<p>I'm asking for a friend . Friend has played baseball all his life including various camps as a child and teen leagues and is a bright boy taking AP's and honors, but has a low PSAT score first try. He played J.V. freshman and sophmore h.s. year,( the school is huge and the competition stiff) but it does look like he may make the varsity team this Spring. So what could he do to increase the chances of a coach taking an interest in him? The parent has mentioned to me hiring a promoter.(?) I told her they can't do anything you can't do yourself but considering the competition of the sport she is doubtful. How can one increase their chances to play this sport, Div. 2, college? Thank you.</p>
<p>can do youself.</p>
<p>yourself..</p>
<p>I'd suggest looking at DIII schools ... the best DIII programs could compete with the low end of DI ... and other DIII schools are not nearly that strong. For example, I had a friend, who did not make his high school's varsity team, walk-on to a DIII varsity soccer team at a terrifc LAC.</p>
<p>I'd also suggest turning the order of the search around. At the DIII level search schools for location, size, city/rural, majors, etc. Then given this list I would contact the coaches at these schools directly ... if your friend is a good candidate the schools will respond well. I also would check the school's web-sites which may provide profiles of the players on the team which will help your friend calibrate if he can compete at that school.</p>
<p>I don't know about using one of the services ... on CC we have read differing opinions of the services. I would recommend creating a video tape to send to the schools.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>I don't know where in the country your friend lives. I do know that Pennsylvania has a bunch of D2 schools that give some free rides to athletes--Kutztown, Clarion, Slippery Rock, West Chester, Shippenberg, Millersville, Indiana U of Pa, to name a few. If you get on their websites, there is a recruit form that will go to the coach. Also, a number of Catholic schools ranging from D1 (but lower intensity D1) and D2 (Gannon, Wheeling Jesuit, Lasalle, etc) are very interested in Baseball players. I know some kids at Manhattan College and St Johns in NY who are on baseball scholarships. Then there is the whole slew of D3 schools that have baseball programs. I suggest a USN&WR Ultimate College Guide or a CollegeBoard guide. I believe both books list sports and the schools that have a program in that sport in the index at the back. Hope this helps.</p>
<p>Also there is a great website, I think we are not supposed to link them here but google high school baseball web. Amazingly good information on high school teams, recruiting at every level, technical advice on baseball, etc., etc., etc. Extremely knowledgeable people there.</p>
<p>Jamimom; The thing is, if anyone is still reading this post, this boy will only be on varsity junior and senior year. Is that a handicap? or can't say?
And so, is Div. 2 tough? Now I know with tennis it is- all those foreign players who are phenominal on clay. What is Div. 2 baseball like?
Also, just wondering how to obtain the coach's attention, like specific programs which may carry some weight. I think he feels he is not Div. 1 caliber because he will only be on varsity junior and senior year. If it matters, he looks the part. He looks like an athlete.</p>
<p>BHG, can't say. Depends on the highschool program. I know a young man who is at a boarding school that has such an emphasis on baseball, that just getting accepted there as a player is a good sign that you are D1 or pro possible. There is a freshman team and a JV team which is primarily made up of sophomores. But some of the kids who are junior and on the JV team get baseball scholarships as well. The calibre of the sport is so high at that school that there it is rare to have more than 2 years on the varsity squad since all seniors are guaranteed a varsity position. Also there are D-1 programs that are not as strong as some D2 or D3 programs. It all depends. In baseball, there are club teams that most serious players participate in. Those running the clubs can give you a pretty good read as to what level a kid is for college baseball. If the boy is not doing club ball, he may want to start, or start researching a top knotch program for the summer, where again the staff and coaches could assess where he would belong in college ball. </p>
<p>D2 schools tend to be schools that have a curriculum emphasis more on education (teaching), business, rather than the liberal arts though they are also offered. But the schools vary widely in the emphasis on any particular sport so they need to be researched individually. I know a lot of kids who have gone the D2 route and are happy with that choice. They get to play a high level of the sport, yet within their abilities, they get money to play, the academics are not too demanding, and many go into teaching, coaching or other sport related field.</p>
<p>I don't recall what division it is (not Division I) but Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas has been recruiting 1-2 baseball players from our high school each year. They all rave about the school and the baseball program. Trinity U is a very good school academically as well. <a href="http://www.trinity.edu%5B/url%5D">www.trinity.edu</a></p>
<p>Trinity has one of the best D3 baseball programs in the country and is also very strong academically. But it is D3 (no athletic scholarships), not D2.</p>
<p>Thank you for the info. I'll take it to the parent.</p>
<p>Thanks Patient, I couldn't recall offhand. Trinity is VERY generous with merit money, however.</p>
<p>A kid we know (well, he's no longer really a kid) was awarded a baseball scholarship at the University of Hartford. He graduated, is working, and is still playing baseball.</p>
<p>BTW: for college baseball, most of the recruiting is done via summer tournaments and showcases, not through high school teams (although playing on the high school team, assuming it is possible, is necessary in order to have a coach's recommendation and also just for playing competitively as much of the year as possible). The universal advice is to get into some good showcases in the geographic areas or including the colleges in which the boy has interest, as well as to target schools and send a letter of interest to the coaches. Now is the time to be doing this, because many of these showcases fill up early. Also, work out and get in top shape because the competition can be intense and the player needs to be at his best to get noticed. Again, all of this information and more, including sample letters, lists of colleges, etc. etc. etc., are on the baseball website I mentioned earlier. </p>
<p>Finally, in answer to the question about the competitiveness of the various divisions, there is a wide range of quality in all 3 divisions and it depends on the school. And remember club sports. One of my son's friends is having a fantastic time playing on the club team with CMU, traveling to other colleges in the East to play, and getting lots of playing time. He wasn't in contact with the team until he got there as a freshman, I think.</p>
<p>If someone does the showcase programs do they need to be a standout?</p>
<p>I know from our older kids they had friends who wanted athletic scholarships and what was more important that the school athletics was the side athletics the so called "hit baseball teams and softball teams" going to Nat'ls etc doing tournaments every weekend.
Having a good video of your capabilties as a player listing all stats from all years of playing.Listing all positions they can play not just what they want to play.
Baseball is tough one to get I wish them good luck and they need to sale themselves on their actual talent.</p>
<p>Sonya</p>
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If someone does the showcase programs do they need to be a standout?
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<p>Hard question to answer. For the top baseball schools, yes; but for the others, they need to be at their best, but the schools' coaches know the talent level they are seeking and can get, and there is a big range of schools within each division. So I think that there is room for different levels. You also have to be careful about which showcases to choose, because some are more-established and better than others. Perfect Game is always good, and TeamOne and Area Code Games (but those latter 2 are more geared for Division 1). Others you have to be caveat emptor as some are just money-making propositions with little or no real college coach attendance. Best of luck. Again, the website is a great resource. (broken record tendency here)</p>