Collectively, A Thread To Celebrate Our Kids Athletic Accomplishments (3 Viewers)

[Gally]

Grain of Salt for Gally -

not all D1's are created equal
not all D2's are created equal
not all D3's are created equal
not all NAIA/JUCO's are created equal

what I mean by that is specially in the softball world everyone on the I'm PLAYING D1 bandwagon... Some of these D1 schools would get beat by some of our local D3 schools.

Completely agree. There are all levels within the divisions and you gotta find the right fit regardless. One of the things we have talked a lot about is what matters to him. Is it playing, being part of a team, the area, the school, the ??????.

Essentially you have to find a school that hits on what's important to you. If you hate being there nothing else really matters. Overall, I am not too worried about the process or lack of interest at this point. If he follows up his junior season with an improved (or similar) senior season he will get a shot somewhere. Our biggest concern is him going somewhere he will be happy.

 

[belljr]

Grain of Salt for Gally -

not all D1's are created equal
not all D2's are created equal
not all D3's are created equal
not all NAIA/JUCO's are created equal

what I mean by that is specially in the softball world everyone on the I'm PLAYING D1 bandwagon... Some of these D1 schools would get beat by some of our local D3 schools.

Completely agree. There are all levels within the divisions and you gotta find the right fit regardless. One of the things we have talked a lot about is what matters to him. Is it playing, being part of a team, the area, the school, the ??????.

Essentially you have to find a school that hits on what's important to you. If you hate being there nothing else really matters. Overall, I am not too worried about the process or lack of interest at this point. If he follows up his junior season with an improved (or similar) senior season he will get a shot somewhere. Our biggest concern is him going somewhere he will be happy.

We call it "the broken leg test" - if you were to suffer an injury that prevented you from finishing your career, would you like going to the school

 

[Todem]

Important questions for you Gally because it can be an overwhelming process.

1. What is his true position Pitcher or Hitter/fielder. Two way players fade away in college for the most part unless your exceptional at both. Typically most teams have a couple of two ways at the most. It seems to be either you focus on pitching or being a position player.

2. Grades seems great which is critical. There is a lot of academic money out there for baseball players especially at D2/D3

3. If he is a pitcher and his velo is 85-87 he is absolutely a good fit D2 and D3.

4. He is a senior….how many school has he reached out to that he is truly interested in, introduced himself, sent video, etc and how much traction has he gotten.

1. He knows that two way is a pipe dream and is fine with that. He has already come to the mindset that pitching is where he is best suited. We discussed this with the D2 school interested in him and they aren't against a two way player but told him he would have to really excel in both to do it. They had a guy last year kind of come out of nowhere and be their 3B and RP (closer). He got the chance and showed he could do it. That is how they approach it. Give you the chance and you either play your way in or out of it. My son is fine with that.

2. He has no problem grades wise. He already applied to the D2 school and was accepted and qualifies for their merit scholarship that is basically a freebie.

3. That is where I saw his abilities taking him. I think he could easily get to 85/86 by just filling out and I think if he really worked he could get to the 88-90 but it would take some serious work on velo specific things which may not really help his overall game. His arm slot and speed changes/movement are really his bread and butter so maxing out velo with effort my not suit him. I would like him to just get stronger and let his natural arm slot/motion maintain and get into the 86-87 range consistently with off speed in the mid to upper 70's (maintain his current separation and movement).

4. He has emailed, Twittered, sent videos to half dozen schools he is interested in and had zero response back from any of the coaches. The school that has shown interest was because we were able to set up a bullpen in front of their pitching coach because he was in town visiting his family and a friend of mine knows him and set it up. Since then we have had great communication with that school on what they expect, want to see, and will continue to monitor. I believe it is a very promising opportunity.


As far as the showcase, I know it's probably not a great ROI but it is a pressure situation in front of scouts against other good players in a "tryout" type situation. I think the experience will be beneficial even if he doesn't get many contacts or interest. Bottom line is that his measurables don't turn any heads. Coaches need to seem him manage a game and get people out to get an understanding of his value. I know that sounds like dad speak but I feel it is accurate. One of the opposing coaches in our area (the one that set up the bullpen session for the D2 coach) did that because of this exact thing. It was what he told the college coach. As he put it......"he just gets guys out and nobody ever hits him hard". So when you send stats/videos etc it's hard to understand his value to a team. Earlier this year he shut down a team in the first game of the double header. CG, 5 hits, 1 BB, 8 K's and in between games their best hitter was talking to his parents and I overheard him say, "That pitcher.......sucks. I can't believe we didn't hammer him". A lot of teams end up saying that because they can't figure out why they don't square him up. I am hoping this showcase will give that glimpse to some coaches.

Thanks for the info.

My son also was not a “combine” guy. He is simply a clay rat grinder with great hands, great feet, good speed (6.8 60 yard) great baserunner. And a great gap to gap line-drive hitter.

He emailed 75 schools to start back in the summer of entering his Junior year.

You really need to do a lot more emailing and spread the horizon out even more in my opinion. Really hone in geographically where it is acceptable for your son and your family.

My son had exposure in that he played on Stoneman Douglas and got some looks in summer high school showcase ball….and I agree nothing takes the place of getting looks in actual games.

However being that your son is behind in the process and I say that not to say you did anything wrong….I say that because this past summer was a critical one to have relationships with college coaches to come see him this past summer.

Now I would suggest to reach out to other potential D2 and D3 schools and see if they have showcase camps for their school. They are a great way to get in front pf those coaches from that school. But being on their radar prior is important.

It’s hard man…..the numbers are hardcore.

500K high school players vying for about 30-35K spots in the entire country. And with the transfer portal it is also making it harder.

I wish your son a lot of luck and to keep at it…..but being relentless with emails to schools he truly interested in and realistically has a decent shot to play and develop in is really important.

They need to be concise and to the point. These coaches get 100’s a week.

My son was able to get 10 schools truly interested and widdled it down to 5 the summer entering his senior year…..but that process started a year prior.

Best of luck Gally!!

 

[Gally]

He emailed 75 schools to start back in the summer of entering his Junior year.

This is part of the issue. I don't want to be that dad and do it for my son because I think part of this is for him to be his advocate and start taking care of his business. He has sent the emails to the schools he is interested in but he has a finite set of schools he has interest in. That will make it tougher and I have told him as such.

Now I would suggest to reach out to other potential D2 and D3 schools and see if they have showcase camps for their school. They are a great way to get in front pf those coaches from that school. But being on their radar prior is important.

We have looked into these and thus far the schools he is interested in haven't had these camps or at least we haven't been able to see from their websites that they have camps. It could just be the schools he has interest in (he is interested in Colorado and Minnesota schools and we like in California....go figure). The distance does make it tougher for him as well to get good info or easy contact.

I wish your son a lot of luck and to keep at it…..but being relentless with emails to schools he truly interested in and realistically has a decent shot to play and develop in is really important.

This is what I am trying to convince him of but it hasn't sunk in yet. He has a hard time "bragging" on himself and I keep trying to tell him that he isn't boasting and that it is what coaches need to even know you exist. It's the way this stuff works. He is a but stubborn though. I am supporting him and trying to help him but in the end he needs to do the work. Right now he is doing the on field work but not so much of the networking work. I am hoping this showcase will open his eyes some to what he has to do. We will see.

Thanks for all the advice. It is very much appreciated.

 

[Boston]

A couple of random things to add:

*There is a big difference between being on a college team and playing on a college team and I truly don't believe how many people don't get this...it's amazing how many kids go D1 that have almost no chance of playing regularly regardless of how hard they work...from an athletic point-of-view you want to put yourself in the best position to be on the field if you are working hard...college athletics be it D1, D2 or D3 is a big time commitment and if you have no chance of playing it just won't be as much fun...I find it comical when I hear some kids say I'm just gonna go D3 thinking they will just show up and be a stud and then get a huge wake-up call as to what the level of play and commitment is at D3 let alone D1

*When you are being recruited it is all unicorns and rainbows...I would highly recommend talking to an ex-player to find out what the real deal with a Coach is...it should be a player that actually played because if he/she didn't there may be an ax to grind...there are a lot of bad Coaches out there and they can be very good at masking it during the recruiting process...if athletics are important to you you don't want to go to a program where the HC is sucking the life out of the program...playing a college sport is something very few kids get a chance to do and should be a great life experience...you don't want a HC that destroys it

*If you are looking at a D2 or D1 school that offers scholarships ask if they are fully funded...that means do they use the max number of scholarships they have the ability to use...if they don't there is a good chance that those teams will not be that competitive and it probably will not change going forward...you don't want to be on a team that is getting hammered all the time because they are at a competitive disadvantage

 

[Peak]

This is what I am trying to convince him of but it hasn't sunk in yet. He has a hard time "bragging" on himself and I keep trying to tell him that he isn't boasting and that it is what coaches need to even know you exist.

My son was like this in the beginning. I told him the same, that he's not bragging but letting them know he exists. I told him it doesn't always have to be his stats or "look at me" type of scenarios. He could send a video of him working out with his coach, or doing a bullpen to find the right grip/release point on his pitches. Just show that he's doing the work off the field on his own...taking the initiative. Could even pose a question to the coach asking for feedback or if they see anything he could work on from the video. This has triggered a couple of good conversations with the coaches when he does go the camps, just because the coaches tend to remember him more since he's always in their inbox. Nothing long - just a quick one-liner on how things are going, a video if its there, then ask about upcoming camps or events they'll be attending. But it's something he has to initiate. They won't come find him if he doesn't let them know he's out there. Good Luck!

