college athletics question.... coaches, scouts, parents, athletes

[big_smith]

I would say that kids that play at bigger schools get more looks, regardless of sports. My son plays Jr College Baseball and I have watched a bunch of games already. I saw very few players that were heads above the ones either my son played with or against in High School. Baseball is all about exposure.................and body type and size. If you are 6'4 then even if you are a so so ball player you have a shot. If you are 5'8 you better be a straight up stud.

[.270]

Forgot to mention, go to the camps of the schools you are interested, as well as those roaming camps groups of Universities put on.

[WinslowBoy]

If your goal is for your kid(s) to play college sports, read all the above.

If your goal is for your kid to get a college scholarship, then by all means get them into sports and/or any other activity that will help develop a sense of responsibility and work ethic, but don't make it their full-time job. Then take all the money you'd otherwise spend on travel ball and private lessons and all the other "gonna get my kid a scholarship" things and put it into a 529 college savings plan every year. Maybe put a little bit of it into a tutor here and there, if needed. Save some time in the kid's schedule to studying rather than sports 24/7. Sports scholarships are limited in number. Academic scholarships are not. Pile your college savings plan on top of that, and you'll have school paid for for sure, rather than a "maybe" for a sports scholarship.

Nothing wrong with sports at all. But most people who spend a ton of money and time trying to makehttp://discussions.texasbowhunter.com/forums/images/icons/icon6.gif sure their kid gets one end up disappointed. Just something to consider if the scholarship is your main goal.

Well said Shane!!!

Last year my son got multiple D1 offers to play a sport which isn't basketball/football. In these "other" sports, full ride scholarships are as rare as an E Texas black panther (nevermind). Your best option is generally a partial offer with hopes of additional academic money. Because he was a recruitable athlete AND had good grades/test scores, several schools AUTOMATICALLY qualified him for elevated academic scholarship slots without having to compete with other students. With that knowledge, we were able to focus on which school/program was the best fit for him academically/socially/athletically, not the one that made the best money offer. Between the athletic and academic money, we are still paying a fair chunk but he's at a quality academic school playing high level athletics and we couldn't be happier.

Last note is he was the final recruit offered in last year's class for his school. After he signed, the coach said the last amount of scholarship money was down to him and another player BUT chose my son because of his grades and extracurricular activites he was involved in. Good coaches definitely look at the whole package when they recruit a player.

[big_smith]

I will also agree with what several have said. I have several friends who have spent pretty much a college education cost in travel ball over the years. Think about it. If you spend $3000 per year for 8 years or so, you could have paid for most of their college yourself and not had to go through the headache and heart ache of trying to get a sports scholarship. We were reasonable, went to a few camps, played on a cheaper team, and he was able to land a nearly full ride, but to a Jr College. Hopefully that transfers into something bigger in the next year or two.

[texan16]

Yall remember that the OP's original question was "what are pro's/con's about going to a big school or small school" as far as possibly being able to play at the next level. Not "how to get a scholarship". As I and several others mentioned, the size of the school isnt as important as the quality of the program and the kid HAS TO GET EXPOSURE. The elite athletes will get it and a lot of the "really good" to "above average" kids wont. You have to self promote, go to camps, play on quality clubs and send out contacts to coaches. Dont assume the coaches are just going to find your kid. Occasionally they will but most times they wont. Advertise your kid, whether they go to a 6A or 6 man school.

[jshouse]

great info here fellas

[Codie]

My Wifes nephew is a pitcher at UT and was a well known pitcher out of the Woodlands and committed as a Junior in High School. He played select ball and went to showcases all over the Southern US throughout high school. It worked for them so my Niece in Early Tx (small town) that is a Sophomore right now is following in his footsteps. Playing on a select team out of DFW and is traveling to softball showcases at different cities in the Southern US almost every weekend. She has had some firm indication that she is being looked at by some D1 schools through this effort, but I honestly don't think that would be the case if she (her parents) had not decided to spend a boat (possibly a yacht) load of $ on playing select softball and going to every showcase they can make it to. I think if you are going to just play ball and let the chips fall where they may then you would be better off to be in a big school, but if you are willing to put in the effort to go make yourself known then it doesn't matter where you live or how big your high school classification is.

[Tico]

Everything has probably been pretty well covered. As a former player I can tell you no coach ever talked to me at a High School game. And as a former assistant coach I never went to a high school game. It's just a game of numbers. I'm pretty sure football is the exception, and if your the starting point guard on the number 1 team in the nation you may get some looks at school. As stated, the top athletes are known by everyone. But once you drop down from there coaches are looking for a good fit for their program. The 1st thing we did after identifying was look at grades. It's much easier to get money that way. And it makes it easier to give money to someone with less concern that they will be able to do well in the classroom as well.

Talk to some coaches and get a feel on their process. We always wanted to meet players early to get a feel for their personality. And at the select level it is much easier because there are usually more of them at a tournament or showcase. And you get to see them compete against other kids who are supposed to be at that level as well. Learn the rules for recruiting. They differ among the NCAA divisions. I'm now beginning down this process with my daughter, it's completely different on the other side of the fence. It seems to be even more in depth than before. Social media has become a real game changer.

[BrandonA]

I will also agree with what several have said. I have several friends who have spent pretty much a college education cost in travel ball over the years. Think about it. If you spend $3000 per year for 8 years or so, you could have paid for most of their college yourself and not had to go through the headache and heart ache of trying to get a sports scholarship. We were reasonable, went to a few camps, played on a cheaper team, and he was able to land a nearly full ride, but to a Jr College. Hopefully that transfers into something bigger in the next year or two.

