by: Bob Howdeshell
High School Baseball Web
You did not sign a Letter of Intent in the early signing period.
The phone has not been ringing-the letters have stopped. What do you do
now? Is the dream of playing college baseball over?
Maybe not -- But it is time to be PRO-ACTIVE and get back to work. Here
are some tips.
High School Seniors
The early signing period has come and gone, the high school season
is about to start. You may have received a call or two phone calls
from college coaches but nothing is really going on, contact from
colleges just isn't happening. Your frustration level is WAY up -
your self-confidence has taken a pretty good "lick." Think that you
are alone? Trust me on this one - You are not alone. Thousands of
high school baseball players are in the same situation that you are.
What do you do now? Obviously you can't give up the dream of
playing college baseball. You've worked too hard to do that. Have you
explored every option? Here are a few ideas and helpful hints.
First some good news - There are more college scholarships
awarded in the late signing period (April on) than in the early
period. The large D1's sign the bulk of their kids in the early
periods. BUT the majority of the DII, DIII, NAIA and Juco schools
sign their players in the later periods.
I talk to many parents at this time of year that tell me "we sent
out 50 - 75 letters" just like you said to do. My son heard back
(by mail) from almost all of them. Why didn't any of them pursue
him further?
There can be a variety of reasons for that answer. What I usually
discover is that the letters went to the 50 or so strongest Division
1 baseball programs in the country. (LSU, Stanford, Georgia Tech,
etc.) The truth is these schools get hundreds and even sometimes more
than a thousand letters (each year) from hopeful high school players.
I know of 10 or more schools that responded to over 500 letters.
Getting a letter from a school DOES NOT mean that they are recruiting
you.
It is probably time to step back and take a second look at the caliber
of college baseball that you are really capable of playing. Not
everyone can play for a Top 10 team. There is no shame in that!
It is probably the time to contact some of the smaller schools, again
the DII, DIII, NAIA and Juco programs. Most players and parents miss
these the first time around.
I would also suggest that you focus your search closer to home, if
there are schools in your area. Keep in mind that the college programs
will be playing the same time that you will be. It would be very
difficult for a college coach at a school several hundred miles
away to make it to one of your games.
Here are some ideas to try:
It's not too late but it is time to be PRO-ACTIVE and make contact
with schools. As the baseball season starts you will have even less
time to make follow-up phone calls, etc.
You have been playing baseball most of your life. You don't want
to quit on your dream now do you?
GOOD LUCK!