SUMMER BASEBALL PRIORITIES

As the high school season winds down, it’s crucial to your recruiting process to make sure you have plans to play ball throughout the summer months. A frequently asked question to me as a Head Baseball Recruiting Coach is: What do you recommend I do during my summer season? There are many options you have to choose from when deciding how to spend your summer. Below is a list of priorities that we recommend here at All Access Athlete. We realize that most of these teams/events cost time and money, and understand this may be a factor in deciding what will be the best option for you.

Priorities to Summer Baseball:

• Play on a summer team
  • Whether it’s a travel, AAU, Scout Ball, or American Legion team (or any others), ask around your baseball community to find out which option will be the best for you
  • Play on the most competitive team possible in which you can earn playing time
    • Generally, college coaches recruit from teams that have multiple college caliber players
    • Don’t sacrifice too much playing time for being on a super competitive team. The best way to improve your skills is by playing in games. It’s tough to spark the recruiting process from the bench
• Play hard
  • College coaches notice the players who are going hard in the second game of a double header in 100 degree heat. This could be the difference!
• Camps/Showcases
  • Try to mix in 1-2 events that will hopefully not conflict with your conflict with your summer team’s games (your travel squad should be your #1 priority because you are a team player)
• Update your All Access Athlete Profile
  • Video
  • Unofficial transcript
  • Standardized test scores
  • Coach references
• Stay proactive with your recruiting process
  • Spend 1 hour per week researching colleges, emailing coaches, and responding to coach’s emails
  • Set up unofficial visits
• Weight lifting
  • Take advantage of this time you have away from school
  • Get yourself in a workout routine

College coaches get out and recruit heavily throughout the summer months.  They will cover tournaments, camps, showcases, and team workouts. If everything is up to date on your profile this will allow college coaches to evaluate you as a player and as a student. Remember, this profile is great tool to email to the college coaches. If the coach is interested enough you will become a part of their agenda this summer.

HOW TO GET YOURSELF ON THE COLLEGE GOLF TEAM

This article was first written on August 6, 2013 on www.stack.com. Since recruiting requirements vary per sport and athletes are evaluated by various measures per sport, we sometimes like to post sport specific articles. This one gives great advice about having the best Golf recruitment possible. If you are an All Access Athlete Member who plays golf, we hope you also check out our Top 5 Questions in Golf Recruiting that dive even deeper into these awesome guidelines.

Do you dream of playing golf in college? So do thousands of other junior golfers. Put yourself in position to play at the next level with the following advice from collegiate players, coaches and parents.

Do You Measure Up?

• There are 300 Division I schools with one or two open spots on the golf team per year. Nearly 4,000 players compete for those 600 openings. Ask yourself, “Am I that good?”
• Keep working on your game. Never settle for good enough. Keep getting better.
• Learn to compete and win by playing in tournaments at the right level. Succeed at each level and then move up.
• Compete on the American Junior Golf Association tour and in invitational tournaments. Your finishes will earn you a ranking. Coaches pay attention to the rankings when recruiting new players.

Sketch Your Ideal School

• What kind of college experience do you want? (size, location, culture, etc.)
• Do you want to be sure to play or will just being on the team satisfy you?
• What will you study? If golf doesn’t pan out, will you get what you came for?

Market Yourself

Due to NCAA rules, Division I coaches are not allowed to email you before Sept. 1 of your junior year of high school, and they can’t call before July 1 leading into your senior year. By this time, most players have already committed. It’s up to you to get the coaches’ attention, and it is never too early to start.

• Record great scores, tournament finishes and rankings in a résumé. Package this with a video of your swing and recommendations from your coach. Send the package to college coaches.
• Even coaches at small private schools may receive five or six contacts per week, so target your schools carefully.
• If a college coach is interested, s/he cannot contact you yet, but s/he may contact your high school or swing coach to encourage you to stay in touch.
• Set up a campus visit where you can talk with the college coach. Use this visit to gauge his/her interest as well as your own.
• If a coach is ready to make an offer, you are at the top of the list. Negotiate a good package.
• If the coach is not ready to make an offer but remains “very interested,” you’re a bit further down on the list. If the program is high on your list, stay in touch and keep improving. Make them sorry they didn’t make an early offer.

Advice for Parents

• Prepare to drive your kid 3,000 miles over three weeks for tournaments every weekend. At the highest levels, you may spend upwards of $1,500. Some tournaments offer stipends for travel and hotel stays in order to attract a strong field.
• Learn the rules Division I coaches have to follow. Use them to your advantage and avoid costly mistakes or misunderstandings.
• Find out about the coach at each school your kid is considering. Call former players to hear the real scoop. Is this someone you trust as a mentor for four of the most impressionable years of your child’s life?
• Look at the coach’s track record. Is this a coach who can take your kid to the next level?

All coaches want the best players, but not all players fit every program. You are looking for the place where you will fit in best. Coaches can evaluate your golf game in ten minutes. Help them get to know the rest of who you are.

Be honest with yourself and any coach who takes the time to follow you for nine holes. If you’re a skilled player who can score when it counts, you’ll get their attention. Then you’re in the driver’s seat. Know what you want and where you want to play. Look for a program and a coach who can take you and your game to the next level.

THE ROLE OF COMMUNICATION

Written by Haley Hall 2016

Everyone has struggles throughout their lives, and everyone has their own way of dealing with them. I, as well as all of you, deal with some of those struggles by playing sports. Not only do sports build your health, teamwork, and relieve stress; they also help develop social skills, such as responsibility, persistence, confidence, and communication.

All of these benefits of sports apply to me, especially communication. Ever since I was very young, I have always struggled with communicating with other kids my age. This is because my brain has always been more matured and developed than my peers. I never knew what to talk about, because I had nothing in common with anyone else. Throughout school, I was one of those people who would get nervous in public speaking, or stay in my room when my family had unfamiliar guests over. I never really had many friends until the 4th grade, when I began to play volleyball. Even at that point, I still struggled. It was a county league, and I did not know many people at first, but at that point the sport had already saved me because I had fallen in love with the game.

Volleyball is a very verbal sport. You have to be able to talk to your teammates constantly; reserving your area of coverage, calling the ball, preparing for the attack, yelling for help, reminding your teammates that it’s 3rd hit and the ball needs to go over, and most importantly congratulating and crediting your teammates for doing well by making excellent digs, sets, hits, blocks, and serves. Therefore, you have to be able to communicate.

I made the school team and grew closer with my teammates throughout the season, and now I consider everyone on the team a best friend. I was forced to communicate, because it’s the key to success. Playing volleyball allowed me to have something in common with other people my age, and gave me the confidence to try other new things too; because I realized that it was not that I thought I had nothing in common with other people, it was that I was afraid of rejection. Playing volleyball gave me the confidence to talk to anyone, as well as the desire to want to try other clubs and sports I was interested in. So what if I did not have anything in common with them? The more things that interest you, the more likely you’ll have something in common with someone in the first place!

This communication lesson is not only learned by volleyball, it can be taught by any sport. I know that sports have saved me, not only by making myself healthier physically, but also mentally and socially! Now I can’t wait to go out and see what friends I can make, and do anything that I set my mind on!