Softball Recruiting Tips: Controlling the Controllables
Softball players at the club levels are under a microscope these days. Softball recruiting is as competitive as ever and has started to filter down into the younger age groups. Imagine being a 12-year-old and learning that a college coach is in the stands watching you play. This could be intimidating to a young player who dreams of playing in college one day. The worst thing that can happen in one of these situations is “pressing” or putting pressure on yourself.
Take a deep breath.
Here’s some advice that should help calm the nerves. Just because a college coach is in the stands doesn’t mean you have to make unbelievable plays to impress them. Chances are they have already seen or heard something about you, that makes you stand out. They are already there watching and they know what you are capable of. Don’t make things bigger than they need to be, stay the course, play your game, it’s just another set of eyes in the stands. Instead of trying to make great plays happen, which is out of players control, here are three things you can control and make a habit of that will speak volumes to the college coach watching.
- Hustle: Make hustling a habit. The college coach will be watching your every move. Sprint on and off the field every time. Hustle to back-ups, you should always be somewhere every single play. If you strike out, so what? You better believe it’s going to happen again. Sprint back to the dugout and let it go once you get there. If you hit a pop up, sprint around the bases. The best piece of advice someone once shared with me was that when they hit a pop-up, they counted how many bases they could touch before it was caught. Make your own little game out of it. HUSTLE! Coaches love hustle.
- How you respond: College coaches are going to watch how you respond and not always in the situations where you succeed. They care more about what happens when things get tough- when you strike out, give up a home run, make an error, hit a pop-up, etc. Coaches don’t always care about the best players, most of the time they are looking for the RIGHT ones. The ones who are positive and good teammates, even when things aren’t going the right way. The sport of softball requires a short-term memory, which is extremely challenging because most of us are competitive and hold ourselves to high standards. Learn to let things go and give yourself a break. You’ll thank yourself later.
- Interact with teammates: As mentioned above, college coaches are looking for the right players to fill in the pieces of their roster puzzle each year. There are two types of teammates in softball, those who are all about themselves and those who are all about the team. It shouldn’t matter if you pitch a game and you give up 12 runs. If your team scores 13 runs for you and you win the game 13-12, the win is all that matters. College coaches also watch how potential recruits interact with their teammates on the field. They will be able to identify who the vocal leaders are, and they really take a liking to a player who picks a teammate up after an error or someone who takes credit for their own.
If you took anything away from the article it should be this. Hustle, have a short term memory and be a good teammate. If you can do those three things every time you step onto the softball field, as well as continue doing your job as a player, you will be more than fine. The college recruiting process can be scary, but it is always extremely rewarding for many in the end. If you can implement the three musts listed above, you’ll become a great player and an even better teammate. Even if a college coach isn’t in attendance, treat every game as if they are. Besides, you never really know who is watching.
