Getting Looks From D2's and D3's

"We will not be pursuing you as an actively recruited student-athlete."

I copied and pasted this from an email I received from a Coach this summer. I expected it. I knew it. I just wanted the opinion in hopes said Coach might say he liked what he saw.

I have seen "D1 or Bust" mentality in the eyes of a lot of others. For myself, I realized I did not have the capacity to play D1 awhile back. I still had hopes for it, but I had accepted that my career would likely be continued on the campus of a Division 3 school. This is not intended to discourage anyone from those dreams. Simply some information I would like to pass on, so that others may gain some knowledge.

The first thing I would like to address is directed mostly towards pitchers.
College coaches don't care about velocity. They are looking for movement and control.
False.
The correct way to phrase this is: College coaches don't care about velocity, assuming you throw at least X mph. (With X varying dependent on level of play)

I myself have heard it. My teammates have heard it. Its something every pitcher needs to accept because its the truth.

I witnessed a pitcher throw the game of his life: a 6 2/3 inning masterpiece, giving up only 3 runs, all of which came in the 6th from a 3-run homer from a player selected in the MLB Draft the following summer. The final third of an inning was pitched by the closer. He hit 89 and struck out the one batter he faced. I witnessed two coaches walk straight past the starter to shake the closer's hand and tell him good job. I saw the gun during the game. The starter was only hitting 83. Still believe velocity doesn't matter?


My pursuit of D3 schools began this past summer. I had a great head start because my brother had gone through the "D1 or Bust" mentality and had managed to find a D3 to play for when he realized his dreams would not be fulfilled. So I followed his guidance, and now I am posting this, in hopes that this advice can help someone else experience the dream of playing college baseball. Sadly, this knowledge may be a bit too late to benefit any 2011's.

(Any parents who read this, DON'T YOU DARE write this down and run into your kid's room and read it off to them. Tell them that there is an informational message they should read. It's your son's responsibility. Not yours. If they don't want it enough to do it themselves, then they don't deserve it. You can offer help, but it has to be the kid making the final decisions.)


Step 1: Make some film. If your not so hot with a camcorder, find a friend who can help. I actually made my friend's video because he has no computer skills.

This film does not need to be anything high quality (One coach I contacted even spent at least a whole minute emphasizing this). For purposes of anonymity, I will not be posting my videos, but I will tell you what they consisted of: 5 Fastballs from the side, 4 fastballs with velocity readings, 3 fastballs from the front, 4 curveballs, 3 sliders, and 3 change-ups. I threw alot more pitches than that, but coaches don't want to sit there for 15 minutes watching the video. Mine was 4 minutes, on the dot. I also uploaded additional game videos throughout my summer and fall seasons.

Pitching, hitting, fielding, throwdowns, whatever, try to keep clips in series of a couple swings/throws/etc in a row. You obviously don't want to have it edited too much, but at the same time, you want to make yourself look good.


Step 2: Find some schools you like. Think grades, majors, size, and just anything that should be crucial to where you want to spend the next 4 years. My list started with 28. That was far too large, so I narrowed it down to 13 (8 weaker D1's, and 5 D3's). Your list can change. It will change. When I got it narrowed down to 3 schools, 2 of the 3 I had overlooked back when I initially cut down my list.


Step 3: Contact coaches. My brother sent envelopes with a letter and a DVD of his video enclosed. He would then send coaches an email shortly after mailing the letter, informing coaches he had sent them the letter.
The two things I do not like about this strategy: it cost him around $40 to send all the letters and there was no reassurance a coach would actually watch the video. However, every coach did email him about the video. Coaches are trying to find players. If you send it, they'll watch when they can.

Here was my method, which I personally found to be excellent. Calling and youtube. First, I uploaded my video to youtube, as well as some game footage I had filmed. Then I got on every school's athletics website and found the head coach's and recruiting coordinator's (to my knowledge, head coaches at most D3's handle recruiting) phone and email.
Next was to call. Personally, I hate talking on the phone with someone I have never met. But you gotta do what you gotta do. I'd wake up every morning for a week straight near the end of summer at 9 AM and call every coach on my list, hoping I could get a hold of them. I believe I got a hold of 3 my first day, without much luck the rest of the week. I believe I continued this for another week and then stopped after having contacted most of my schools. During the start of September, I called coaches during my lunch period, which actually yielded some success.

When talking to the coaches, I introduced myself, asked if I could have a moment, and explained why I was calling. At almost every school I contacted, the next thing that came out of the coach's mouth, "How are your grades?" I had my report card and SAT scores sitting on my desk, prepared for the question every time.

Usually the coach would then tell me to fill out a recruiting questionnaire and to send video. I'd tell him I had uploaded it onto youtube and could send him the link. I then verified I had the correct email and then sent it.
The beauty of this tactic, is that the coach is in his office. Almost every time I called a coach and sent him my video, my view counter on youtube went up within the next 5 minutes, so I knew he'd watch.
Another thing coaches may ask is, "How would you describe yourself as a player?" so be ready for that one.
If I could not get ahold of coaches by phone, I sent them emails with my youtube link at the end of the letter.

If the coach didn't like the video, he will get back to you and inform you. If the coach liked it, he will get back to you.