 

[Boston]

Other random thoughts:

*Music on videos the kids send…remember who you are sending the video to and it is not to a senior in high school…absolutely no vulgarity and don’t have it be over the top whether it is rap or heavy metal or whatever style of music you choose…too often the kids do videos that they also want to appeal to their peers and that can be a real turn off to Coaches…when my son did his video I talked him into using Jessica from the Allman Brothers feeling it was a pretty neutral choice that may also appeal to the age of some coaches…he dId it but thought it was kind of odd…fast-forward to his first recruiting visit (where he actually ended up) and the first thing the HC says to us is that was the first time he actually turned up the sound when watching a video…the look on my son’s face was priceless…the old Dad actually isn’t a moron look…we had 3 other Coaches mention it as well

*One other thing about videos…do not make it all ”wow” plays…that is not reality and does not show the Coach what the kid is really about…include a lot of little things, especially those that show fundamentals and IQ…my kids play lax and examples of this would be stuff like defensive footwork and sliding, setting picks or just a smart pass on a clear…that stuff is ultimately what the game is all about…it also shows self-awareness and some humility as opposed to 15 clips of a kid ripping shots that go bar down

 

[Gally]

*Music on videos the kids send…remember who you are sending the video to and it is not to a senior in high school…absolutely no vulgarity and don’t have it be over the top whether it is rap or heavy metal or whatever style of music you choose…

I have read many recommendations from coaches that they prefer no music and generally will turn down the sound if it is over the top. They will listen if dad is on the video though so it's kind of a double edged sword. I think minimizing the audio is the way to go and wouldn't put any music. Adding stuff I think can only hurt you and won't really help you.

*One other thing about videos…do not make it all ”wow” plays…that is not reality and does not show the Coach what the kid is really about…include a lot of little things, especially those that show fundamentals and IQ…my kids play lax and examples of this would be stuff like defensive footwork and sliding, setting picks or just a smart pass on a clear…that stuff is ultimately what the game is all about…it also shows self-awareness and some humility as opposed to 15 clips of a kid ripping shots that go bar down

Very good point. You want to show many aspects of the game you are playing. Each sport will be different but showing a variety of skills for what that sport requires is very good advice.

 

[Chadstroma]

*When you are being recruited it is all unicorns and rainbows...I would highly recommend talking to an ex-player to find out what the real deal with a Coach is...it should be a player that actually played because if he/she didn't there may be an ax to grind...there are a lot of bad Coaches out there and they can be very good at masking it during the recruiting process...if athletics are important to you you don't want to go to a program where the HC is sucking the life out of the program...playing a college sport is something very few kids get a chance to do and should be a great life experience...you don't want a HC that destroys it

There are a lot of issues with the transfer portal BUT one thing I think is good from the transfer portal is that programs with coaches that suck in terms of the human element will have their programs gutted and they will eventually be out of a job. The transfer portal should work coaches out who say and do the right things on the recruitment side but actually just suck in the coaching side. Athletes are just not stuck anymore with limited choices or options.

 

[Boston]

*Music on videos the kids send…remember who you are sending the video to and it is not to a senior in high school…absolutely no vulgarity and don’t have it be over the top whether it is rap or heavy metal or whatever style of music you choose…

I have read many recommendations from coaches that they prefer no music and generally will turn down the sound if it is over the top. They will listen if dad is on the video though so it's kind of a double edged sword. I think minimizing the audio is the way to go and wouldn't put any music. Adding stuff I think can only hurt you and won't really help you.

*One other thing about videos…do not make it all ”wow” plays…that is not reality and does not show the Coach what the kid is really about…include a lot of little things, especially those that show fundamentals and IQ…my kids play lax and examples of this would be stuff like defensive footwork and sliding, setting picks or just a smart pass on a clear…that stuff is ultimately what the game is all about…it also shows self-awareness and some humility as opposed to 15 clips of a kid ripping shots that go bar down

Very good point. You want to show many aspects of the game you are playing. Each sport will be different but showing a variety of skills for what that sport requires is very good advice.

What do you mean if Dad is on the video?

 

[Gally]

*Music on videos the kids send…remember who you are sending the video to and it is not to a senior in high school…absolutely no vulgarity and don’t have it be over the top whether it is rap or heavy metal or whatever style of music you choose…

I have read many recommendations from coaches that they prefer no music and generally will turn down the sound if it is over the top. They will listen if dad is on the video though so it's kind of a double edged sword. I think minimizing the audio is the way to go and wouldn't put any music. Adding stuff I think can only hurt you and won't really help you.

*One other thing about videos…do not make it all ”wow” plays…that is not reality and does not show the Coach what the kid is really about…include a lot of little things, especially those that show fundamentals and IQ…my kids play lax and examples of this would be stuff like defensive footwork and sliding, setting picks or just a smart pass on a clear…that stuff is ultimately what the game is all about…it also shows self-awareness and some humility as opposed to 15 clips of a kid ripping shots that go bar down

Very good point. You want to show many aspects of the game you are playing. Each sport will be different but showing a variety of skills for what that sport requires is very good advice.

What do you mean if Dad is on the video?

Speaking in the background of the video saying dad things during the live game action to turn a coaching staff off

 

[Boston]

*Music on videos the kids send…remember who you are sending the video to and it is not to a senior in high school…absolutely no vulgarity and don’t have it be over the top whether it is rap or heavy metal or whatever style of music you choose…

I have read many recommendations from coaches that they prefer no music and generally will turn down the sound if it is over the top. They will listen if dad is on the video though so it's kind of a double edged sword. I think minimizing the audio is the way to go and wouldn't put any music. Adding stuff I think can only hurt you and won't really help you.

*One other thing about videos…do not make it all ”wow” plays…that is not reality and does not show the Coach what the kid is really about…include a lot of little things, especially those that show fundamentals and IQ…my kids play lax and examples of this would be stuff like defensive footwork and sliding, setting picks or just a smart pass on a clear…that stuff is ultimately what the game is all about…it also shows self-awareness and some humility as opposed to 15 clips of a kid ripping shots that go bar down

Very good point. You want to show many aspects of the game you are playing. Each sport will be different but showing a variety of skills for what that sport requires is very good advice.

What do you mean if Dad is on the video?

Speaking in the background of the video saying dad things during the live game action to turn a coaching staff off

Ahhh...yes...very rookie move for anyone who would include that...plenty of opportunity to edit it out...if not that is a very big red flag about the family.

 

[El Floppo]

12yo floppinha just won a scholarship for the Lee Strasberg theater and film institute... not sports, but gotta peacock it.

 

[Chadstroma]

12yo floppinha just won a scholarship for the Lee Strasberg theater and film institute... not sports, but gotta peacock it.

Is that institute college level?

 

[Chadstroma]

*Music on videos the kids send…remember who you are sending the video to and it is not to a senior in high school…absolutely no vulgarity and don’t have it be over the top whether it is rap or heavy metal or whatever style of music you choose…

I have read many recommendations from coaches that they prefer no music and generally will turn down the sound if it is over the top. They will listen if dad is on the video though so it's kind of a double edged sword. I think minimizing the audio is the way to go and wouldn't put any music. Adding stuff I think can only hurt you and won't really help you.

*One other thing about videos…do not make it all ”wow” plays…that is not reality and does not show the Coach what the kid is really about…include a lot of little things, especially those that show fundamentals and IQ…my kids play lax and examples of this would be stuff like defensive footwork and sliding, setting picks or just a smart pass on a clear…that stuff is ultimately what the game is all about…it also shows self-awareness and some humility as opposed to 15 clips of a kid ripping shots that go bar down

Very good point. You want to show many aspects of the game you are playing. Each sport will be different but showing a variety of skills for what that sport requires is very good advice.

What do you mean if Dad is on the video?

Speaking in the background of the video saying dad things during the live game action to turn a coaching staff off

So edit out any mutterings of "Damn it Chadstroma Jr, get over there" while taking video... got it. For a friend.

 

[belljr]

12yo floppinha just won a scholarship for the Lee Strasberg theater and film institute... not sports, but gotta peacock it.

Don't bring that artsy fartsy stuff in here!!!

J/k that's awesome

Is it a 12 week program or a full academic year?

 

[El Floppo]

12yo floppinha just won a scholarship for the Lee Strasberg theater and film institute... not sports, but gotta peacock it.

Don't bring that artsy fartsy stuff in here!!!

J/k that's awesome

Is it a 12 week program or a full academic year?

Full year, full days Saturdays. There goes her Tennis tournament schedule.

 

[El Floppo]

12yo floppinha just won a scholarship for the Lee Strasberg theater and film institute... not sports, but gotta peacock it.

Is that institute college level?

It's professional... so all ages. I think she's in a junior program

 

[Chadstroma]

12yo floppinha just won a scholarship for the Lee Strasberg theater and film institute... not sports, but gotta peacock it.

Is that institute college level?

It's professional... so all ages. I think she's in a junior program

That is awesome! Congrats to her and you!

 

[Gally]

@Gally could be what you want....from a mlb scout

"Heard of that one but don't know much about it...asked my buddy out there and he said it used to be good but has dried up last few years - mostly D2-D3 and Juco coaches attend now"


From my personal experience with softball ....showcases are hit or miss some years some places you go we saw tons of coaches and other times we didn't

So we had the showcase last weekend and it seemed to be well attended. It did seem to have mostly lower tiered (D2-D3) schools in attendence. At least that was what I could tell from the "Academic Tryout" portion the first day. That had most of the kids concentrated in one area (field) by position with many scouts observing. My son did the pitching version and happened to be #1....so he got to go first. It was kind of dumb in that they had him throw 9 pitches on the main mound. 4 FB, 3 BB, and 2 CU. I found most of the "scouting" took place during their bullpen time as that is where most of the guns and note takers were located. Probably because they could watch three kids at a time.

Anyway, looking over the shoulder of a few RG's he was sitting 83 with his FB. A little down from what I expected (his coach got him the week before at 85 during some live work). He didn't get selected for the game which I figured because he wasn't 90+. Overall he did fine but his FB stayed up (trying to overthrow a bit) and he said he didn't have great movement (probably also because he was overthrowing).

On to the games. He ended up pitching to 20 batters overall over two different games. He gave up 4 hits, 1 BB, 6 K's, 4 R (1 ER - there were a ton of errors in most of the games). All in all not too bad all while dealing with a *fatigued arm. At the plate he went 5-8 with a 3B, 2B, 2 BB, 2 K, 2 SB and was probably one of the better hitters in all games he was in between both teams. Defensively he played everywhere but CF and C and made one error (a slow roller at 3B where he slipped on the throw and pulled the 1B off the bag a bit). He made the other 4 or 5 plays he had.

