Professional baseball scouts like to point out that of all the thousands of players who play baseball each year, only a few are chosen in the draft.
Ultimately, your high school graduate will have to decide one of three things: Does he go pro? Does he go to college? Does he quit and do something else?
Some of the reasons to go to college include:
a) the fact that a player drafted out of college has a higher chance of making it to the majors;
b) the college experience;
c) the professional team is not offering enough of a signing bonus to justify losing your amateur status;
d) your child is not confident enough in his own abilities to think he can make it to the pros and he wants a solid backup plan;
e) your child is a multisport athlete and is not sure which sport he wants to play yet; and
f) your child is not sure if he wants a career in professional baseball.
Some of the reasons to go professional include:
a) your child is not a good student, and is more likely to have a successful career in professional baseball;
b) your child receives a significant signing bonus;
c) your child cannot get a scholarship and does not have the resources to go to college;
d) your child has lost his amateur eligibility;
e) the coaches are generally better on the professional teams;
f) the professional team guarantees to pay for college for your child after his baseball career is over; and
g) baseball is a young man’s game and the sooner your son gets started the quicker he can develop and fulfill his dream.
A reason that can cut both ways is injuries. If a player has a bad injury while in school, he will need to do something other than baseball with his life. On the flip side, a scout once told me, “Injuries and age have never stopped anyone from getting an education but they have stopped a promising career in sports, so it is best to start early.” (I apologize, but I can no longer find the source for this quote.)
So what do the experts say?
Jack Cust & Keith Dilgard, of Jack Cust Baseball Academy, suggest that for most position players, it is best to go to college. However, for pitchers, due to the high risk for injury, going professional has additional advantages. They also cautioned that a player must be careful where he goes to college as some places expect you to leave by the end of your junior year.
George (Curvy) Ramos suggests that if a player is drafted in the top three rounds, it is best to sign with a professional team.
Joe Barth’s best advise is to “go where you are wanted.” You will be happier as a result, especially if you are choosing among colleges. He warns that a player’s scholarship can be pulled for a variety of reasons, so it is important to have a good relationship with the coaches.
In the end, your child should not make this decision until he has all the good offers on the table from the colleges and the professional team that has drafted your son. At a certain point, if the drafting team offers enough money, it will make sense to play professional ball rather than go to college. This number is different for everyone and I will discuss what draft picks are receiving in more detail in the next installment.
Next issue: Who is eligible to be drafted?
Special thanks to Jack Cust, Sr., Keith Dilgard, Joe Barth, and George (Curvy) Ramos for providing valuable time and resources in the preparation of this article.
Showing posts with label College. Show all posts
Showing posts with label College. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Thursday, May 29, 2008
My son is being scouted, now what?
If you have an athletically gifted child in high school that is being scouted by colleges and professional sports teams, be prepared to deal with a lot of intrusion in your life and the life of your child. Your child may have to deal with college recruiters, baseball scouts, agents, financial consultants, lawyers, the media and of course long lost “friends”.
While college baseball in no way competes financially with college football, it is still big business. This fact must not be forgotten when scouts, whether professional or college, come to look at your child.
Players being touted as a high draft picks can expect many requests from major league scouts for in-home visits and psychological tests. Scouts and coaches recommend athletes can save themselves a lot of grief by having the information they want to know readily available, such as medical records, eye tests, baseball schedules, signability forms and player information cards. They also suggest the athletes leave a game schedule with their baseball coaches and on your answering machine.
Filling out all the player information cards and psychological tests can take an incredible amount of time. The psychological tests can vary from about 80 to 275 questions depending on the team or school giving them. Players can save some time by signing a waiver on the Caliber Test and have the results released to all the teams that use that test.
In terms of increasing your child’s likelihood of getting drafted or offered a scholarship, the most important thing you need to learn is the phrase “signability”. A player’s signability is a combination of the player’s contract demands and the team or college’s ability to pay. For a college, the ability to pay means their ability to offer a scholarship, provide a good education, a safe environment and top notch training.
When discussing signability with scouts and college recruiters, athletes will be asked whether they want to turn pro and how much of a signing bonus it will take to commit to going pro. Your child should be honest, but he should not be too definitive in his future plans.
The worst thing an athlete can do is give a definitive answer to these questions unless he is really sure because the more adamant the stance the more he will lose bargaining power. For example, if he tells everyone that he has no intention of going to college, he may be drafted much lower and almost assuredly would be offered a much smaller signing bonus because any threats to hold out would be in vein. Moreover, no college will bother offering him a scholarship. Alternatively, if he tells everyone that he wants to go to college regardless of where he is drafted, what team in their right mind would waste a high draft pick on him?
So what can a player say? He can tell them which way he is leaning, but if the right offer came along he would reconsider. He can tell them money is not important as long as it is a fair amount. He can say that he would be willing to sign for a bonus similar to what others in nearby draft slots are getting. And he can also tell them that if he gets drafted below a certain round, he is likely to head to college instead.
