KPB Podcast

In addition to coaching, Macdonald is known for his work educating players and families about the recruiting process on Twitter or through his website, collegebaseballrecruiting.net. Coach Macdonald is one of the leading voices on the college baseball recruiting process. His online course, Foundations of College Baseball Recruiting, launched a few months ago and aims to empower recruits with the tools to make informed decisions about the recruiting process and college baseball. 

Accurate, thorough, thoughtful, and well-organized, Coach Macdonald's content is a must for any serious college recruit or parent. Coach Macdonald’s commitment to transparency and equity in the recruiting process is admirable, so it’s great to finally have him on the KPB Podcast to pick his brain about all things recruiting. You won't want to miss this episode!

Coach Macdonald's Website: Foundations of College Baseball Recruiting Online Course

Coach Macdonald's Twitter: Ian Macdonald (@sowhatnextpitch) / Twitter

Contacting College Coaches: How to Write an Intro Email

This Podcast Episode in Thread Format

How to Create A Successful DIY Recruiting Video

You May Also Be Interested in: 

How to Use Social Media to Get Recruited

In this episode, are excited to be joined on today’s podcast by Colorado Rockies Data and Game Planning Coordinator and former Big League infielder, Doug Bernier. A California native, Bernier’s baseball career included success at every single level. After college baseball stops at Cuesta College and Oral Roberts University, Bernier started an incredible 16-year professional baseball career, which included 4 seasons in the Majors and over 1500 professional games. Bernier and his wife, Sarah, generously give back to the game through Pro Baseball Insider (probaseballinsider.com), an organization providing free instruction for aspiring ballplayers given directly from professional players. In addition to talking with Doug about how he maintained consistency and focus during the ups and downs of the better part of 2 decades in professional baseball, we pick his brain about his days as a professional scout and now a coach with the Rockies Big League squad. You won't want to miss this one!

We've been sensing a great deal of panic among recruits and parents who have become fixated on the recruiting shutdown and D1 baseball's prolonged dead period due to COVID-19. In this episode, we try to put those fears to rest and explain why now is the time to plan and prepare, not panic. This episode follows a round-table discussion put on by our friends at the 3-2 Count Foundation exploring this new age of recruiting from multiple vantage points. We strongly suggest you check out the video here after listening to this episode! 

Listen in for more information of check out the NCAA article directly HERE.

In this episode, we follow the lead of our popular written article about the risks and rewards of walking on. You can read the written article here. 

Listen in to learn about:

1. Different types of walk-on opportunities

2. Questions to ask when offered a walk-on opportunity

3. Risks and rewards that come with walk-on opportunities

The most comprehensive and important #KPBpodcast episode on parents' role in the recruiting process is here! Following the same format as our Parents' Role in the Recruiting Process mini-series, we break down everything a parent needs to know to understand their role in the recruiting process and successfully help their son find a college baseball fit. In this episode, we break down:

1) An overview of parents' role in the recruiting process and how to how to appropriately be involved in the process

2) What parents can do during each of the 10 steps of the recruiting process  to help their son

3) The 5 most important responsibilities and roles of parents throughout the entire process

You won't want to miss it. Click play now and follow up on the additional parent resources we mention by reading the articles on the site!

While campus visits should be fun and informative, they are also a big stepping stone in the recruiting process. We’ve lived through and heard plenty of stories of campus visits that go poorly. There’s nothing wrong with getting to campus and realizing that a school isn’t a fit for you, in fact that’s great! You don’t, however, want to ruin your chances with a school that interests you because of silly mistakes. In order to help you avoid making preventable mistakes, here’s a list of 7 ways that campus visits often go wrong and advice for not letting that happen to you. After listening to this and our How to Ace a Campus Visit article, you’ll be prepared to dominate your time on campus and can focus on just being the best version of yourself!

This is the podcast version of our written article by the same title, which can be read here.

With the signing period starting in just a few days, there will likely be a wave of commitments in the coming weeks. If you are one of the recruits making a commitment or that will be you at some point, this podcast is for you! In this episode, we will address the way to handle your commitment the right way. The baseball world is small and the last thing you want to do during what is supposed to be a happy time is burn any bridges or have a bunch of college coaches angry with you. To stay in the good graces of everyone you have interacted with during your commitment, follow the 5 steps discussed!

This podcast is the audio version of the written article by the same name. You can read that article here. In this episode, we aim to bust some myths about "exposure" and help you better understand how to know that you are ready create meaningful exposure to college coaches. If you want to know the truth about seeking exposure and figure out how to know when you should start maximizing exposure opportunities, this episode is for you. Listen in to find out more!

Find video and written college baseball scholarship resources similar to this on the KPB website right here. 

Everyone wants to get a college baseball scholarship, but how much scholarship money is available? What can they expect if they do get a scholarship? Tune in to find out as we talk about some of the basics about college baseball scholarships!

Read the written version of this podcast on our website here. 

With the signing period for seniors less than a month away, many players are considering their college baseball options and where they should commit following the end of fall ball.  Hopefully you are putting a lot of thought into your commitment decision and looking at things from every possible angle. What does that mean? It means asking and answering a lot of questions about the programs you are considering. In this episode, we rattle off a laundry list of things you should be considering before making your commitment official, from the academic culture to the relationship you have with the coaching staff and more. Listen in as we try to help you  make your commitment decision one based on facts that will stand the test of time rather than emotions which can quickly change once on campus.

This episode is the podcast version of the written article of the same title available here. In this episode, we discuss the precautions you need to take if you decide to commit before being accepted by the admissions committee. Listen in to find out what to do to make sure the commitment holds strong and you take care of business in the classroom. 

You've been talking with a college coach and they seem interested. Then, all of a sudden you stop hearing from them. What does it mean? What should you do? We discuss that and more in this podcast episode! You can also catch the written version of this podcast right here!

This podcast is the audio version of the written article by the same title, which can be found here.

If you are reading this article, you probably already know we spend a lot of time talking about what you should be doing to stay on track for college baseball. Our website is devoted to providing you with all the information and guidance you need to make it to the next level, free of charge. Last year, a parent suggested that it would be helpful if we discussed some of the things parents and recruits should avoid in the recruiting process. The ability to recognize potential pitfalls has become increasingly important as the monetization of youth baseball leads to more people trying to profit from vulnerable players and parents who are hoping to give themselves the best chance at the next level.  In this podcast, we will look at 5 red flags that can come up in the recruiting process. For the purpose of this podcast, we consider a red flag to be an event or interaction that should set off alarm bells so that you take some extra time to make sure that things are the way they appear to be. Not all red flags will turn into real issues, but they do merit closer attention before proceeding. Listen in to learn about the following 5 red flags:

1. Hidden Costs

2. Bait-and-Switch Models

3. Guarantees of Any Kind

4. When Coaches and Players at the Same Program Give Conflicting Information

5. Rushed (Scholarship or Roster Spot) Offer Deadlines

Listen in to learn more!

