First-time post! My son's hard work paid off and he accepted a D3 offer to pitch. He's playing summer ball and his college coach told him he'd share a workout program. But I keep hearing freshman season is a huge jump for HS kids, and there are no guaranteed roster spots in D3. Do any of you grizzled vets have tips on what my kid can do to get a jump on the competition this fall? Also, what are the pros and cons of having a teammate as a roommate?
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Congratulations to your son!
Playing baseball in college is like having a full time job (maybe worse) on top of academics. Fall will be lighter than Spring at D3, but there will still be 4-5 weeks of coached baseball (in most conferences) including scrimmages. There will also be conditioning and weight training year round, including in season.
In my experience, coaches use the Fall to determine their roster (if it's not already set) and who are their go to guys for Spring (starting line up, travel roster, etc.). If your son does not have a guaranteed Spring roster spot, then he must shine and beat other pitchers out in Fall for the roster spot.
What can he do this Summer to put him in the best possible position when he steps on to campus this Fall?
You did not suggest this, but I'll say it anyway, playing only a lot of Summer games isn't the greatest use of time IMHO for a rising college Freshman pitcher. Playing some games is important. Getting bigger and stronger is imperative. Becoming a better pitcher, e.g., increasing velocity and improving command, is critical. Driveline, TX/FL/AZ Ranches, et.al., all have Summer programs and I strongly recommend Kyle Boddy, Ron Wolforth, Randy Sullivan...these guys know what they're doing.
Regarding baseball roommates, my guys have done both and there are pros and cons. I think it's a very good idea as a freshman since non-academic schedules will be very similar for the boys. And instantly having friends and a "tribe" is really helpful to the college transition. That said, my freshman and his roommate / teammate didn't get along as the year went on (something about the other kid's girlfriend).
Super Groovy posted:First-time post! My son's hard work paid off and he accepted a D3 offer to pitch. He's playing summer ball and his college coach told him he'd share a workout program. But I keep hearing freshman season is a huge jump for HS kids, and there are no guaranteed roster spots in D3. Do any of you grizzled vets have tips on what my kid can do to get a jump on the competition this fall? Also, what are the pros and cons of having a teammate as a roommate?
I'm not qualified to offer advice but just wanted to say congrats!
Congrats Super Groovy. There are a couple things that immediately come to mind. First, is to show up in the best physical shape possible from the workouts your son's coach is providing. If he doesn't provide them then have him do it on his own. Fall season is where jobs are won and coaches opinions are formed. Don't take the Fall season or tryouts lightly. The second is to never get behind on school work, and seek help immediately if time management becomes an issue. There are others but those were the big ones from this parents perspective.
Good luck with his new journey!
Thanks for the quick responses. It's been an incredible journey for my kid to get to where he is. I'm proud of him but know there's still tons of work...along with lots of good times...in the months ahead.
Baseball wise, show up in shape. Have your arm fresh but ready. Academically show up to every class. Do not skip classes. Some get missed due to baseball. Stay up to date on homework. Never pass on today academically and tell yourself you will catch up tomorrow. It gets harder every day you fall behind. With the exception of some majors college isn't that hard if you keep up to date.
Branson, would your advice be similar for position players?
Yes.
I presume most players going to college from high school have played a lot of games in their last high school season (and maybe every high school season and Summer prior). Some will have played every inning of every game.
From a baseball standpoint, showcases are in the rear view mirror. The player still needs to play some Summer games to stay sharp in live action. And the player can get bigger, faster, and stronger. Work on running speed. Put some good lbs. on. Improve your bat speed and throwing velocity. And get more baseball training, e.g., infield, batting, etc. A player can get better in this rising freshman Summer and should be focused on doing so IMHO.
When that 18 or 19 year old gets to college, particularly a four year college, they will be competing against 21, 22, and 23 year olds. Grown men who've been through the grind that the newbies have never experienced.
5am lifts or conditioning workouts. 4, 5, or 6 college classes. Daily mandatory or "optional" practices. Lots of scrimmaging. Not a lot of down time. No Mom or Dad to fall back on. Laundry. Hygiene. Roommate problems. The dining hall is closed? When am I going to sleep?? The coach is a screamer. My professor is too demanding....
And there's a lot of great stuff too. Particularly if the kid eats and breathes baseball and camaraderie.