Coach assessment was that he was going to have a difficult choice choosing between pitching and position player at the next level thinking he could likely do either one. He said, he probably was better suited to pitch but not by much.

Since then, he has gotten one text from a coach at a D3 school, two emails about schools "prospect camps" and a couple other emails that look mostly like form letters but do have some specific things in them wanting to set up phone calls to talk about the programs. Most seem to be D3 opportunities and are likely just spam from his info on the rosters from the showcase.

His coach said he would put together an evaluation and send it out to schools he had interest playing at if he had connections there and would also reach out to some schools in our area where he does have contacts with a recommendation. Hopefully that leads to something.

All in all it was an interesting experience but not as structured scout wise as i expected. They were playing at 4 different complexes with 4-6 fields at each complex so his games didn't seem to be all that well attended (from what I could tell). It was a good learning experience and he seemed to have a good time so overall probably worth the cost (barely..hahahah).


*He was fatigued because for some reason he decided to throw a "light" pen on Tuesday (the tryout was Thursday) just to get a feel. Well, his perfectionist brain took over and when he wasn't hitting his spots like he wanted to he ended up throwing 65 pitches. He was just starting to ramp up so he wasn't fresh for the Thursday tryout and it carried over to his two outings as well. I think it cost him some velocity but he still had good movement and decent control (not as good as usual) so he now knows that was a bad idea and hopefully learns from that.

 

[The Z Machine]

My 10 y.o. son played in a soccer tournament this weekend. Had 2 goals and 6 assists in 4 games. Played primarily wide midfield and some striker. I'll share more details about the tournament in the youth soccer thread. Proud of him and his play. Ran hard, passed well, put in the work on defense. Overall he was super solid and played very consistently. Played a team game and zero hero ball.

 

[NorvilleBarnes]

My son is undefeated for the 3rd straight year in all basketball games against me.

 

[Todem]

@Gally could be what you want....from a mlb scout

"Heard of that one but don't know much about it...asked my buddy out there and he said it used to be good but has dried up last few years - mostly D2-D3 and Juco coaches attend now"


From my personal experience with softball ....showcases are hit or miss some years some places you go we saw tons of coaches and other times we didn't

So we had the showcase last weekend and it seemed to be well attended. It did seem to have mostly lower tiered (D2-D3) schools in attendence. At least that was what I could tell from the "Academic Tryout" portion the first day. That had most of the kids concentrated in one area (field) by position with many scouts observing. My son did the pitching version and happened to be #1....so he got to go first. It was kind of dumb in that they had him throw 9 pitches on the main mound. 4 FB, 3 BB, and 2 CU. I found most of the "scouting" took place during their bullpen time as that is where most of the guns and note takers were located. Probably because they could watch three kids at a time.

Anyway, looking over the shoulder of a few RG's he was sitting 83 with his FB. A little down from what I expected (his coach got him the week before at 85 during some live work). He didn't get selected for the game which I figured because he wasn't 90+. Overall he did fine but his FB stayed up (trying to overthrow a bit) and he said he didn't have great movement (probably also because he was overthrowing).

On to the games. He ended up pitching to 20 batters overall over two different games. He gave up 4 hits, 1 BB, 6 K's, 4 R (1 ER - there were a ton of errors in most of the games). All in all not too bad all while dealing with a *fatigued arm. At the plate he went 5-8 with a 3B, 2B, 2 BB, 2 K, 2 SB and was probably one of the better hitters in all games he was in between both teams. Defensively he played everywhere but CF and C and made one error (a slow roller at 3B where he slipped on the throw and pulled the 1B off the bag a bit). He made the other 4 or 5 plays he had.

Coach assessment was that he was going to have a difficult choice choosing between pitching and position player at the next level thinking he could likely do either one. He said, he probably was better suited to pitch but not by much.

Since then, he has gotten one text from a coach at a D3 school, two emails about schools "prospect camps" and a couple other emails that look mostly like form letters but do have some specific things in them wanting to set up phone calls to talk about the programs. Most seem to be D3 opportunities and are likely just spam from his info on the rosters from the showcase.

His coach said he would put together an evaluation and send it out to schools he had interest playing at if he had connections there and would also reach out to some schools in our area where he does have contacts with a recommendation. Hopefully that leads to something.

All in all it was an interesting experience but not as structured scout wise as i expected. They were playing at 4 different complexes with 4-6 fields at each complex so his games didn't seem to be all that well attended (from what I could tell). It was a good learning experience and he seemed to have a good time so overall probably worth the cost (barely..hahahah).


*He was fatigued because for some reason he decided to throw a "light" pen on Tuesday (the tryout was Thursday) just to get a feel. Well, his perfectionist brain took over and when he wasn't hitting his spots like he wanted to he ended up throwing 65 pitches. He was just starting to ramp up so he wasn't fresh for the Thursday tryout and it carried over to his two outings as well. I think it cost him some velocity but he still had good movement and decent control (not as good as usual) so he now knows that was a bad idea and hopefully learns from that.

If there were any schools he has a lot of interest in. Have him personally send emails to those coaches and thanking them for the opportunity to compete and asking if they had any feedback they could share as well as any next steps if they have any interest in talking about the program in more detail.

Personalize it for that specific school as well.

On another note my son is starting week 5 of 8 of his Fall program at college. He is doing fantastic and having the time of his life.

We have a parent weekend in two weeks!

 

[ChiefD]

@Gally - good stuff regarding your son's journey and some really good advice in here.

My son is a high school senior going through this as a kicker. He only started kicking as a junior last year because the team didn't have a kicker and he had played soccer. So he just went out and kicked. And now he wants to kick in college. So we have been going through this recruiting journey as well. Last year was his first year ever playing football - he loves everything about it.

He went to three camps last summer. Two of them were prospect camps and one of them was a school's specific camp. He has had three offers for kicking and all three offers came from one of the prospect camps. We had campus invites from all three schools and went to two of them. So at this point he has narrowed his choice to one school. These are smaller schools - NCAA D3.

My son is a big kid: about 6'1" and 170 pounds. With room to add another 20 pounds of muscle easy. He is a pretty good kicker now but his potential is sky-high once he gets into a college weight program and is with proper coaching. His high school coaching is a joke.

As we have gone through this process, we've learned:

1. Send direct messages through Twitter when possible. This is the platform these college coaches are using. At least in football. We tried email and I don't know if we ever got a response by email. I also personally sent the coaches direct messages through twitter thanking them for the college visits and such. And after the prospect camp I always sent a follow up thank you to the coach or recruiting coordinator, and always got a response to those.

2. Have him tag and follow and comment on the team's twitter feeds.

3. Keep at it. He will be able to go somewhere, as there are a ton of colleges with programs that will fit him.

On our very first college visit, the first thing the head coach said was something we kind of stuck to during the visits:

"When you are on our campus, pay attention to the people. Not just the football team or us as coaches, but everyone walking around. Ask them questions. See how they interact with you. See how we as coaches communicate with our team. We want your son to be comfortable with the school and everything about it"

So we did. We paid attention to everything about that. We saw how the coaches talked to their players before, during, and after the game. All the people on campus. And everything about that program was amazing. So when we went on future visits we took that same approach.

I think every kid needs to identify what is important to them as far as the sport is concerned. For our son, he wants a chance to play. He could probably walk on at a D2 school, but for him D3 is a better fit. And the whole situation has to be a good fit:

1. Do they have my major? My son is going into Sports Management, and the school he has narrowed it down to has a Sports Business major.

2. Are they in a good location for internships and future opportunities?

3. Will he get a fair chance to play?

And his choice checks all those boxes. Incidentally he wants to go with the first school he visited. They were amazing there. And the second thing that head coach said was:

"If your son chooses our school, he will get to play college football. We field a varsity and junior varsity here, and your son will play on one of those teams and he will see the field. He will be a college athlete and get to play."

So he will get to play with the opportunity to play varsity if he wins that job. So for your son, just figure out the most important things he wants out of this and go for it.

It's an amazing journey.

 

[Angry Beavers]

I have posted earlier in here, I think. Here is an update. My 22 year old son has been in various combat sports basically his whole life, from little kid Karate at age 3 on. He is now a national level boxer on the cusp of being ranked in the top 10 for his weight class. The ranking is based on 2 years of results. He only started boxing again 15 months ago after training a bunch of disciplines just to stay in shape and learn (basically 2 years away from just boxing) He goes to a national tournament in Colorado later this summer with a shot to get to the Olympic Trials. His 1st National Tournament he won 2 bouts before bowing out in a very close contest. Just proud of that kid and how insanely dedicated he is. #Flex

So here is the update. It is not the best. Colorado did not happen. He had been battling shoulder pain since a bout last summer. We had shut him down for a few weeks and that seemed to help. We were thinking tendonitis or something similar. Shortly after posting this it was clear that something was not right. Rehab which did nothing so insurance will pay for the MRI. MRI reveals a partially torn labrum. Surgery two weeks from today and then 6 months of sling, rehab etc. Good news - it is a partial tear and expected complete recovery. Bad news - well this sucks all the way around.

 

[Skipdog77]

@Gally - good stuff regarding your son's journey and some really good advice in here.

My son is a high school senior going through this as a kicker. He only started kicking as a junior last year because the team didn't have a kicker and he had played soccer. So he just went out and kicked. And now he wants to kick in college. So we have been going through this recruiting journey as well. Last year was his first year ever playing football - he loves everything about it.

He went to three camps last summer. Two of them were prospect camps and one of them was a school's specific camp. He has had three offers for kicking and all three offers came from one of the prospect camps. We had campus invites from all three schools and went to two of them. So at this point he has narrowed his choice to one school. These are smaller schools - NCAA D3.

My son is a big kid: about 6'1" and 170 pounds. With room to add another 20 pounds of muscle easy. He is a pretty good kicker now but his potential is sky-high once he gets into a college weight program and is with proper coaching. His high school coaching is a joke.

