Spend Wisely - Part 3
In our previous post, we covered what we believe would be the best course of action for a player in their Sophomore year. Today, we will cover what we believe should be the roadmap for a player’s Junior Year.
Before we get into that, we want to clarify that our recommendations are for those that are looking for a more calculated, budgeted approach. If you have the time, and the money, you can throw “the kitchen sink” at the process. BUT, throwing the “kitchen sink” isn’t necessary; and that is what we are trying to illustrate.
The Road to Getting Recruited
Junior Year: At this point, we assume that your child has attended showcases and a college camp or two. By now, your child may have received correspondence from a College Coach indicating they have interest. Whether you and your family have interest is a different story. And it is very likely that your son will get interest from schools that may be of no interest to him. And that is where we will begin the Junior year, with the assumption that your son hasn’t generated interest from schools that are of interest to him.
Next Steps: Repeat the Sophomore Year! Yes, that is correct. Attend Showcases, receive correspondence from Colleges and attend College Camps. What will be different this year? A few things:
- Your child is likely (hopefully) bigger, stronger, faster, and hopefully better skilled. So, the product they put forward this year in the Showcases is likely better than what they presented last year.
- Attend different showcases. Do your homework. Continue to hunt for showcases that have a history of attendance from a diverse set of colleges.
- Did you follow up with College Coaches that were in attendance? Do not wait for them to outreach. Their emails are public. Send them an email to see if you can obtain some feedback, good or bad.
Send Video: Now is the time to put your foot on the gas. Put together a short video that showcases your son’s skill. This doesn’t need to be a thousand-dollar production. Take your phone and record video. You can make a productive video that lasts no longer than 5 minutes that includes your son’s entire skill set (hitting, fielding, throwing, etc).
Send an email to all the coaches at schools that are of interest to your son. AND THE EMAIL NEEDS TO COME FROM YOUR SON. And please keep this in mind. Most coaches will NEVER respond. Be a salesman and reach out to as many “prospects” as possible. When sending the emails, do NOT copy and paste from one email to the next. Be specific with each email. Reference the Coach by name; mention the school in the email; and get specific (but brief) on why you are interested in the school. This will take some time; but the energy and effort is worth it.
As mentioned above, you are really doing much of the same in your Junior year that you did in your Sophomore year. Many people will try and mix it up because maybe they didn’t get results from their Sophomore year. Typically, the Junior year is where panic begins to set in. But, stay the course and “trust the process.” Remember, your son’s skillsets have improved (assuming they have been working hard); so the body of work they are presenting this year is quite different than last year. And, if you’re getting in front of the same college coaches as last year, those coaches could be impressed by the growth.
Stay patient and don’t panic!
We’ll conclude this series with one more post. There we will tackle the Senior year where we will take the assumption that your son is still getting no interest. I know plenty of players who didn’t know where they were going until the end of their Senior year, or even into the summer after they graduate.
TRUST THE PROCESS!