This probably sounds like a strange question but I am wondering how you know if a school is interested in your son?

I have researched this question on this site and have concluded that while letters from coaches expressing interest is nice, you are generally not considered a serious prospect until you get a call from a coach.

So, what would you make of the following scenario....

1. player sends an e-mail to a D1 head coach expressing interest in his program (a school that player has previously not received any recruiting letters from)

2. player then receives a call from someone in the baseball office (not a coach) asking you to attend their summer baseball camp so they can see you pitch.

Is this considered interest or is it a call to market their camp?

My gut says it is to market the camp but I don't want to blow it off if it might be more than that.

Thanks in advance for your input.

What year in HS is the boy?

quote:

Is this considered interest or is it a call to market their camp?

Good question.

This much I am 100% certain of: No coach will make your son an offer unless they have personally seen him play. The camp is certainly a way to achieve that result. If your son goes there and throws in the 90's or hits them 400 ft., I can almost guarantee he will be getting a call from them. If he goes there and blends in with the crowd, I can almost guarantee he will not hear from them again. Somehow, either at a showcase where many college coaches are attending, or at a specific camp, or at some tournament he plays, your son will have to turn someone's head. If he does that, he will know the school is interested as either the head coach or the recruting coordinator will call.

As far as marketing goes, how else is this coach going to see your son? You could call them and see if they might be attending any of the tournaments he is playing this summer. An analogy I like to use is would you buy a car based solely off an add in the paper without seeing it or trying it out? Of course not. Recruiting is the same way.

If the camp does not break your bank account, then go for it within reason. For instance, if you know they just signed a whole bunch of high-profile kids at your son's positon, then his performance at such camp may already be irrelevant. Recruiting equals exposure plus need. If either of those things are missing, then it is almost impossible to be recruited by any specific institution.

quote:

Recruiting equals exposure plus need.

quote:

Originally posted by TRhit:
What year in HS is the boy?

09 RHP

He has recently received a hand full of recruiting letters (some form letters and some hand written)
from head coaches from small D1 schools that saw him at a recent showcase.

This is the summer before his senior year.

Cleveland Dad - Thank you for the response....one concern I had about this large D1's camp is that it is for a wide age group of kids....elementary age thru high school age....it is not a HS showcase camp.

So with that additional info, should he still consider going?

Thanks for your advice.

quote:

Originally posted by ClevelandDad:

If your son goes there and throws in the 90's or hits them 400 ft., I can almost guarantee he will be getting a call from them. If he goes there and blends in with the crowd, I can almost guarantee he will not hear from them again.

Cleveland Dad - He is mid-80's (stalker) with a nice tall pitchers body...so, since he is not in the 90 range he would probably blend in.

They would need to be looking for projectability to have him on their radar.

You know if they are interested if they make you an offer.
We had 3 offers site unseen based on recommendations. Some wouldn't make an offer untitil they saw him.
Don't let them drag things out or be afraid to ask if they intend to make an offer after sending a vidoe. Coaches love to stall you while they shake the bushes. If they are really interested they nwil talk offer very quickly.

My son had gone to a number of showcase events when he started getting more "invitations" to come to various camps. It became too expensive to attend them all, so I started to get "mercinary" with each school.

I would generally call the recruiting director (sometimes the head coach) and ask 2 questions, Have you seen my son play? and; Can he be accepted based on his GPA and SAT's?

Generally, I could tell by the answer to question number 1 if in fact it was "camp marketing" or legitimate recruiting.

Thats a great idea.
Most of the camps are little more than fund raisers. Don't be afraid to rock the boat.

quote:

Cleveland Dad - He is mid-80's (stalker) with a nice tall pitchers body...so, since he is not in the 90 range he would probably blend in.

I just pulled out two numbers that would probably not be disputed and were for example only. Pretty sure he would standout with a tall pitcher's body but that is something for the scouts to determine when they see him. Mid-80's for a rising senior is pretty darn good imho. I am assuming that mid-80's means cruising speed? Again it is for the scouts to determine - words on a message board are not enough imho.

