It’s so hard to let go and trust that your son will do just fine on his own. Well, he will. Here are the top 6 things parents must do during the baseball recruiting process that will help your son gain confidence and get college coaches looking in his direction.
1) Ask your son what HE wants. If your son has aspirations of becoming a student-athlete, start asking questions that will help shape a plan when beginning the college search. Questions like: Do you want to go far away to school? What size school do you want to go to? Do you think you’d like to be in a rural, suburban or city setting…and so on. With his answers in hand, he will have a starting point as he researches schools. As the list gets compiled, more detailed questions will arise, and will help narrow that list down even further.
2) Be an assistant. Not the director. Don’t forget. You’re not the one headed to college. Your son is. So it’s important to assist in the process, but not take over the process. Helping him to stay organized, reminding him to write to coaches and reviewing his letters for typos and grammar before they’re sent out are just some of the ways you can help. When it came to researching colleges, all three of us (myself, my husband and our son) took an active role in going on line and visiting college websites. When I saw a school that matched Ben’s “must-have-checklist,” I sent him the link so he could check it out on his own.
3) Provide the tools. In the recruiting process you will learn that there are some critical tools to jumpstart your son’s recruiting process: a skills video, a highlight video, and a player profile outlining your son’s physical attributes, academic record, player stats, etc. Ben’s player profile was initially built at no cost with NCSA Athletic Recruiting, and later we joined as members. They became an invaluable resource in the college search, provided important recruiting advice and helped our son to connect and stay connected with coaches.
4) Have your son attend baseball camps, clinics and showcases. There are a lot out there, so research these thoroughly with your son. Attending one or two large showcases for the experience is a good thing, but he shouldn’t feel compelled to do all of them. Instead, focus on the camps at the schools where he would like to attend. If your son’s travel team is in tournament-play through the summer or fall seasons, have him contact coaches that may be nearby, and invite them to a game. Bottom line, your son has to be seen by a college coach, in addition to having the recruiting tools listed above.
5) Let your player do the talking. When your son has the opportunity to speak with a coach, take a step back. It’s his show and he has to prove to the coach that he can perform. Nothing irks a coach more than parents who speak for their sons. I’m sure you’re familiar with “never ask coaches about playing time on their son’s behalf.” The same wisdom applies during the recruiting process. The coach wants to get to know the player, even if for the briefest of conversations. It’s your son’s time to shine, so be sure to step back and let him be in the spotlight.
6) Be there to listen. There comes a point in time when your son will have to start making decisions on his own, and the baseball recruiting process is where he needs to start doing just that. Be there as a sounding board where you can both bounce ideas off one another, figure out plusses and minuses of a situation and help your son to sculpt his goals into the dream he’s going after.
You’ve done your job up to this point. Now it’s time to take your foot off the gas, and let your son do the driving. No worries. He knows you’ll always be there if he needs directions.
