Let Baseball Begin!

[oonfoofoo]

In order to get in front of schools you have to have the time to get there. My son is also a freshman and he has talked with a few D1 schools and they have all said the same thing.....with what they have going on they will have to struggle to find time to get to games. That's just the way it is and that's from Iowa. Schools south of here that have talked with him have made it very clear that they will not be able to make games in the summer and he has to either get to camps or showcases or they have suggested teams that will take ad hoc players around the region that he can tag along with. That has been the most productive.

 

[acoach#5]

Just wondering, how can these college coaches see games during the spring when they are playing easier then they can during the summer when they aren't? I would think it would be harder during the spring.

 

[oonfoofoo]

I will give you an example....let's say you have a college....I don't know....Mansas State in Kansas. They have a schedule that says they play a school,,,,I don't know....let's say Meighton. Mansas State plays Meighton University in...I don't know....Momaha in a day 4 game stint. Those 4 dates allow them to come to Momaha and take a look at a kid playing at a Momaha high school. While they are playing over those 4 days in Momaha they have the ability to get out and scout those kids that are playing there. Now since they play Meighton in March they can watch Momaha high schools play in the spring. Can they then jump across the border to watch an Iowa kid or two out of Council Bluffs or may as far east as Des Moines...nope. If you attend some of the perfect game spring wood bat league this is how a lot of the midwest schools make contact.

All of the above references are to fictitious schools.

 

[3afootballrocks]

A few years ago we had several D1 prospects circulating through our school. One of them a pretty darn good left handed pitcher. He was also very active with PG so scouts had all kinds of opportunity to see him outside of our regular summer schedule. We are in SE Iowa. We had no shortage of scouts from both the D1 college level and even a few at the professional level at many of our games throughout the summer and ongoing into our districts schedule. The young man was offered at K-State but later turned that down after being drafted. I have also been to many games where there were scouts looking at kids on the opposing team from every college level. To think that a D1 school wont make it a priority to come evaluate good talent just isn't accurate at all. An earlier poster made the comment that if your good they will find you is really pretty simple and true. Those schools may not make a huge effort a kids Freshman or Soph year but you can bet come their junior year the scouts will come calling if the talent is there.

 

[acoach#5]

I don't know. If I were a head coach at a D1 school playing a Friday, Saturday, Sunday, I don't think I would be leaving my team to go watch a kid play. More than likely the HS game would be going on the same time my game was going on. Plus we would be having mid-week games also, plus practice.

 

[oonfoofoo]

Weeelllll first you're not a head coach at a D1 or D2 or D3 school. But since I did play D1 football I can tell you this....you don't see your head coach on game day except at that time when you are ready to go on the field. If a head coach is at the D1 level he is not concerned about what his team is doing while he is trying to run the ship - he has too many other things to worry about.

And it's more likely that a high school game is going on at the time that they are playing? Hmmm. Kansas State at Creighton in Omaha - 1 game at 6:30 and the other two were mid afternoon games. Just stop already...this is how it works. If Kansas State is playing in Omaha and they have a kid on the radar in the Omaha and surrounding areas they want to get a peak at I guarantee they are not only using their trip to Omaha to play but a recruiting trip as well. That's how it works.

 

[acoach#5]

Sorry oonfoofoo, Didn't realize you knew everything. Sorry I didn't play football at a D1 school or coached D1,D2, or D3 baseball.Is this why you played D1 football instead of baseball in college because these coaches couldn't come watch you play in the summer? I just coached hs baseball in Iowa for 20 years and both my sons played in college. And no, I'm not from the Omaha or Des Moines area so I'm sure coaches would up this way with your logic. Sorry again, let me know when they move baseball to summer. Do you have a horse in this race or just spouting off?

This post was edited on 6/12 9:15 AM by acoach#5

 

[cidhawkeye]

It's amazing to me anyone in Iowa ever gets drafted or scholarships. How do they do it?

 

[Bob1650]

I agree it will take a lot of commitment in order to reach the end goal. We have spoke to several Coaches who have gave us great advice on methods of getting him in front of coaches and we will have to figure out ways to do it. This isn't exclusive to Iowa Athletes though, even the other States are seeing how hard it is to get "On Site" visits they are few and far between compared to years past. With College Budgets under lock and key and with the rising expenses of travel put against the ease of the internet their are ways to get it done. Easy? No! but it can happen, you are spot on as far as spreading the burden with friends that also want to play college ball. That is what we are doing as well in order to get it done. Good Luck!!

 

[gg2224]

Just FYI - Iowans taken in the 2014 Draft. Bold indicates those who played high school ball in Iowa. From MLB.com.