As we have gone through this process, we've learned:

1. Send direct messages through Twitter when possible. This is the platform these college coaches are using. At least in football. We tried email and I don't know if we ever got a response by email. I also personally sent the coaches direct messages through twitter thanking them for the college visits and such. And after the prospect camp I always sent a follow up thank you to the coach or recruiting coordinator, and always got a response to those.

2. Have him tag and follow and comment on the team's twitter feeds.

3. Keep at it. He will be able to go somewhere, as there are a ton of colleges with programs that will fit him.

On our very first college visit, the first thing the head coach said was something we kind of stuck to during the visits:

"When you are on our campus, pay attention to the people. Not just the football team or us as coaches, but everyone walking around. Ask them questions. See how they interact with you. See how we as coaches communicate with our team. We want your son to be comfortable with the school and everything about it"

So we did. We paid attention to everything about that. We saw how the coaches talked to their players before, during, and after the game. All the people on campus. And everything about that program was amazing. So when we went on future visits we took that same approach.

I think every kid needs to identify what is important to them as far as the sport is concerned. For our son, he wants a chance to play. He could probably walk on at a D2 school, but for him D3 is a better fit. And the whole situation has to be a good fit:

1. Do they have my major? My son is going into Sports Management, and the school he has narrowed it down to has a Sports Business major.

2. Are they in a good location for internships and future opportunities?

3. Will he get a fair chance to play?

And his choice checks all those boxes. Incidentally he wants to go with the first school he visited. They were amazing there. And the second thing that head coach said was:

"If your son chooses our school, he will get to play college football. We field a varsity and junior varsity here, and your son will play on one of those teams and he will see the field. He will be a college athlete and get to play."

So he will get to play with the opportunity to play varsity if he wins that job. So for your son, just figure out the most important things he wants out of this and go for it.

It's an amazing journey.

This is a great post. Agree 100% with all you said.

My daughter is going through the recruiting process now to play hockey in college. We have several visits lined up in the next couple of months, all at D3 schools.

She decided D3 would be the best fit for her, as she can be a higher end player at a D3 program vs a potential bench player at D1, and she wants to play.

Then we looked at schools that had the major she wanted, and focused on them. She sent out emails to the coached, told them which camps/tournaments she would be at over the summer, and started making connections as they came out to see her play, and watched her highlight video. She has a couple of frontrunner schools right now, but doesn't want to rush her decision.

Some other things I would add to your list to consider:

- What size roster does the coach intend to carry? At least in women's hockey, we've seen some that carry 20, and some that carry 35. The larger the roster size the more players have to sit.

- Your athlete should not be afraid to ask the coach where they see them slotting in on their team, not just in Freshman year, but in subsequent years as well. Helps define the path to regular playing time (as long as the player puts in the work, obviously. Nothing is guaranteed).

- Location is important. Does your player/student want to be in an urban environment, or would they prefer a smaller town? Then you can dial in your search a bit more.

It's been an interesting and fun ride so far. It's pretty cool to hear her talking on the phone with college coaches who are really excited about her coming to visit, and hearing her converse confidently with them. Super proud of her no matter what happens, and love her determination.

Good luck to all going through the process now and in the future.

 

[Chadstroma]

My son got his first sack in football this last game. Also a couple of tackles and a fumble recovery.

 

[ChiefD]

- What size roster does the coach intend to carry? At least in women's hockey, we've seen some that carry 20, and some that carry 35. The larger the roster size the more players have to sit.

Very good point. And this was very much a factor in his choice.

His preferred school has about 100 kids. So for having varsity and junior varsity the numbers make perfect sense.

His second choice carried about 140 kids for one varsity team. Playing time there would be really tough.

 

[Boston]

@Gally - good stuff regarding your son's journey and some really good advice in here.

My son is a high school senior going through this as a kicker. He only started kicking as a junior last year because the team didn't have a kicker and he had played soccer. So he just went out and kicked. And now he wants to kick in college. So we have been going through this recruiting journey as well. Last year was his first year ever playing football - he loves everything about it.

He went to three camps last summer. Two of them were prospect camps and one of them was a school's specific camp. He has had three offers for kicking and all three offers came from one of the prospect camps. We had campus invites from all three schools and went to two of them. So at this point he has narrowed his choice to one school. These are smaller schools - NCAA D3.

My son is a big kid: about 6'1" and 170 pounds. With room to add another 20 pounds of muscle easy. He is a pretty good kicker now but his potential is sky-high once he gets into a college weight program and is with proper coaching. His high school coaching is a joke.

As we have gone through this process, we've learned:

1. Send direct messages through Twitter when possible. This is the platform these college coaches are using. At least in football. We tried email and I don't know if we ever got a response by email. I also personally sent the coaches direct messages through twitter thanking them for the college visits and such. And after the prospect camp I always sent a follow up thank you to the coach or recruiting coordinator, and always got a response to those.

2. Have him tag and follow and comment on the team's twitter feeds.

3. Keep at it. He will be able to go somewhere, as there are a ton of colleges with programs that will fit him.

On our very first college visit, the first thing the head coach said was something we kind of stuck to during the visits:

"When you are on our campus, pay attention to the people. Not just the football team or us as coaches, but everyone walking around. Ask them questions. See how they interact with you. See how we as coaches communicate with our team. We want your son to be comfortable with the school and everything about it"

So we did. We paid attention to everything about that. We saw how the coaches talked to their players before, during, and after the game. All the people on campus. And everything about that program was amazing. So when we went on future visits we took that same approach.

I think every kid needs to identify what is important to them as far as the sport is concerned. For our son, he wants a chance to play. He could probably walk on at a D2 school, but for him D3 is a better fit. And the whole situation has to be a good fit:

1. Do they have my major? My son is going into Sports Management, and the school he has narrowed it down to has a Sports Business major.

2. Are they in a good location for internships and future opportunities?

3. Will he get a fair chance to play?

And his choice checks all those boxes. Incidentally he wants to go with the first school he visited. They were amazing there. And the second thing that head coach said was:

"If your son chooses our school, he will get to play college football. We field a varsity and junior varsity here, and your son will play on one of those teams and he will see the field. He will be a college athlete and get to play."

So he will get to play with the opportunity to play varsity if he wins that job. So for your son, just figure out the most important things he wants out of this and go for it.

It's an amazing journey.

Excellent point about paying attention to the people…my buddy’s son is one of the top high school players in the nation…I have been exposed to recruiting a lot but this was the first time where it was a kid who could go to any school in the nation and was recruited that way…he is a legit blue chip both athletically and academically (the phone /texts and NIL offers began right at midnight of his junior year)…going into it his Dad thought he would end up going Ivy as he had that opportunity…seemed like a no-brainer…while he really liked the kids on the Ivy teams he was extremely turned off by the rest of the environment of these schools and quickly wrote them off as he did not feel they would be a good fit socially.

 

[humpback]

@Gally - good stuff regarding your son's journey and some really good advice in here.

My son is a high school senior going through this as a kicker. He only started kicking as a junior last year because the team didn't have a kicker and he had played soccer. So he just went out and kicked. And now he wants to kick in college. So we have been going through this recruiting journey as well. Last year was his first year ever playing football - he loves everything about it.

He went to three camps last summer. Two of them were prospect camps and one of them was a school's specific camp. He has had three offers for kicking and all three offers came from one of the prospect camps. We had campus invites from all three schools and went to two of them. So at this point he has narrowed his choice to one school. These are smaller schools - NCAA D3.

My son is a big kid: about 6'1" and 170 pounds. With room to add another 20 pounds of muscle easy. He is a pretty good kicker now but his potential is sky-high once he gets into a college weight program and is with proper coaching. His high school coaching is a joke.

As we have gone through this process, we've learned:

1. Send direct messages through Twitter when possible. This is the platform these college coaches are using. At least in football. We tried email and I don't know if we ever got a response by email. I also personally sent the coaches direct messages through twitter thanking them for the college visits and such. And after the prospect camp I always sent a follow up thank you to the coach or recruiting coordinator, and always got a response to those.

2. Have him tag and follow and comment on the team's twitter feeds.

3. Keep at it. He will be able to go somewhere, as there are a ton of colleges with programs that will fit him.

On our very first college visit, the first thing the head coach said was something we kind of stuck to during the visits:

"When you are on our campus, pay attention to the people. Not just the football team or us as coaches, but everyone walking around. Ask them questions. See how they interact with you. See how we as coaches communicate with our team. We want your son to be comfortable with the school and everything about it"

So we did. We paid attention to everything about that. We saw how the coaches talked to their players before, during, and after the game. All the people on campus. And everything about that program was amazing. So when we went on future visits we took that same approach.

I think every kid needs to identify what is important to them as far as the sport is concerned. For our son, he wants a chance to play. He could probably walk on at a D2 school, but for him D3 is a better fit. And the whole situation has to be a good fit:

1. Do they have my major? My son is going into Sports Management, and the school he has narrowed it down to has a Sports Business major.

2. Are they in a good location for internships and future opportunities?

3. Will he get a fair chance to play?

And his choice checks all those boxes. Incidentally he wants to go with the first school he visited. They were amazing there. And the second thing that head coach said was:

"If your son chooses our school, he will get to play college football. We field a varsity and junior varsity here, and your son will play on one of those teams and he will see the field. He will be a college athlete and get to play."

So he will get to play with the opportunity to play varsity if he wins that job. So for your son, just figure out the most important things he wants out of this and go for it.

It's an amazing journey.

Excellent point about paying attention to the people…my buddy’s son is one of the top high school players in the nation…I have been exposed to recruiting a lot but this was the first time where it was a kid who could go to any school in the nation and was recruited that way…he is a legit blue chip both athletically and academically (the phone /texts and NIL offers began right at midnight of his junior year)…going into it his Dad thought he would end up going Ivy as he had that opportunity…seemed like a no-brainer…while he really liked the kids on the Ivy teams he was extremely turned off by the rest of the environment of these schools and quickly wrote them off as he did not feel they would be a good fit socially.

Just curious- what sport? The Ivies are almost never in contention for the top recruits in most sports for multiple reasons.

 

[Boston]

@Gally - good stuff regarding your son's journey and some really good advice in here.