I have a friend whose son Just accepted a Baseball scholarship to a D1 school. She told me they spend about 25k a year for Select baseball, camps etc.... They have been doing this for several yrs. College to any school would have been paid for. LOL

[Texans42]

short version: i guess my questions are, for the coaches/scouts/parents/athletes out there that have been through HS sports, what are your thoughts on "college talented" players and the benefits of being at a large school vs. small school? do college programs scout the smaller schools as much/hard? do they weigh the performance of small school kids differently? i tend to lean towards the saying that the cream rises to the top, but if the kid isnt getting serious consideration because of the size of his school, what good will that do him?

longer version: i was talking with a neighbor last night and we got onto the subject of athletes today and how (in the city we live in) all pretty much only play one sport starting in high school and even middle school in some cases. this lead us into discussing the merits of attending a large (5A-6A) school verses a smaller school and the amount of "exposure" athletes would get at each.

i came from a 3A school where we could/did play pretty much every sport in HS, and a school that as far as i know has had (1) D1 athlete in its history. i am sure they have had many more, probably a couple every year that end up playing at a smaller school somewhere.

being the dad of (2) young boys, both relatively athletic for their ages, i hate to think that they will have to "choose" a sport one day, but i also tend to think, maybe just because, that playing 1-2 sports at a large school would be more beneficial for someone with collegiate talent than being the "big fish in a small pond" at a smaller school.

disclaimer: i am in no way planning my boys college careers right now, i understand that they may quit playing sports next season, however, this hits close to home because my wife and i always talk about moving to a smaller town, on some acreage, so they boys can grow up in the woods. so we are weighing this stuff out all the time and end up giving in to the convenience of living in the city, close to all the select teams and "seemingly" more talented competition, etc.

to give an idea of where we would be looking i am talking about towns like caddo mills (4a), farmersville (3a), princeton (4a), as opposed to rockwall (6a) where we live now.

so after all that, i guess my questions are, for the coaches/parents/athletes out there that have been through HS sports, what are your thoughts on "college talented" players and the benefits of being at a large school vs. small school? do college programs scout the smaller schools as much/hard? do they weigh the performance of small school kids differently? i keep reading stuff from college coaches stating that they look for kids that play multiple sports but then you see kids playing one sport all year and cant help but think they have a leg up when it comes down to it.

If you are good they will find you. I wouldn't trade my NCAA career but from a $ and time stand point. Playing five years even on scholarship, cost me in long run. I personally will push my kids away from NCAA athletics if they reach that level unless it's they only way to get into an elite level education program.

[LWC]

I would say that kids that play at bigger schools get more looks, regardless of sports. My son plays Jr College Baseball and I have watched a bunch of games already. I saw very few players that were heads above the ones either my son played with or against in High School. Baseball is all about exposure.................and body type and size. If you are 6'4 then even if you are a so so ball player you have a shot. If you are 5'8 you better be a straight up stud.

This is very true. If you have the body type and any athletic skill you will get some chances. You almost have to prove that you cannot play.

[afishinman14]

college athletics question.... coaches, scouts, parents, athletes

One thing I haven't seen said on here very much is that facing better competition will make your child a better player. "Steel sharpens steel". A larger school will face better competition (usually) and playing on the best select team will do so as well.

I'm referring to baseball. I too played high school baseball, college baseball, and was drafted and played a few years in the minors. Others have covered it well. Exposure is key. Be proactive. Approach the schools, don't wait on them to come to you. Make friends with coaches who know college coaches and can convince them to scout your kid. College coaches have connections at the high school level who they trust. And who give them leads.

But again, one advantage of a more urban setting, would just be that your child will grow up facing better competition, and become a better player because of it. Also, coaches know the level of competition these kids face and it does factor into their evaluations. A kid who hits .350 at 2A won't be valued as high as the kid who hits .350 at 6A. Goes that way in college too. That's why it's hard to get drafted from a smaller school. .400 at a D2 means nothing. They'd rather have .300 at a D1. Of course this is on top of the visual scouting, swing evaluations, bat speed, mechanics, etc. but that's another subject.

Competition. Network. Exposure. And of course talent. That's the recipe for baseball.

Football. Ask someone else haha

Basketball I played as well in HS. Could've played D2/D3. Chose baseball. But we approached the colleges. I didn't play AAU due to my summer baseball commitment. But for basketball, AAU is A MUST. Absolutely is the way to get looked at for college. Extremely important. I was just fortunate enough to have a HS basketball coach who knew some college coaches. And I was a 6'5" shooting guard. That didn't hurt...



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[Marco]

I went thru this with my son and now my daughter. My son played club ball since he was 8 and went on to play collegiate baseball. He had a hard time getting looked at due to going to small private catholic school even though they beat all larger public schools on there schedule in San Antonio. We literally had to shake trees to get him an opportunity. Not an easy task i will tell you. He did end up playing and starting all 4 years in college even though he did have to change positions his sophmore and senior year. Now my daughter plays high school golf in San Antonio. She is a sophmore and made All State as a freshmen. This past summer we had D1 schools follow her during several tounaments. She made her first unofficial visit this past fall and was given an offer. Now granted she cannot sign letter of intent till October of senior year so really i think every sport is different depending on girls and boys programs.