Can/should I talk to?

A college coach came to watch practice tonight and sat by himself right next to third base. Can I as a parent talk to him. .. Should I have talked to him about my DD'S recruitment? She had some pleasant small talk with him and I did also a bit later. He has seen her quite a bit now and she really wants to go there but I didn't know if that should be left to the HC at this point (the HC seems to have little interest in helping DD get recruited, but that's another story). She did great fielding but not so good hitting. Fortunately he has seen her hit some bombs in games

How old is your DD? What division college? The NCAA has strict guidelines regarding recruiting and I would not recommend jeopardizing your DD's chances of going to one of her dream schools. Does your DD taking batting or pitching lessons? A pitching or hitting coach can also act as a liaison to a college coach.

Yes! Just, thank him for coming out and express your DD's interest in his program and leave it at that. And of course don't try to "sell" your daughter and be "that parent".

dd

JAD said:

How old is your DD? What division college? The NCAA has strict guidelines regarding recruiting and I would not recommend jeopardizing your DD's chances of going to one of her dream schools. Does your DD taking batting or pitching lessons? A pitching or hitting coach can also act as a liaison to a college coach.

Click to expand...

D1 and DD is a 2016. She does take batting lessons. ..I never thought of that.

Thx

Okay then, I'm glad I didn't try to sell her. It's hard to keep the mouth shut sometimes. He does know that DD is very interested from emails also. This is the second time he's come to practice in the last month so I hope he is happy with what he sees.

Out in Left Field said:

The coach can talk to you junior year after July 1.

Click to expand...

To clarify, that's July 1 AFTER junior year for in-person, off-campus contact.

One of this year's NCAA rule changes for D1 is coaches will be able to call recruits, besides emailing them, on Sept 1 at start of junior year.

I would send him a written thank you for coming by.

iMlearning said:

Okay then, I'm glad I didn't try to sell her. It's hard to keep the mouth shut sometimes. He does know that DD is very interested from emails also. This is the second time he's come to practice in the last month so I hope he is happy with what he sees.

Click to expand...

If you are the teams representative for recruiting you can talk to him/her without any worries. You, as a parent, can have a conversation with the coach at any time as long it does not relate to your dd and her recruitment. But generally a "hi, thanks for coming" or asking how things are going is sufficient. If you have already had contact with the coach then more conversation isn't out of line as long as it is not about dd's recruitment. If July 1 after Jr year then contact from you and your dd is permissible after the event. A phone call from dd is acceptable any time. My advice is let dd handle as much of the contact with coaches as possible. They are not recruiting the parents, we are a necessary evil that coaches have to deal with.

Out in Left Field said:

The whole recruiting thing is a circus and a joke and that rule change will do nothing to stop it. The kids are recruited in 8th grade,. Meanwhile the kids who started or are discovered "late" are in 9th grade, and they have to make all the contacts themselves (or through a TB's team representative). So by junior year all the scholarships are gone.

Click to expand...

This is not our experience (except for the bit where you call it a circus - it is a circus). Maybe the rest of it is just true where ever you are (we are in Florida so opportunities are there to be found).

Our local juniors and seniors who didn't commit early have had plenty of success getting athletic money as juniors and seniors. Hell, last year we knew of a full ride available for a graduated Senior Pitcher for a Mid-D1 as late as 2 weeks before school started which never got filled btw. Coach turnover, player attrition, injuries, development issues, performance problems, uncommits, etc means quality players have plenty of opportunity as junior/seniors. That 9th grader you recruit isn't going to replace your starting SS who unexpectedly transfers after her sophomore season or your #1 pitcher who broke down with a year long injury. Coach needs someone NOW.