Parents: Is Your Son Mature Enough to Make Recruiting Decisions on His Own?

Parents often struggle to find the ideal level of involvement in the recruiting process. That’s why we developed a free online course to help parents better understand their role. Given that college coaches want recruits to be the primary source of communication throughout the recruiting process, should parents just stand on the sidelines? Far from it! While over-involvement from parents can hurt a player’s chances of finding a college baseball fit, under-involvement can have equally devastating consequences. In the remainder of this article, we discuss strategies for staying appropriately involved in decision-making with your ballplayer throughout the recruiting process.

Is your player mature enough to make big decisions by himself?

While some recruits have the maturity and vision to make informed decisions about their future by themselves, others aren’t there yet and need more parental guidance. With the barrage of information you are receiving from all different directions, it’s possible you haven’t put much thought into which decisions in the recruiting process should receive heavy parental influence. This article not only aims to change that, but we hope it also helps you decide which decisions you can entrust to your son and where you need to provide additional support. If your son hasn’t started the recruiting process yet or is still an underclassman, you’ll still want to read along. Decision day tends to sneak up on you if you’re not prepared or sufficiently informed!

Questions to Consider When Weighing Involvement

Knowing that the stakes are high and college is both an expensive and extremely important decision, we’ve put together a list of questions to help you gauge whether your son is mature enough to take the reins, or if you need to step up your involvement behind the scenes.

Does your son have a clear vision of the type of school he would like to attend and an idea of what characteristics are most important to him?
Does your son have an idea of what he would like to study and ideas about what he might like to do when baseball is over?
Does your son have a plan for finding, researching, and engaging with schools of interest?
Does your son take ownership of his current day-to-day responsibilities without the need for constant reminders (school work, practices, games, chores, other extra-curricular activities)?
Is your son able to set his current emotions aside and make rational and lasting decisions?
Is your son able to prioritize long-term success over instant gratification or material things?
Does your son typically make mature and responsible decisions?

If the answer to all or most of these questions is yes, then your son may be able to handle many of recruitment’s challenges and decisions with limited guidance. If you are not sure or the answer is no to most of the questions, consider carefully if you want to allow him to make decisions about his long-term future alone. Think about it in terms of a financial investment. Is your son ready to make a $50,000-$300,000 investment (what 4 years of college can cost these days) on his own? Regardless of what you decide, you’ll want to make sure you and your son are always on the same page and he is keeping you informed. Multiple brains are better than one and he will be able to benefit from your experience and mature perspective.

Additional Resources

Still feel like you are struggling to find your role in your son’s recruiting process? This 3-part series was written to help you better understand where you fit in, what your ideal role is, and how that role can change during different stages of the recruiting process. Our free online course for parents is available to go through at your own pace. Check it out today or visit our Parents Page for more information.