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16 replies

Your Son's Been Contacted

ClevelandDadClevelandDadHSBBWeb Administrator
In my estimation, some of the most reoccurring themes we have here on the hsbbweb are...

"We've just gotten a letter... what does it mean?"

"A coach approached my son..." or "A coach approached my son's high school or summer team coach... etc."

In other words, you have some indication that some college coach out there is aware of your son for one reason or another. What do you do now? Wait to hear from them? Send them a letter? Send them an e-mail? Call them? Have your high school coach call them?....

I'll provide my thinking on the subject but obviously there are many approaches depending on circumstances and would like to hear other's thoughts on this.

1) Whenever we found out about interest re: my son we would research the possibility over the Internet. This usually consisted of searching the team website for information and takes an hour or two. Maybe calling someone who may know additional details. Was not aware of the hsbbweb at the time but researching the team by searching/posting in these forums would also be a good idea.

2) If there was some interest on our part for that particular school after the preliminary research, I called the coach or assistant to find out:

a) how did you find out about my son;
b) what is your interest in him;
c) what are your needs etc...

The reason I liked calling was that there was immediate feedback involved from which to base further decisions. Also, if you got a letter or found out there was some interest in another way, you can call knowing full well it is no longer a cold call. Hello.. I am calling in response to the letter we received re:.... in responce to a conversation you had... etc....

Imho... instead of posting here on the hsbbweb trying to figure out what a contact means, why not get the answer straight from the horse's mouth?

They may invite you to their camp for further evaluation. If so, ask them what it would take to get recruited by them. They may say something like "We like pitchers who are high 80's or low 90's guys but we'll consider guys who can locate multiple pitches" or we only sign infielders or outfielders who can run a sub 7.0 60 and throw 85 mph or higher but we'll look the other way on speed if you are a serious power hitter etc...

If your son meets these criteria, it might be a good idea to attend if you feel the coach is seriously interested. If they just plucked your name off of a tournament roster somewhere and fired off a letter (determined from your conversation) you might forgo that option. If the school scouts in your area or you will be playing in their area, you could offer schedules for them to come see him play. At least you will have an immediate plan for moving forward with that school. From what I have observed/read, most coaches will not recruit a player unless they have personally seen them play. Thus, one way or another, you have to figure out a way for that coach to see your son play. In some cases, they may have already seen him play at a showcase or tournament so further exposure may not be necessary.
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ClevelandDadClevelandDadHSBBWeb Administrator
quote:
What was your rationale (in item #2) in you calling the coach vs. having your son do it?

I see you are 1 short of 2,500 posts.


2500 - woo hoo

Good question jb. I called because that is just my style. Your style may be different. I wanted to know first hand what was going on. It is no more complicated than that. I didn't want to have to glean information from my son nor did I want to try and read tea leaves based on second hand information. We have always shared a common dream so he trusted me. When they are ready to recruit, they will indeed want to talk directly to your son.

Another style may be to have the son call initially and then have the parent follow up if things seem promising. There are many ways to skin the cat Smile
Last edited by ClevelandDad
P pfbear13100+ posts
I think it's a great idea for the parents to speak to the coach. Most HS kids are going to be intimidated and probably not ask pertinent questions. Who is going to look out more for a child than his parents?

I would also suggest having a checklist handy of questions you want to ask so you don't forget something and have to keep calling back. I think this is a great way for the early contact to go and then let jr. step in and take/make calls, but always stay on top of it and know what's going on.
J jbbaseball500+ posts
Maybe I need to rethink my/our strategy. I read all of my son's correspondence before it's sent. We review (even role play) conversations with coaches before calls are made.

My philosophy has been coach/school is recruiting my son, not me. So while I have been certainly coaching him on the process, he's been the "front man"!

Based on some very good comments here, we may make a slight change in our strategy........THANKS ALL!
L lafmom5,000+ posts
jbbaseball, we did it a bit differently. I can't remember any coach ever calling and asking to speak to me... was always son. Now, if son wasn't home, I may have chatted a bit and was comfortable piping in when we visited. Also, most coaches ask for the player's cell phone number... once they've got that, they rarely call the house anymore. I felt like son needed to have these conversations... he was the one that needed to develop a relationship with the guy if he was going to go there... he was the one that needed to see if he could be comfortable talking to him.... the coach needed to see the same about my son. When things would get more serious and talk about money... then that was my turn. We all do it a bit differently and what works for one family doesn't for another. Smile
ND Novice Dad100+ posts
quote:
Originally posted by lafmom:
jbbaseball, we did it a bit differently. I can't remember any coach ever calling and asking to speak to me... was always son. Now, if son wasn't home, I may have chatted a bit and was comfortable piping in when we visited. Also, most coaches ask for the player's cell phone number... once they've got that, they rarely call the house anymore. I felt like son needed to have these conversations... he was the one that needed to develop a relationship with the guy if he was going to go there... he was the one that needed to see if he could be comfortable talking to him.... the coach needed to see the same about my son. When things would get more serious and talk about money... then that was my turn. We all do it a bit differently and what works for one family doesn't for another. Smile


Lafmom, as you said everyone does it differently. We used the same approach as you. Cleveland Dad's method (style) worked for him...and Coastal.
TR Tom R10+ posts
IAFMOM is right. Most coaches would call and ask for my son. Due to his busy schedule they frequently got me. So, I did get a chance to talk to many of the coaches.