Cleveland dad - Agreed, each case and each player must be evaluated separately. He will continue to attend showcases and camps and see how it goes.

I am not opposed to college camps, there is just not time to do very many of them with a busy summer team tournament and league schedule.

Generally (and I say generally because someone will immediately post that they went sight unseen and received an offer on the way to their car), invitations to showcases, without more, do not mean much, even with a handwritten note, and attending generates only more invitations. Sure, you can call the writer/caller of the showcase offer before you pay. Of course, if you never go to any showcases, you eliminate your chances of being seen at all (unless you are on a high profile travel team, which is a whole other avenue of showcase). If you keep it in perspective, showcases are interesting experiences. Good luck.

Sounds similar to the junior/senior summer phone call invitation my son got to "come to the pitcher/catcher camp in two weeks so we can get a closer look at you" from an SEC pitching coach. He didn't go due to prior committments, no offer ever materialized. I think that was camp marketing to a "B" list recruit with a dad who drove alot of miles back then.

Recruiting and scouting is so subjective. In retrospect, some coaches wouldn't know a pitcher if they tripped over Josh Beckett.

My Jr. son recently went to his first showcase and it was a very interesting experience.

I just have to tell you about one dad I listened to in the stands. He has an '10 that apparently throws 90 mph. He was telling another dad just how many showcases and tournaments he was taking his son to this summer and fall, so many in fact that he had no time to go see his other son play college summer ball back east. This is what caught my attention, he said "I'm not going to pay one dollar to go to college camps, if they want to see "Johnny" play, they can come see him - they have the schedule".

I guess "Johnny" is high profile.

We saw him play for three days, he may have touched 90 - but he was ugly doing it. Nothing stellar in my opinion - just good - yet he got an awful lot of attention brought on by a dad that talks to everyone.

It was very interesting

PS

Just from the one showcase, he has received 27 emails about future showcase camps, 11 letters from colleges he had not heard from before - some for camps, some prospect questionnaires to fill out and return. I'll let you know if he actually gets any contact after July 1 or if its just paper.

I kind of get the impression that the idea is if you pay for one showcase, you will pay for more....
jmho

iheartbb,
Will bet with all those activities this summer when the important time comes the '10 player will have issues. Seen it happen many times.

College camps have their good points. Many times coaches offer invitations to those he's interested in because they can talk one on one freely and avoid the recruiting rules. Often this is where coaches develop relationships.

TPM,
I totally agree. After just that one showcase, son had fun, but it was a bit boring for a pitcher. If we were to do another one, definately go two way player route. There was nothing personal about it at all.

He has gone to one college camp last fall that he was invited to via personal note from coach. He had lots of time to talk to the assistants and HC just light conversation, getting to know eachother, nothing intense. As a matter of fact the staff really got his keen sense of humor - he felt at ease I thought it was time well spent. Just go to the ones that are on your list - not necessarliy each one you are invited to. It is also a good way to take schools off your list if you find it's not a good match.

What's wrong with simply asking the coach/recruiting coordinator?

I think sometimes we all tip toe around.....why not just come out and ask, "Is Junior the type of player that your program would be interested in?"

Of course, this would assume that the coach has seen Junior play or has first hand knowledge of the Junior's talent level.

I think you are right baseball guy-
Coaches and scouts for that matter, are just people. Some are on ego trips, MOST just want to get the best player that fits their immediate needs, get the job done, build their team and get going.
Some are game players, but try to do some research and ask some questions, so you can figure out who those guys are. It is really not that hard. Of course you can never predict for sure what will happen with any program, but you can get a baseline of repeat behavior.

As evidenced this season and tonight by Fresno State, assembling a TEAM that is coached as a TEAM can pay off big time.

So, BE THE BEST YOU CAN BE AND MAKE SURE YOUR FIRST THOUGHT IS TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE TEAM, the rest will come as a result of that effort.