Round Taken|Overall Pick|Player Name|School|Position|Year in School|Height|Weight

2 64 Keller, Mitch Xavier HS (IA) RHP R/R HS 6'3" 195lbs

7 198 Peter, Jake Creighton (NE) SS L/R JR 6'1" 185lbs [/B]

7 216 Green, Nick Indian Hills CC (IA) RHP R/R J1 6'1" 175lbs

8 239 Yacinich, Jake Iowa (IA) SS R/R JR 6'1" 180lbs [/B]

8 246 Swanson, Erik Iowa Western CC (IA) RHP R/R J2 6'3" 220lbs

17 502 Tomscha, Damek Auburn (AL) 3B R/R SR 6'2" 220lbs [/B]

17 504 Carpenter, Quinn Iowa Western CC (IA) RHP R/R J2 6'4" 195lbs

19 585 Thompson-Williams, Dominic Iowa Western CC (IA) CF L/L J1 6'0" 180lbs [/B]

25 743 Crawford, Alec Minnesota (MN) RHP R/R SR 6'2" 205lbs[/B]

27 802 Harris, Scott Buena Vista University (IA) LHP L/L JR 6'4" 230lbs [/B]

28 835 McKinney, Keaton Ankeny Centennial HS (IA) RHP R/R HS 6'5" 220lbs [/B]

30 903 Lillard, Ryan Urbandale HS (IA) 3B L/R HS 6'1" 185lbs DOB: 09/04/95 [/B]

38 1131 Zeutenhorst, Taylor Iowa (IA) OF L/R SR 6'5" 228lbs DOB: 10/25/91 [/B]

38 1155 Kuebel, Sasha Iowa (IA) LHP R/L JR 6'1" 196lbs DOB: 07/28/92

 

[oonfoofoo]

Didn't say nor do I claim to know everything. I was responding directly to only what you said. As for playing or recruited for college baseball...did not happen but I am from one of the states that is normal. Normal being > 50% of the consensus.

Do kids get recruited to play baseball out of Iowa....yes. Do they make it to the pros....yes. Could the numbers be higher....yes....much higher....definitely.

that's great that your kids got to play college baseball.... I would be curious as to the level and how that recruiting process went? Also what positions did they play? scholarship? what percentage were they granted?

I will leave with this....1 state in the nation plays in the summer....that is all

 

[Kurt Whiton]

And since I started the topic...I am glad we are the ONLY state playing summer baseball! It is better for all involved! Glad it sparked some debate, but it looks like to me I am in the majority! Play on and good luck to all teams hoping to make it to Principal Park!

This post was edited on 6/14 10:06 PM by Kurt Whiton

 

[gg2224]

Iowa's sports schedule has evolved into it's current form through dozens of decisions over the years. Good, bad or indifferent, those decisions were made with the best interests of the schools and athletes of Iowa in mind. Does being different or charting your own path make Iowa's schedule 'not normal', which you seem to be alluding to? No. It's not better, it's not worse, it's just different. Myself and others have presented detailed arguments how things can and have worked here and why we think it's important to maintain summer baseball. You seem to have rejected all of them, which is fine, that is your perogative. At this point, I can see we're just not going to agree.

I'd be interestesd in your analysis regarding the following for the 2014 season:

-An Iowa team, Iowa Western, wins the JC D-I World Series. Their 3rd championship in 5 years.
-Another Iowa team, Southeastern, is one of eight teams to advance to the JC D-II World Series
-A Minnesota team, Minnesota State, advances to the semi-finals of the NCAA D-II World Series, beaten out by the eventual champ (Southern Indiana) in the second elimination game with SIU.
-A Wisconsin team, Wisconsin Whitewater, wins the NCAA D-III World Series

So there is some good baseball being played in the upper midwest. I find it interesting that these local schools are having such success on the national stage with local talent. It seems to buck the conventional wisdom that southern baseball and players tend to dominate. Obviously the JC schools are bringing in some out of region talent, but at last check their rosters are still >50% midwest players.

Any thoughts?

I happen to think it's the lack of D1 baseball programs across the upper midwest. Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota and Nebraska have what, 4 programs total? North Carolina has 17 D-I programs alone. If a talented kid from the upper midwest wants to stay close to home and play baseball, with only 140 (35x4) roster spots available at the D1 level, the next option is to drop to DII or DIII or start with JC ball.

If the same kid lives in North Carolina and wants to stay close to home, he might be good enough to land one of 595 roster spots available at their D1 programs.

 

[cruhawk]

Originally posted by Kurt Whiton:
And since I started the topic...I am glad we are the ONLY state playing summer baseball! It is better for all involved! Glad it sparked some debate, but it looks like to me I am in the majority! Play on and good luck to all teams hoping to make it to Principal Park!

This post was edited on 6/14 10:06 PM by Kurt Whiton

Being the only state defies common sense & logic.


And though you may be in the majority as far as responders on an IMB, that doesn't mean you're in the majority overall.

 

[cidhawkeye]

I am glad that we should be going by what the rest of the country has decided is the best approach. That should keep the football boards pretty quiet this fall.

 

[Kurt Whiton]

Cru--you have your thoughts...I have mine. Maybe we are the way it should be and everyone else is wrong. I applaud the fact we play baseball in the summer when it is much more enjoyable for all involved weather wise. Those that want to play something other than HS, can do so. The majority of the kids benefit from HS summer baseball. I enjoy seeing all the kids at a track meet...that may not be the case if we had spring baseball. Other sports could suffer as well. Everyone can get their workouts in for football and basketball...my son does his in the morning and plays baseball games at night. It works. Don't need to change it because other states do it.