First visit from coach.

[ms244]

My DD is a sophomore and is beginning the process of looking at colleges to attend after HS. We did a search of colleges within a certain radius of home (she wants to stay within 3 hours of home) and also have her major available. From the list she then began emailing the coach for each college and completing the "recruit me" form. She wants to attend a smaller school as she feels that she will get "lost" in a large city type school. So, since her emails from a couple of weeks ago she has received a few emails and several mailings from the colleges. At her game last week she noticed a college coach sitting in the stands during her game but didn't recognize the logo on her jacket. Several players noticed her and were all curious why or who she was there to watch.

My DD only pitched 3 innings that game and didn't get any chances to bat (coaches decision). It was the coaches plan to pitch all three pitchers during that game so after 3 innings she was pulled, regardless of performance or score. She pitched well giving up 4 hits and 0 earned runs in 3 innings to a good hitting team. After the game her HS head coach stopped her before getting on the bus and gave her a business card from the college head coach explaining that due to NCAA rules and the fact she was only a sophomore she wasn't allowed to talk directly with my DD. Obviously my DD is on cloud nine with total excitement in the fact that a coach drove 2-1/2 hours to come watch HER play. She followed up with an email to the coach thanking her for coming to watch. Very exciting time for my DD!

 

[riseball]

Congrats, that is a very positive sign. If that is one of her schools be sure to stay after it and keep her on the radar. Only thing I would suggest is next time instead of an email have your DD send a hand written note. The coach gets 100 emails a week. When was the last time you received a hand written note? I have my players buy and stamp them in advance and keep them in the glove box of their car. That way they send them immediately for even greater impact.

 

[Gronknation]

In the future if you know a coach is coming or if DD knows someone is there to watch her let your coach know. A HS and especially a TB coach will give your DD more time on the mound or the plate if they know. Good Luck

 

[riseball]

In the future if you know a coach is coming or if DD knows someone is there to watch her let your coach know. A HS and especially a TB coach will give your DD more time on the mound or the plate if they know. Good Luck

That is an excellent point but many coaches purposely arrive early and unannounced. Friend of mine Jamie Wohlbach the HC at The University of Delaware told me I want to get there for warmups without anyone knowing I am there, because that's when the train wrecks happen.

 

[ms244]

Gronknation - My DD didn't know the coach was arriving otherwise she might have talked to the HS coach and let him know. She found out after the game was over that she was there for to watch her.

Riseball - I totally agree with you about the hand written letter vs. the email. The reason why my DD sent the email was to let the coach know right away that she appreciates her visit. A hand written letter would take a couple of days to arrive. She is going to follow up with the coach and give her the remainder of the HS schedule and also her ASA travel ball schedule. That will be in a hand written letter. Great idea!


I spoke to the HC of Illinois College last fall and I asked her what she looks for in a player. She told me that she actually likes to watch the players warm up before the game. She explained it this way; During a game a player might throw 2-3 balls (depending on the position), or bat a couple of times. Pitchers may not even pitch the game that they are watching, and outfielders may never see a ball the entire game. During warm ups each player throws, fields, swings, etc. several times. This makes the best time for a college coach to watch multiple players in a short amount of time. If there is something that she likes during warm ups then she will stay and watch part or all of the game.

Since this discussion my DD takes warm-ups very serious and from the moment their feet touch the dirt she is in "game mode". This includes practice and between innings also. Hopefully my DD used this strategy last Monday

 

[YOCOACH]

Congrats to you and your DD! I hope that she attains her dreams of playing in college no matter the school.

 

[CatchersMom2017]

My DD(Soph) got her first "almost" coach contact(her words) the other day. She got a letter in the mail from a D2 coach stating that below were the two camps/showcases she would be at this summer. Then the coach pointed out the one closer to our home as the one she would recommend my DD attend. This was a college that DD didn't really have on her radar until now. It was just personal enough not to look like a form letter without getting into contact trouble.
DD's been smiling for days and we are trying to fit the camp into her very busy summer schedule.
My question is should she send an acknowledgement of the letter received now or if/when she signes up for the camp?

 

[MNDad]

Congrats and yes, definitely! Have your DD write the coach and thank them for the letter. Tell them she'll be at the camp and is looking forward to it. Also tell them she'd like to take an unofficial visit at the school campus and she hopes she can spend some time with him and have a player show her around. She will call on X date at X time and if she's not able to connect she'll try again. Include her travel coaches name and contact info. Attach a player profile sheet anda link to her video. If you don't have them yet, that's the first step.

Good luck on your journey and try to enjoy the ride!

 

[SoCal_Dad]

My DD(Soph) got her first "almost" coach contact(her words) the other day. She got a letter in the mail from a D2 coach stating that below were the two camps/showcases she would be at this summer. Then the coach pointed out the one closer to our home as the one she would recommend my DD attend. This was a college that DD didn't really have on her radar until now. It was just personal enough not to look like a form letter without getting into contact trouble.
DD's been smiling for days and we are trying to fit the camp into her very busy summer schedule.
My question is should she send an acknowledgement of the letter received now or if/when she signes up for the camp?

Some coaches are very good about making form letters sound personal (e.g. "we saw you play at xxx and think you're our type of player"). My DD got one of those from a school that I knew already had commitments from 2 pitchers in her grad class, so I checked with some other parents to see if they had received the same thing and basically everyone on the team had. They pick up team profile sheets at an event and blast camp emails.

I hope that's not the case for you, however you may want to check.

 

[JAD]

Congrats, that is a very positive sign. If that is one of her schools be sure to stay after it and keep her on the radar. Only thing I would suggest is next time instead of an email have your DD send a hand written note. The coach gets 100 emails a week. When was the last time you received a hand written note? I have my players buy and stamp them in advance and keep them in the glove box of their car. That way they send them immediately for even greater impact.

We had postcards made with my DD's picture on the front and she used them as "thank you cards" for coaches who came to see her during showcases. We received positive feedback on them from several coaches.