Well this is where he lives and its hard to get noticed, especially for the fact that the team is very young and there wont be alot of wins this year.
Is there anyone who is in this Pa forum that watches the smaller areas for future college players? Its been hard to believe that he will get noticed when you have 10ks in a game no hits for 6 and still lose.
I know that some frown on the site of promoting your players but I feel you got to do what you got to do, to give your son the best chance.
He plays alot of travel ball with a strong team.
Thanks for all the input and the opportunities. He has a web site with all his stats for those interested PM me.
Blm...I don't know what your son's goals are pertaining to where he wants to play college ball..ie, is he looking to stay in the geographic area, or does he need exposure to further areas? However, I do know that more locally the larger universities do look in-state without the need for travel teams, showcases, etc. Altho, they DO utilitze those avenues too...and of course those tools will help get your son even greater exposure. My son has a freshman team mate from Johnsonburg (your neck of the woods) on the roster this year. I think he was "found" during the state championships last year. My son was recruited both by IN state schools and OUT of state schools mainly thru American Legion (granted it was thru the American Legion State East-West All-Star process).
I would think if he is playing travel ball with a strong team that would help greatly in gaining exposure. I would also urge him to be proactive and make some contacts on his own....contact the programs he is interested in. Introduce himself and find out what showcases, tournaments, etc. they frequent during their recruiting process. Get on their radar screen.
Posts: 2634 | Location: Pennsylvania | Registered: December 30, 2002
blm - Please read (if you have not already) every article in the above links as they are the bedrock this site is built upon. IMHO, recruiting is unlikely to come about by being on the highschool team or by the stats you put up so it really does not matter whether you are from a rural area. A competitive summer team that travels will obviously get some exposure. Attending a few high profile showcases is probably the most exposure he can get. I suggest doing one or two as a sophmore so he can get his feet wet and utlize the scouting feedback so he can improve his five tools before the all-important summer of his junior year when the majority of recruiting happens. He can also attend one or two selected college camps that he may have some interest. The whole key is performing well when someone is watching. Showcases, college camps, and high profile summer tournaments guarantee someone will be watching. The rest is up to him.
Also, this site allows you to have a signature line so that when you post the same message is always attached to your posts. You might want to add your son's website to the signature line so people can look at it. Hopefully you have some video clips on there and relevant things like 60 times and throwing velocities. You might try and contact CPLZ (via a PM) who had some recruiting success using a website.
Thanks for the feedback. His goals are to move on to the next level. When looking or speaking of different colleges we are seeing a pattern to the south. Of coarse he brings up Oregon thats just to get a reaction out of me...
Last summer he played in the Keystone Games. I was not impressed with the way they ran it. I was told by some that it has lost some thing over the past few years.
Its hard to explain how small his school is. He has been to UVA clinics, D2 and D3 a couple of times. He would like to visit Clemson even and Costal Carolina this coming fall.
From my experience when on the recruiting ride with my son, I can tell you nothing is written in stone on how to be seen. With my son who was fortunate enough to have some God given baseball talent, he went to only three showcases during high school. Most of his exposure came from word of mouth from someone who told someone who told someone. Coaches also network their information. My son’s high school class graduated around 70.
I think your son has to decide what are his goals or aspirations. In other words, if he just wants to go “anywhere” (DIII, Dll or D1) and wants as much exposure as possible, there are plenty of good showcases out there that will provide him that opportunity. There are many threads on this site that can help with the process. However if your son has a particular college or two that he is really interested in, then I would highly recommend going to one of their baseball camps. Understandably these camps are a money making device for the college. However, by going to one of their camps and if he has the talent for that level, it puts him directly in front of the coaches. If there is an interest, there will eventually be a contact. Your son will have a fairly good idea if they are interested in him. It takes the guesswork out whether your son was seen by that college coach. It also allows your son the opportunity to see if he likes the coach, facilities, etc…
Again I say that from experience. With my son, he had contacts with numerous colleges but truthfully not the one he was interested in. It was not until late in the recruiting process that they made contact with him. We made a visit and during our discussion the coach said something that hit me. The coach commented that he never saw my son play until someone recommended him to the coach. When I mentioned that he had gone to a few showcases, etc…. his response was that since they cannot go to every show case, or see every high school play-off game, that sometimes it can become very hit or miss on who they see.
Again, every situation is different and a lot depends on your son’s talent and to a degree, where he wants to go. Good luck.
Posts: 13 | Location: United States | Registered: December 23, 2005
Mansfield University puts on quite a few tournaments each year in all age brackets. Check their site out. You might find some of the teams more local to your area playing there. They also draw from the rest of PA, NY and Canada.
Posts: 9 | Location: Southeastern pa | Registered: February 19, 2007
Are the Mavericks going to take the team through 18U? You're probably committed for this year but why play 15U at your son's potential level? We're playing all 16U this year even though all the kids are fifteen or late fourteen's. The 16U's you're playing should be a good challenge and good exposure.
I saw the Mavericks play last year in the Super NIT. I saw the game where the NJ team gave up at about 10-0 and pitched their outfielders to save pitching. I think the score was 28-2.
Posts: 1632 | Location: Mid-Atlantic | Registered: October 29, 2007
Yes, as of now thats the goal to stay together up to 18u. They are playing up as well as they did last year. They have some 16u and 17u tournaments on schedule. Son is hoping that this will begin to create exposure.
He is committed up to August. Who is the team your with?
