the stands. Some colleges also get tips from scouts. IMHO, contacting college coaches really depends on what level you target and where you want or believe you can play. Also depends on how far away from home you are interested in playing. Many people believe they can play at higher levels than their ability will take them; so you really need to understand what level programs will be interested in you as well. Starting varsity as a soph makes it sound like you have high potential.

That said, I see no harm in starting to contact teams now. Many programs make verbal offers to juniors before summer begins. How can this happen if they don't even know you are interested in playing at their school, especially if your interest lies in another state or across the country. Just keep your options open, you don't need to accept offers too early. I firmly believe that a coach wants to see you as interested in going to their school as you want to see them interested in you. My son started going to camps of schools he was interested in his freshman year. One coach was floored when he learned he was a freshman and told him he was going to be watching him the next couple of years.

tpm----where can we see that rule ?-----if a college coach attends a hs game to watch a senior picher and an underclassman is catching how to you prevent the college coach from evaluating the young catcher?

TR,

I believe TPM is saying that there cannot be off campus contact until Jr. Year. She said nothing about evaluation.

quote:

That said, I see no harm in starting to contact teams now.

True, but...why the distraction right now? I've seen a lot of parents and kids get fired up about marketing themselves to colleges too early and either get distracted by it or 'exposed' as not being ready and not warranting further attention. Physical maturity is a big factor here.

Many summer teams are built for exposure. There's plenty of time for that then. As Coach May said, "Maybe take in a showcase or two."

The HS season, especially as an underclassman, should be focused on being a good teammate with competing against players older and more mature than you and on helping your team to win a league title.

Our younger son had scholarship offers before he ever threw a pitch as a junior...he accepted one after one game as a junior. Once he accepted, we notified other college coaches, told his HS coach and asked him to keep it quiet until the year was over. Not even the assistant coaches knew. Just played the game and tried to get better and win.

AL MA 08 - Sounds like your son is/was a stud early on. He may be one of the exceptional ones. Even so, as a frosh/soph I wouldn't want my kid distracted by who might be watching.

MANY MANY OTHER FACTORS HERE.

All I am saying is that if you wait until you are a junior to start targeting and visiting schools, in my opinion, you are too late for some schools and programs. If you think the kids in the dougout aren't talking about colleges or pro scouts you are kidding yourself. It should not be a distraction, but another motivating factor for the kid.

I wanted to teach mine to take the rains and at least try to be a force in your own future. Many of the factors that go into a coach deciding on one kid or another are not in your control. Contacting colleges you are interested in is one of the factors in your control. Simple example: If a college coach has two prospects that are EVEN in every regard (and he has to decide on one) except one has been there to visit more than once, has shown a lot of interest in their program, been to their camps; which one do think he is going to pick.

Many reasonable points AL MA 08.

I've been through this twice, so I am aware of all of what you have said.

I just think Coach May's approach is the best advice given here on this topic based on our own experience and on observation of others. Whether yours did or not, there are many kids (and parents) who get distracted by who is watching. Ultimately, that may be their downfall, but no one needs downfalls to start as sophomores when maturity levels are lower and less able to process the attention some seek. Just work to get better and help your team win games.

Just my opinion, nothing more.

GOING TO SEE KID PLAY IS NOT A CONTACT

Going off memory here, but doesn't at least a D1 coach have to notify the HS if they are coming to watch/see/evaluate a certain player?

And of course they will see others during that observation.

quote:

Originally posted by justbaseball:
Going off memory here, but doesn't at least a D1 coach have to notify the HS if they are coming to watch/see/evaluate a certain player?

And of course they will see others during that observation.

Maybe that is something old, but I'm pretty sure a D1 coach isn't required to inform a coach he is coming to watch/evaluate/see a certain player. Many will, in order to make sure a certain player is playing or pitching, but to the best of my recollection, it is not required.

He just must follow the rules limiting communication, with certain players, depending on grade. Oh, no, here we go again...

Coach doesn't have to let anyone know he is coming (by rule), but should by courtesy.

Just because a player made varsity doesn't mean that they are ready to have a coach come watch them play. If you are a total stud, that's one thing, but make sure you are ready, I agree with you JBB on that one!

TR, thanks for jumping in that I made a mistake, I totally shoul dhave read before I hit post.

Thanks to all for your very clear explanations on this. Appreciate it!

D1 college coaches need permission from the "executive officer" to make contact with a prospective student athlete (obviously a senior) at the high school or JC. (13.1.6.1)

If a coach wished to observe a game or practice, and that occurs during a time when all students have classes, he must obtain permission, even though he doesn't intend to make contact. (13.1.4.2)

They do not need permission to come to a game. They can just show up. Some times they call and sometimes they simply show up. Its very early in the process. Establish yourself at the level your playing. Do something first. I am not trying to sound harsh here. Do you really want them to come see you before you are ready or capable of showing them what they want and need to see? Just focus on playing the game and helping your team win. Focus on being the best player you can be. Slow it down.

Once you have established yourself people will know. People will beat your drum for you. When you play in the summer if you play on a good summer team or for a good summer program many college coaches will routinely see you play. If they like what they see you will know it.

Focus on WIN. W hats I mportant N ow. And everything else will take care of itself. Good luck to you and congratulations. Now go out and help your team win.

quote:

Originally posted by 3FingeredGlove:
D1 college coaches need permission from the "executive officer" to make contact with a prospective student athlete (obviously a senior) at the high school or JC. (13.1.6.1)

If a coach wished to observe a game or practice, and that occurs during a time when all students have classes, he must obtain permission, even though he doesn't intend to make contact. (13.1.4.2)

I think that the confusion in all of this lies in the word contact and when a coach can and cannot make contact. Thank you for siting the rules for when they come and contact the player.

Coach May is right on, in fact he sounds just like a D1 coach I had a text conversation with today. Too many players and too many parents, too eager to have their sons seen before they are ready to be seen. Unless your son is a stud as a freshman or a sophmore, listen to what Coach May suggests, be careful and don't rush things before you have to.

Yep...I agree with TPM