What do I need to do to make it?
It's the question that keeps players and parents up at night. It's THE question that drives you as an athlete.
It's simple, and complicated. The more you think about it, the more convoluted it becomes. How many hits do I need to get? I heard a kid from Alabama hits the ball 500-feet, I heard there are sophomores throwing 95 mph, how am I supposed to compete with that?
You're not. You're not supposed to compete with that, for the same reason people in med school don't obsess over the 12-year old prodigy already in his residency. You just gotta let the freaks...freak.
The point is, you have to play the hand you're dealt, and go ALL-IN.
If you're not working out, running on your own, doing things when no one else is, get used to being in the stands. That's just how it is. Parents can't make you do it, they can try and help, but: "If your days off, look identical to the kid who doesn't play baseball...you're doing it wrong."
Do showcases help? Absolutely, but they follow the Law of Diminishing Returns. They help show you what's out there, give you a visual of what you're chasing, but they need to be spaced out. Going to one each weekend only confirms that what you showed last week, is still what you are. Instead of taking time to get better and show progress each time. Go to one, workout like a banshee for 2 months, then go to another one, and practice everyday. There's your report card, see if you're really putting in the time, or if you're pretending.
I challenge my guys everyday to do more. I tell them, unless someone talks about you as "the crazy baseball kid" you're NOT doing enough. If your parents aren't telling you to take a break, you're not doing enough. Because someone out there is, and they'll be the one getting their name in the paper, getting the offer you don't, because they earned it.
I hate when people say "Life isn't fair". It's the same as saying "Well, I think" before you say something. Everyone knows that already. What you do next is what matters. I'll tell you one thing, the guys who put the time in, don't get as mad when they get out, they don't melt down when things don't go their way, because it's not like they could do more? They just have to keep grinding. Guys who flip out, to me, are mad at themselves because things aren't going their way, and they don't like it. Tough cookies.
So what do you have to do to make it?
Get up early, run. If you're not conditioned, you can't train hard enough to get better.
Take care of your arm, do your shoulder exercises BEFORE a physical therapist makes you. Twice a day.
Always give 100%, ALWAYS. Acknowledge that this matters to you.
Lift weights. Be consistent. Remember you're catching someone ahead of you right?
Practice during your free time. If you're not sleeping, eating, studying, in class, traveling to or from practice/game, showering, or recovering from a workout or practice, you should be practicing or working out.
Talk to your coach, ask questions.
Be prepared for showcases and tournaments. Hitting the day before doesn't count. The workouts in front of scouts and coaches are the tests, and you always need to be ready for them.
Do the little things. That means pick up the dugout, cheer on your teammates, hustle everywhere and run every ball out. Baseball people watch these things. You know, the ones you want to recruit/scout you?
So then what?
Respond to every letter or questionnaire.
Pick schools you're interested in, let them know you're interested! Look into a camp, I'm not just saying that, if I could do it all over again, I would have considered more colleges' camps. People complain about the cost, well kid, don't waste your parents time, pick one or two camps and go get some scholarship money!
Play baseball, all the time. By your sophomore year at the latest, if you're serious about baseball, it's time to play year round. Unless you're a pitcher only (a P.O. as we call them) pick 2 months to take off throwing, schedule them in a calendar, and play the other 10 months.
Recruiting services, be careful. People ask what do I REALLY need to do? Showcases? Yes. Travel Ball? Yup. Fall Ball? Yes. Recruiting services should be tied into these somewhere through who you're playing for, and if you're playing in tournaments, showcases, travel ball, and fall ball, you're getting letters from someone. If you're not, there's only two reasons....
...So best of luck, go get 'em, and I'll see you along the....oh you want to know the two reasons guys don't get letters? The long and short of it is tough to say, because the truth hurts. Here's why you AREN'T getting letters if you are doing all the things listed above:
1) Baseball isn't your priority, and word gets around. If a kid is involved in too many "extra-curriculars" word gets out, coaches don't want to deal with that. We're not idiots about what kids are up to, but if we hear about it, a player isn't managing that part of his life very well. (i.e. social media posts, etc)
2) A player is too valuable in some other walk of life, that higher powers didn't bless him with baseball ability. Usually it's more of an effort thing, but there are rare cases, where it's really just, he doesn't have "it".
Last thing, what's "It"?
"It" is something you do better than most, and you need an "it". Being marginally above average in certain areas will get you to a D-III, but if you want to play at a high level JUCO, D-II or D-I level, time to get your ass in gear.
Remember how I was a catcher? That was out of necessity, and survival. This isn't NeverLand, you don't get to decide that since you were a shortstop your whole life, that you get to stay there. You know who end up being shortstops? Dual-threat quarterbacks in the Dominican, but because they don't have football they play baseball. They're more athletic than you, get over it.
People underestimate the athleticism of pro baseball players all the time and it's annoying. Your kid is not Greg Maddux, or Brandon Crawford, I understand those are very different players, but 3rd base, catcher, 2nd base, those are your friends. No one projects as a 1st baseman out of high school. Top shortstops rarely get to stay at shortstop.
So people say, "What about outfield?"
Why don't you go play Defensive End at Ohio State?
If you want to put your eggs in the basket of every freak athlete who ever stepped on a baseball field, who could run, hit, and throw, just couldn't field a grounder, that's what you're stepping into when you try and be a college/pro outfielder. You know what 1st basemen in college are? Slow outfielders.
I'm not saying it can't be done, but it's a tough group.
So that's the secret. And when your coach tells you and your parents, that only 1-in-however-many players make the team, and hardly any will go onto college or professional baseball, don't listen to that, just remember one thing.
Sucks for them.
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