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