My son is a high school senior going through this as a kicker. He only started kicking as a junior last year because the team didn't have a kicker and he had played soccer. So he just went out and kicked. And now he wants to kick in college. So we have been going through this recruiting journey as well. Last year was his first year ever playing football - he loves everything about it.

He went to three camps last summer. Two of them were prospect camps and one of them was a school's specific camp. He has had three offers for kicking and all three offers came from one of the prospect camps. We had campus invites from all three schools and went to two of them. So at this point he has narrowed his choice to one school. These are smaller schools - NCAA D3.

My son is a big kid: about 6'1" and 170 pounds. With room to add another 20 pounds of muscle easy. He is a pretty good kicker now but his potential is sky-high once he gets into a college weight program and is with proper coaching. His high school coaching is a joke.

As we have gone through this process, we've learned:

1. Send direct messages through Twitter when possible. This is the platform these college coaches are using. At least in football. We tried email and I don't know if we ever got a response by email. I also personally sent the coaches direct messages through twitter thanking them for the college visits and such. And after the prospect camp I always sent a follow up thank you to the coach or recruiting coordinator, and always got a response to those.

2. Have him tag and follow and comment on the team's twitter feeds.

3. Keep at it. He will be able to go somewhere, as there are a ton of colleges with programs that will fit him.

On our very first college visit, the first thing the head coach said was something we kind of stuck to during the visits:

"When you are on our campus, pay attention to the people. Not just the football team or us as coaches, but everyone walking around. Ask them questions. See how they interact with you. See how we as coaches communicate with our team. We want your son to be comfortable with the school and everything about it"

So we did. We paid attention to everything about that. We saw how the coaches talked to their players before, during, and after the game. All the people on campus. And everything about that program was amazing. So when we went on future visits we took that same approach.

I think every kid needs to identify what is important to them as far as the sport is concerned. For our son, he wants a chance to play. He could probably walk on at a D2 school, but for him D3 is a better fit. And the whole situation has to be a good fit:

1. Do they have my major? My son is going into Sports Management, and the school he has narrowed it down to has a Sports Business major.

2. Are they in a good location for internships and future opportunities?

3. Will he get a fair chance to play?

And his choice checks all those boxes. Incidentally he wants to go with the first school he visited. They were amazing there. And the second thing that head coach said was:

"If your son chooses our school, he will get to play college football. We field a varsity and junior varsity here, and your son will play on one of those teams and he will see the field. He will be a college athlete and get to play."

So he will get to play with the opportunity to play varsity if he wins that job. So for your son, just figure out the most important things he wants out of this and go for it.

It's an amazing journey.

Excellent point about paying attention to the people…my buddy’s son is one of the top high school players in the nation…I have been exposed to recruiting a lot but this was the first time where it was a kid who could go to any school in the nation and was recruited that way…he is a legit blue chip both athletically and academically (the phone /texts and NIL offers began right at midnight of his junior year)…going into it his Dad thought he would end up going Ivy as he had that opportunity…seemed like a no-brainer…while he really liked the kids on the Ivy teams he was extremely turned off by the rest of the environment of these schools and quickly wrote them off as he did not feel they would be a good fit socially.

Just curious- what sport? The Ivies are almost never in contention for the top recruits in most sports for multiple reasons.

Lax

 

[belljr]

Ivies don't usually give athletic money either

 

[ChiefD]

Yeah I should add: D3 schools offer "scholarships packages" - not really athletic scholarships as far as I can tell. My son has really good grades in high school so he qualifies for a lot of stuff.

The downside is a lot of the D3 schools are private, which means high tuition costs. Unfortunately for us we fall in that category of "didn't make hardly any money when the kids are little so we couldn't save a whole lot but now make too much to qualify for free grants and money through FAFSA".

So we (and him) will have to borrow some money. But he works and will work during college and we will do the best we can.

 

[belljr]

If there were any schools he has a lot of interest in. Have him personally send emails to those coaches and thanking them for the opportunity to compete and asking if they had any feedback they could share as well as any next steps if they have any interest in talking about the program in more detail.

Personalize it for that specific school as well.

On another note my son is starting week 5 of 8 of his Fall program at college. He is doing fantastic and having the time of his life.

We have a parent weekend in two weeks!

My daughter has her "playdate" Thursday (basically one super long game). Homecoming/Alumni game Saturday. Coach moved her to left field and I think she has a legit chance to start as a freshman. They won't be very good this year but the coach is doing a good job of recruiting and turning it around. Old coach retired a little over a year ago. She loves the school and so far is crushing it academically the first couple months. Engineering major so she was more concerned about just playing than going to a "stud" program. Been a great fit so far. Just trying to push her a little more socializing (she's doing ok but she has high anxiety and becomes shy because of it).... she's been through therapy for it but that's the only thing she still "has issues" with.....but overall it's been great experience...just signed up for CO-OP program, so has to go through that process

 

[belljr]

Yeah I should add: D3 schools offer "scholarships packages" - not really athletic scholarships as far as I can tell. My son has really good grades in high school so he qualifies for a lot of stuff.

The downside is a lot of the D3 schools are private, which means high tuition costs. Unfortunately for us we fall in that category of "didn't make hardly any money when the kids are little so we couldn't save a whole lot but now make too much to qualify for free grants and money through FAFSA".

So we (and him) will have to borrow some money. But he works and will work during college and we will do the best we can.

D3 is academic only. However it is usually guaranteed. So whatever "strings" the coach may have pulled for admission OR a few extra bucks it's guaranteed as long as grades are good whether they play all 4 years or not

 

[Boston]

Yeah I should add: D3 schools offer "scholarships packages" - not really athletic scholarships as far as I can tell. My son has really good grades in high school so he qualifies for a lot of stuff.

The downside is a lot of the D3 schools are private, which means high tuition costs. Unfortunately for us we fall in that category of "didn't make hardly any money when the kids are little so we couldn't save a whole lot but now make too much to qualify for free grants and money through FAFSA".

So we (and him) will have to borrow some money. But he works and will work during college and we will do the best we can.

College tuition is like buying a car...you never know what they'll give you in D3 until you get the number...in the northeast you aren't getting much from a NESCAC school (or other high-end private schools) and even if you do they are so outrageously expensive it might not matter (that is why you see so many kids from wealthy towns on their teams...they love their full-pays)...most often you don't get too much from state schools as they don't have a ton of flexibility...with the non-NESCAC private schools it can be shocking how low they can get from their frontline price...most of it comes thru the academic funnel but there are just so many schools that say they cost in the $45,000-$65,000 range and when it is all said and done they come in at that low $30,000's neighborhood.

 

[belljr]

Yeah I should add: D3 schools offer "scholarships packages" - not really athletic scholarships as far as I can tell. My son has really good grades in high school so he qualifies for a lot of stuff.

The downside is a lot of the D3 schools are private, which means high tuition costs. Unfortunately for us we fall in that category of "didn't make hardly any money when the kids are little so we couldn't save a whole lot but now make too much to qualify for free grants and money through FAFSA".

So we (and him) will have to borrow some money. But he works and will work during college and we will do the best we can.

College tuition is like buying a car...you never know what they'll give you in D3 until you get the number...in the northeast you aren't getting much from a NESCAC school (or other high-end private schools) and even if you do they are so outrageously expensive it might not matter (that is why you see so many kids from wealthy towns on their teams...they love their full-pays)...most often you don't get too much from state schools as they don't have a ton of flexibility...with the non-NESCAC private schools it can be shocking how low they can get from their frontline price...most of it comes thru the academic funnel but there are just so many schools that say they cost in the $45,000-$65,000 range and when it is all said and done they come in at that low $30,000's neighborhood.

We have a lot of girls from this area (Southern NJ) go upstate NY -SUNY schools because of how cheap it ends up being

 

[humpback]

@Gally - good stuff regarding your son's journey and some really good advice in here.

My son is a high school senior going through this as a kicker. He only started kicking as a junior last year because the team didn't have a kicker and he had played soccer. So he just went out and kicked. And now he wants to kick in college. So we have been going through this recruiting journey as well. Last year was his first year ever playing football - he loves everything about it.

He went to three camps last summer. Two of them were prospect camps and one of them was a school's specific camp. He has had three offers for kicking and all three offers came from one of the prospect camps. We had campus invites from all three schools and went to two of them. So at this point he has narrowed his choice to one school. These are smaller schools - NCAA D3.

My son is a big kid: about 6'1" and 170 pounds. With room to add another 20 pounds of muscle easy. He is a pretty good kicker now but his potential is sky-high once he gets into a college weight program and is with proper coaching. His high school coaching is a joke.

As we have gone through this process, we've learned:

1. Send direct messages through Twitter when possible. This is the platform these college coaches are using. At least in football. We tried email and I don't know if we ever got a response by email. I also personally sent the coaches direct messages through twitter thanking them for the college visits and such. And after the prospect camp I always sent a follow up thank you to the coach or recruiting coordinator, and always got a response to those.

2. Have him tag and follow and comment on the team's twitter feeds.

3. Keep at it. He will be able to go somewhere, as there are a ton of colleges with programs that will fit him.

On our very first college visit, the first thing the head coach said was something we kind of stuck to during the visits:

"When you are on our campus, pay attention to the people. Not just the football team or us as coaches, but everyone walking around. Ask them questions. See how they interact with you. See how we as coaches communicate with our team. We want your son to be comfortable with the school and everything about it"

So we did. We paid attention to everything about that. We saw how the coaches talked to their players before, during, and after the game. All the people on campus. And everything about that program was amazing. So when we went on future visits we took that same approach.

I think every kid needs to identify what is important to them as far as the sport is concerned. For our son, he wants a chance to play. He could probably walk on at a D2 school, but for him D3 is a better fit. And the whole situation has to be a good fit:

1. Do they have my major? My son is going into Sports Management, and the school he has narrowed it down to has a Sports Business major.

2. Are they in a good location for internships and future opportunities?

3. Will he get a fair chance to play?

And his choice checks all those boxes. Incidentally he wants to go with the first school he visited. They were amazing there. And the second thing that head coach said was:

"If your son chooses our school, he will get to play college football. We field a varsity and junior varsity here, and your son will play on one of those teams and he will see the field. He will be a college athlete and get to play."

