I was curious how your son ended up where he did. Did he get recruited out of the blue to play there? Did you start a dialog with the coach/school? Did you use a service?

Let me explain....my oldest (daughter) is graduating this year and is being recruited for golf. She has some of the best D3 programs VERY interested in her and she is also being courted by some D1 schools. As of November of her Senior year, she really still has NO clue where she wants to go. She has maintained correspondence with a list of coaches and some other schools have initiated contact. But she's just NOT very into it.

Then, there's the 13 yo son (baseball player) who while we're watching the replay of the Miami / Va Tech game suggests that he may be interested in playing baseball at Va Tech...."good academics, good location, great program". Then, we were watching the replay of the Northwestern game and he says basically the same thing? "Think I could play there?" He's freaking 13 and already thinking about it yet I can't get my 17 yr old to think about it and she's going to graduate.

So getting back to my original question.....assuming my son is capable of playing at the D1 level (big IF), how does he get a shot to play at a Va Tech, Northwestern, etc? I realize that might be tough to answer but guess I was curious to see how your son ended up where he did.

Beezer, There's a similar thread to this back a few weeks ago with a couple of stories in it that you might want to read too.

How did?

My son is a college freshman, but I also have a HS daughter who's a sophomore. The three of us just had this conversation yesterday. For some reason, she has decided over the last few months that she wants to go to Alabama. I don't have an issue with this, but just reminded her that she doesn't have a clue yet, where she wants to go. She probably won't play sports in college - if she decides to, she certainly wouldn't at AL! My son reminded her that his opinions changed on many schools (some improved and some went off the list) after he visited the campus and/or met the coach.

I'm a believer that a kid just "knows" when the right fit comes along. I think in helping them to determine that fit, visits and research are a must. For your son, if he has a particular interest in a school, I would tell him to target them as he gets a little older - write them, attend their camp, etc. Just also advise to keep an open mind to others.

Beezer,

First of all, I was just starting a thread on celebrating our 100th forum topic so I deleted it since you created this one. Thanks for starting it and thanks to all who contribute here! We also surpassed 1000 forum posts yesterday.

To the question at hand:

My son was lucky in that he played for good teams and got all of his exposure that way until the very end. I now subscribe to Fungo's theory in that you want to at least send him to a showcase (e.g, PG) where there is a plurality of schools there to see him to increase his odds of getting an offer.

In addition, and regarding any particular school, I can give you more insight here. I believe there truly needs to be a mutual need by both parties before your son should attend a particular school. Lets use Virginia Tech (VT) for example. If VT, recruited three freshman all-americans (at your son's position) the year before your son would attend there, that would probably be a very risky choice.

On the other hand, if there was a need at VT at your son's position, it would be a good idea to send him to their camp and see if there is some interest on their part. You can call them and/or write them before attending about your son's desire to play for their school along with sending them your baseball resume. I have found that college coaches are in general very gracious when you call them.

In our specific case this is basically what happened. My son's college expressed some interest in him at a CABA tournament here in Cleveland. When I researched them, we both kinda fell in love with them. At that point we recruited them hard and that is where we ended up. Again, some luck involved, but you still have to perform when the coaches are watching.

There are tons of ways of skinning this particular cat so be creative as well

Beezer,

Here's my story, For me it was a lot of luck.

I really didn't know about Showcases, or select reams or scout league teams etc. until my Senior year of HS (keep in mind that we don't have HS ball where I'm at).

I literally stumbled upon this site one day in a math class at school, I got bored started surfing the web for Baseball sites! it looked interesting to me, so I wrote down the site and checked more of it when I got home that evening.

I joined, started reading and then had an inkling to see if anyone was in the chat room, I lucked out, Fungo and Bama Bomber where there. We got to talking about me andwhere I am etc. and they started saying thigns like PG I had never heard of PG or GPA or SAT really, so after an hour of tutoring in the chat room Fungo gave me Bama Bombers email addy and directed me towards PG. I emailed Bama, and then signed up on PG.

