What do i need to do?

General Pitching Topics
#1

There is a few select schools that i want to play baseball for. And im only a sophomore BUT i believe this is my year wear i make it or break it. But i was wondering how i should write the letter to these schools (most likely Email). And should i send it to the Head Coach or the Athletic Director?

By the way it is DIII. But also the reason i want to get noticed now is because my school is very small and were not really any good. But i know my skills are pretty good and i know if i work harder then i know i can for sure make it. I just need them to see me play which wont happen unless i send the email.

Advice?

#2

I was in a similar situation to you a few years ago. Here’s my advice.

If you want a athletic scholarship, you won’t get one. D III doesn’t give them out. I would e-mail both the coach and the AD.

Tell them you are willing to make a trip to the school to talk to them. I will tell you if you don’t have the grades to get in they won’t make an exception for an athlete.

When you e-mail them tell them about your self, why you want to play baseball, and why you want to attend that school. Also tell them your school, grades, and give them your guidance counciler’s or VP’s contact information.

DON’T
-Tell them your height / weight
-What pitches you throw
-Or how fast you throw them
They don’t care about these things.

The coach and AD will probably tell you that you need the grades to get in the school, and then you basically walk-on to the team.

It is good that your taking the initiative to talk to the coaches this early.

Notice I said nothing about a pitching session. At D III schools athletes are walk-on’s. It’s the same way as high school, except they are more selective in who make’s the team. A coach may try to convince you to go to that school but it is not the same recruiting process used for DI schools.

My best advice is just be yourself, be honest, and remember playing baseball is a privilege at DIII schools, grades come first.

^
Sorry for sounding like your dad

#3

Where do you get this information that they don’t have scholarships?
I agree about grades, grades are very important no matter which division you end up in, SAT and ACT scores also matter greatly. My son plays for a school that last year was a Community College, this year its a State College because it became qualified to offer a 4 year degree, he is on a full ride…everything except for half of his apartment (Which is right next to the ballpark) is paid…Now I will say this, a school in your home town will likely have you walk on, but they also have open try outs and during those try outs guys will come in from other places to get a look, they in fact may get some scolarship money to play. The reason that home town guys usually have to walk on is somewhat obvious, they already have a place to stay…the coach at that level will have very limited funds and will use them as sparingly as he can.
It is a privledge to play and a smart coach will be more geared towards making sure his players get an education but there is a startling amount of smaller schools that don’t care and just try to get the best team possible each year for reputations sake. The coaches not the kids…they get used up and if they don’t make the grade well there will be another warm body next year. Definately caveat emptor.

#4

At my school none of the athletes receive athletic scholarships. Many have academic scholarships, and the school tends to help them out more with financial aid.

I’m sorry if I gave incorrect information about schools, I thought that D-III schools didn’t give athletic scholarships. Maybe it’s just a conference rule or a school rule. I will talk to my coach and investigate further.

I apologize again for any incorrect information i may have given.

#5

Don’t apologize, you aren’t the only one that can be wrong. It may be that we both have truth. I just wanted to establish the perspective we are coming from. It may be that NCAA Div III doesn’t offer that form of athletic scholarship (Obviously your school in particular doesn’t…it may be the case across the board), NAIA, NCAA Div II and NCAA Div I, all have different criteria, if we all get together on it, we may be able to give a clear picture. You were honest and respectful and the forum needs real true to life information. I appreciate the input. :wink:
I do think that if a school has a program they likely have open try outs, before school starts…again I can be wrong in this.

#6

On the NCAA D-III website:

I found in their mission statement:
(b) Award no athletically related financial aid to any student

But there are grants that the NCAA gives to schools to help the students out.

also:
(j) Assure that admission policies for student-athletes comply with policies and procedures applicable to the general student body

Which means the school isn’t allowed to make academic exceptions for athletes.

the link is:

http://www.ncaa.org/wps/ncaa?ContentID=418

Also the information is in the D-III mission statement

#7

See…glad you were right and shared…

#8

On somewhat a sister-issue … money for making it in college, has a silent current that flows under the radar of much of what the NCAA and similar organization try to avoid, and this activity has to do with Booster clubs, Sprit Team Organizations, and even local civic and fraternal entities.

On the surface, things can seem well founded and sincere in their efforts to help, support and encourage the athletics of the institution or even the community which the sport resides in. This kind of support can come in the form of donations, grants, student financial loan guaranties, housing, laundry and dry cleaning privileges, dinning accommodations, club and fraternal memberships, part time or even full time job placement, stipends of all kinds, free parking privileges, automobile usage and even free car rentals, and other amenities like certain companionship arrangements.

And before I go any further with my posting, let’s get something out of the way NOW. No one here is dumb-duda-stupid enough to actually believe that when given a privilege that goes by the name of WOW, that there’s no strings attached. And when I say no strings … I mean strings that go well beyond the playing field. So with this in mind …

Here’s the bottom line to the above – your usefulness is dependent on people that have an interest in the ROI (return on investment) that you can sustain. Unlike the normal channels of contributions to your college experience, these people and organizations have a much tougher agenda placed on you. Your ability to feed THEIR agenda … which has nothing to
do with your college experience … but more over THEIR social, economic, personal and financial agendas.

More young men and women with no experience in the world and how cruelly it operates, fall prey to these schemes - right out of high school. Football and basketball are plagued with this dilemma from time to time, and entire programs have been shutdown as a result.

If you’re set on going to college, there is an excellent guide published by the NCAA. Visit their web site and browse. You’ll be glad you did.

And as a further suggestion:

don’t accept loans from Boaster Clubs or its members.
don’t accept the free use of automobiles, apartments, laundry facilities and free dry cleaning.
don’t accept free or discounted meal plans off campus.
don’t accept course changes without your approval, stick to your major and elective’s group.
don’t accept compensation ($) from no-show jobs.
don’t accept compensation ($) from a job that pays way beyond the value of your services.
don’t accept companionship without responsible adult presence and supervision 24/7.
(if you need further explanation on this one, talk to your parents.)
don’t accept a student advisor who is not employed by the college or university as an advisor.
just because you’re an athlete does not entitle you to an automatic membership in a fraternity.
don’t accept merchandise gifts of any kind, discounts on purchases, or a “running account”.

Coach B

#9

BUT i believe this is my year wear i make it or break it.

man you need to focus on putting up solid stats your junior and senior that is what colleges look at. So don’t put so much pressure on yourself i am in an identical situation being a sophmore on varsity. Just what i think.