@BradSanfilippo

Topics:

Academics, D1, Recruiting, Player Development, Offensive Philosophy, Mountain West Baseball, San Jose State, Pac-12, Mid-Major, Power-5

The time to get serious about your academic pursuits is right now! In this Friday rant, we reiterate topics discussed in the written article Better Grades Mean More Opportunities. Check out that written piece to get the links to many of our best academic support resources!

In this podcast, we get straight to the point here-- academics are a huge piece of the recruiting puzzle! We explain why they are so important to college coaches and why now is the time for you to take them seriously. Listen in to find out more! 

This podcast is the audio version of the written article by the same title on the KPB website. You can find that article here and we strongly suggest you check that article out and dive into the links it shares that are referenced in the podcast.

We know that social media is becoming increasingly important in the recruiting process, but what does that mean for you? How can you avoid the negative consequences of social media while still benefiting from the information and free exposure that social media platforms provide? We discuss all that, talk about what we have learned about social media in recruiting from our college coaches survey, and more! Listen in.

This is the podcast version of our written article by the same title. That article can be read here. Note: The email examples in the article will be easier to understand in written form than what is described in the podcast episode, so be sure to check them out!

Here's a common scene in the recruiting process: You just got an email from a college program you are interested in. You are excited, and hope this will be the start of your journey to making a commitment. But do you really understand the intent behind the email? Is it expressing real interest? Before you get too far ahead of yourself, make sure you read the email closely. College coaches send out a number of different types of emails that mean different things and have different purposes. While the emails may sound similar, they can have very different intentions.

Emails are a safe way for college coaches to reach out to recruits without having to show their hand (level of interest).  The emails can have a variety of meanings and purposes. The way the email is worded, how much personalized information is included in the email, and what type of response it asks from you will help you better understand the intentions of the program that sent it.

In this episode, we discuss the different types of emails that college coaches send and what they mean. Specifically, we discuss 3 different kinds of emails you might receive from a college coach (Camp Email, Exploratory Interest, Definite Interest), what each means about your recruitment, and how to follow up. Listen in to learn more!

This podcast is the audio version of the written article of the same title, available to read here.

As a coach, instead of focusing on the “right” language, focus on using language that creates understanding and the right physical response for each individual player. That may mean you tell one hitter to “swing up to the ball”, you tell another hitter to “swing down on the ball”, and you tell the rest of the hitters to “swing level or on plane”. By being flexible with your verbal cues, you help everyone get better and make yourself a more successful coach.

The idea of being flexible with language and finding verbal cues that work for each guy means you will have to set your ego (and perhaps stubbornness) aside. Doing so does not mean that you don’t know what you are talking about or that you teach the wrong things, in fact it’s the opposite. A multidimensional approach to coaching is a sign that you are committed to teaching and helping your players develop the movement patterns they need to be successful.  That’s what coaching is all about. Coaching is about player development, not proving your way is the only way. If you still aren’t ready to give up your preferred verbal cue for something that doesn’t resonate as well with you, think about this: Mike Trout trains his swing thinking about swinging down on the ball and Kris Bryant trains his by thinking about swinging up. Should one of these MVPs change his training cue because it’s wrong? No! There are many paths to success! Moving forward, prioritize helping your players find their own paths to success by using language and verbal cues that work for them.

This podcast episode corresponds to our written article by the same title, The Importance of a Diverse Recruiting Plan.

In this episode, we discuss the many different ways that college coaches are finding the players who end up playing in their program and discuss the importance of having a diverse recruiting plan that gives coaches multiple ways to connect with you, evaluate you, and recruit you. Listen in to find out why it's so important!

This podcast is the audio version of the written article, Learning From Others: The Power of Purposeful Observation.

 "You have to apply yourself each day to becoming a little better. By applying yourself to the task of becoming a little better each and every day over a period of time, you will become a lot better."- Coach John Wooden 

Want to play college baseball? There are people around you every day that can help you get there. The people we are thinking about are probably not the same people that immediately jump into your mind. We’re not talking about your coaches or your parents or even your teachers and counselors, although all of these people can be a tremendous help in the recruiting process. The people we are talking about are your teammates and your peers.

Your peers can play an incredible role in helping you understand what it takes to get better if you can take your ego out of the comparison. That can be easier said than done. Most high school players fall into the trap of letting their ego interfere when comparing themselves to their peers. Who has the better stats? Who is getting more attention from colleges? Who got invited to this event or plays on this team? Why is he getting recruited by that school and I’m not? Why is he already getting offers? These types of comparisons only serve as a distraction. Every college bound player is on a different timeline and follows a different path to the next level. When we talk about the role your teammates and fellow competitors can play in helping you get better, we are talking about learning from their successes and failures as much as your own.

There’s a common misconception that learning has to come from your own success or mistakes, but imagine how many more learning opportunities you create each day when you really pay attention to what is happening around you. That’s the entire point of our Think the Game articles. Learn from everyone’s experiences, so you don’t have to make every mistake for yourself! There is feedback and important lessons all around you that can help you grow and improve and we want to highlight how you can use this feedback to be your own coach and get a little better each day. We discuss 4 keys to purposeful observation in this episode. Listen in to find out what they are!

 This podcast is the audio version of our written article, Targeting the Right Schools in Recruitment

A common misstep in the recruiting process happens when players pursue schools where their baseball skill set doesn’t fit. These players either only target schools where the standard of play is too high for their skills, or they ignore interest from schools where their skill set does match up well, thinking they can “do better.” It goes without saying that you should treat all interest as serious interest and make sure you do your research on every program individually. With over 1,600 college baseball programs, there are many schools you will not know about. With so many programs out there, how can you make sure you are targeting the appropriate schools for your skill level? It turns out that this question doesn’t have one simple answer and that’s why so many recruits get it wrong! Luckily, we have done the research for you and we’ve come up with 5 things you can do to help make sure you are targeting the appropriate level of college baseball for your skill set.  We discuss them in this podcast!

This is the podcast version of the written article titled, Networking: Your Secret Weapon in the Recruiting Process.

 When it comes to the recruiting process, surrounding yourself with a good network of people can make a big difference. Not only can a quality network help you make sound decisions throughout the recruiting process, having ties with people who are well connected in the college game can go a long way to opening doors and providing opportunities. There are many stories of players getting a foot in the door with a college coach because a former teammate, current coach, or someone they know has a connection to open that door. While your talent, work ethic, character, and skills are ultimately what will get you to the next level, at times recruiting can feel like it’s more about who you know than what you can do. If you are worried that you don’t have a strong network behind you, don’t worry! On this podcast we will discuss how you can use your connections to strengthen your network and how you can use your network to help in the recruiting process.

Listen to the episode for more on how you can:

1) Assess the strength of your social network

2) Grow your social network

3) Use your social network to help you in the recruiting process

This podcast corresponds to the Emotional 101 article on the KPB website.

