Static

January 25, 2009 at Brookland-Cayce HS Pitchers-Green  Name  High School  Committed  +Stefan del Pino  Dorman  Coastal Carolina  +Ryan Gunther  Stratford  –  +Alex Wilson  Landrum  Wofford  +Michael Hanzlik  Blythewood  Gardner-Webb  +Brandon Henderson  Chesnee  –  +=-Brooks Hall  TL Hanna  South Carolina  +Cory Burgess  USC Sumter  –  XXAustin PritcherXXarm not in shape  James Island  Citadel  !=Dre Watts  Laurens  College of Charleston  +-Christian Powell  Greenwood  College of Charleston  +James Hall  Brookland-Cayce  South Carolina  +=Greg Harrison  Hilton Head  South Carolina  +Bobby Jackson  Gaffney  USC Upstate  XXCameron Holmes-arm not in shapeXX  Boiling Springs  College of Charleston  +Zack Godley  Bamberg-Ehrhardt  –  +Chase Goude  Battery Creek  Presbyterian  !Chris Cox  Mauldin  Spartanburg Methodist  XXTucker Hawley  South Aiken  Alabama  +Ben Carlson  Mauldin  Spartanburg Methodist  +=Gaither Bumgardner  Great Falls  USC Upstate  +Krishawn Holley  Mid Carolina  –  !Tyler Smith  Sumter  –  XXRyne SlackXXshoulder  Ninety-Six  –  +=Daniel Palka  Greer  Clemson  +Chris Hanna  Stratford  –  +Taylor Guerrieri  North Augusta  –  +Daniel Gossett  Byrnes  –  !=Madison Younginer  Mauldin  Clemson  +Colby Holmes  Conway  South Carolina  +Bobby Watford  Conway  Coastal Carolina  XXMatt PeglerXbronchitis  Riverside  College of Charleston  +Tyler Broome  Wilson Hall  –  XXJake Zokan-not in shape  Spring Valley  College of Charleston  Kelly Wright  St. James  Presbyterian  XXDrew Cisco…sick for 3 wks  Wando  Georgia  +-Tyler Wilson  Gaffney  –  +=-Hunter Rice  Boiling Springs  –  Josh Knab  Carolina Forest  –  Don Sandifer  Bamberg-Ehrhardt  –  +Steven Bleile  North Augusta  –  +Matt Mays  Laurence Manning  –  =Jared Keels  Spring Valley  –  !Brandon Landrie  Spartanburg  –  XXZach Dotson  –  Georgia  !=Joshua Elmore  –  –  +=-Michael Gilroy  Brookland-Cayce  –  XX=Emilio PaganXXbrothers choir  JL Mann  Gardner-Webb  !-Forrest Koumas  Lugoff-Elgin  South Carolina  !-Travis Murphy  Dillon  Spartanburg Methodist   Catchers-White  Name  High School  Committed  +Ryan McPhail  Dutch Fork  –  +Kirk Shelley  Hillcrest  –  XX=Dylan ColeXX  Dorman  Furman  XXPaul NittoXX  JL Mann  Furman  XXBrison Celek  Bishop England  South Carolina  +Grayson Greiner  Blythewood  South Carolina  +Tyler Mongomery  Greer  –  John Michaels  Gaffney  Limestone  Landis Lane  West Florence  USC Sumter  +Domineke Albert  Richland Northeast  –  +Brett Austin  Providence (NC)  –  XXBrett DeloachXX    Georgia   Infielders-Blue  Name  High School  Committed  +Chris Brooks  South Aiken  –  +=Logan Thomas  Pickens  –  +Connor Bright  Wando  –  +=Kyle Ward  Georgetown  Charleston Southern  +Christopher Owings  Gilbert  South Carolina  Josh Pless  Boiling Springs  Citadel  Dustin Morris  Landrum  –  =Stephen Curtis  Sumter  –  Luke Tollison  Laurens Academy  Spartanburg Methodist  !=Justin Trapp  Fairfield-Central  College of Charleston  +Joey Pankake  Easley  –  +-Seth Neely  Rocak Hill  Clemson  XXHunter ColeXX  Dorman  –  +-Bruce Caldwell  Sumter  –  XXChamp RowlandXout of town  Wade Hampton  –  +Drake Thomason  Eastside  –  +-Michael Keels  Manning  –  Corey Holmes  White Knoll  –  !Taylor Rozier  North Augusta  Wofford  +-Jake Kirkland  Dorman  Erskine  +Matthew Moore  Belton-Honea Path  Wofford  +-Gray Stafford  Cheraw  Spartanburg Methodist  +-Tyler Jackson  Robert E. Lee  Spartanburg Methodist  XXChandler Smetana-shoulder  West Florence  USC Sumter  +Chase Shelton  Brookland-Cayce  –  +-Hiller Huggins  Irmo  –  XXChance VeazeyXX  –  Georgia   Outfielders-Black  Name  High School  Committed  Shane Miles  Lake City  Charleston Southern  +-Justin Brewer  Liberty  –  !=Travis Burnside  Laurens  Spartanburg Methodist  Matt Brown  Conway  USC Sumter  +Tripp Faulk  N. Myrtle Beach  Wingate  +Daniel Aldrich  Wando  Wake Forest  +-=Kieston Stevens  Union  –  +-David Donald  JL Mann  College of Charleston  +-Jacob Tavernier  Belton-Honea Path  –  Tevins Walker  Mid Carolina  –  !Josh Greene  York  –  +-Shon Carson  Lake City  –  +Jordan Scott  Riverside  –  XXZach TaylorXX  –  Georgia  !-Anthony Smith  Dillon  –  !-Brandon Beans  Hartsville  –   +confirmed !committed to attend =Will pitch and hit -Signed up for HRT

