Unnoticed utility players

I know a young man that has played baseball all of his life. He is a utility player. He has a main position, but is very capable of playing almost anywhere he is put. The other feather in his cap is that he is a great hitter. He has played on a Showcase Team and did very well for them. The dilemma is that he has been overlooked, and some college team would be very lucky to have him on their team. He has a great attitude and is a team player to the end! Not sure what to tell him to do. Any advice??

 

who is it?

I d be more than happy to give you my take on this young man if I have seen him play or know him?

 

1. Have his showcase team coach make a couple of calls for him.

2. Have his high school coach make a couple of calls.

3. Have him "hand write" a letter to the head coach of colleges he is interested in. Don't bore with stats. Tell his primary position, bats/throws (l/r), height, weight. Talk about his interest in the academics at the school!

4. Go to a fall or winter camp at a college he likes.

5. Attend a fall or winter showcase. Impact Baseball is very good.

 

SPD ....

You nailed it ..... times have changed and it's up to the player to "market" himself to a large degree. You have to go to the right places to be seen.

 

tell him to think about JUCO

 

Some of you may have read this article from the April 17th on-line issue of USA Today, about the impact of showcases on college recruiting. If you missed it, here's the link.

USA Today article

 

This young man played on a very good Showcase team this summer. He has been seen. There are two hurdles: he played all summer with this team and due to his committment to that team he could not go to Showcase Camps. Secondly, he plays football in the fall. This makes it very difficult to play fall ball which he is trying to do. He is attending ShowCase camps after football, but he is very disheartened at this point. I assure he is a good player(not just blowing smoke), but somewhere he got lost in the cracks!

 

Southpawdad's advice seems to me to be very good advice, given the situation you've described here. In particular, the player has to make certain that those schools in which he's interested are aware of his interest. And, since I presume he's in his senior year and "time is of the essence," he needs to be as realistic as possible about his choices of schools, both academically and athletically.

Separately, there's a broader point to be made here. I can appreciate how his selflessness led to his staying with his summer team at the expense of his attending showcases, just as I can understand how he would want to play football. What players like him have to understand is that there are MANY fine baseball players who are making other choices; ones that position themselves better to be recruited. They've missed one or two summer team tournaments to attend a showcase and, probably more significantly, they've made a statement about their dedication to baseball by playing fall baseball rather than football. To college coaches, who are left to making fine distinctions among these many talented players, the ones who choose the clearer baseball path make their jobs easier.

Finally, "baseballfanalways," you're to be thanked and commended for taking the personal interest that you have in this young man's situation. Way to go! ...and best of luck to him!

 

Something else to think about - Many colleges have holiday camps, so it is possible that some of the colleges he is interested in may either have a camp or the coaches may be working at a camp. Worth a call to find out.

The other thing to remember (my son is an example of this). Position players are usually the last ones to be taken. Pitchers and total studs sign early, but good position/utility players often times don't sign until the end of their senior year. They just need to make sure the college coaches know of their interest and they need to pursue academic aid at the schools of choice. This makes the recruiting picture even sweeter for the college coach (this info was previously reported by Prepster, who is the acknowledged master of college recruiting )

Tell him to not get down, keep ACTIVE lines of communication open with the coaching staff and get his high school coach involved as soon as possible.

 

From Gonzo:

It's getting more than a little "deep" in here. You undermine your credibility with comments like that, G-zo!

You've forgotten more about this stuff than I'll ever know.