Fact or Fiction

Rob Naddelman: Through a Parent’s Eyes

One of the best pieces of advice I can give a family that is going through the college recruiting process for baseball is to focus on the facts and try hard to ignore the fiction. The college recruiting process is filled with its ups and downs. At certain points, players may receive emails from coaches, camp invitations, invitations for unofficial or official visits, or phone calls. For other players, that process may take longer to develop and they may not receive as much initial interest or feedback. Whether your family is experiencing an “up” or a “down” in the process, my same advice applies…focus on the facts and try hard to ignore the fiction.

Let me give you two examples. While these examples are not 100% based on specific case studies, I have participated in these types of conversations hundreds of times over the past 15 years.

Parent 1: Johnny just received a phone call from XYZ University. Since the call was received on July 3rd (and July 1st was the first day that Johnny could be called by a college) this must mean that he is going to receive a scholarship offer. This would be great because XYZ University is Johnny’s first choice!

Parent 2: It is August 15th and my son hasn’t received any phone calls or emails from college coaches. He is getting very frustrated because he has been told that if you are not contacted quickly after the July 1st date, that must mean he is not a recruitable player and at best he will need to walk on. Maybe we have been kidding ourselves this entire time since we were convinced he could play in college.

Let’s focus on the facts in each example.

For Parent 1: The fact is that their son got a call from a school on July 3rd and July 1st was the first time they could call. This is certainly encouraging. The fiction is that he will get a scholarship offer because he received this call. Let’s keep things in perspective, be excited and enthusiastic about the phone call, but don’t put the cart before the horse. Johnny may still need to visit the school, conduct a meeting with the coaching staff, do an overnight visit, possibly retake a standardized test, etc. Many things may still need to fall in line before a scholarship is discussed.

For Parent 2: The fact is that their son hasn’t received any interest so far from a college coach. This doesn’t mean he won’t play college baseball and it doesn’t mean that he won’t eventually receive some interest. Many players sign in the Spring signing period, and a good number of those players may not have started to be recruited until later in the game. This family just needs to continue to be proactive and step up their efforts to educate coaches about their son and his potential. Always stay positive!

Keeping your eye on the facts and staying away from the stories or fiction will help keep your family balanced during this college recruiting process, which at times, can feel like an emotional roller coaster!

Rob Naddelman is the President of Baseball Factory. Naddelman is a former two-time All Ivy League Third Baseman at the University of Pennsylvania, where he competed in a College World Series Regional. He has served as the President of Baseball Factory for the past 13 years, and also is the Executive Director of Baseball Factory's charitable arm The B.A.S.E. - H.I.T. Foundation. Naddelman and Steve Sclafani (CEO) have been featured in Business Week and CNN for their work in building Baseball Factory into the nation's leader in player development and college placement.