“The ballplayer who loses his head, who can’t keep his cool, is worse than no ballplayer at all.” –Lou Gehrig 

There’s no debating that the way baseball is being played is changing. The game is slowly starting to embrace a more modern flair. Bat flips and celebrations that would have cost a beaning in past generations are becoming the norm. Still, many college coaches debate the outward displays of emotion that they see. Sure, it’s a new generation, but how much bat flip is too much bat flip? How much emotion can a player display before it becomes a side show? Since we know college coaches are spending a lot of time  evaluating the body language  and behavior of recruits, we take a look at some of the emotionally-charged situations college coaches see on the recruiting trail and how they help or hurt a recruit’s chances of being recruited.  

This podcast mirrors the content found in our popular article by the same title, which you can read HERE. We were asked to write that article by a college coach who was frustrated by the constant barrage of poorly written emails from recruits. Using a poorly written email as an example of players failing to understand the importance of being detail oriented and thorough in the recruiting process, we discuss 4 major reasons why college coaches are paying attention to players who attend to the details and are willing to go the extra mile to do things right.  Listen to find out why in a recruiting world where there are countless players with similar on-field skills and ability, a recruit who shows attention to detail will quickly separate himself from the rest.  

This episode provides insight on mistakes that parents are making at the ballpark and mirrors the content in the written article found HERE. 

College coaches may be recruiting high school players, but they are paying very close attention to what the parents of recruits are doing at the field as well. Parents make many unintended mistakes that can hurt their son's chances of getting recruited. We don't want that to happen to you, so we discuss 5 common mistakes that are made at the baseball field by parents and provide suggestions for more constructive alternative behavior. Listen in so you don't hurt your son's chances of getting recruited and playing at the next level.

It's a straightforward questions that can make or break your recruiting process before it even begins. If you want to improve your chances of finding a college baseball fit, you first need to know what that fit looks like. In this episode, we give you resources and suggestions to to help you answer that question, starting with  this worksheet  to help you sort out your college preferences. For more information and insight, listen to the episode or read the written version here.

This episode is the podcast version of our written of the same title which can be found here :  https://keepplayingbaseball.org/make-the-most-of-summer-ball-2019/ 

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It’s about that time of the summer when your final tournaments are coming up. Guys are in a lot of different  situations – some may have spent the summer showcasing for college coaches, while others are hoping to make their varsity team this coming year.  

No matter what level you’ve been playing at, there are some things you can look back on now to get the most out of your summer baseball experience. A huge part of progressing in the game is learning and making adjustments. Summer ball is a great time to learn your game, try new things, and figure out what you need to work on.  

On this episode, we ask you to consider 7 important questions about your summer and use them as a tool to reflect on what you’ve learned and what you need to improve on as you move forward. Development is the key to playing at the next level, and this list will help you stay focused on continually improving.   Listen in to find out what they are!

We’re excited to welcome Paris Junior College Head Coach Clay Cox to the podcast. Cox has been at the helm of the Dragon Baseball Program since 2016 and with the program since 2015. Over this time, he has developed a reputation for dominating in the classroom and on the field. His team is constantly among the nation’s leaders in team GPA and his squad has consistently moved more than a dozen players on to 4-year programs or professional baseball. Prior to his time at Paris JC, Cox spent time coaching at University of West Alabama and in the high school ranks at Rockdale High School, in addition to summers coaching in the Texas Collegiate League where he had a lot of success. Along with his role as head coach, Cox is Founder of Infield U and is active in sharing his coaching practices with the baseball community. Cox brings a wealth of knowledge to the KPB podcast, and in this episode we pick his brain about recruiting, program building, academics, infield play, and much more. So grab a notepad and turn up the volume as we connect with a high energy leader and great baseball mind.

Contact Coach Cox:

Twitter: @CoachCox19 and @Infield_U 

Email:  ccox@parisjc.edu 

Website:  https://www.infieldu.com/ 

Topics:

 JUCO, Recruiting, Infield, Development, Infield U, Academics, Hitting, Pitch Recognition, Texas, Transferring

Making Sense of Your Scholarship Offer

Doing a Basic Budget Analysis for Your College Search

Asking Coaches About Training and Development

This podcast is the audio version of our written article by the same title. You can read that article here. 

Every college-bound high school player dreams of getting noticed by a college coach. If you weren’t interested in that, you wouldn’t be on this podcast right now! Well, we want you to get noticed, too, but we want it to be for the right reasons. A lot of people don’t realize that intangibles, like attitude, knowledge of the game, and appearance, can play a big role in making or breaking your chances of playing for a team.  

You may wonder what we mean by “intangibles.” We are talking about things that can’t be physically touched. They have nothing to do with your athletic skill set, but you can be sure that coaches are looking for them. Intangibles include not only your attitude, your knowledge of the game, and your outward appearance (height, weight, fitness level) but also things like your ability to be in the right position, your understanding of the unwritten rules of the game, your ability to focus, and whether or not you can think on your feet.  

For example, let’s say that there is a player who is interested in playing at a D1 school on the West Coast. We will call him Carl. If it were up to Carl’s talent and athleticism alone, there is little chance that he would be considered for a spot on the team. Sure, Carl is a good player, but to play at the school he is interested in, he would have to be one of the top prospects of the region. Carl attended the showcase for his dream school and the coaches immediately noticed his attitude and his hustle, and that he looked like and carried himself like a ballplayer.  

Now Carl may not end up getting a roster spot on the team, but that is not the point. The point is that even though he may not be expected by many recruiters to be a great player, he may get a shot to play at one of the top schools in the country because of his intangibles. Carl is buying himself additional opportunities: he is getting noticed for the right reasons. Intangibles are things that every player can control through hard work and effort.    

On the flip side, many players of all different talent levels get crossed off of coaches’ lists before they even step between the foul lines. You don’t want to get noticed because you look lazy, distracted, slow, or careless. That would be getting noticed for the wrong reasons.  

In this podcast, we list 10 things (you are in complete control over!) that you can do to get noticed for the right reasons. Listen in!

College coaches want players who respect others. Seems simple, right? You'd be surprised how man players get crossed off of recruiting lists not for the way they play the game, but because coaches see them having negative interactions with coaches, teammates, umpires, opponents, and parents. If you have any doubt about what people would say about you following an interactions with them, it's time to get to work mending those relationships. Respect is a cornerstone of successful college baseball programs and coaches will be spending a lot of time finding out if you respect others and will be a respectful member of their baseball community. For more, check out the written article here.

This article shadows the lessons from our written article of by the same title, which you can read HERE.

We strongly suggest reading the written article as well and reading the entire article series about a fictional recruit named Alex, who experiences many of the same recruiting situations that you will. The series uses real life stories and feedback from college coaches to teach valuable recruiting lessons. Learn it from Alex so you don't have to learn it the hard way yourself!

Among the lessons discussed are:

1. Every time you are at the field, you may be being evaluated (before the game, in the dugout, during pre-game, during the game, in between games, etc.)

2. You won't have your best day every single time you are at the field, but find a way to be mentally and physically present each time, even if that means having a good "bad day".

3. You passion and involvement (intangibles that have nothing to do with your on-field skills) speak very loudly to college coaches. Disinterested players get little interest from college coaches. 

4. Show how involved you are with actions and attitude that help your team win

5. We recap some don'ts around the field!

Listen in for more!