By: Austin Alexander-November 18, 2007 Warning! This article is going to step on some toes but will hopefully also serve as an educational editorial for anyone who is the parent of an athlete. In our sport, evaluators find themselves interacting quite often with the parents of baseball players. Whether it be behind the backstop, finding cover during a rain delay or standing in line at the concession stand. Correspondence between coaches and parents occur often via email, phone calls and during the recruiting process. On behalf of virtually every coach and scout on the planet: Calm down mom and dad! Parents, not the teenagers, can make a mess of the recruiting process early and often. It doesn’t matter what state you’re in, parents nearly always have an agenda when they have the attention of evaluators. They love to tell stories about their children and sell their son to anyone who will listen. Understand this, players sell themselves, not your words. That coach or scout is not going to recruit that player because YOU believe he is a good player. Your opinion of your child will not improve his draft status or scholarship offer. In fact, the reverse can be true. Parents gain reputations, good and bad, just like the player does. Coaches don’t spend time in the bullpen or batting cage with parents at the next level. They coach the player. If a parent is perceived to be a high maintenence parent, that can sometimes be all it takes to tip the scales away from an opportunity for your child. I call it a tie-breaker. Evaluators see SO many players. If in their eyes, they believe two players are close to equal, a problem parent can essentially blow their kid’s chance to play at his dream school. If you have caused problems in his high school program or been a thorn in the side of his travel coach, that information will be uncovered. Trust me, it happens. At this point in the article, you have likely thought of parents that I am describing. Maybe YOU are that parent. Understand  a few things. There is a difference between telling stories and asking questions. There is a difference between running into a coach and hunting someone down. There is a difference between initiating email after email after email versus returning one. FYI, college coaches and pro scouts DO NOT care about how he played in a 12 and under all-star game. Most evaluators don’t even look at high school statistics. See where I’m going with this? When an evaluator arrives at the ballpark to evaluate, he is in his office. He likely drove a great distance to get there and will get home long after his children have already gone to bed. He is probably making and receiving calls throughout the game regarding all of the other balls he is juggling…all while he is trying to bear down on 18 players. The last thing he needs is to be bombarded by overzealous parents who think they have something important to tell him. Afterall, how would you like to be in the middle of a busy Friday afternoon and have him plop down in your office to tell you how amazing his teenager is? It is the same thing. If you are guilty of this act, you may think back to how nice the coach was and that he talked to you for four innings, he answered every question, etc… He HAS to. They will never be rude but they do file it away. People care about their children and they should. But think of the co-worker that constantly brags about their son, that friend of yours that just goes on and on about their daughter. The difference between you and that college coach you “just happened to run into” is that he hears everyone’s story, not just yours. It really gets old, just to be honest. Trust me, if an evaluator wants to speak with “little Johnny’s” parents, he will find you. So next time you begin a sentence with, “I’m not just saying this because he is my son…”, please stop yourself because you are about to cram your kid down someone else’s throat. Love your children, Lord knows I sure love mine. But know the difference between helping and hurting him. Just a little food for thought. .