Step 4: This is not necessarily required, as some D3's recruit almost entirely based off of video (edit: D3's are actually attending a lot of showcases now, so exclusive video recruiting is becoming a rarity, but the video is still a crucial element to initiating contact, in my opinion). However, pending a good review of your video, coach's may suggest you come to a camp. When it comes to showcases and camps, I highly encourage attending camps in which you have already corresponded with the coach, as I feel it can definitely improve your chances. I just feel like it puts you more so on a coach's radar. Instead of the coach thinking of you as John, who throws 85 and pitched a couple innings with a few strikeouts; you can be John Smith from North Carolina who throws 85 and pitched 3 shut-out innings with 5 strikeouts. That's my opinion, at least.


The next step will likely be a campus visit. In the case of D3's, they cannot do official visits, so you visit the school like any other student, plus a meeting with the coach. I only went on two visits, and I knew I'd found my school the moment I stepped on campus for the second one.


For purposes of anonymity, I would rather not say my name or the college I will be going to, as I am still in high school and still have my senior season to go. But trust me when I say that everything I have said is true. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

I feel like I may have left out some additional info. If I remember it, I'll post it.

This isn't as organized as I would have liked. Sorry about that.

 

Xpectus- You did a great job describing a proactive approach. As current Georgia assistant head coach, Allen Osborne said, "Coaches liked to be wooed! They want kids that want to play for them."

You are exactly right, schools love velocity simply because it can't be coached--it's god-given. But a pitcher- not a thrower- can find a school that wants him. You may have to be aggressive and actually have to "work" to find the right school, but it's out there.

Your thread is very informative and will be helpful to others.

I am very impressed with your maturity and taking the time to post this...thank you.

 

Very impressive post

Wow! Maybe if this kid doesn't pitch in the majors, he could be very successful in some other endeavor after college. Ambition, tenacity and good communication skills can take someone a long way in the business world.

I appreciate seeing such a thoughtful approach that was well-planned and well-executed.

 

Even though I don't know you, I was already a fan since you follow Eric Cressey. I'm more of a fan now. This is a post that merits a pin at the top of the forum. You'll likely be a good player for someone, and an even better teammate. Good luck, even though you probably won't need it.

 

Forget baseball for a minute. Your thought processes, organization, and presentation are extrordinary.

At least "on paper" you are a great testament to some solid parents and/or teachers (English) somewhere.

Would you be willing to tutor some of my guys? Somehow I feel like you could do a better job than me - and I have two degrees!

Well done. God's providence.

 

nice post bud. i've seen this guy play and he is very talented. obvisouly, he is extremely gifted as well.

i wish you much luck.. except two times this coming spring.

JM

 

Great post excellent and relevent advice. Having recently went through the recruiting process with my daughter on the Fastpitch side. I would have loved to have some of this info a couple of years ago.

 

Thanks for the feedback everyone! As long as this post can help at least 1 player reach the next level, the time I spent writing it will be worth every moment. I had wanted to make this post for awhile, but I had yet to set aside time to write it all out. I started writing it thinking it would take me 30 minutes max to write it out. When I'd finished and proofread it a few times, I realized that I was well past the 2 hour mark. Totally worth it.

The 8 D1's from my list all played in a nice little conference known as the Ivy League. I had dreamed about playing Ivy ball (#1 was Princeton) for the past 3 years. Things didn't work out the way I had planned; lots of couldas, shouldas, and wouldas. But no regrets. I put everything I had into baseball and hopefully it will get me into one of the top non-Ivy institutions in the country. Acceptance letter comes within the next 10 days.

For the past 3 years, my parents have known the chances of me playing Division 1 baseball was slim to none, with not that great of a chance of playing college ball either. Yet they never once hesitated to deal with the costs and traveling of showcase baseball. Not a single time did I receive a look from a school playing showcase, but my parents still supported it. Trust me, they're amazing.

And to any parents out there who have supported their kids through baseball (or softball, stiksdad) please know that your kid really appreciates everything you've done for them. I know there are a lot of times where I forget to thank my parents for all they've done, but I will always be thankful for everything they've done for me, and I'm sure that your child is thankful as well.

 

Add me to the list of xpectus6's admirers. While it's obvious that he's putting a great many positive influences to work for himself, I think he'd probably agree that assuming the responsibility for his recruitment has benefited him in a number of ways.

Players who move into the forefront of their recruiting effort demonstrate their commitment to achieving their goal, improve their ability to communicate effectively with officials like coaches and admissions officers, and learn a great deal more about the schools that are of interest to them than they probably would, otherwise. In short, it's an aid to their maturation process; one from which they'll benefit in many ways beyond their involvement in baseball.

Maintain your love for the game, xpectus6, and you'll end up serving as a positive influence upon players who come behind you in many ways. It's the involvement of people like you over the course of their lifetimes that goes a long way toward making the game great.

Best wishes for your continued success.

 

Let me just say this about Xpectus6. I had the privilege of watching him pitch several times last year. The bigger the situation, the better he seemed to perform. When the game was on the line he looked like a guy who really wanted the ball. I love players like that.

One of the most impressive things Xpectus6 said was that he proofread his original post carefully. Having taught in college and graded many papers by bright kids, this was always my pet peeve. If they would have taken a few extra minutes to look through what they wrote, it would have made a world of difference. If this guy is proofreading his posts on a chat board, just imagine the care and diligence he is going to take with future "weightier" endeavors.