I am new to the forum and treding new ground with my only son and the world of recruiting.

My son is a 2008 grad. (catcher). He has recieved an invitation to Junior Recruit Day (three comp. tickets, etc.) to a midwest D1 school - one of his top 3 schools of choice.

I am not sure how to take this. I have read that some of these are serious and mean that we may even have to prepare for a verbal offer. I have also read that these are marketing gimics to sell camps (which he has already attended at this school).

The camp is this weekend (4-22-07) how do I know what to expect ?

Just go, meet the coaches and enjoy the game!

justagame, FloridaFan is right. Nothing to worry over with junior days. Often the coaches aren't available because they've got games going on. It's an opportunity to observe them in action and enjoy some baseball.

justagame:
Welcome, some good advise here. Enjoy the game, let them know you got there invite and appreciate it and go have fun.

Thanx,

Will take the advise and "roll with it".

Justagame, with all due respect to those above, I have to disagree very strongly with their advice.

Junior days see a lot of recruiting activity. Your son should approach this like a job interview. Sure he can enjoy the game, and he should in fact come across as a likeable guy (which I'm sure he is). But if your son was invited to a junior day, in all likelihood someone the coaches trust has told those coaches your son is (a) good enough and (b)interested. He needs to make a good impression, and he needs to find out more about this school and this program so he can assess whether it is really the right place for him.

I have never seen junior days used to sell camps. Lots of things are done to sell camps, but if it's a junior day, they are spending money on your son. They don't do that for just anybody. Sure, there'll be more kids there than they can actually recruit, but then, not all of them will end up seeking offers, and surely not all of them will end up getting offers.

Before the event, think through questions you want answered. You will probably get a presentation of some sort from at least one of the coaches while there. If that doesn't answer your questions, ask any that remain. Asking polite but mature questions shows genuine interest and it shows you know what you are about. Questions can be about academics or baseball or the whole recruiting process (and how this particular program handles it, as they are all different in some way or another).

Also you will often get to hang around after the game and talk to players. You can ask them questions, too. Find one who's from your neck of the woods and strike up a conversation. These are guys who voluntarily chose to go there, so they can often tell you what it was that attracted them. And if you get negative vibes, that can tell you soemthing, too.

It is also fair to look for an opportunity to get the recruiting guy one on one and ask him, again directly but respectfully and politely, how he got interested in you and how you can pursue an offer. Let them know of your interest and that you do indeed want an offer. So many kids I think rule themselves out when they come in with low riding jeans and a slack jawed attitude, giving the impression they are not going to be the best teammates and maybe they don't really care anyway.

When I say "you" ask, I mean that for your son. You the parent have to hang back and let him do the talking. Your role at most is to help prepare him in advance to do that talking. You can help him to understand how an adult will react if he asks a question in what is potentially an offputting manner. (Many teenage boys, shall we say, are lacking in the social graces.) You can help him to deal with the adults who will be making decisions about his future. But once you're there, it has to be his show, not yours. The more you butt in, the worse will be the impression they have of your son as a young man. They want to know that he can fly on his own, so you have to let him show that he can.

Also bear in mind that if your son is good enough to have options, then this is the one time in his career that he will get to choose who his coaches will be. In high school, you get who you get. If he goes pro, he gets drafted, traded, etc., and he gets whoever they give him. This one time you get to choose. Get the information you want to be able to make that choice well.

If you have 3 schools you're most interested in, you don't need to push real hard for an offer right then and there. Just find out what their time table might be. When you think you know which school is your son's top choice, then let it be known that you'd like to be there and see if they will talk offer with you.

Many kids across the country already have deals done and many of those deals were struck right then and there during a junior day visit. This is a great opportunity and it should not be squandered lightly.

Remember that offers signed in the November NLI period are really only the paper confirmations of handshake deals made before then. You can make your deal now if you're ready. Or not, if you're not. But you don't have forever, so you need to be proactive so you can make your decision before your train leaves the station without you.

Nice post MidloDad. My son has been invited and attended three JR days already to local D-1 schools and could not attend a couple of others due to his HS baseball schedule because of travel. You have been invited because they are interested in you. You attend if you are interested in them. They are going to try and sell the college the program and everything in between to you and your son. You should do the same in return if you are interested and not go if you are not. It has been very good for my son to go and meet the coaches , players and see the campus first hand. It will allow him to make a more informed decision this summer. Good Luck and MidloDad gave you some very sound advice.

my son has been invited to a jr day at a school he has high on his list. the team is playing another school that is on top of his list and they will know him when they see him. do you think they will mind when they see him at another school? seems kinda like getting caught cheating on your girlfriend haha!!

You never know -- perhaps it will generate even more interest in your son by the opposing team when they see your son is being recruited by the home team!

Preparing your son ahead of time with questions he might ask and questions that might be asked of him, is a great idea. Nothing worse (and I've seen it) than the recruiting coach asking a kid "So what can I tell you about our program and school?" Answer: "Uh, I don't know". Yikes. Have your son rehearse one or two trusted standby questions, should he get in a situation where he needs to speak up. Here's a list of questions and thoughts from this site. Good luck. And I think you should enjoy yourself, too. Have your son try and picture himself on that campus and playing at that facility.

http://www.hsbaseballweb.com/questions_to_ask.htm

MidloDad,

Thanks for taking the time. Excellant advise for my son (and his parents).

There are a lot of message boards out there (even a HS baseball board in my State)- the comments here are far and away the most constructive and helpful. I hope in the future I can give back by helping some "rookie" with our experience.

Thanks again for your help.