 This is the audio version for the blog article, You need A Strength and Conditioning Plan

Every year, we ask college baseball players what advice they would give high school guys trying to make a successful transition to college baseball. Every year, we get some variation of the response above: “Get in the weight room!”

Take the advice of the guys who have lived the experience and survived the difficult transition to college baseball. If you want to play college baseball, you need a strength program in high school. Building a baseline level of functional strength is incredibly important for recruiting and to be prepared for the rigorous college season. Functional strength means strength that is useful to performing baseball specific movements more efficiently. A strength and conditioning program that improves functional strength is the answer to many baseball deficiencies and allows a player to throw and hit harder, run faster, bend and move more efficiently, stay healthy and much more.

So what does this mean for recruits wanting to play baseball in college? Plain and simple, make building functional strength a big part of your development plan. As we discuss in our article, Why Size and Physicality Matter in Recruitment, college coaches are looking to recruit physical players. While not everyone develops physically at the same time and not everyone can be 6’3”/205, everyone can add strength and mobility that will help them perform better, stay healthy, and get recruited. Getting in the weight room consistently is one of the single most important things you can do for your development. A quality strength and conditioning program in high school provides the base and preparation necessary to make significant gains in college when your body matures and allows you to improve as a player by leaps and bounds. 

So how do you go about creating a quality strength and conditioning program? We share some basic exercises you can do in this guest blog by former college baseball standout and PT Alex Wirta, but there are many people  who offer great strength and conditioning advice specific to baseball for free. Here are five of our favorite free resources that are well known in the baseball community:

All 5 of these resources share a wealth of strength and conditioning information and are a must follows on social media. Their blogs are linked above and they are also easy to find on Twitter. These resources are a great place to start doing your research and summer is a great time to learn about and implement a strength and conditioning plan that is right for you. Don’t wait, it’s time to get to work!

Disclaimer: As always get approval from your parents, doctor, and school strength coach before you start any conditioning program.

This is the audio version of our written article, Development: Your Key to Getting Recruited and Saving Money

In this episode, we discuss the "all exposure is good exposure" myth and explain how the false equation of exposure and recruitment is leading families to spend unnecessary money chasing exposure at the wrong times. The goal of this episode is simple. We want to help you understand that development, not exposure, is what will lead to college baseball opportunities and that developing college-level skills must come before any meaningful exposure.

The lessons from this podcast are twofold: 

1) You don't need to break the bank going to every exposure event to get recruited to play college baseball

2) If you do have money to spend on the recruiting process, put it towards your development, develop recruitable skills, and then find ways to get in front of the schools and coaches you want to play for

Listen for more details!

This episode is the audio version of our written article, Asking Coaches About Training, Development, and Coaching Philosophies During Recruitment. That article links to many other great resources on the questions you should ask coaches during the recruiting process. 

In this episode, we discuss questions you should be asking to find out if the player development and coaching philosophies of a program align with your ideas as a player. Listen in to find out about the importance of asking the following 10 sets of questions to programs that are interested in you!

You can find the written version of this podcast content here.

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We know better than anyone that the recruiting process can seem like a daunting task. If you don’t know what to do, it can be confusing and frustrating. In a KPB survey of high school baseball players, 59% said a major concern about playing at the next level was not knowing what to do to get recruited. These same sentiments are echoed every time we talk to a group of high school baseball players in person. In the recruiting process, like many other things, knowledge is power. There is no substitute for understanding what it takes to play college baseball and knowing the ins and outs of the recruiting process. That’s what will give you the best chance to find a college baseball fit, and that’s why Keep Playing Baseball exists! We give you the information and resources you need to make it to college baseball and we provide it 100% free. Even with the information we provide, there are no shortcuts. You still have to put in the time and effort to take charge of your recruitment and create a personal plan.

During recruitment, you are likely to have many other people offering advice on what you should do. While many people truly just want to help, you also have to be careful for companies and individuals who say they want to help, but are really just after your money. Unfortunately, there are people who try to cash in on players who don’t know what to do and parents who are willing to do everything they can to provide their kids with the opportunity to reach the next level.

It's important for you to find people who are offering advice for no other reason than to help you find a college baseball fit. Finding people to help you for the right reasons isn’t as difficult as you think.  We’ve come up with 3 ways to ensure people are helping you for the right reasons.  Listen in to find out what they are!

This podcast covers the content in the written article of the same title that will post to the KPB website on 6/19. In this episode, we explore 7 important questions to ask college coaches during the recruiting process, the appropriate time to ask the questions, and why it's important you get that information. Listen in on why it's important to ask:

1.  Where do I stand among your current recruits and what do you need to see from me to move up on your list? 

2.  How do you see me fitting into your program’s future plans? How do you plan to help develop me into a better player? 

3.  What changes or adjustments would you like to see me make to my game to have success at your level? 

4.  How would you describe your hitting/pitching philosophy? How do you train that on a daily basis? 

5.  How would you describe the relationship you have with the current players on the team? 

6.  What do I have to do academically (grades and test scores) to make sure that I get admitted to school? 

7.  I’ve heard that decommitments happen and I want to make sure that we are on the same page about what this commitment means.  I will obviously stop pursuing other schools, but what does this commitment assure me of from your end and under what circumstances would you pull the offer or commitment? 

Daily KPB for the written article of the same title. Your ability to fulfill your developmental potential this summer and improve as much as possible hinges on having a development plan. A plan that includes summer ball as part of the puzzle is going to be much more effective than a plan where playing summer ball is the development plan. Games can help you improve, but just showing up to games isn't going to allow you to maximize your potential to get better. 

In this podcast, we borrow lessons from collegiate summer baseball and apply them to the high school scene. We discuss why it's important to have an "exit meeting" after the spring season and get honest/objective feedback on where you need to improve. We describe how to tailor you plan so that you are getting stronger and better, rather than wearing yourself down. Ultimately, we lay out a step-by-step process for you to follow to create a development plan that will allow you to improve and maximize your potential. Listen in or read the written article on the same topic for more!

Open and honest about the recruiting process and how he's created a strong winning culture in his program during his 2 years at the helm, you won't want to miss this conversation with Jordan Stampler, one of the college game's great young coaches.

Contact Coach Stampler: 

Twitter: @TheRealJStamp

Email:  Jordan.Stampler@pfeiffer.edu 

Topics: 

Recruiting, Exposure, Summer Ball, Development, Culture, Parents and Recruiting, Recruiting Red Flags

In this podcast we discuss 6 tips for improving your baseball skills this summer. Read the article or listen to the podcast find out more about these 6 things:

This Daily KPB corresponds to our article on pre-enrollment responsibilities of 1st year college baseball players. In the article and this podcast, we explain why completing pre-enrollment responsibilities on-tim and with accuracy is important in setting the tone for your college baseball experience and how it has widespread implications around campus. Here's more: 

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Okay college bound baseball players, listen up.  It may not seem like it right now, but this is incredibly important. Before you hurry off to your new college program at the end of the summer, there is a lot to do. You are no longer in high school, and your pre-enrollment checklist is your first taste of college responsibility. Believe it or not, completing your pre-enrollment responsibilities quickly and accurately will set the tone with your coaches when you get to campus. If you don’t believe me, know that your college coaches are using this as a test to see what type of student-athletes they have coming to campus. 