Super Groovy congrats to you, your son and your family. Most HS players don't get the chance to continue playing. Getting a roster spot at an NCAA program is a big deal.
You've received some terrific advice here. All of it true as best as I can tell. My son is a freshman at a D1 program in the south. I'll share some of the dialog from a phone call we had last fall.
Me: " So, what's it like facing D1 pitching?"
Son: "Well, basically you get in the box and before your comfortable your down 0-2...Then your just finished. The breaking pitches are filthy......It took me a week to figure out you're only gonna get 1 pitch to hit. Gotta get in the box ready to go....load up first pitch"
Me: " What else? "
Son: " All the freshman have like a curse....big PG guys that are really good just suck. None of the freshman seem as good as the other guys"
Me: " How's the school work?"
Son: "IT'S SO HARD.......YOU HAVE NO IDEA"
Manage your time wisely.
Just because they can do it doesn't mean you can or should.
Stay focused on what's important.
If you need help get out in front of it and ask for help.
Show up in the best shape of your life.
Showcase baseball is over. If you can't command you won't pitch.
When you have free time , sleep.
Be prepared for baseball....but also be prepared for school and a ridiculous schedule. My son took quite a while to get aclimated to college life his freshman fall, and his schedule was nowhere near as rigorous as some other D1's with regard to baseball. His spring was better and this year he has had no issues at all. HS kids aren't used to scheduling 4-5 hours/day for baseball....and another 3+ minimum for study/homework. If they have a "study table" type of program available, I would suggest strongly that he take advantage of it. If my son hadn't he would have been in deep #### lol. I don't know your son, where he fits in with measurables, velocity, etc, but that seems to kind of take care of itself. From my son's freshman class, the guys who have performed are playing....the guys who haven't arent. The issue is you don't get a lot of chances....so make the most of them right away.....once you fall toward the bottom of the roster as far as playing time/practice reps, etc, it's really hard to climb back up toward the top. Good luck to your son, enjoy it
Interesting topic.
My kid thought he was going to play on a Connie Mack team with a busy schedule. Now he tells me that he's thinking about not playing so he can rest his arm and body, hit the gym, make money, and spend some time with friends.
My thought is that is fine, but he needs to get at least some reps - maybe see if he can play weekends only - and that just going to the gym by himself could be counterproductive. Work with a trainer and a speed trainer to get more direction.
I like Coach May's comment on sleep. This reminds me of my stepdad - he served on a destroyer in the Pacific during WWII that was in multiple battles. He said that since the ship was on 2 watches on, 1 watch off (8 hours - 4 hours) for weeks at a time, you had to learn to fall asleep immediately. Obviously, it's apples and oranges, but my kid learned a similar skill during his travel ball years. Get up, get in the car, go to sleep. Play, get in the car, go to sleep. Get home, do homework, go to sleep. It's one reason I feel my kid will do well in college. He can go to sleep on a dime, and just as important, knows how to wake up in the morning on his own.
Congrats! I agree with comments re getting bigger/stronger, mixing in some reps here and there. But that can be easier said than done as everyone feels the need to play, play, play. Rooming with another ball player -- similar schedules, experiences, challenges -- seemed to assist our son with the college transition. Freshman should consider keeping a close eye as to how the key players on the team are conducting themselves training-wise and model as appropriate.
Eat, sleep, study. Send care packages loaded with Met-Rx protein bars!
A lot of programs lift in the morning, like 6:30 in the morning. This is tough on freshman not ready for it. Be late, get cut. Have your son find out when they lift and condition, then spend the summer getting acclimated to those hours.
Everything is pretty well covered here. I will add that D3 is where some variances come into play. Some have the same stringent schedule, similar to other divisions. Some are not nearly the same. Some don't start fall until later than expected. He should prepare for the most difficult scenario but not get frustrated if others are starting and his school is not. This timing thing would be something to inquire about.
Roommates -
Pro's - same fraternity of brothers he will pretty much be living with in his baseball world, ride share opportunities, understanding each other's challenges, motivate each other, train together, keep each other on task and on time, often similar class schedules due to practice times, same diet objectives so shared food.
Cons - if one get's cut, it can be quite uncomfortable. If they don't like each other, ditto. I will say, though, that they will spend so much time together with baseball, all the guys usually end up figuring out how to coexist and eventually become brothers, even if things don't start out that way.
