Making it to “The Show” Part II

As I stated in “Making it to the Show Part I,”  while having outstanding skills will certainly contribute to attracting the attention of college coaches, those skills may be a secondary priority for a recruiter at a serious showcase event.

It is character that produces winning teams and, to the best of their ability, college coaches will be looking aggressively for signs of that attribute in their search to fill their rosters and build a successful program.

So, in an effort to catch a coaches eye in a positive way,  players should operate under the assumption that someone is always watching.  Here are some fundamental rules of conduct to help you along your path.

• When you arrive at the softball complex, you should be fully and neatly dressed for game action.  Whatever uniform you are in should be worn with dignity and respect for that specific team as well as the game of softball in general.  There are many athletes who would jump at the chance to be where you are.  Appreciate the opportunity you have been given.
• Always carry your own equipment, including drinks, snacks and whatever else you need to get you through your day.  Mom and Dad are not your personal valets.  Once they deliver you to the fields, let them wish you good luck and then be on their way to the spectator area.
• Show focus and enthusiasm when warming up.  Coaches have a very small window of time to see a lot of potential recruits.  Often, they may decide whether to look at you, or not, based solely on how seriously you take your warm up routine or how focused and fundamentally sound you are simply throwing and catching before your game.  It may not seem fair, but you might be eliminated from a particular coaches’ consideration for no other reason than fooling around during warm ups.
• Be organized.  Make certain that everything you need is in your equipment bag. If all of your teammates are taking their swings in the batting cage  while you are running around asking if anyone has seen your bat, that sort of disorganized behavior will send recruiters heading in another direction.
• Pay attention to, and intently follow, the directions of your travel coaches.  When you succeed, they succeed.  Any instruction they give you will be geared toward presenting the team, as well as its players, in the best possible light.  Demonstrate your coachability at all times.

The National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) is a wonderful resource for information on all aspects of our game, at all levels.  Coincidentally, sometime after my first post on this subject the NFCA posed a question of the month  to college level coaches for response.  That question was, “What factor tells you the most about how successful a potential recruit would be as part of your team?”  Here are the four factors and the survey results:

• Solid academic background, grades or test scores—1.6%
• Strong high school or travel ball playing resume—4.8%
• Physical skills, abilities, or attributes—8.1%
• Intangibles such as work ethic, competitiveness, leadership, behavior, etc.—85.5%

Please don’t be misled into thinking that the first factor is not crucial in determining your eligibility for any program.  I was quite surprised to see that result given the fact that if you do not come close to qualifying academically for a particular school, a college coach would be wasting his or her time recruiting you.  Always remember, that college should be looked upon as a great privilege and opportunity to learn.  If softball plays a part in the overall college experience, that’s great.  In my humble opinion, great grades equate to great character, in most cases.  As far as the other factors are concerned, I think that the results speak for themselves.

In Part III we will discuss in-game and on-field behavior.