What makes a D1 recruit?

Very good information, Yankee...and very good advice

 

Very informative thread!

 

what makes a D-1 recruit? You see, when a man and a woman..........

 

I apologize if I am redundant from previous posts, but these are the things that make a D1 recruit, in my opinion.

1. Desire. The coaches at the D1 level have been around the game awhile and can see an hour before game time which players have the desire. Without the desire to get better you won't, and no coach wants a player who is at his peak at 16 years old.

2. Consistency. I had the extreme benefit of having lunch a week ago with Orel Hershiser. One of the things that he told me about the difference between Major Leaguers and those at the levels below is simple. Major Leaguers are "masters of the basics". They consistently make plays, pitches, etc. A D1 coach may only see a player a hand-full of times or less, and that is over a 3 or so year span. So during that time, a player must be consistently on top of his game. It is NOT easy.

3. Seperate. How many right handed high school pitchers are there that range from 5'10'' to 6'3''? An endless amount. Therefore, a player who falls within this category must "seperate" himself from the rest. How do you that? There are multiple ways. Be a strong student, not a good student, a strong student. Every coach wants a guy who he doesnt have to worry about in the classroom once he gets to college. If you are a high school player reading this, it sucks, I know. But it is worth it. Another way to seperate yourself is to respond dilligently to the schools that send you letters. It did not matter if Wyoming A&M sent me a letter, they were getting a handwritten letter on a stationary back to thank them for the time and interest in me. Lastly, hustle. Always. From the second you lace up your spikes, until you shake hands at the end of the game. I cannot tell you how many times I have worked a UNC Baseball camp and talked to players who told me, "Man, I really really want to come here and play!" Then later that afternoon the same kid would be walking/jogging out a routine infield flyball. It sounds tedious, but it gets back to the theme of this paragraph, which is seperate. I'll add in though that you shouldn't run out a flyball because the coaches are watching, you should do it because that is how the game is played. And the players who play the game hard for the sake of the game are D1 recruits.

There are more things, but other have previously been touched on and it is a long post as it is. I hope this is of some benefit, if I need to elaborate on any of these three things I will, or if Braves wants me to give some more I will too. Hope all is well with everyone, I cant believe its about time to get it going again.

 

Great post Up and In.......as usual you're right on the mark. It's great to see you back on the board. Good luck this year.....all of us here are pulling for ya.

 

Up and In.....this speaks volumes. Great point!!!!

Good luck this season....you guys are going to be tough to handle!

 

Wow....Up and In hit a homerun with that post.

But I do have a question. Your lunch with Hershiser....did you pick up the tab?

Seriously, RW, your point about being self motivated is a very important one. It means so much more hearing these things from a player, then some old man like Pops. Thanks for sharing

 

An exceedingly rare occurrence these days... on the field, at least!

 

Opportunities, Prep...opportunities!!!!

 

REVISIT

I know alot of posters will shudder to see this back at the top, but I have to tell everyone that participated in this discussion that I went to a UNCP/USC-Aiken game yesterday. Low and behold but on the mound for USC-Aiken was a lefty all of about 5'8" and maybe 155 lbs and velocity was about 80. Kid proceeded to make UNCP batters look stupid for eight solid innings with a fantastic changeup and very good CB. He threw a five hitter and allowed one ER. My question on now answered.
Upon review of their website, his name is Jon Paul. He is now 4-0 with a 1.15 ERA.