I received numerous invites to events, but settled upon an ID in Westcheter PA, attended that then really just sat and waited (bad choice by me). After a few months I got an invite to the Unsigned Seniors event, then later got an email from Jerry inviting me to the event again, I talked it over with my folks and sent my forms in and got ready to go to Ft.Myers. Went attended the 2 day event met some new people, started talking to a few schools, talked t oa few parents who knew schools that were looking for Pitchers, and then when I got home I started to get some feedback from schools, I also then decided to send out some letters on my own to a few schools that I had heard were looking for players. In total there was 9 schools that recruited me, I sent a letter and a recruitment form to one other school, but still nothnig was really progressing.

So I thought ok go back to HS for a semester or something. Well before I enrolled for a 5th year a college in Iowa started really expressing interest, but that quickly ended when I found out I couldn't get much Financial aid.

So I thought to myself ok get on the HSBBW see what's going on. My Coach posted a thread about me asking how well this velo looks after throwing a CG the dy before. He got a PM from a man who said he knew of a school that needed a Pitcher and badly, he sent me the guys email address and we got to talking. Next thing you know I'm talking to that schools (Urbana) Asst. Coach, then the Head Coach. I get informed that the man who directed me to this school was the Head Coach at the former school both of them were Asst. Coaches at!

I get invited down for a weekend to see the school, team and work out. I went, had agreat time, got an offer, and when I was there as mom said I just "knew" when the right fit came along. Everything felt good, I got a good vibe from the team, I felt like I fit in right away, and so I signed and attened in January!

If it was not for this site I literally would not be playing College Baseball in the States, I am truly grateful for this site and for the people on it.

Doc - You couldn't have been in two better hands than that of Fungo and Bama. Someone was watching over you that day! Your post demonstrates several themes that one will find in various recruiting threads - that is for a young player to be proactive, that baseball is a huge network, and HSBBW is a WONDERFUL resource. I can't tell you how I wish I had stumbled onto this site when my son was younger. There's such a wealth of information and support here - unmatched IMO.

Mom,

I agree fully with you, on wishing I stumbled upon this site when I was younger, I would of done things differently, but all in all the end result would be the same, just a little less stressful.

I hope to pass and share my knowledge with guys who are just starting out. So I'm putting together a Checklist if you will in the Canadian Forum, that can pertain to guys down south, just somethings wouldn't apply such as our Health Care Coverage (Beezer you might want to look at that, it gives some guidelines that I think could help you out).

The HSBBW is in a league of it's own when it comes to wealth of knwoledge and the people on here, are simply amazing.

I've experienced it when I was starting to get go to Showcases and College recruiting, and now I'm experiencing the support while I go through the uncertainty of my shoulder and playing again. I owe a lot to the HSBBW and to the people on here.

But I'm starting to stray off the topic, so I think I should just close, this post before I hijack the thread and turn it into the love for the HSBBW!

Also CD thanks for inviting me into the Ohio/Ken/PA forum, It's nice to share with people, rather then posting on the Canadian Forum and only hearing from others once in a blue moon!

quote:

Originally posted by lafmom:
Beezer, There's a similar thread to this back a few weeks ago with a couple of stories in it that you might want to read too.

I felt REALLY bad that I might be offending somebody for starting a similar thread. Then I saw who it was.

Some quick additional comments...I just think it's funny how "apathetic" (couldn't think of a better word) my daughter is and yet she's immersed in the situation yet my 13 yr old son is already creating a mental list of potential schools. Not to be offensive but maybe it's a gender thing? She got many letters from several BIG schools (Big 10, ACC, Independent, etc) but they sit collecting dust on her floor while my son drools all over them...."You got a letter from _____?????"

CD - I hear you about the fit. Clearly, he's too young to worry about that for him but we're going through it with the daughter to some degree but golf is a bit different. She'll have a coach send an e-mail and they only have one senior on the roster yet she delays responding. I try to stress to her that there's only one spot so she better fight for it if she wants it. Still waiting for the proverbial light to go off.

Given my experience in the recruiting realm of collegiate golf (so far) I was curious how different it was with baseball since I'll be trudging down that path before too much longer.

quote:

Originally posted by Doc_K_Kid:
(Beezer you might want to look at that, it gives some guidelines that I think could help you out).

Thanks - Will do!

