Been Too Long

It has been too long, yes it has !!! Between the baseball trips and some minor health problems time has been short.

BUT WE ARE BACK AND FULLY STRONG !!!!

Now for some things that I saw over this summer and fall season that irk me:

01-- The kids/parents who cherry pick the events they attend

I saw it not only with our team but others as well. The kid is paid in full but he finds other weekend events he thinks are more important for him so he foresakes his team and fellow team mates.The player does not take into consideration that perhaps coach has spoken to colleges about him and they show up to see him only to find out he is elsewhere, unknownst to both the college coaches and his team coach.

02-- The kids who are playing for you as well as another team but don't tell you, especially the pitchers.They pitch for both teams on the same weekend and the coaches do not know about it---NOT SMART

03-- The players who refuse to tell you that they are hurting and try to play thru it and after a miserable game tell you that they are hurt. The boy needs to MAN UP and be up front about it. ---This especially true with regard to players attending showcases-- why attend a showcase where you want to impress the college and pro scouts and not be in tip top baseball shape.

04-- The parents who have no idea regarding the process of recruiting but think that they have all the answers. Not to mention that they tell you things totally disregarding the fact that you, as the team coach, may talk to the college coaches they talk about who have seen their son and are recruiting. Folks the baseball world, especially at the HS/College recruiting stage is very small.

That is enough of my ranting for now--allow me to cool down and I will be back with the good things I saw this summer

Mid summer

It is mid summer and perhaps you have been playing and being seen but still nothing in the mailbox or no phone calls. NOT TO WORRY !!!

There is plenty of time---you need to understand that everything you read and hear about with regard to the early calls etc do not reflect what happens with what I call "THE NON STUD PLAYER"---the majority of HS players who go on to play college baseball are not in that class--they are very good to excellent players and with them it takes time--the key is maximum exposure with your travel team in the right venues so you get seen by a cross section of college coaches---and keep your chin up thru all this---respond to everything and do it ASAP---you want the college coaches to know you are interested--look at your upcoming schedule and let schools in the region of your games know that you will be playing in their region. Your travel coach should be doing the same.

Also keep in mind that just because you "like" a college it does not mean you will play there--they may not need your position to be filled---you may not be the type of player they are looking for---you may not have the grades to gain admission there--they may have had a large recruiting class the year prior to yours thus the number of players they are bringing in will be minimal.

The key is be proactive and be with a solid travel team that worries more about exposure than trophies

Thoughts

I apologize to you all for the delay between the last post and now but we have been on the road getting our kids getting the exposure they need

MYTHS

There are many myths where "select/travel" teams are concerned.

One of the biggest is that the players need to be on a "winning" team to be seen and have colleges gain interest in them. There is nothing farther from the truth and this was reinforced with our team over the past two weekends. We went 1 and 5 which on the surface looks terrible. The boys are playing excellent ball but just not hitting. The pitching and defense is there but the timely hitting has not come about yet. All the losses were close games, one run losses or similar, except for the final game.

The bottom line for us is attracting college coaches interest. Even with our record we have colleges talking to us about our kids which is what our goal is. Many if not most, will be up to see us again this weekend in the NE Baseball event in Worcester, MA.

I guess what I am trying to say is that you need not need to get hung up on the winning and losing in the summer. The colleges know we have talent on our roster every season but we will use two more pitchers even if the starter is going well. This is especially so early on in the season because we want to see all the kids in action and be able to determine how to better utilize them as the season wears on. Complete games are not critical to us---in a 4 day tournament we like to see our first day starter return on the 4th day. He cannot do that if we burn him out in game one. We have one young man who has two great outings, no earned runs in 11 innings. No he does not have a win but he is creating a lot of interest from colleges.

One Division I coach I talked with this weekend told me he wished more programs thought the way we did. But that is not my problem ! We do what we do with our purposes in mind---Get the Kids Seen !---

So in closing let me stress that you should look for a travel teasm that gets you exposure and has a coaching staff that works for you rather than a team that wants trophies.

What to do during the summer season to stay healthy

Many HS players spend the summer months not only playing for a "elite" showcase travel team on the weekend as well as on a local team during the week with their buddies.

For pitchers this can be a disaster for their arm because they think they are invincible and will overuse themselves. The same can be said for catchers because they are not used to the burden. Showcase teams play anywhere from 40 to 50 games during the summer.That is nearly three times what the HS players in the Northeast play.It can be a taxing summer for some players bodies. Then if you add in local games during the week you have a recipe for a potential disaster.

