TBR Instant Classic: Recruiting, Showcases & Scouting

I think one problem in the entire process is how poorly parents evaluate their player/children. They either think that their child is the next coming of Derek Jeter/Chipper Jones and he is Joe Average or else, the kid has talent but they are humbly ignoring it.

A lot of people don't think about the "next step" in the process. If a baseball program hasn't established a tradition of placing players into college playing baseball, most of the kids coming through that school won't have the dream, and neither will their parents.

Both need an honest evaluation of their guys level of talent in order to know how to proceed. What's the BEST way of getting it?

 

Both need an honest evaluation of their guys level of talent in order to know how to proceed. What's the BEST way of getting it?

One good tool to show the players and parents both where the player needs to be is summer tournaments against top competition. I gives the kids that want to compete at the next level incentive to work on their games to get better. It gives the parents, who have seen their kid succeed on a local level, an idea of what it takes to compete for scholarship money and get to the college level.

 

Yeah but M'cat, there are a lot of players out there who don't have access to one of the top notch programs, are playing glorified rec ball on a glorified rec team and calling it AAU or USSSA or some such thing.

There are more kids in that situation than in the situation your players are in. For THAT parent, where and how do you start?

 

01-- GPA/SAT--- if you don't qualify academically the coach won't necessarily walk away--- if you have talent he might recommend that you attend a JUCO and stay in touch with him.

Keep in mind that good academics mean $$$ which a coach does not have to take out of his limited scholarship $$$

02-- VIDEOS--- unless asked for specifically by a coach they usually end up in the "round file". Even those on line are not always useful as most college coaches do not have high speed computers and thus do not have the time to sit and wait for the video to down load

03-- By all means attend a school that you would have attended if there was no baseball

04-- Be careful when it comes to "Advisors/Agents"--- they cannot speak to any pro teams for you--they cannot speak to anyon eon your behalf-- unless you are a sure fire top draft pick you really do not need one.

05-- TRUE EVALUATION-- the best way is to attend a reputable showcase---this will give a true evaluation of your talent.--more so it will be a reality check for the parents.

 

NOTICE TO ALL HS JUNIORS/SENIORS AND THEIR PARENTS

and Sophomores up on Varsity

Don't wait for someone else to be NICE and nominate your player. Players ... don't be shy and wait for someone else to recognize you. You need to show the agressiveness and pursue your dreams.

Not a single one of the showcases mind if you nominate yourself or your player. They know that the HS coaches are too busy or may not be knowledgable about your dreams and aspirations. Don't worry, they will do the follow-up.

If you've got "game" and a dream, you owe it to yourself to try. Check out both web sites and have confidence in yourself. It won't hurt to try more than one. Sometimes showcases are looking for different things in players. One may kinda "specialize" in players that may be ready for the draft while another specializes in players that can help college programs, regardless of whether they are "draftable".

This site is about recognizing good players. You have to take the inititive. We can't send in the recommendations ... We can't go see every potential player and give them a write-up.... --- You can!!!!! You should!!!! I hereby give you permission to "brag" a little. Be factual, be accurate and give it a shot.

GET BUSY!!!!!! NOW !!!!!!

 

for new readers....

 

Bump again for new readers

 

I read somewhere today that 75% of college athletes don'y play four years and that less than 1% of college athletes turn pro. Are these numbers pretty accurate? Any thoughts or comments?

 

I believe those figures to be pretty accurate. Check any College roster and see how many seniors are on the squad. Some of those are probably transfers from other schools. On a recruiting visit with my son, I asked the Coach why there were so few seniors on any college squad. He replied that there were many reasons: Gone Pro, transferred out, quit, or dismissed/ cut
It appears that few will make it through all four years at the same school.

 

As for the importance of grades:
1--Obviously they are important to qualify.

2--Grades can imply (not always) something about the character & work habits of a kid. That is important to college coaches who do not want trouble makers whom they will have to babysit.

3--Since baseball scholarships are so sparse (about 11 in D1...7 in D2...NONE in D3), recruiters LOVE kids who can pay their way through academics. It skyrockets a kids value if he's top 20 in his class w/ an SAT of 1300+.

I know this from experience. My son is a good player...but not a program maker. However his skills + academics caused our phone to ring frequently.