So he will get to play with the opportunity to play varsity if he wins that job. So for your son, just figure out the most important things he wants out of this and go for it.

It's an amazing journey.

Excellent point about paying attention to the people…my buddy’s son is one of the top high school players in the nation…I have been exposed to recruiting a lot but this was the first time where it was a kid who could go to any school in the nation and was recruited that way…he is a legit blue chip both athletically and academically (the phone /texts and NIL offers began right at midnight of his junior year)…going into it his Dad thought he would end up going Ivy as he had that opportunity…seemed like a no-brainer…while he really liked the kids on the Ivy teams he was extremely turned off by the rest of the environment of these schools and quickly wrote them off as he did not feel they would be a good fit socially.

Just curious- what sport? The Ivies are almost never in contention for the top recruits in most sports for multiple reasons.

Lax

Ah, at least they're good at lax. But between no athletic money and the social/academic fit I'd still think most top recruits would prefer a non-Ivy.

 

[Boston]

@Gally - good stuff regarding your son's journey and some really good advice in here.

My son is a high school senior going through this as a kicker. He only started kicking as a junior last year because the team didn't have a kicker and he had played soccer. So he just went out and kicked. And now he wants to kick in college. So we have been going through this recruiting journey as well. Last year was his first year ever playing football - he loves everything about it.

He went to three camps last summer. Two of them were prospect camps and one of them was a school's specific camp. He has had three offers for kicking and all three offers came from one of the prospect camps. We had campus invites from all three schools and went to two of them. So at this point he has narrowed his choice to one school. These are smaller schools - NCAA D3.

My son is a big kid: about 6'1" and 170 pounds. With room to add another 20 pounds of muscle easy. He is a pretty good kicker now but his potential is sky-high once he gets into a college weight program and is with proper coaching. His high school coaching is a joke.

As we have gone through this process, we've learned:

1. Send direct messages through Twitter when possible. This is the platform these college coaches are using. At least in football. We tried email and I don't know if we ever got a response by email. I also personally sent the coaches direct messages through twitter thanking them for the college visits and such. And after the prospect camp I always sent a follow up thank you to the coach or recruiting coordinator, and always got a response to those.

2. Have him tag and follow and comment on the team's twitter feeds.

3. Keep at it. He will be able to go somewhere, as there are a ton of colleges with programs that will fit him.

On our very first college visit, the first thing the head coach said was something we kind of stuck to during the visits:

"When you are on our campus, pay attention to the people. Not just the football team or us as coaches, but everyone walking around. Ask them questions. See how they interact with you. See how we as coaches communicate with our team. We want your son to be comfortable with the school and everything about it"

So we did. We paid attention to everything about that. We saw how the coaches talked to their players before, during, and after the game. All the people on campus. And everything about that program was amazing. So when we went on future visits we took that same approach.

I think every kid needs to identify what is important to them as far as the sport is concerned. For our son, he wants a chance to play. He could probably walk on at a D2 school, but for him D3 is a better fit. And the whole situation has to be a good fit:

1. Do they have my major? My son is going into Sports Management, and the school he has narrowed it down to has a Sports Business major.

2. Are they in a good location for internships and future opportunities?

3. Will he get a fair chance to play?

And his choice checks all those boxes. Incidentally he wants to go with the first school he visited. They were amazing there. And the second thing that head coach said was:

"If your son chooses our school, he will get to play college football. We field a varsity and junior varsity here, and your son will play on one of those teams and he will see the field. He will be a college athlete and get to play."

So he will get to play with the opportunity to play varsity if he wins that job. So for your son, just figure out the most important things he wants out of this and go for it.

It's an amazing journey.

Excellent point about paying attention to the people…my buddy’s son is one of the top high school players in the nation…I have been exposed to recruiting a lot but this was the first time where it was a kid who could go to any school in the nation and was recruited that way…he is a legit blue chip both athletically and academically (the phone /texts and NIL offers began right at midnight of his junior year)…going into it his Dad thought he would end up going Ivy as he had that opportunity…seemed like a no-brainer…while he really liked the kids on the Ivy teams he was extremely turned off by the rest of the environment of these schools and quickly wrote them off as he did not feel they would be a good fit socially.

Just curious- what sport? The Ivies are almost never in contention for the top recruits in most sports for multiple reasons.

Lax

Ah, at least they're good at lax. But between no athletic money and the social/academic fit I'd still think most top recruits would prefer a non-Ivy.

It is still an Ivy and that carries a lot of weight as you can imagine...Princton, Yale and Penn are three of the best programs in the country.

 

[acarey50]

Ivies don't usually give athletic money either

They don't. I have a nephew that plays football at an Ivy league.

They can help you get into the school based on being part of the team, but any financial assistance is based on financial need just like any other student.

 

[belljr]

Ivies don't usually give athletic money either

They don't. I have a nephew that plays football at an Ivy league.

They can help you get into the school based on being part of the team, but any financial assistance is based on financial need just like any other student.

That was our experience during the recruitment. Thanks

 

[humpback]

@Gally - good stuff regarding your son's journey and some really good advice in here.

My son is a high school senior going through this as a kicker. He only started kicking as a junior last year because the team didn't have a kicker and he had played soccer. So he just went out and kicked. And now he wants to kick in college. So we have been going through this recruiting journey as well. Last year was his first year ever playing football - he loves everything about it.

He went to three camps last summer. Two of them were prospect camps and one of them was a school's specific camp. He has had three offers for kicking and all three offers came from one of the prospect camps. We had campus invites from all three schools and went to two of them. So at this point he has narrowed his choice to one school. These are smaller schools - NCAA D3.

My son is a big kid: about 6'1" and 170 pounds. With room to add another 20 pounds of muscle easy. He is a pretty good kicker now but his potential is sky-high once he gets into a college weight program and is with proper coaching. His high school coaching is a joke.

As we have gone through this process, we've learned:

1. Send direct messages through Twitter when possible. This is the platform these college coaches are using. At least in football. We tried email and I don't know if we ever got a response by email. I also personally sent the coaches direct messages through twitter thanking them for the college visits and such. And after the prospect camp I always sent a follow up thank you to the coach or recruiting coordinator, and always got a response to those.

2. Have him tag and follow and comment on the team's twitter feeds.

3. Keep at it. He will be able to go somewhere, as there are a ton of colleges with programs that will fit him.

On our very first college visit, the first thing the head coach said was something we kind of stuck to during the visits:

"When you are on our campus, pay attention to the people. Not just the football team or us as coaches, but everyone walking around. Ask them questions. See how they interact with you. See how we as coaches communicate with our team. We want your son to be comfortable with the school and everything about it"

So we did. We paid attention to everything about that. We saw how the coaches talked to their players before, during, and after the game. All the people on campus. And everything about that program was amazing. So when we went on future visits we took that same approach.

I think every kid needs to identify what is important to them as far as the sport is concerned. For our son, he wants a chance to play. He could probably walk on at a D2 school, but for him D3 is a better fit. And the whole situation has to be a good fit:

1. Do they have my major? My son is going into Sports Management, and the school he has narrowed it down to has a Sports Business major.

2. Are they in a good location for internships and future opportunities?

3. Will he get a fair chance to play?

And his choice checks all those boxes. Incidentally he wants to go with the first school he visited. They were amazing there. And the second thing that head coach said was:

"If your son chooses our school, he will get to play college football. We field a varsity and junior varsity here, and your son will play on one of those teams and he will see the field. He will be a college athlete and get to play."

So he will get to play with the opportunity to play varsity if he wins that job. So for your son, just figure out the most important things he wants out of this and go for it.

It's an amazing journey.

Excellent point about paying attention to the people…my buddy’s son is one of the top high school players in the nation…I have been exposed to recruiting a lot but this was the first time where it was a kid who could go to any school in the nation and was recruited that way…he is a legit blue chip both athletically and academically (the phone /texts and NIL offers began right at midnight of his junior year)…going into it his Dad thought he would end up going Ivy as he had that opportunity…seemed like a no-brainer…while he really liked the kids on the Ivy teams he was extremely turned off by the rest of the environment of these schools and quickly wrote them off as he did not feel they would be a good fit socially.

Just curious- what sport? The Ivies are almost never in contention for the top recruits in most sports for multiple reasons.

Lax

Ah, at least they're good at lax. But between no athletic money and the social/academic fit I'd still think most top recruits would prefer a non-Ivy.

It is still an Ivy and that carries a lot of weight as you can imagine...Princton, Yale and Penn are three of the best programs in the country.

Sure, depending on the program. But there are a lot of really, really good schools like Michigan, UVA, Duke, UNC, Georgetown, Hopkins, Notre Dame, Boston U, Villanova, etc., that could be free.

But yeah, Lax is one of the few main sports IMO that an Ivy would even be a consideration for the very top recruits.

 

[Boston]

@Gally - good stuff regarding your son's journey and some really good advice in here.

My son is a high school senior going through this as a kicker. He only started kicking as a junior last year because the team didn't have a kicker and he had played soccer. So he just went out and kicked. And now he wants to kick in college. So we have been going through this recruiting journey as well. Last year was his first year ever playing football - he loves everything about it.

He went to three camps last summer. Two of them were prospect camps and one of them was a school's specific camp. He has had three offers for kicking and all three offers came from one of the prospect camps. We had campus invites from all three schools and went to two of them. So at this point he has narrowed his choice to one school. These are smaller schools - NCAA D3.

My son is a big kid: about 6'1" and 170 pounds. With room to add another 20 pounds of muscle easy. He is a pretty good kicker now but his potential is sky-high once he gets into a college weight program and is with proper coaching. His high school coaching is a joke.

As we have gone through this process, we've learned:

1. Send direct messages through Twitter when possible. This is the platform these college coaches are using. At least in football. We tried email and I don't know if we ever got a response by email. I also personally sent the coaches direct messages through twitter thanking them for the college visits and such. And after the prospect camp I always sent a follow up thank you to the coach or recruiting coordinator, and always got a response to those.