You see, the pre-enrollment duties are about much more than just completing the pre-enrollment duties. They are a microcosm for attention to detail. The way you complete these duties will have a ripple effect on the the baseball program that extends well beyond what you may think. Here’s what happens: 

When you don’t get the tasks done on-time, the support people and departments responsible for handling those duties on campus (housing, math or language placement, academic adviser, compliance officers, etc.) don’t receive the information they need on time. The direct consequences of your procrastination may be big (not getting the schedule you need) or small (general annoyance), but either way, you would be building the wrong kind of reputation. If your teammates join you in making it harder for staff in other campus departments to do their jobs, your coach is going to hear about it and the baseball program may not get the cooperation that it needs down the line. 

So what does it really mean to get your pre-enrollment responsibilities done accurately and on time? It shows that you have respect for your new baseball program. It shows that you have respect for your coaches, and it lets them to focus their time and energy on things that will improve the team and your experience. It means starting the relationship with your new coaches off on the right foot. And above all else, it means doing the right thing and being a responsible player and person. When players finish pre-enrollment responsibilities on time, it improves the reputation of your baseball program around campus and demonstrates that your program respects the support people and departments that will make your college experience infinitely better. 

There aren’t a lot of guarantees in college baseball, but starting your college baseball experience off on the right foot is a great start. So, when you get a laundry list of seemingly inconvenient and sometimes annoying pre-enrollment duties, do it on-time and thoroughly. The goodwill your effort creates will pay off down the road. 

This Daily KPB episode corresponds to the article on our website with the same title. 

 We’ve written about how in baseball, skill is valued over size. It’s one of the great things about the national pastime—the best players come in all shapes and sizes. Just think back two years to the AL MVP race between Aaron Judge and Jose Altuve. You couldn’t pick two more distinct body types. While the Judge and Altuve comparison is easy to draw upon and helps to show that size doesn’t have to be a limiting factor, it would be foolish not to point out that Altuve is an extraordinary talent. While skill is the driving force for playing opportunities at the college level, size and “physicality” are heavily recruited attributes and do matter. In this episode, we describe the difference between “size” and “physicality”, and explain why college coaches value these two attributes, and why you need to focus on becoming the most physical version of yourself.

For more information, read the article HERE.

Twitter: @CatchingAcademy

Website:  http://www.catchingacademy.com/ 

Topics:

Recruiting, Catching, Receiving, Throwing, Blocking, Managing a Pitching Staff, Development, 

This episode pairs with our written article titled, Coaches Want to Know How You Lose.

There is always a lot of great baseball during the college playoffs. This year’s playoffs have included great plays, gritty pitching, and thrilling walk-offs. Of course, for all the exciting games in the playoffs at various levels of college baseball and the upcoming Super Regionals (and even the College World Series), there are still losing teams. For many players, the loss meant the end of their season. Sometimes the scores were close; sometimes they were lopsided. A loss is never easy, no matter what the scoreboard says. Baseball is a heartless game. One day you’re on top and the next, you’re facing a crushing defeat.  

While you might think that coaches and recruiters are only interested in players who win games, most actually want to see you fail some so they can see how well you handle losing or failure. Why? Because every ballplayer loses sometimes and every ballplayer fails; it’s part of the game. Coaches are looking for players with “character.” They are looking for players who will add strength, not problems, to their teams through seasons that are filled with ups and downs. Here are a few tips to help you get noticed, even after you’ve lost an important game.  

Everyone loses. It’s the players that handle themselves with the same class and character during times of loss and failure as they do when they are winning and dominating that college coaches are looking to recruit. Let that be you.

Campus visits are exciting! Last week, we talked about the different kinds of campus visits and why they are important. That article and podcast is a great resource and can be found  here. In this episode, we turn our attention to visits arranged with college coaches, and what you can do to put your best foot forward. This podcast corresponds to our article on How to Ace a Campus Visit. Whether or not the coaching staff has seen you play, campus visits are the perfect opportunity to make a lasting impression. You have put in a lot of work, the school is interested, and you could be a few steps away from finding your college fit. Formal campus visits with coaches often serve as either an initial check or final litmus test to ensure a player’s personality and character mesh with the current coaching staff expectations. In other words, it’s a critical hurdle in finding a college fit and coming to an agreement. Think of it as a two-way job interview. You are not the only one who is auditioning for the part. In person visits with coaches on their own turf are great ways to get a feel for whether the coaches and program have what you are looking for. If you show up prepared, you can simultaneously find out if a program is right for you and make a good impression. In this podcast episode, we give you the blueprint to dominating your campus visit!

If you answered no to question 1 or questions 2-4, your son should hold off on attending showcases because they will not yet improve his chances of getting recruited. If you answered yes to question 1, 5, and any additional question, you and your son can start exploring showcase events that fit with your budget and give you exposure to the right schools. 

 When it comes to creating meaningful exposure, your son should get in front of college coaches when he can show them the skills that they want to see. Striking while the iron is hot will not only give your son the best chance of getting recruited, it will also save you money and keep his focus where it should be—on developing into the best player possible.   

When it comes to campus visits, there is a lot you need to know. In this article, we break it all down, including the different types of campus visits (Official, Unofficial, Formal, Informal) and the different recruiting visit rules by level and division.  If you are preparing for a campus visit, this episode is a must. If you prefer to read the article associated with this podcast, you can find it here.

We have many great resources to help you prepare for and ace your campus visits, and you can find all of them in our Recruiting 101 resource under Step 7: Preparing for Campus Visits and Visiting Schools.

First, consider your skill level. Are you getting invited to invite-only events? Have schools already expressed interest? Are you one of the better players at your school or in your league?  If the answer to these questions is yes, then you are well on your way in the recruiting process. If you are still working hard to get noticed and improve your game, that’s okay too. There are good summer options for players at every stage of the recruiting process. It’s important to remember that last year the D1 recruiting rules have changed. Since you will be unable to visit with college coaches on campus tours prior to junior year of high school, really pushing the exposure envelope in the underclassmen (freshman and sophomore) years of high school doesn’t make sense. You won’t be able to make a fully informed decision until junior year at the earliest. This is a big difference from summer’s past when top tier players could commit to a school with all the information they needed at any point of high school. With these changes in mind, let’s look at important summer baseball considerations when it comes to camps, showcases, choosing a team, and balancing recruiting, development, and health.

 This Daily KPB episode is the podcast version of our Staying on Track on the DL blog article. In this episode, we discuss how to take ownership over your recovery. We lay out 10 things you can do to ensure you keep improving and help your team get better, even if you can't play. We list the 10 suggestions below but listen in for more detail!

This is the audio version of our Early Season Lessons From MLB: Plate Discipline (2019) article. Click on the article for more information on how the 3 players discussed transformed their offensive approach and the numbers that resulted.

Over the last 3 years, we have profiled MLB players who are having great seasons due in large part to changes in their plate discipline. This year, that player is Hunter Dozier. Like Andrelton Simmons and Eric Thames the two prior years, Dozier's breakout year is showing hitters at every level of baseball from Little League on up the importance of plate discipline. Regardless of your physical size or tools, improved plate will make you a better offensive player and it's something you can start improving today!

Improved plate discipline means you are swinging at good pitches to hit, which translates to hitting the ball harder more consistently. Being patient enough to wait for a pitch you can handle forces pitchers to throw in the strike zone and beat you with their stuff. It also allows a hitter to see more pitches, get on base more consistently, and strike out less. Plate discipline is a sign of maturity and understanding in the box, a trait that college coaches love.

Plate discipline goes beyond swinging at strikes and taking balls. It also doesn’t mean that you are passive at the plate. You should still take a "Yes, yes, yes, YES!" or "Yes, yes, yes, NO!" approach to hitting. Plate discipline has to do with swinging at pitches you are looking for and that you can hit hard at a high rate. It’s a skill that helps distinguish between a batter and a hitter. A batter has an approach and a plan that changes from pitch-to-pitch and situation-to-situation. Batters understand that there are ways to help generate offense beyond trying to get a hit on every pitch. A lineup of batters is much more consistent than a lineup of hitters. Hitters are streaky—on a constant roller-coaster. When you rely on getting a hit every AB, you are likely to expand the zone, start pressing when the results aren’t coming, and be at the mercy of the pitcher. When a player swings at pitches he can hit hard on a regular basis and lays off pitches that hitters get themselves out on, he no longer relies on pitchers to make mistakes to be successful.

So how can you improve your plate discipline and turn yourself into a batter that is a true offensive weapon?  Start by understanding which pitches you hit well and which you don’t. Practice working in certain hitting zones during BP and drill work. For example, take inside strikes and swing at strikes on the outer half. Then switch. Or do the same on pitches up and down. Always provide context and situation for your swings. Next, watch the game closely. Pitchers have tendencies and patterns. If you watch every hitter during the game intently, you will gain a lot of information and be able to make much more educated/accurate guesses on what pitch is coming in a given count or situation. This will allow you to sit on a pitch or a speed during leverage counts. Another thing to do is train your eyes like you do your swing! Find ways to get as many visual reps as possible. Stand in on bullpens. Look into vision strengthening games and exercises. Finally, become a student of the game. The more you learn about approach and plate discipline, and the better you understand which pitches you hit well, the tougher out you will become. Not only will these skills turn you into the batter that college coaches want, your team’s offense will benefit immensely as well.

You don't need to have Hunter Dozier's physical tools to improve your offensive value, but you would be smart to copy his blueprint for success. Focus on plate discipline and watch your offensive production improve.

In this podcast episode, we discuss a real life situation of how one of these social media checks resulted in a player getting crossed off a college coach's list, despite showing everything the coach wanted to see on the field. This Daily KPB episode corresponds to THIS written article, which is full of additional links and information on social media use. Check it out for more information!

Additional Articles/Resources:

 Being Smart About Social Media 

Even Little Things Matter To Recruiters 

Recruiters Want Players Who Stay Focused 

Recruiters Want Players With Tools: Always Run a Hard 90 

Recruiters Want Players Who Can Handle Failure 

Your Appearance Matters to Recruiters 

Your Transcript Tells Coaches More Than You Think 

Emotional Versus Rational Decision-Making in the Recruiting Process 

Recruiters Want Players Who Respect Others 

This episode mirrors our written article with the same title. You can read that article here. Here's what we discuss:

 At some point during your college baseball recruitment, an interested college coach is going to turn to your high school or travel coach and ask some variation of the same questions: are you a good teammate? 

If you want to play college baseball, the answer to that question better be a resounding yes. If it isn't, you've got work to do. In this podcast episode, we talk about why that questions always comes up, why it's so important, and why if you want to get the most you can out of baseball and go as far as you can, being a great teammate is priority #1. 

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Are you a good teammate?”

Stop right now and consider that question for yourself. How do you grade out as a teammate? What kind of teammate are you? How would your coach describe you to an interested recruiter? If the answer is anything less than rave reviews, you have work to do. Being a good teammate is rule number one, and if your coach lets on that you are anything less than a good teammate, your recruitment will likely end right there on the spot. There are many boxes a recruit must check off to be seriously considered by a program, but there are only a few question marks that will make a coach red line (cross off) a recruit on the spot. The previously mentioned social media and academics are among these important questions, but even those provide more wiggle room than the teammate question.

In a sport where team culture is talked about almost as much as launch angle, there simply is no room for guys who are going to give anything less than 100% support for the guys next to them on the bench and in the field. Do bad teammates slip through the cracks and end up on college rosters? Sure. Do they get as much out of the college baseball experience? Definitely not. Baseball is a team game, and there is nothing more detrimental to the success of the team than an “I” guy. Coaches seek out energy giving players and there is a place on every college baseball roster for a player whose skills may be a tick below par, but who is a phenomenal team guy, brings positive energy and work ethic every day, and is loved by his teammates. You also won’t have to look far to find examples of college baseball teams performing beyond their capabilities because they love being around each other, pick each other up, and simply don’t want the season and experience to end. A tweet by former William Jessup Head Coach, Jake McKinley captures this idea to perfection after leading their team to the best season in program history. 

He posted a team picture and said, " Teamwork driven by love creates unique momentum that can’t be quantified. Truly an honor to be a part of @Jessup_BASE and @JessupAthletics."

When the wins and losses are tallied up at the end of the season, all you are left with are the relationships that you created and the lessons learned.  College baseball is about creating this unquantifiable synergy with teammates. If you aren’t being the best teammate you can be, the time to change that is now. Not just because it will help you get recruited or help your team win, but because on the most important level, it’s what will give you the most out of this great game and allow you to create meaningful relationships and memories that last a lifetime. 

Virgil Vasquez Bio 

Contact Virgil Vasquez 

Email: itsmevirgil@gmail.com

Twitter: @itsmevirgilv 

Website: www.revolutionthrowing.com (coming soon)

Topics... 

Mindset, Mental Game, Meditation, Process, Draft, Agent, Advisor, Throwing, Arm Path, Mechanics, Training, Pitching, MLB, College, D1

 Thursday, May 2nd is Big Day of Giving (BDOG) and we are asking all of our friends who can afford it to make a donation to support our work helping youth baseball players and families through the college search and recruiting process free of charge! You can make your donation HERE. Read below to find out more about what Big Day of Giving is and why your support is so important!

What is Big Day of Giving?

Big Day of Giving is the Sacramento Regional Community Foundation capacity building program that helps local nonprofits like KPB hone their skills in marketing, social media, and board and donor engagement. The program culminates on Thursday, May 2nd with the 24-hour fundraiser and provides an opportunity for KPB users and supporters all over the country step up to the plate to support our organization with a donation .

Why is it important I give on Big Day of Giving?

 Our goal for our first year of participation in BDOG is to get as many unique donations of any amount as possible, and here’s why: Each donation  that we receive on May 2ndenters KPB into the running for “prize money boosts”. These boosts can mean as much as $1,000 added on to your donation, thanks to Western Health Advantage and the Sacramento Regional Community Fund. That means for one day and one day only, your $15 donation could turn into a $1,015 donation! Visit our BDOG profile HERE to make a donation. 

What will my donation support?

Keep Playing Baseball doesn’t believe in passing the cost of its resources on to players or families. We never want money to dictate who has access to necessary information and resources that they need to make educated and informed decisions in the college search and recruiting process. We want all players to have what they need to play college baseball and earn a college degree. That’s why we aren’t setting up a pay wall to block information to hard working players just because they can’t afford it. We are only asking you to donate if you can and to only donate what you can. To give you an idea of just how much you can make a difference, if each person who used our website during the month of May donated just $10, it would fund our resources for an entire year.

Hopefully you are beginning to see why your donation makes a huge difference in allowing us to improve our free resources and reach more players and families in need of affordable help. Learn about our work and the educational programming that your donation will support in this short video!

How can I make a donation for Big Day of Giving?

Online: To make an online donation to Keep Playing Baseball Click HERE. Prior to May 2nd, donations can be scheduled. On May 2nd, donations can be made in real time!

In-Person:  Come visit our table at Sudwerk Brewery in Davis, CA between 6-9 pm on Big Day of Giving (Thursday, May 2nd) to make your donation in person! We will accept credit cards, checks, and cash at the Big Day at the Dock event and look forward to seeing you there! 

Anytime:  You can make a donation to KPB through our website any day or any time of the year. Just click HERE. 

By now you may be starting to figure out what we are hinting at. The recruiting process is not about what you want to show college coaches, it’s about what they want to see. What we are talking about is reverse engineering the recruiting process. That means the best way to get interest from college coaches is to work backwards and think about what makes college coaches interested in a player. From there, you can go about showing them that you fit that mold. If you need hints about what they are looking for, we asked a few dozen college coaches that very question and wrote about it in What Qualities College Coaches Look for in Recruits Part 1 and Part 2. Be sure to check those out, then keep listening for a more comprehensive overview of how to reverse engineer the recruiting process using the following 3 steps:

Step 1: Start General and Work Towards the Specific

While every college coach has slightly different preferences and each level of college baseball has a different standard of play, there are common characteristics that all coaches value. Start by demonstrating that you are a strong candidate in these 4 core areas:

Coaches will also value your ability to show intangible traits like honesty, trustworthiness, the ability to communicate clearly, and attention to detail, among others.

Step 2: Break down what it means to be good in each core area

There’s a lot that goes into being a college player and each of the 4 core areas listed above have many components. Breaking such big parts of your game down into more manageable chunks is important. The following articles break each core area into 4 actionable steps:

Baseball Tools and Physical Skills

The Mental Game

Strong Grades and Quality Character

Positive Attitude and Great Effort

Step 3: Make it Specific to Each Level, Conference, and School

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Want more of this written article?  Click HERE.

 This is the audio version of the the article Learn How to Study Before You Get to College. Academics should be a focus of the serious recruit at all times and will help ease the transition to college. Here's more:

In college, you’ll be expected to do a lot of studying and homework, and you will have no one to hold you responsible for it except for yourself. If you don’t turn in assignments, the professors won’t get mad at you; they’ll just fail you. It’s tough going from a high school system where you always have someone badgering you to do your work to a college system in which the responsibility is only yours. But without good study skills, you won’t pass your classes, and you definitely won’t be eligible to play ball.

The biggest thing to learn now is how to prioritize. Start learning time management skills in high school so that by the time college rolls around, it’s second nature. Keep track of which assignments are due the soonest, which ones are going to be the hardest, and which are going to take the most time. Don’t be ashamed or afraid to start on things early. It’s a great feeling having a paper ready a few days before it’s even due. A lot of teachers will tell you that it is a good idea to take enough time to revise your work. You always want to turn in a polished product in college (rough drafts won’t cut it), but if you’re comfortable with what you’ve got, even if you have a few days left, just leave it be and move on. What you don’t want is to be rushing an important assignment at the last minute and turning something in that you know is not your best work.

Start working your study schedule around your baseball schedule. If you know that you’re going to have games all day over the weekend, don’t leave your homework for Sunday night. You’ll be exhausted by the time you get to it. It will not be your best work, and it will only drain you more. Figure out your baseball schedule for the week, and be smart about when you’ll have opportunities to study.

If you are someone who procrastinates, work to break that habit now. It seems tough to get motivated to start things early, but the more time management skills you have by the time you get to college, the better off you’ll be.

If nothing else, just remember, the most valuable asset you have in college is your time. You can choose to spend it in whatever way you want. Start learning how to manage your study time in high school. You’ll be able to use those skills in college to become a successful student and athlete.

" You’ll do better in school by not procrastinating. I had a big problem with that in high school. Stay on top of your work. School work has to come first. We don’t have mandatory study hall but our coach pays attention to grades. Keep in contact with your professors. You are usually not going to be the first athlete in class. Staying on top of your work will give you time for other things too. There is a lot of work in DI baseball and a lot of expectations. It’s a pretty heavy workload. – Active D1 Pitcher, PA "

This is the audio version for our website article, Multiple Sports or Single-Sport Specialization? You Decide! Here's what it's all about:

In this podcast and the corresponding article, we try to present a responsible view of the specialization versus multi-sport participation decision as it may actually unfold for a high school baseball player. Doing so requires looking at both options adequately, and that is what we will try to do. 

We look at the opinions of some of the top D1 coaches in college baseball as well as weigh some of the bias that exists when this debate isn't contextualized. The truth is, there is no sweeping answer for all high school players and individual factors and circumstances should be carefully weighed.  

When it comes to deciding between playing multiple sports or single sport specialization in high school, our advice is to make a personal decision based on the following:  

Much more in this podcast episode to consider so give it a listen!

Out of pocket costs are the amount of money you will be expected to pay once academic and baseball scholarships and grant money are taken into account. Out of pocket costs are the amount of money you will have to come up with on your own for your son to attend a college for a year. For example, if BTU offers your son a $5,000 yearly baseball scholarship, a $2,000 academic scholarship on top of that, and you qualify for a $5,000 in federal grant money based on your FAFSA submission, out of pocket costs would be $8,000, which you would reach by subtracting your scholarship and grant money from the total cost of attendance ($20,000—$12,000= $8,000).

Step 4: Determining Amount of Borrowed Money

The amount of money your son would need to borrow or take out in loans would be the Out of Pocket Costs—Your Annual Budget. In the case of the BTU example, if your son wanted to attend BTU, he would need to take out loans totaling at least $3,000/year after subtracting the amount your family can afford to pay ($5,000) from the out of pocket costs ($8,000). If your son is able to maintain his scholarship and grant money each year and graduate in 4 years, he will need to borrow a minimum of $12,000 in student loans. 