Another good early conversation question is wether the coach would prefer calls from my son or emails. Several liked emails. They could respond at their convenience. Also electronic communications don't have as many restrictions as coach initiated phone calls do. It is much easier to respond to several emails after practice or games than to call back several coaches late at night just to leave messages. Plus those return calls can get expensive.

Once the coaches started to get down to offers then I fielded more calls and emails. Once my son decided on a school I had him call the other coaches to let them know. After all, you don't want to burn any bridges. If the chosen school doesn't work out then it is best to leave the other coaches with a good impression of the player.
ClevelandDadClevelandDadHSBBWeb Administrator
quote:
Most coaches would call and ask for my son.


Tom - I agree with you and lafmom. When they are recruting your son of course they want to talk to him as it should be. My original intent behind starting this thread relates to all the posts I have seen where people get a letter/other non-direct contact and then try and divine what it means. Thus, before a coach calls and actively recruits your son what should you do? If you get a letter, for example, should one just wait for further contact from them?
jerseydadjerseydad1,000+ posts
quote:
Originally posted by ClevelandDad:
quote:
Most coaches would call and ask for my son.


Tom - I agree with you and lafmom. When they are recruting your son of course they want to talk to him as it should be. My original intent behind starting this thread relates to all the posts I have seen where people get a letter/other non-direct contact and then try and divine what it means. Thus, before a coach calls and actively recruits your son what should you do? If you get a letter, for example, should one just wait for further contact from them?


Great topic CD,

My son has been pretty lucky so far as to not having to read in between the lines. Some of the schools sent very specific letters, postcard, emails or texts that gave him the impression they were sincerely interested in him. He does however get quite a few of the more vague letters so I guess we have used the rule of thumb that if a coach asks you to visit their school or ask our son to call the coach on his cell phone, then in our minds they must have some real interest. On all not so specific correspondence we make sure he replies to their questions and sends the schools any information requested.

As to who does the communication, so far the majority of the contact has been with my son. As much as I would like to know what he is talking to them about we only get a few crumbs now and then when he feels like sharing. Truthfully I think he is enjoying having some independence in talking to the different coaches. I generally come into the picture when it comes to setting up the logistical aspects so far. (i.e. unofficial visit schedule). Interestingly enough, I get the feeling when talking to the coaches about setting up a schedule to come down for a visit that they are glad to talk to me as well. I think they are trying to get a feel for how serious my son is about them as well as if we (parents) have any strong opinions one way or another.

We have a long way to go however for the most part I seem to be one waiting for direction from my son, not the other way around. Quite a role reversal.
Last edited by jerseydad
BeezerBeezer1,000+ posts
quote:
Originally posted by lafmom:
I can't remember any coach ever calling and asking to speak to me... was always son.


See it killed me when they called asking for LB (my daughter) so I'd just say "Yes, one moment please. May I ask who's calling? .......Oh, hi Coach So-and-so...." And if I knew them, I'd try to get a few words in before she ripped the phone out of my hands or picked the other phone up and sternly said "I got it dad!"
Last edited by Beezer
L lafmom5,000+ posts
quote:
My original intent behind starting this thread relates to all the posts I have seen where people get a letter/other non-direct contact and then try and divine what it means. Thus, before a coach calls and actively recruits your son what should you do? If you get a letter, for example, should one just wait for further contact from them?

I misunderstood CD where you were going with this I think. You have brought up an excellent point. I guess when I read your post, I didn't think along these lines, because I don't really consider letters as "contact". So, I agree with you 100% about wondering if that is some form of contact, what it means, are they interested, are you on a list..... If I had one thing to do over, it would be for us (still probably would have had son do it) to contact the coach and find out. Son received tons of letters that we won't ever really know how he could have used that as a door opener. That's always my suggestion for players.... don't wonder, but use that letter to your advantage. There are most likely lots of kids that received that letter that won't follow up... make yourself stand out by calling them yourself and not waiting for the phone call to come that may never come.
NewcomerNewcomer100+ posts
Never too early to get your name and face out there! Are you interested in Stanford as a school? There are many other colleges represented at Stanford..so don't think it's just Stanford that's looking at you at the camp. It is a great camp. Beautiful campus. Lots of high caliber players. Was formerly "invitation only" camp...but it is still a good experience..and for you, as a sophomore, a good way to see how a good camp is run. Lots of guys from Texas come to Stanford Camp,by the way.

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