(Editor’s Note: This is the fifth installment of our “College Recruiting 101 Powered by 1 More Rep Athletics & Fitness” in which we delve into the world of college baseball recruiting. In the first edition we spoke to five fathers who sent their sons to Division-I programs. In the next edition, we spoke to three fathers who are also coaches that had to navigate through the pandemic. In the third edition, we spoke with Glenn Petraitis, who had two sons go through the college recruiting process and is an Emmy-award winning Sports Producer for MSG and NBC Olympics. His younger son, AJ, is a freshman at Le Moyne College. Last week, we speak with George Mason University assistant coach Matt Marsh, who is a Long Island native about his process of recruiting players. In this week’s edition, we speak to Joe Palumbo, owner of 1MR and Knights Empire regarding his experience with the college recruiting process for his son, JJ who is entering his senior season at Clarke HS and is committed to Purchase College.)
When was it clear to you that your son had a chance to play baseball at the next level?
During his youth years, JJ was always the player that quietly got it done. So I personally always felt he had the work ethic and skills to continue his career past high school. But his sophomore into junior year in high school, along with his performance during the counties last season and his consistent performance on the diamond the summer of 2022, had me convinced he was going to play baseball in college.
When did you and your son shift the focus onto schools that may be a better fit – i.e. staying closer to home, finding a Div-II or Div-III school?
It was not an easy decision on several levels (what division, earning playing time, distance from home, monies offered, etc.) JJ nor I never had this “D1 or bust” mentality, even though JJ’s metrics and game play had him getting offers from D1, D2, D3 and NAIA schools. Academics is of course KEY in finalizing your decisions, BUT so was baseball! Especially if it is a sport, where you want to legitimately have the opportunity to compete for playing time in college. You want to pick a school that is the BEST FIT, which does take a lot of honest soul searching. JJ had gotten an offer from an NAIA school in Missouri. Great coach, great program, etc. We flew out for the day for the coach to get a live look at JJ go through a combine of metrics, pop time, BP, fielding, etc. He did very well, was offered a 50% + scholarship on the spot. We told the coach we wanted to go home and talk about it as a family. At home, JJ said, “I think I would rather be a 3 hour drive rather than a 3 hour flight from home.” That helped us narrow down looking to play in MA, CT, PA, NY, NJ.
So be honest about where you will be comfortable living your next 4 years. In the end, Purchase College checked every box that made JJ happy and excited. He absolutely loved Purchase Head Baseball Coach Adam Taraska, who was fantastic at letting JJ know and feel comfortable about his role at Purchase, and how he wanted him to be a part of his baseball program. JJ loved the campus, and economics was a great fit to continue his studies.
Here is the go-ahead hit by Palumbo. Clarke is 3 outs away and have ace Sean Welsh warming up pic.twitter.com/8KYITmI95B
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 29, 2022
Which events do you feel were the best to attend?
Perfect Game (PG), Prep Baseball Report (PBR) and Baseball Factory (BF) are always quality and well-run events. You just have to make sure you are attending the ones that have real competition. The scouts will be out there if the competition is good.
Axcess Baseball has quality showcase tournaments, with legitimately interested schools and interactive scouts in attendance. Diamond Nation World Series and showcase week was fantastic, as was Starz Baseball which concentrates in the northeast region. Blue Chip also had a great showcase that had a lot of colleges from the northeast and local schools that attended. But at the end of the day, go and attend the College Invite showcases. There are A LOT of money grabs out there. I can personally say I fell victim to a few. If a college you are interested in asks you to attend – THEN GO. That college, along with other colleges in that conference are going to be in attendance for you to showcase for.
How important was it for you to attend all of JJ’s games? Was it difficult to do at times as a business owner?
I always say I have no time and all the time in the world! We all can find time for the things that are important to us. It was, and still will, always be important to watch JJ’s games. Watching my three kids compete in sports in general, is my drug of choice. And it will be pretty surreal to watch JJ take the field this fall as a collegiate athlete. Will be a very special moment, with a lot of memories. As a business owner, I never had any problems working my butt off and juggling my schedule for countless hours, to make sure I could be there to see JJ and my daughter’s play sports. You being there to watch your kids complete and giving them and honest critique and advice is priceless. It also helps them take a real account of their work ethic, body language and performance, as well as what they legitimately need to do to get better. Being able to coach JJ as a youth player up until he went to high school was definitely helpful and worth it for him to grow and find confidence as a person and player.
What was your motivation behind starting a travel organization and looking back do you feel it helped propel him to the next level?
My motivation in starting a travel organization was that our home town little league really didn’t have an interest in wanting to grow and compete at a higher level. I get it and decided to start a team with Dom DelVecchio, Steve Kurz and Ed Peters. Honestly, none of us ever expected the organization to grow like it did. We are all still friends to this day and still have our war stories about our memories on the diamond. I definitely feel it helped JJ and all of his teammates propel to the next level. We were able to step out of our comfort zone and compete against some of the best competition all over our own state and country. We got beat up our first summer, but all the kids and parents bought in, and we started to win at home and on the road in other states. Eventually, even got ourselves ranked in NYS and Nationally by Perfect Game and Travel Baseball Rankings. My son and his teammates were all ahead of the curve because of the high-level of travel ball they had been exposed to at a young age. They never stepped onto a field over their head and were always confident athletes.
As your son enters his senior season, what would you advice be to parents entering this college recruiting situation?
ENJOY IT! It goes soooo damn fast. It feels like just yesterday I was watching JJ play T-ball, and now I am so blessed to watch him continue his baseball career on the college level.
I would recommend being HONEST about what your goals are. Make sure the coach likes your son as a player (he is the person in charge of making the lineup, and the one who knows what he is recruiting to get wins for his team on the diamond every day.) Ask questions like, “where do you see my son on your depth chart?”, Don’t get caught up in what division your son is going to play for. With the portal, there are D1, D2 and D3 players moving around to different schools and divisions all the time now. Too many people get caught up in committing to a school and then realizing too late that they aren’t going to get the run on the field they had hoped for. Nothing is ever guaranteed. You have to EARN playing time with hustle and hard work. Remember that only 7% of high school players will ever go on to play collegiate baseball.