My advice is to be prudent in your actions. You do not want to end up with a tired body and an overused arm.

Good luck with the summer action !!!1

IT IS THAT TIME

The HS season in the Northeast is now winding down and summer/travel/showcase ball is right behind. Make sure you have it all co-ordinated so you can give your best at all times

HS playoffs can wear players out, especially the pitchers and catchers because of the compressed schedules and then the rain gets in the way and compresses the schedule even more. Be honest with yourself and your coaches and do not put you in a position to hurt the team and injure yourself.

The reason you play summer/travel/showcase ball is to better yourself and get exposure. It does not do you any good to be subpar when you are in this situation. I do not know what other travel teams similar to ours do but we ask the pitchers to let us know if they feel under par--if you feel bad for a Friday mound date then tell the coach---there are usually at least two more game dates that weekend--we consider our starting pitchers to all be # 1 arms so does it matter really if you pitch on Friday, Saturday or Sunday. We want you to be at your best every time you go on the field not just so you can win but more improtantly so that you can show the college coaches what you have. Most showcase/travel teams are not too worried about trophies but more importantly getting their players proper exposure so they can move to the next level inb a good situation.

The same goes for catchers and position players who feel tenderness in their arm. SPEAK UP-- a days rest can really help--be the DH or the EH and ease off on the arm for a day or so--it can work wonders--this is why the good travel/showcase teams have a deep bench--it helps to protect the players.

Have a great run thru the HS playoffs if you are in them adn have a great baseball summer.

A Lesson Learned

This is something you HS players need to put in your memory ---a number of years back we had a player with us who was recruited by and received a baseball scholarship to a major Division I program-- as it turned out things did not work out--the recruiiting coach left for another program and things changed--after two years the young man left for a Division II program--had a solid two years--Honors--a trip to the NCAA Championships (Division II)---he got drafted and is now at the Double A level in the Toronto Blue Jays system-- was in major league camp this spring and is currently hitting .316 as their lead off hitter in Nashua.

The point here is that even though you think your college choice is solid, things change and you had better be ready to adapt--it is not the end of the world--the other aspect in this picture was the young mans grades--it eased the transition--HINT HINT

All I can say to you is that as much as you do your due diligence in the recruiting process things can go awry---do not go in thinking that it is all "roses"---there can be problems in any year

PS--sorry for the delay in posts but we are in the process of putting our team and schedule together for the summer/fall--now that we are in true baseball mode look for more timely posts

Beware of what you read

There is now a plethora of so-called "baseball info" sites and forums. When accepting info from any of these sites remember the old adage " Buyer Beware "

Many of the supposed info dispensers have no true depth of background to talk about what they talk about as if they know what they are talking about.

What you want to know is their depth of background in the topic---the more experience a poster has the more the odds that the poster knows what he/she is talking about

I see many posters who have a a LL son, their oldest, dispensing recruiting information--what the heck can they know if they have not been there--get the point !!

Buyer Beware

The Time is Here

For the next few weeks many players will be getting officially notified as to their acceptance or non acceptance to the colleges of their choice.It is a time of great anticipation and acceptance for the majority of HS players. Some spots will also be opening up as some early signees find out, to their dismay, that academically they cannot make the grade where they signed. Thus some new NLI's may be arising for players who felt left out in the early period back in Novemeber.

Those of you juniors, who will be going thru this one year from now, take heed. The early signing period is not the end of the world like many make it out to be.

Good Luck

Decision Time For Many

QUESTIONS

Yesterday I had a Dad ask me an very interesting question--" My son is a junior in HS playing baseball. In terms of recruiting for college who should I get involved in the process at the HS level--the AD, coach or guidance counselor?" This a great question and one that more parents should get involved with.

Here are few personal experiences before I answer the question:

Positive: my son had an AD, Coach and Counselor that were superb--they could not do enough to help him

Negative: my stepson had an AD coach and counselor who told him he would never play college ball--he ended up i pitching D-III and then D-I

You need to know your AD, Coach and Counselor and how can they help you or hurt you. In my eyes if you are playing on a strong travel/showcase team outside of HS the counselor becomes the key element at the HS level. The Counselor is the one who sends out the transcripts. The Counselor is the one who expedites the Clearinghouse papers to the NCAA. If the AD and coach are in your corner as well then you are golden. In most cases with regard to the baseball field the travel/showcase team coach will be your main guy. The college coaches will want to talk to him during the summer and fall.