Beezer,

Good luck. I honestly think you are going to have more problems getting your daughter a scholarship than your son. I could be reading it wrong, but she seems to be taking it a wee bit for granted?? That could really backfire on her. I could be entirely wrong just reading between the lines on my part. Coastal Carolina has a strong golf program and has an excellent location for practicing at many different golf courses in the Myrtle Beach area.

quote:

Originally posted by ClevelandDad:
Beezer,

Good luck. I honestly think you are going to have more problems getting your daughter a scholarship than your son. I could be reading it wrong, but she seems to be taking it a wee bit for granted??

I don't think you're too far off. But she's not arrogant about it....she's not expecting them. To be honest, when a Big 10 school was really interested in her, they sent the media guide and all kinds of other mailings. On the way to visit with another college coach, I went through a bunch of questions he might ask and one of them was "Who else is recruiting you?" I went through a small list of the more prominant schools and she said "But they're not recruiting me" I laughed and told her they're not sending you ALL of that material because you're cute!!!

beezer, you're right it's a girl thing - I just went thru it
but after a few unofficial visits it kicked in for her - and she got hot on the trail of her short list -
which underwent a huge change when she decided that she wanted to just "study" and not run track & cc after hs - she noticed the demands on her brother, which btw he didn't mind at all

that is NOT to suggest yours could be heading that way -

it's GOLF for God's sake - how could it feel like work in college??

"hey let's go hit a few buckets before math"
"hey let's go hit a few buckets after math"
"wanna shoot 9 or 18 today"
"wanna shoot 9 or 18 tomorrow"
"sorry I'm late teach, sudden death in our skins game, ya know"
"let's skip lunch & hit the putting green"
"c'mon, study later, they're putting for $$ downstairs in the hallway"

"Dad, I don't need any money this month, the guys putt for money each night in the hallway"


I usually have to plan, scheme, & clean the garage to come anywhere close to that

V Tech is a beautiful school, not to forget about UVA just down the street - Charlottesville is nice & O'connor and UVA are serious about their baseball


good luck


.

Beezer - I'm not even going to try and copy that quote here to respond to it.

I'm not so sure it's a boy/girl thing as much as different kids just have different timelines. My son took college letters and calls much more routinely than I did. I was the one that did the initial research, etc. and then passed it on to him. He had no particular school in mind. However, my 15 year old daughter is the one that's already giving me her choice. My JUCO son has started emailing me names of top school choices, which is very interesting comparing it to our HS journey. I think this time around, he'll take control of the process much more.

quote:

Originally posted by Bee>:
beezer, you're right it's a girl thing - I just went thru it
but after a few unofficial visits it kicked in for her - and she got hot on the trail of her short list -
which underwent a huge change when she decided that she wanted to just "study" and not run track & cc after hs - she noticed the demands on her brother, which btw he didn't mind at all

.....

V Tech is a beautiful school, not to forget about UVA just down the street - Charlottesville is nice & O'connor and UVA are serious about their baseball

good luck

Bee - Thanks. We're headed to OU and Dayton this weekend to meet with their coaches so hopefully this will generate some excitement.

Regarding the VA schools, my son is a few years away (13) but like I said, his wheels are already turning whereas my daughter is wondering what dress to wear to homecoming.

quote:

Originally posted by lafmom:
Beezer - I'm not even going to try and copy that quote here to respond to it.

I'm not so sure it's a boy/girl thing as much as different kids just have different timelines. My son took college letters and calls much more routinely than I did. I was the one that did the initial research, etc. and then passed it on to him. He had no particular school in mind. However, my 15 year old daughter is the one that's already giving me her choice. My JUCO son has started emailing me names of top school choices, which is very interesting comparing it to our HS journey. I think this time around, he'll take control of the process much more.

Don't you DARE!!!!! My daughter is VERY much like your son; I've put together "the list", I made the resume, I've made the swing video CD, I've periodically suggested the random e-mail to the coaches "Good luck at the tourney this weekend". I really don't recall anything that she has done proactively on her own.

I just know my son will be much more into it when it's his turn. At the beginning of all this, I had made her a list of all the schools with women's golf programs. My son has already asked when I'm going to make him his baseball school list.

Ohhhh....I did have another question regarding all of this "recruiting"; as a parent, are you the one sending the coach an e-mail or calling them to say "My son is interested in your program/school" or are you having them do it? Last year, I was "reprimanded" by the D3 coach we visited. He told my daughter to keep in touch with him, not her dad. So that's why I make a point to have HER send the e-mails versus me.