I'd say mostly good, even more so if he can pick someone he knows something about. Not always the case. If in the dorms, sometimes the coach will just assign roomies.
To summarize others... he should come fully prepared to compete for his spot in the pecking order day 1. Often, that is just conditioning but still competing. He needs to be prepared physically, baseball skills sharp, and mentally ready to tackle the school/baseball combo.
Question for you... D3 offers no athletic scholly. To what extent and how did the coach offer a secure spot with the team? What is the history with this school in regards to fall cuts?
For a pitcher:
1. Get in the gym, with the correct workouts. Lower body key.
2. Get into driveline or wolforth program - this is a MUST DO! Velocity does matter!
3. Work on secondary pitches. Most HS pitchers don't have command of secondary pitches so work on them.
4. I would only pitch enough to work on mechanics and secondary pitches. Once a week max, maybe every other week. If not them just pitch simulated games with some friends.
5. Roommates require some luck. My son's school purposely did not group athletes from the same program together for diversity. My son roomed with a tennis athlete so he developed a base of diverse friends. Baseball players will automatically become tight so I actually prefer a broader group and perspectives.
6. Come into school in the best shape ever, but mentally fresh. Fall is where he will have a chance to separate himself. This will be key for him.
Continue to read for fun for comprehension does not drop off during the summer.
Have fun!!
Congrats. Son had the luxury of enrolling summer before (funded by school) and got normalized there with other incoming 2015s. They worked out alot which dovetails with the advice suggested here. Condition as well so you have that edge to finish when called upon. Get ready for failure and be resolute...believe, you are there for a reason.
The first live batter son faced, he threw a cutter that didnt cut.....ball ended up in the trees.
Enjoy the ride and best of luck!
JCG posted:My kid thought he was going to play on a Connie Mack team with a busy schedule. Now he tells me that he's thinking about not playing so he can rest his arm and body, hit the gym, make money, and spend some time with friends.
So much for that plan. Coach has told 2017 that he wants him to play this summer, so that's that.
I believe this conference does only unofficial practices in the fall, so it makes sense. Hitters need reps.
Cabbage said:
Question for you... D3 offers no athletic scholly. To what extent and how did the coach offer a secure spot with the team? What is the history with this school in regards to fall cuts?
The answer in our case is dunno and don't care. The school is very high academic. Coach has (I think) 6 slots per year and if he wasted one on a kid who can't contribute that's his problem. I'm just happy the kid is going where he's going regardless of baseball. OTOH looking at stats for the team over the past season I think he will contribute. He's a speed guy and their most prolific base-stealer got 8 SB's with 3 CS. I'm highly confident my 2017 will improve on that. He's 22 SB - 1 CS right now with at least a handful of those coming off D1 catchers.
Agree with previous posting regarding the importance of conditioning and being physically ready when fall comes around, so I really don't have anything to add there.
But with regards to roommates, my son found it very advantageous to have teammates as roommates. For his freshman year at college he really didn't have a choice as they were required to be in on campus in dorms and there were 6 roommates to a unit. He found it helpful with regard to managing his schedule and not being so much side tracked by activities of other students. The roommates, being all ballplayers, shares same scheduling issues where they helped each other in keeping each other on track when it came to various meetings or even with regards to other outside activities. Son moved off campus in sophomore year and shared a rental with several other players and even a non-player who enjoyed being with baseball players. When rooming with non-players, their schedules and priorities can be very different and the relationship can tend to interfere. It's not that being with non-players can't be manged or work out just fine. But Son just found it to be very advantageous when dealing with 80+ hours a week on two jobs (Baseball Player and Student).
It can be hard for an athlete to room with a non athlete. The non athlete has a lot of free time. He may not understand the athlete doesn't have a lot of free time. The non athlete may become a distraction.
An athlete has to be academically disciplined. My freshman roommate/teammate was an enginnering major. i was an Econ major. Math was easy for me. I could sell him on a little time away from the books Thursday night won't hurt. He was off the team (per his father) and on academic probation (per the school) soph year.
I remember during fall semester finals we could hit the party, have a couple of beers, hit on some girls, head back to the dorm, take a shower to get alert and study a couple more hours. We never got to the return and study part. It's ok foran elective gut course. But not for an engineering final.