2. Have him tag and follow and comment on the team's twitter feeds.

3. Keep at it. He will be able to go somewhere, as there are a ton of colleges with programs that will fit him.

On our very first college visit, the first thing the head coach said was something we kind of stuck to during the visits:

"When you are on our campus, pay attention to the people. Not just the football team or us as coaches, but everyone walking around. Ask them questions. See how they interact with you. See how we as coaches communicate with our team. We want your son to be comfortable with the school and everything about it"

So we did. We paid attention to everything about that. We saw how the coaches talked to their players before, during, and after the game. All the people on campus. And everything about that program was amazing. So when we went on future visits we took that same approach.

I think every kid needs to identify what is important to them as far as the sport is concerned. For our son, he wants a chance to play. He could probably walk on at a D2 school, but for him D3 is a better fit. And the whole situation has to be a good fit:

1. Do they have my major? My son is going into Sports Management, and the school he has narrowed it down to has a Sports Business major.

2. Are they in a good location for internships and future opportunities?

3. Will he get a fair chance to play?

And his choice checks all those boxes. Incidentally he wants to go with the first school he visited. They were amazing there. And the second thing that head coach said was:

"If your son chooses our school, he will get to play college football. We field a varsity and junior varsity here, and your son will play on one of those teams and he will see the field. He will be a college athlete and get to play."

So he will get to play with the opportunity to play varsity if he wins that job. So for your son, just figure out the most important things he wants out of this and go for it.

It's an amazing journey.

Excellent point about paying attention to the people…my buddy’s son is one of the top high school players in the nation…I have been exposed to recruiting a lot but this was the first time where it was a kid who could go to any school in the nation and was recruited that way…he is a legit blue chip both athletically and academically (the phone /texts and NIL offers began right at midnight of his junior year)…going into it his Dad thought he would end up going Ivy as he had that opportunity…seemed like a no-brainer…while he really liked the kids on the Ivy teams he was extremely turned off by the rest of the environment of these schools and quickly wrote them off as he did not feel they would be a good fit socially.

Just curious- what sport? The Ivies are almost never in contention for the top recruits in most sports for multiple reasons.

Lax

Ah, at least they're good at lax. But between no athletic money and the social/academic fit I'd still think most top recruits would prefer a non-Ivy.

It is still an Ivy and that carries a lot of weight as you can imagine...Princton, Yale and Penn are three of the best programs in the country.

Sure, depending on the program. But there are a lot of really, really good schools like Michigan, UVA, Duke, UNC, Georgetown, Hopkins, Notre Dame, Boston U, Villanova, etc., that could be free.

But yeah, Lax is one of the few main sports IMO that an Ivy would even be a consideration for the very top recruits.

They would not be free...outside of football and hoops there are not many free rides...D1 lax gets 12.6 scholarships and outside of some rare cases players usually get 1/2 to a 1/4 scholarship...again, outside of football and hoops when someone says they are getting a full ride they are probably BSing you...the x-factor is NIL $...that has been a game-changer...I will not mention the school but one of them told my buddy his son would actually make $ if he went there due to NIL.

 

[humpback]

@Gally - good stuff regarding your son's journey and some really good advice in here.

My son is a high school senior going through this as a kicker. He only started kicking as a junior last year because the team didn't have a kicker and he had played soccer. So he just went out and kicked. And now he wants to kick in college. So we have been going through this recruiting journey as well. Last year was his first year ever playing football - he loves everything about it.

He went to three camps last summer. Two of them were prospect camps and one of them was a school's specific camp. He has had three offers for kicking and all three offers came from one of the prospect camps. We had campus invites from all three schools and went to two of them. So at this point he has narrowed his choice to one school. These are smaller schools - NCAA D3.

My son is a big kid: about 6'1" and 170 pounds. With room to add another 20 pounds of muscle easy. He is a pretty good kicker now but his potential is sky-high once he gets into a college weight program and is with proper coaching. His high school coaching is a joke.

As we have gone through this process, we've learned:

1. Send direct messages through Twitter when possible. This is the platform these college coaches are using. At least in football. We tried email and I don't know if we ever got a response by email. I also personally sent the coaches direct messages through twitter thanking them for the college visits and such. And after the prospect camp I always sent a follow up thank you to the coach or recruiting coordinator, and always got a response to those.

2. Have him tag and follow and comment on the team's twitter feeds.

3. Keep at it. He will be able to go somewhere, as there are a ton of colleges with programs that will fit him.

On our very first college visit, the first thing the head coach said was something we kind of stuck to during the visits:

"When you are on our campus, pay attention to the people. Not just the football team or us as coaches, but everyone walking around. Ask them questions. See how they interact with you. See how we as coaches communicate with our team. We want your son to be comfortable with the school and everything about it"

So we did. We paid attention to everything about that. We saw how the coaches talked to their players before, during, and after the game. All the people on campus. And everything about that program was amazing. So when we went on future visits we took that same approach.

I think every kid needs to identify what is important to them as far as the sport is concerned. For our son, he wants a chance to play. He could probably walk on at a D2 school, but for him D3 is a better fit. And the whole situation has to be a good fit:

1. Do they have my major? My son is going into Sports Management, and the school he has narrowed it down to has a Sports Business major.

2. Are they in a good location for internships and future opportunities?

3. Will he get a fair chance to play?

And his choice checks all those boxes. Incidentally he wants to go with the first school he visited. They were amazing there. And the second thing that head coach said was:

"If your son chooses our school, he will get to play college football. We field a varsity and junior varsity here, and your son will play on one of those teams and he will see the field. He will be a college athlete and get to play."

So he will get to play with the opportunity to play varsity if he wins that job. So for your son, just figure out the most important things he wants out of this and go for it.

It's an amazing journey.

Excellent point about paying attention to the people…my buddy’s son is one of the top high school players in the nation…I have been exposed to recruiting a lot but this was the first time where it was a kid who could go to any school in the nation and was recruited that way…he is a legit blue chip both athletically and academically (the phone /texts and NIL offers began right at midnight of his junior year)…going into it his Dad thought he would end up going Ivy as he had that opportunity…seemed like a no-brainer…while he really liked the kids on the Ivy teams he was extremely turned off by the rest of the environment of these schools and quickly wrote them off as he did not feel they would be a good fit socially.

Just curious- what sport? The Ivies are almost never in contention for the top recruits in most sports for multiple reasons.

Lax

Ah, at least they're good at lax. But between no athletic money and the social/academic fit I'd still think most top recruits would prefer a non-Ivy.

It is still an Ivy and that carries a lot of weight as you can imagine...Princton, Yale and Penn are three of the best programs in the country.

Sure, depending on the program. But there are a lot of really, really good schools like Michigan, UVA, Duke, UNC, Georgetown, Hopkins, Notre Dame, Boston U, Villanova, etc., that could be free.

But yeah, Lax is one of the few main sports IMO that an Ivy would even be a consideration for the very top recruits.

They would not be free...outside of football and hoops there are not many free rides...D1 lax gets 12.6 scholarships and outside of some rare cases players usually get 1/2 to a 1/4 scholarship...again, outside of football and hoops when someone says they are getting a full ride they are probably BSing you...the x-factor is NIL $...that has been a game-changer...I will not mention the school but one of them told my buddy his son would actually make $ if he went there due to NIL.

For men's sports this is mostly true, for women's you have to add tennis, gymnastics, and volleyball as those all have to be full rides as head-count sports.

I'm just going by what you said- if he's one of the top HS players in the nation and a legit blue chip both athletically and academically who could go to any school in the nation, there's a very good chance his education would be free (or nearly free) at many great schools. Ivies don't give merit aid either- if he's truly the best of the best he's very likely getting much more than the average ~25% athletically and they'll find a way to bridge any gap with merit money, especially if he's a blue-chipper there too.

Anyway, very cool that you know him and can follow along with his journey, best of luck to him.

 

[Gally]

1. Send direct messages through Twitter when possible. This is the platform these college coaches are using. At least in football. We tried email and I don't know if we ever got a response by email. I also personally sent the coaches direct messages through twitter thanking them for the college visits and such. And after the prospect camp I always sent a follow up thank you to the coach or recruiting coordinator, and always got a response to those.

He has been doing this but it hasn't really resulted in much contact. Granted he isn't as diligent as he likely should be and hasn't branched out to a ton as he has kept it to the handful of schools he really has interest in. I have been pushing him to do more but he hasn't done as much as I think he should. In the end, it's his decision and his path so I won't do it for him.

On our very first college visit, the first thing the head coach said was something we kind of stuck to during the visits:

"When you are on our campus, pay attention to the people. Not just the football team or us as coaches, but everyone walking around. Ask them questions. See how they interact with you. See how we as coaches communicate with our team. We want your son to be comfortable with the school and everything about it"

We have talked about this a lot as well. We have visited a few campuses but haven't had an official "school visit" for a coach. We have visited two campuses on our own (tried contacting the coaching staff through various means leading up to the visit and received zero response back). One campus was severely underwhelming so crossed that off immediately. The other one was a great campus and he liked it. But he didn't quite like it as much as some others.

He has been invited for an "official campus visit" to a school that is reaching out to him. It's a D3 school in Spokane, Was that we had never heard of before. I am pushing for him to go if for nothing else just to get the experience and to see an area he has never been. It will cost a bit (have to fly there) but we can afford to go and I think it would be a good experience for him.

1. Do they have my major? My son is going into Sports Management, and the school he has narrowed it down to has a Sports Business major.

2. Are they in a good location for internships and future opportunities?

3. Will he get a fair chance to play?

These are all things we have talked about. My son is also interested in Business (sports) Analytics or Sports Management. There have been a couple D3's that have reached out that don't really have much in the way of these majors so it is a bit of a detriment in choosing them. I have tried to point out that going someplace for school is more than just playing the sport. You have to like the environment and the direction of your schooling too otherwise the other things may not overcome the negative if you are unhappy with the other things.