We are taking the podcast international, connecting with Singapore-based baseball coach Owen Reid of Reid Baseball.  Reid is an international baseball consultant originally from Missouri. The founder of Reid Baseball, Owen has more than 15 years of experience as a player and coach. He played Division I baseball at Baylor University and Winthrop University, and upon graduating took his game overseas and hasn't looked back. He played 2 professional seasons in Europe, a season in New Zealand, and 3 seasons in Australia. In his post-playing career, Reid has spent time as a strength and conditioning coach for the Baltimore Orioles, the director of The Hit Factory in Singapore, and taken on numerous other coaching opportunities. He currently serves as a coach on the Austrian National Team where he has helped the country move up to the European A Division, in addition to doing baseball coaching and consulting work in multiple countries and continents.

Over the last decade, Reid's baseball expertise has taken him to more than 50 countries on five continents. Through Reid Baseball, Owen maintains a baseball coaching presence throughout Asia, Australia, Europe and the Middle East, working with players and coaches from beginner to elite athletes and Senior National Team players. 

In our conversation, we discuss Reid's college and professional baseball experiences, as well as break down his work as a baseball coach and consultant. We dive into Reid's coaching philosophy and core values, two discussions that we are sure will bring a ton of value to players striving to play college baseball, and coaches looking to help players get there. Reid's discipline and consistency has helped him build a program with values that would help any player prepare for college baseball. Don't miss on the opportunity to apply them to your game!

Where to Connect with Owen

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/thereidbaseball 

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/thereidbaseball/ 

Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/thereidbaseball/ 

Website:  https://reidbaseball.com/ 

Topics

D1, Transferring, Recruiting Process, Confidence, Coaching, Mental Game, Control the Controllables, Effort, Consistency, Competing, International Baseball, MLB

When you are talking to a student of the game, you just know it. That's always the case when John Soteropulos jumps on the mic with us. On this episode, we catch back up with Soteropulos, who was our guest on the popular Episode 4. A cage rat and avid student of the game, this conversation covers a lot of topics that are relevant to high school players looking to play at the next level. Among the topics discussed are off-season training, refining your swing, using data and technology in training, learning to observe with purpose and become a student of the game, the role college plays in preparing players for life when college is over, and some less serious discussions like world series predictions. A theme throughout our discussion is relating high level concepts to high school players, making this episode a great listen for aspiring college players and their parents. 

Topics: 

Coaching, Coachability, Confidence, College Baseball, Studying the Game, Technology in Training, Intent, Off-Season, Recruiting

1. Visit the KPB Big Day of Giving Profile at  https://www.bigdayofgiving.org/KPB. 

2. Click on the "Fundraise" button at the top of the page.

3. Log in or create a free account.

4.  Follow the steps and create your campaign. Be sure to explain why KPB is important to you and why you want people donate! Feel free to use the KPB Fundraising Video as your video using this URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQmSR6qw2eM&t=11s. 

5.  Once your campaign is created, it will be sent to us for approval. Once approved, your campaign will be linked to KPB's page and you can leverage your social network to help Keep Playing Baseball! Just remember you can't start collecting or make a donation until Monday, April 15th! Starting on Monday, April 15th, make sure you share, share, share your campaign!

You can watch a 1 minute video to help you make your campaign right here.  

For more information on Big Day of Giving and why KPB needs your support, visit our website here:  https://keepplayingbaseball.org/bdog2019/ or our Big Day of Giving profile here:  https://www.bigdayofgiving.org/KPB 

Every dollar raised will be used by Keep Playing Baseball to continue to support ballplayers as they chase their college baseball drams with the best free resources around. Thank you in advance for your support!   

Have questions? Email us! keepplayingbaseball@gmail.com

 @Andy_Krei 

 @KCKbaseball 

Topics

JUCO, Recruiting, Offense, Outfielders, Defense, Scholarships, Day in the Life, Culture, Expectations, Academics

Additional Resources

4 Reasons to Consider JUCO Baseball

Considering Community College? Plan Ahead!

KPB Parents Page

Financial Planning: Running a Basic Budget Exercise

College Board College Search Tool

Loan Repayment Calculator 

Twitter: @cfletchmob  

Email: Christopher.Fletcher@williamwoods.edu

Topics:

NAIA, Recruiting, Offense, Defense, Contacting Coaches, Video, Scholarships, Academics

Find Tony on Twitter: @TonyArnerich 

Topics

Catching, Leadership, Mental Game, Training, Recruiting, Player Evaluation, Winning Culture

In this episode we sit down with Minnesota Twins AA Catcher, Mitchell Kranson. Kranson, a former standout with Cal Baseball and graduate of UC Berkeley had a great career for the Golden Bears, including this walk-off home run in the 2015 Regional in College Station. We pick Kranson's brain about the recruiting process, what it takes to play at the highest level of college baseball, preparing for a season, game day routine, and much more. Not only is Kranson one of the good guys in baseball, but you won't want to miss his advice and insight into what it takes to be a successful recruit, college player, and professional. Listen in!

Mitchell Kranson on Twitter: @mkranson20

Topics...

Recruiting, Academics, Pac-12, D1, Power 5, Preparation, Routine, Off-Season, Catching

We are excited to bring back Demetre Kokoris, who now serves as the pitching coach for the Vancouver Canadians, the Class A Short Season affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. You may remember Coach K from episodes 8 and 9, when he was the pitching coach at D2 Point Loma Nazarene. Now that he's in pro baseball, Coach K really opens up and shares an honest view of the college baseball recruiting process. The enthusiasm for helping players and parents through the recruiting process is still there and the information is even better. Listen in for an insider's look at the recruiting process in our wide ranging conversation which gets into the college baseball information at  around the 12 minute mark.

If you want to connect with Coach Kokoris or have questions, he encourages you to send him a DM on Twitter where you can find him @CoachKokoris. 

Topics: 

Projectability, Finding a College Fit, Recruiting, Red Flags in Recruiting, Junior College, JUCO, D1, D2, D3, Offer Deadlines, Social Media, Program Research, College Visits, Scholarship Offers, Decision Making

In this episode, we sit down and talk shop with Lewis and Clark College Head Coach Matt Kosderka. The hour-long episode goes quickly as Coach Kosderka drops all kinds of informational nuggets and knowledge about D3 baseball, how to find a college program, recruiting at an academic school, player development, and much more. 

A standout pitcher at Willamette University, Kosderka was the NWC Player of the Year and drafted by the Texas Rangers. After his pro baseball career ended, Kosderka returned to the Pacific Northwest, where he was elected to the Willamette Athletics Hall of Fame and has found coaching success in the high school and college ranks. Kosderka took over as head coach for the Lewis and Clark College in 2017, and after listening to this episode, you'll see why the future is bright for the Pioneers.

We found ourselves nodding in agreement as Coach Kosderka shared his knowledge and you won't miss this episode with the founder of the Twitter catching development group, #MaskUpMonday!

Coach Kosderka on Twitter: @Kosderka18  

Topics:

Recruiting, D3 Baseball, Catching, Pitching, Hitting, Player Development, High Academic Schools, Culture, Strength & Conditioning