How Parent Behavior at Games Affects Your Son's Recruitment — What College Coaches Are Really Seeing | EMD Shorts
by Keith Glasser on Aug 03, 2026
Most baseball parents have no idea that college coaches are evaluating them just as closely as they are evaluating their son. In this episode of Dugout Dish, Andy and Keith pull back the curtain on some of the most damaging parent behavior they have witnessed at games and tournaments over the years, how college coaches process what they see in the stands, and why the way a parent behaves at a recruiting event can quietly and permanently damage their son's chances of getting an offer.
What we cover:
- What Andy and Keith have personally seen and heard from parents at games, showcases, and tournaments throughout their years on the recruiting trail
- How college coaches watch and process parent behavior during recruiting evaluations and how it directly factors into their decisions about a recruit
- Why coaches consider the entire family — not just the player — when making recruiting decisions and what that means for how parents should conduct themselves at every event
- The specific behaviors at games and tournaments that immediately send red flags to recruiting staffs watching your son play
- Why yelling at umpires is one of the single most damaging things a baseball parent can do at a recruiting event and what it communicates to every coach in attendance
- Why college coaches already fully understand what is happening with the strike zone and have already accounted for it in their evaluation — making parent complaints about officiating completely unnecessary and actively harmful
- How a coach's perception of a family is formed quickly and changed slowly — and what that means for parents attending events this summer
- What the right parent behavior looks like at a showcase, tournament, or high school game when college coaches are present
- What every baseball parent needs to keep in mind throughout the summer recruiting season to make sure they are helping their son's recruitment rather than hurting it
This episode is essential listening for every baseball parent who will be sitting in the stands at a game or tournament this summer while their son is being recruited.
New episodes of Dugout Dish drop every week. Subscribe so you never miss recruiting intel that could change your player's future.
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