My 17 year old son is trying to come up with a checklist of questions he should ask when he gets calls from college coaches/recruiters. He has a list of 15 schools is is particularly interested in and so far, every one of them has called on him and is asking him to visit/talk some more etc.
He doesn’t really know what he wants to / should say/be asking…
thoughts/advice,
thanks
pbpitching
He just needs to sound interested but not share too much information about what his final decision will be or what other schools have told him or offered him. If he is receiving attention from scouts as well, he shouldn’t tell them that he is 100% going to college because this will eliminate any chance of getting drafted. I know lots of guys that were being looked at out of high school but said they were going to school and never got drafted. Tell him to be honest but don’t show his entire hand. If he tells anyone he has 100% made up his mind then has has a chance of getting manipulated - the school will offer less scholarship money if they think the athlete is 100% committed to going there, but they also might back off if they think he isn’t really interested and has better offers. It’s fine to let on that other schools are recruiting him as well, but there’s no need to tell all. At the end of the day, his play and abilities will do the talking.
Those interviews don’t really tell coaches much except whether the recruit is a total airhead (or the opposite end of the spectrum - exceptionally bright and/or driven) in addition to how serious they really are about playing at the school. No need to stress about saying the right thing because at the end of the day, his play on the field will do the talking.
I am assuming he is a pitcher. I would have him talk to the pitching coach as well. Get a feel for his philosophy and approach. How do they train pitchers? How many guys are returning at his spot (RHP,LHP).
If you can track down any ex players (assuming it is a school near to you) who played for the coach or PC and ask them for honest feed back.
The HC may or may not be worth his salt as a coach. If he has been at the school for a while you can bet he is a good recruiter…translation…used car salesman. He loves everyone to varying degrees who he has come and speak to him.
My son had a couple of schools interested in him. Where he ended up going he was told one thing by the PC (in terms of training) and when he arrived it was something else. By something else I mean mostly garbage. Several ex players told him the HC is a nice enough guy, but, prone to angry outbursts and makes emotional decisions about players. Turned out to be true.
So, dig as much as you can I guess once the list is shortened.
Make the decision based just not on baseball too. Academics, campus life, location…all these things factor in.
Good question to ask is if there are any restrictions to what majors are available to a scholarship athlete. This is only important if actually getting a degree is important of course. :lol: