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
Friday, October 8, 2010
Friday, July 23, 2010
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
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
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
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
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
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.
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.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
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
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
Monday, May 24, 2010
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.
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.
Monday, May 10, 2010
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
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
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