I definetly do not think it is a girl vs. boy thing. And I've got the two kids to prove it. College son (baseball) and college daughter (swimming). Complete OPPOSITE situation to what you describe you are going thru Beezer. Daughter was VERY organized and on top of things with her recruitment (actually...she's like this in ALL aspects of her life!). Son sounds very much like your daughter! So I feel your pain! I honestly just think it is a "personality" issue rather than a "gender" issue.

Re: your question about recruiting contact with coaches. My son made ALL the contact (with me standing in the background making sure he did it! ). Daughter also made all her contacts on her own...she told me about it AFTER she made the calls or sent the e-mails!

my daughter is at OU & loves it

Beezer - My son did all the calls, emails, etc. but had to often be reminded by me to do it. We would try to keep an organized fashion about this. Take a Sunday afternoon for example to do replies, or a Tuesday night to do updates. Like Luvbb, while I was the driving force, I made sure he was a part of the process. Again though, just like Luvbb (who has great taste in cars and hair styles) my daughter will come to me with everything in order. These behaviors were reflective of their personalities. I'm excited that my son seems to be getting the ball rolling on his own in JUCO - definate sign of maturity IMO. (I hope he's reading this)

Lafmom....in addition to a shared great taste in cars and hairstyles....please don't forget the MOST important similiarity we share....cranberry sauce with RIDGES!

I will first say that things worked out well for my son, then I'll say that it wasn't because he was proactive or anything. In fact, it seemed sometimes like he wasn't really interested at all. All his life, all he ever heard from his coaches was that he was D-I material. When he was younger, he'd always tell us he was going south 'cause that's where the good ball is played. You have to keep in mind that he also was diagnosed as being ADHD in elem. school. Not sure how they got that diagnosis from there testing 'cause I think he simply had a slight learning disability and had to study more than some kids. Since we decided he had a neat personality, we chose not to medicate him.

Anyway, I was laid off right before his sr. yr. so we didn't have the money for alot of showcases. He went to the Blue-Grey and he got some letters and questionaires which he did get filled out by the coach but that was the extent of his involvement. I sent out the resumes for him and wrote some letters (from him). Meanwhile all this stuff is arriving and he's not even looking at the catalogues! All I'm getting out of him is "Mom, I'll never get home if I go there." We also find out that when they break down his grades of what counts that his GPA is only a 2.3. So away went the dream of D-I unless he'd want to red-shirt for a yr. Meanwhile, 2 sort of local schools keep calling and he goes on overnights and I also went for a visit w/the coach at one school. The one school comes off his list even tho one of his buddies goes there and the coach has told him to do what it takes to get him to come there. Since these 2 schools are arch rivals and the coach did nothing but diss the other coach, that decided it for him. School comes off the list and he decides on the school he's at. Tells the coach he's coming there in the spring of sr. yr. Thought it was all settled.

Suddenly during the summer, he's not hearing from the coach that much and another school's coach is having a conversation w/another guy's dad and mentions my son. Well, my son happens to be good friends w/his daughter and he tells the coach what a great kid he is so he gives him our number. Meanwhile, my son's hearing from different kids that the coach where's he's going promises alot, gets the kids there and then they don't play. So he decides to check this school out. It's very religious based so I don't think he'll be happy but he thinks he can handle it. Decides he wants to go there instead! I'm going absolutely nuts!! I tell him that he's got to be the one to let the other coach know that he changed his mind. He leaves a couple msgs. but no return call. Meanwhile I have deposits at 2 schools. Finally, I call the 1st school to tell them he's not coming and the next day the coach calls. They talk and he decides to go for it, he's up for the challenge so then he had to call the 2nd coach and let him know.

I all worked out, the last school hardly won any games, he did get a spot on his orig. choice and they made it to 1 game from the D3 WS this yr. So now the coaches like to remind him that he almost played for a losing team. Thankfully, his grades are up from HS and he's very happy with his choice. Before he left for school, he told me that he didn't have any great desire to leave home because it wasn't bad living with us! I guess I should be honored that he didn't feel the need to get away from us but I wish he would've told me sooner! Somehow things work out in the end.