Bottom line is I am trying to advise and push to be proactive but I am not going to do the things for him. It's not my decision or my life and only he can make those decisions. I will be there to help but in the end it's on him to put in the work. So far he hasn't done as much as I would like him to but he is doing some things. We will see how it proceeds.

 

[belljr]

@Gally - good stuff regarding your son's journey and some really good advice in here.

My son is a high school senior going through this as a kicker. He only started kicking as a junior last year because the team didn't have a kicker and he had played soccer. So he just went out and kicked. And now he wants to kick in college. So we have been going through this recruiting journey as well. Last year was his first year ever playing football - he loves everything about it.

He went to three camps last summer. Two of them were prospect camps and one of them was a school's specific camp. He has had three offers for kicking and all three offers came from one of the prospect camps. We had campus invites from all three schools and went to two of them. So at this point he has narrowed his choice to one school. These are smaller schools - NCAA D3.

My son is a big kid: about 6'1" and 170 pounds. With room to add another 20 pounds of muscle easy. He is a pretty good kicker now but his potential is sky-high once he gets into a college weight program and is with proper coaching. His high school coaching is a joke.

As we have gone through this process, we've learned:

1. Send direct messages through Twitter when possible. This is the platform these college coaches are using. At least in football. We tried email and I don't know if we ever got a response by email. I also personally sent the coaches direct messages through twitter thanking them for the college visits and such. And after the prospect camp I always sent a follow up thank you to the coach or recruiting coordinator, and always got a response to those.

2. Have him tag and follow and comment on the team's twitter feeds.

3. Keep at it. He will be able to go somewhere, as there are a ton of colleges with programs that will fit him.

On our very first college visit, the first thing the head coach said was something we kind of stuck to during the visits:

"When you are on our campus, pay attention to the people. Not just the football team or us as coaches, but everyone walking around. Ask them questions. See how they interact with you. See how we as coaches communicate with our team. We want your son to be comfortable with the school and everything about it"

So we did. We paid attention to everything about that. We saw how the coaches talked to their players before, during, and after the game. All the people on campus. And everything about that program was amazing. So when we went on future visits we took that same approach.

I think every kid needs to identify what is important to them as far as the sport is concerned. For our son, he wants a chance to play. He could probably walk on at a D2 school, but for him D3 is a better fit. And the whole situation has to be a good fit:

1. Do they have my major? My son is going into Sports Management, and the school he has narrowed it down to has a Sports Business major.

2. Are they in a good location for internships and future opportunities?

3. Will he get a fair chance to play?

And his choice checks all those boxes. Incidentally he wants to go with the first school he visited. They were amazing there. And the second thing that head coach said was:

"If your son chooses our school, he will get to play college football. We field a varsity and junior varsity here, and your son will play on one of those teams and he will see the field. He will be a college athlete and get to play."

So he will get to play with the opportunity to play varsity if he wins that job. So for your son, just figure out the most important things he wants out of this and go for it.

It's an amazing journey.

Excellent point about paying attention to the people…my buddy’s son is one of the top high school players in the nation…I have been exposed to recruiting a lot but this was the first time where it was a kid who could go to any school in the nation and was recruited that way…he is a legit blue chip both athletically and academically (the phone /texts and NIL offers began right at midnight of his junior year)…going into it his Dad thought he would end up going Ivy as he had that opportunity…seemed like a no-brainer…while he really liked the kids on the Ivy teams he was extremely turned off by the rest of the environment of these schools and quickly wrote them off as he did not feel they would be a good fit socially.

Just curious- what sport? The Ivies are almost never in contention for the top recruits in most sports for multiple reasons.

Lax

Ah, at least they're good at lax. But between no athletic money and the social/academic fit I'd still think most top recruits would prefer a non-Ivy.

It is still an Ivy and that carries a lot of weight as you can imagine...Princton, Yale and Penn are three of the best programs in the country.

Sure, depending on the program. But there are a lot of really, really good schools like Michigan, UVA, Duke, UNC, Georgetown, Hopkins, Notre Dame, Boston U, Villanova, etc., that could be free.

But yeah, Lax is one of the few main sports IMO that an Ivy would even be a consideration for the very top recruits.

They would not be free...outside of football and hoops there are not many free rides...D1 lax gets 12.6 scholarships and outside of some rare cases players usually get 1/2 to a 1/4 scholarship...again, outside of football and hoops when someone says they are getting a full ride they are probably BSing you...the x-factor is NIL $...that has been a game-changer...I will not mention the school but one of them told my buddy his son would actually make $ if he went there due to NIL.

For men's sports this is mostly true, for women's you have to add tennis, gymnastics, and volleyball as those all have to be full rides as head-count sports.

I'm just going by what you said- if he's one of the top HS players in the nation and a legit blue chip both athletically and academically who could go to any school in the nation, there's a very good chance his education would be free (or nearly free) at many great schools. Ivies don't give merit aid either- if he's truly the best of the best he's very likely getting much more than the average ~25% athletically and they'll find a way to bridge any gap with merit money, especially if he's a blue-chipper there too.

Anyway, very cool that you know him and can follow along with his journey, best of luck to him.

softball has like12-15 and the stud pitchers get full rides...... the rest is split .... but everyone loves to tell you how much "money" the allegedly got

 

[ChiefD]

Bottom line is I am trying to advise and push to be proactive but I am not going to do the things for him. It's not my decision or my life and only he can make those decisions. I will be there to help but in the end it's on him to put in the work. So far he hasn't done as much as I would like him to but he is doing some things. We will see how it proceeds.

One thing I did early on was make a Google Spreadsheet that I shared with him. My columns are (from left to right):

School
Head Coach (had him put in name and email addy)
Special Teams Coach or Recruiting Coordinator (maybe pitching coach in your case) (in this tab put in name and email addy/twitter handle)
Have You Contacted (Y/N)
Sports Management Degree (Yes or No would be his entry)
Tuition (all of the numbers are posted on the school's websites)
Books & Fees
Room & Board
Scholarships (Estimated - pulled from the schools websites. Their net cost calculators usually give you a ballpark number)
Estimated Net Cost (Tuition + Books/Fees+Room&Board-Scholarships)
City
Distance From Home
# of Students
Classification (D2,D3, etc)

So I set this up and we both filled it in for schools he was interested in. It's been a good way for both of us to be on top of this.

One thing I discovered early is my son is not the type to actively just figure this out on his own. We had to show him the way, so to speak. So this spreadsheet was a good way for me personally to get a grasp on the nuts and bolts of the whole process and everything in black and white. It's really helped.

 

[Gally]

One thing I discovered early is my son is not the type to actively just figure this out on his own. We had to show him the way, so to speak. So this spreadsheet was a good way for me personally to get a grasp on the nuts and bolts of the whole process and everything in black and white. It's really helped.

Great idea. I am not a big spreadsheet guy but am very familiar with how to get around excel. Seems straight forward and I might give something like this a try.

 

[Charlie Steiner]

If there were any schools he has a lot of interest in. Have him personally send emails to those coaches and thanking them for the opportunity to compete and asking if they had any feedback they could share as well as any next steps if they have any interest in talking about the program in more detail.

Personalize it for that specific school as well.

On another note my son is starting week 5 of 8 of his Fall program at college. He is doing fantastic and having the time of his life.

We have a parent weekend in two weeks!

Been a great fit so far. Just trying to push her a little more socializing (she's doing ok but she has high anxiety and becomes shy because of it).... she's been through therapy for it but that's the only thing she still "has issues" with.....but overall it's been great experience...just signed up for CO-OP program, so has to go through that process

This reminds me a little of what my son when through as a freshman, though he's always been a social butterfly.

The upperclassmen didn't do much to make the new guys feel welcome/included, to the point that he was ready to transfer before the Spring semester had even started. The following Fall, he made a point to reach out to incoming players and welcome them to the team. This turned out to be such a huge gesture on his part that there were even parents who were appreciative of what he did. It went a long way in creating the 'culture' of the team. I'm not saying she has to become the social center of the team, but if there's no 'welcome wagon' for incoming players--and it sounds like there isn't--she can at least try to mitigate future players anxieties.

I've mentioned that story about my son before, but wanted to bring it up again here because 'even at the D3 level', coaches ultimately care more about winning than players' feelings, so they're really left to deal with that on their own and may not realize it until it happens to them, and sometimes it's too late by then.

 

[Todem]

If there were any schools he has a lot of interest in. Have him personally send emails to those coaches and thanking them for the opportunity to compete and asking if they had any feedback they could share as well as any next steps if they have any interest in talking about the program in more detail.

Personalize it for that specific school as well.

On another note my son is starting week 5 of 8 of his Fall program at college. He is doing fantastic and having the time of his life.

We have a parent weekend in two weeks!

Been a great fit so far. Just trying to push her a little more socializing (she's doing ok but she has high anxiety and becomes shy because of it).... she's been through therapy for it but that's the only thing she still "has issues" with.....but overall it's been great experience...just signed up for CO-OP program, so has to go through that process

This reminds me a little of what my son when through as a freshman, though he's always been a social butterfly.

The upperclassmen didn't do much to make the new guys feel welcome/included, to the point that he was ready to transfer before the Spring semester had even started. The following Fall, he made a point to reach out to incoming players and welcome them to the team. This turned out to be such a huge gesture on his part that there were even parents who were appreciative of what he did. It went a long way in creating the 'culture' of the team. I'm not saying she has to become the social center of the team, but if there's no 'welcome wagon' for incoming players--and it sounds like there isn't--she can at least try to mitigate future players anxieties.

I've mentioned that story about my son before, but wanted to bring it up again here because 'even at the D3 level', coaches ultimately care more about winning than players' feelings, so they're really left to deal with that on their own and may not realize it until it happens to them, and sometimes it's too late by then.

The culture and coaching staff he is with has simply been incredible. I am so grateful he was recruited by this staff. He has great teammates. High character young men. That is another thing that is so underrated about good high level D3 schools. All these players are high level students too. Great work ethics. Just good stuff.

All the players are bonding and the freshman are really feeling the family brotherhood already.

So far so good!!!

He has another fall Intra-squad game this afternoon and will be facing the staff Ace.

Should be fun.