The bottom line is to have a strong team with no weak links

Are You Ready ???

Are you ready for the high school season of 2010?

A few tips --------

You want to come to the first day of tryouts in great shape.
You want to make sure you are sharper than your competition.
You want show coach your stuff by hustling every minute of the tryout- Hustle makes a huge impression.
You want to look like a player--don't show up in jeans--show up in baseball attire--you want to be one step ahead of your competition

Pay attention to these tips and you will be fine--Good Luck !!!!

A Word to the Wise

Are you the graduating high school senior this year who has a deal for college beginning in the fall of 2010?

Are you a player still looking to get a deal this spring before you graduate?

If so you do not want to take this summer off---you want to arrive on the college campus at the end of the summer in the best baseball shape you can be in--the returning players are going to be in great shape and if you are not, it will make you look bad right from the outset---you need to know that going to the next level is not high school baseball--

BE READY---the first week you will be made to run until you "puke"---you will be pushed to and beyond limits you never knew existed---not to scare you guys but it is FACT


BE READY

What do you want out of baseball ??

A few tips for the HS player before he decides to play in any program:

01-- Make sure you and the coaching staff mesh---there is nothing worse than being on the team and not getting along with the coaches---your personality and theirs must mesh

02-- Make sure they play the type of ball you like to play--if you are slow afoot and the team philosophy is built around speed then this team may not be for you. And the opposit is true -- there nothing like being a speedster and the team doesn't play a game that utilizes speed

03-- Does the team play in tournaments to be seen and expose the players or just to win trophies--usually the teams seeking the hardware are not entered in high profile events that are attended by college scouts--the player has to know what he wants

04-- If you are a pitcher you want to research the team you are interested in or the team that invites you so that you can get a handle on how they handle their pitchers---do they overwork them ?---do they give the arms proper rest between outings/

05 -- How much travel is there involved?--most teams cost about the same to play for--it is the travel costs that will kill your pocketbook because the travel costs are usually over and above the playing fee

06-- How large a roster does the team carry? Knowing this will give you an idea as to how the playing time will be allotted.

Good luck in tour search

Follow UP

The other day we spoke about Travel Teams etc---another aspect to consider is how many events they attend where you can visit college campuses, even if just to drive around see what campus looks like---this can be key in the college selection process; we advise our kids and families that during the downtime at the tournaments we compete in that they take time and visit neighboring schools---just driving around a campus can give the player and idea of what he likes or dislikes--just to give you an idea of how the young players mind works--a year or so ago we were driving onto a campus for a game and as we drove to the field the young player who was riding with me says to me "Hey coach! I cannot go here. The girls are too ugly." And we had just driven thru the entry gates--The more campuses the player sees the better his evaluation will be at the end

Just another aspect to consider

Select Travel Team Selection

Every HS player who is seeking to play at the college level wants and needs to be on a strong select/travel team in the summer and fall months.

Not only does the team need to be strong but it needs to be high profile. The team needs to play in events that are well attended by college and pro scouts. You want the competitive field in each event to be strong so they will attract scouts as well as your team attracting the scouts and coaches.

Do your research before you sign on.

You also want a team that is not run by a father or father(s) of any of the players, especially if their son plays your position. You want a team with coaches who will work for you with the college coaches and scouts. You want coaches that will willing ly fill out questionnaires and speak with the coaches for you.

The summer/fall team you play on can be key to your future success.

Check Them Out !!!

In this day and age all too many people seek information on the internet and do it without checking out the source(s) of the information.

Know who you are taking info from--know their background---know their experience--know their reputation---know that they are for real.

Not all info is valid !!!1

The Right Way

We are all aware thet college coaches in baseball as well as all the other college sports each year retire, move on or get fired at seasons end--some do it the right way while others do it in what I term the wrong way.This is currently exemplified by what the latest college football coaches are doing.

My son , while playing baseball at New Mexico State, went through a head coaching change but I am here to tell you that to this day I am still impressed by how the coach, Elliot Avent, handled it all. Coach Avent told the entire team at seasons end that he had a chance to return to his home state of North Carolina if he got the head coaching slot at NC State. Thus the entire team, as they headed home for the summer, knew they may have a new coach when they returned to school in the fall. As it turned out Coach Avent got the job but he called each and every player to let them know it was happening before it was was announced---at the same time he gave every kid his phone numbers in case they needed or wanted to talk to him during the transition. Coach showed that he was and is a class act. To this day, some 10 years later, Coach and I still speak and he always asks how my son is doing.

There needs to me more men in the business like Coach Avent

The Right Way To Do IT !!!!

Every year in the college baseball world we see head coaches move on, retire or get fired at seasons end. With what is happening in the college football circles I want to speak of an instance on the college baseball scene when my son was in college. It reflects the proper way to make the move.

CAMPS

Many ask about camps ---you need to know which ones will serve your purposes best

Let us see what we can do to help you decipher the differences;


01--- College Camp for Instruction---if you are looking for instruction these can be great.Just make sure you check the ages that are invited---if you are a HS student you do not want to be at a camp that is predominantly Little Leaguers,
For the HS players I think the position specific camps are the best. At these camps you with players in your age group and getting specific attention

02-- College camps are a means for the Head Coach to get his assistant coaches some extra funds and supplement their salaries. There is no harm in this , in my book. As long as you get out of the camp what you want, does it really matter

03-- Some players get invites to camps so that the school can get another look at the player who they are in the recruiting process with.This can be great for the player because in many cases this becomes an "unofficial visit" as well giving the recruit a chance to see the campus and its facilties

04-- What are these Camps/Clinics put on by organizations other than colleges ? In most cases these are events that circumvent the NCAA rules regarding showcases on college campuses.As per NCAA rules a showcase cannot run drills on a Division I college campus---they can only play games---all too many kids attend these events which are sometimes billed as "Showcase/Camps" only to find out they are not a true showcase---they are a clinic with coaches working on the field and sadly the coaches working the event are not recruiting guys from their school.


The bottom line, as always, is to do your homework before putting down your money. Know full well what you are getting for your time and money

'til next time !!1

TODAYS THOUGHTS

Today let us explain why we have this blog and why I think it is important for parents and HS players who are looking at college baseball and how to get there.

There are too many misconceptions (myths) involved in the process and I hope to eliminate all if not most of them.

Let us take them one by one:

01-- "if you have talent they will find you"--- I,personally, think this is hogwash. You may have all the talent in the world but if you are in a weak league you need to put that talent on a bigger and more visible stage. Hitting .500 is a very weak league may mean you hit only .300 in a tough league. The key in this whole process is expsoure.

02-- " You do not need showcases or a showcase travel team"---this too I believe is hogwash. You want to be where the scouts are and they are not at regular HS or Legion games. They may attend these level games at playoff time but not during the regular season---they will be at showcases or large tournament where the get more "bang for their buck" so to speak. At these events they can see hundreds of players all in one weekend at one venue. and you need do do your homework because all showcases are not created equal nor are showcase travel teams as well as "showcase" tournaments.

03-- " you need a recruiting service" ---if you attend the proper showcases and play with a high profile team you do not need a recruiting service. even with a service the coaches need to see you play and you can send them your information and schedule to make them aware of where and who your are.

04-- " all showcase travel teams are created equal"--DON'T let anyone sell you this bill of goods. ---this absolutely a non-truth--many teams do different things as do their coaches and many do not do anything to help their players in the recruiting process. You want a team where you see regular playing time in highly competitive events and your coach is in contact with the college coaches

05-- " your parents bothering the college coaches with flyers, stats sheets pictures etc will help you"---no it won't---coaches want to see the player play not read about him while they are the event--and obviously the parent(S) won't be bothering the coaches while the son is in action so they are taking the coaches attention away from another player or players. Think about that impression you are making.

That is just a few a the myths. as move along day to day we will cover more--if you have questions you want answered m post them here as a comment or email them to TRhit@msn.com

More Baseball

Today let us talk about why we are doing this blog.

Recruiting Status

Now is the time !!!! As a high school senior looking to play baseball in college going into the final semester of high school you should have already done this if you are not signed already:

01-- you should have applied for admission to the schools of your choice regardless of baseball

02-- you should have limited your choice of baseball schools to those that have shown interest in you

03-- you have not committed as yet so make sure you let the coaches who have shown interest know your schedule for the spring season.

04-- you still have time to boost your SAT/ACT scores---DO IT--take them again

Any questions please ask--make it happen