Be careful about saying too much to the media as well. It is always better for a player to stay quiet and polite than to say things that could hurt their chances at being drafted or offered a scholarship. Stick with the clichés about hard work. A player should avoid any indication of how much of a signing bonus he is expecting as scouts say that this can kill his signability if he has unrealistic expectations.
Regardless of which way your child is leaning, it is important that you and he go through all the motions with the colleges and scouts in order to keep your child’s options open and to obtain the best for your child. This means visiting the colleges, filling out applications and financial aid forms, taking any necessary scholastic tests, keeping in good condition and keeping grades up. Failure to keep in good condition or to keep grades up may be considered a serious character flaw.
A few wayward scouts or college recruiters may promise the world, but most are quite honest and willing to assist and provide good advice. It is a small community, and for the most part a collegial one. Word gets around pretty quickly if there is a bad recruiter out there or if your child is looking to cheat the system. If your child ever gets caught requesting money upfront to play, he may never play professionally or on an amateur level again.
Whatever you child does, don’t let them hire a baseball agent unless they are 100% sure they are not going to college! They will lose their ability to play collegiate baseball forever if they do.
Next issue: Should my child choose college or go pro?
Special thanks to Jack Cust, Sr., Keith Dilgard, Joe Barth, and George (Curvy) Ramos for providing valuable time and resources in the preparation of this article.
While college baseball in no way competes financially with college football, it is still big business. This fact must not be forgotten when scouts, whether professional or college, come to look at your child.
Players being touted as a high draft picks can expect many requests from major league scouts for in-home visits and psychological tests. Scouts and coaches recommend athletes can save themselves a lot of grief by having the information they want to know readily available, such as medical records, eye tests, baseball schedules, signability forms and player information cards. They also suggest the athletes leave a game schedule with their baseball coaches and on your answering machine.
Filling out all the player information cards and psychological tests can take an incredible amount of time. The psychological tests can vary from about 80 to 275 questions depending on the team or school giving them. Players can save some time by signing a waiver on the Caliber Test and have the results released to all the teams that use that test.
In terms of increasing your child’s likelihood of getting drafted or offered a scholarship, the most important thing you need to learn is the phrase “signability”. A player’s signability is a combination of the player’s contract demands and the team or college’s ability to pay. For a college, the ability to pay means their ability to offer a scholarship, provide a good education, a safe environment and top notch training.
When discussing signability with scouts and college recruiters, athletes will be asked whether they want to turn pro and how much of a signing bonus it will take to commit to going pro. Your child should be honest, but he should not be too definitive in his future plans.
The worst thing an athlete can do is give a definitive answer to these questions unless he is really sure because the more adamant the stance the more he will lose bargaining power. For example, if he tells everyone that he has no intention of going to college, he may be drafted much lower and almost assuredly would be offered a much smaller signing bonus because any threats to hold out would be in vein. Moreover, no college will bother offering him a scholarship. Alternatively, if he tells everyone that he wants to go to college regardless of where he is drafted, what team in their right mind would waste a high draft pick on him?
So what can a player say? He can tell them which way he is leaning, but if the right offer came along he would reconsider. He can tell them money is not important as long as it is a fair amount. He can say that he would be willing to sign for a bonus similar to what others in nearby draft slots are getting. And he can also tell them that if he gets drafted below a certain round, he is likely to head to college instead.
Be careful about saying too much to the media as well. It is always better for a player to stay quiet and polite than to say things that could hurt their chances at being drafted or offered a scholarship. Stick with the clichés about hard work. A player should avoid any indication of how much of a signing bonus he is expecting as scouts say that this can kill his signability if he has unrealistic expectations.
Regardless of which way your child is leaning, it is important that you and he go through all the motions with the colleges and scouts in order to keep your child’s options open and to obtain the best for your child. This means visiting the colleges, filling out applications and financial aid forms, taking any necessary scholastic tests, keeping in good condition and keeping grades up. Failure to keep in good condition or to keep grades up may be considered a serious character flaw.
A few wayward scouts or college recruiters may promise the world, but most are quite honest and willing to assist and provide good advice. It is a small community, and for the most part a collegial one. Word gets around pretty quickly if there is a bad recruiter out there or if your child is looking to cheat the system. If your child ever gets caught requesting money upfront to play, he may never play professionally or on an amateur level again.
Whatever you child does, don’t let them hire a baseball agent unless they are 100% sure they are not going to college! They will lose their ability to play collegiate baseball forever if they do.
Next issue: Should my child choose college or go pro?
Special thanks to Jack Cust, Sr., Keith Dilgard, Joe Barth, and George (Curvy) Ramos for providing valuable time and resources in the preparation of this article.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)