Some Helpful Advice for Rising Seniors

I "stopped by" the High School Baeball Web for the first time in awhile and saw a couple of good threads dealing with how to handle phone calls and scholarship offers. With July 1st rapidly approaching (July 1st is the first day that Division I recruiters can call a player.), I thought those who hadn't seen them might benefit from them.

"If the phone calls come..."

"Jump on the First Good Offer?"

 

Related question....

For those that have gone thru the process, when did the players actually sign?? Was it near the end of the senior year or were they fortunate to sign early in the senior year? And when did the schools start getting serious??

 

It depends entirely on the individual school. Some players (top flight position guys, pitchers, catchers) will and/or have been receiving calls since July 1st. Some offers have already gone out, but most players who receive them will wait to commit until they have their campus visits in the fall. The ACC/SEC schools seem to start a little later than the mid-size D1's who are very active right now.

Other schools heat up in the recruiting process a little later (end of July, first of August). Most of the D2/D3 schools are waiting for the dust to settle and see which pitchers/catchers end up at D1 schools and who is still available.

The actual signing of the NLI (National Letter of Intent) happens in November, but verbal commitments can happen before July 1st. A school may make an offer prior to July 1st if you visit the campus.

With all of that being said, the majority of players commit in the spring of their senior years, particularly the position players. Quite a few pitchers & catchers will also commit during the spring. This will be true of a lot of small D1, D2's and D3 programs.

Once graduation has occurred (for both HS and College), each college may get some surprises (players drafted, injuries, or who won't return for one reason or another), leaving positions that need to be filled. There will be some graduated seniors signed up through August, when the colleges are getting ready to start for next year.

If you haven't heard yet, don't worry, it's still extremely early in the process. If you have, feel fortunate. Frequently, the schools that call in early July will not be the school that you end up accepting an offer from. Some verbal commitments will continue this summer, but don't expect the heavier action to heat up until the end of September/early October.

I just posted about Brad Boob from Butler signing at Coker College this week. I expect to post about a couple more graduated seniors signing later on this week. It's a year-long process, and a lot depends on grades, SAT's etc.

The Juco's normally heat up in January.

 

Some advice for seniors...Play every game as if it's your last cause this could be your last year ever playing baseball again.

 

I agree to play like its your last game because it could be, but also play all out because you never know who may be watching. Lots of coaches and scouts are never noticed at games because they want to see what the player does when he thinks "no one" is watching.

 

Reponding....

We have been fortunate to receive calls and letters expressing interest. The phone calls are easy since you get to talk directly with the coaches. I am looking for some advice on the best approach to respond to the letters? Most of them contain a player information sheet which we promptly complete and return.

 

50% or more of those player information letters are sent to nearly every HS player . They are worth sending in though. What you write down may peak a coach's interest.

When a coach phones , he is usually interested in talking with the player more than the parent, so you might not want to hog up the phone call the first time or 2 he phones.

Another thing that shows interest is to ask how his team is playing at the time fall/spring program.. check the internet for scores or summaries

 

Thanks for the advice IC....let me add a little more clarity to the letters. We actually received some that say the school is interested and feels the player would be an assest to the program. Some of these letters did not include a player information sheet. I'm not sure why the coach would not make a phone call but would chose to send a letter.

And I am asking how folks have responded in this scenario....

 

Sometimes it is to sense the level of interest. I would recommend that you respond to all the letters and if it is a school that you are interested in...give them a call. They probably want your son's fall schedule, too, so they may follow him.

 

Write up your own bio sheet and schedule on your player. When you get a letter that doesn't include a bio sheet form, send them yours, along with his schedule. Always have the player send them a letter along with the forms in a response ASAP.