Abraham Lincoln once commented to Harriet Beecher Stowe, "So you're the little woman who wrote the book that made this Great War." My roommate's father referred to be as the roommate who helped flunk his son out of college. He made him live at home and commute after a year with me.
Congratulations to your son and your family. Enjoy the next few months with him home! Here are some tips:
This summer should be spent getting your reps against good competition, and getting in the best physical shape possible. Your freshman fall is huge in so many ways. You are making a statement for the next four years of your life on the field, in the classroom and socially. Going in physically prepared will put you way ahead of the game on the ball field. Until this point you’ve focused totally on getting there. You’ve committed, you’ve been accepted, now it’s time to prepare to wear the uni.
What can I expect Freshman year? The short answer is you can expect more. More of everything. College coaches also expect more from you than your high school coach did.
Here are some of the ‘more’s’ you can expect.
I guarantee your first college practice you’ll leave exhausted. Not because coach made you run poles or sprints, but because the volume of everything is turned up to a point you aren’t used to. More throws, more swings, more focus on each pitch with an intensity that you haven’t seen yet. Your brain will hurt as much as your hands and feet.
In high school ‘opportunity’ to win a job is limited. You practice less, the season is shorter, etc. In college you are coached all year long. Opportunities don’t come in games in college. Opportunities come a million different ways before the game is ever played. Team meetings, team lifts, individuals, grades, behavior, practice, THEN games. These are all opportunities that you are being evaluated on. Everything you do matters. People who think opportunity only comes in during the season are sadly mistaken.
Because of the intense focus, the volume, the millions of opportunities for playing time players are under greater pressure to perform. The difference is you are more prepared to perform in college. With more focus on your reps, with a higher volume of reps, with more opportunity comes being more prepared to perform. The players who take these seriously and make everything matter are the ones who perform when the bell rings. A lot of jobs have been won on a pinch-hit at bat, or a mop up start. Those guys were ready when called upon. A lot of jobs have also been lost in a pinch-hit at bat, or a mop up start.
I hate saying it’s your job for four years, but it essentially is. Schoolwork comes first no matter where you go to school. If you can’t make the grades then you can’t play. Baseball comes next and when you aren’t in the classroom you are available to your coach. There are NCAA rules and coaches are also conscious of college kids needing to have a life but it is a major commitment no matter the division.
Every summer college coaches travel the country recruiting. That’s how they found you. I’ll let you in on a secret about recruiting… Coaches try to recruit a better class each year than the year before. Do the math, as a senior the coaches are shooting to have that freshman class be 4 times better than your class. It doesn’t always happen that way, but you catch my drift. It’s all about competition. That means you have to win your job every year. You have to beat the guys next to you, in front of you, and the class coming in behind you. It’s a constant cycle of competition. There is no ‘he plays because he’s a senior’. Nope. Doesn’t happen. If he’s playing, he’s earned it.
Colleges are breeding grounds of temptation in so many ways. There is less supervision and more ‘extra curriculars,’ so to speak. Certain guys succumb to temptation and put other things ahead of baseball and grades. More careers go down the drain off the field than on it. My college coach had a great line that he would use timely throughout the year. He would say, “there are three aspects to your four years. There’s the classroom, the ballfield, and the dorm. You can only be really good in 2 of those places. You pick the two.”
Seems like a pretty big commitment, right? On top of all of it, you are going to disagree with your coach, and you are going to call home complaining about him at some point, I guarantee it. He’s going to get on you. He’s going to yell at you and sometimes it will happen in front of all of your teammates. You won’t like it. You can pout, or you can learn from it.
College baseball is not a scary thing that is all pressure and calls home to mom. Being a college athlete is the best way to spend your time at school. It adds so much to the entire experience. You have 30+ friends when you walk in the door. You have structure. You have the chance to be really good at something other than school work. You get to keep playing the game you love. You’ll get to experience things that the ordinary student wouldn’t dream of. Are there times you will be upset? Yes. Are there times you’ll call home complaining? Yes. Do the good times outweigh the tough times? ABSOLUTELY.
I agree with and have seen what Strained Oblique mentions in terms of some of the freshman pro prospects struggling at first, especially drafted kids. But the one thing this thread is missing is girls. My son would have this to say to yours, "School's excellent but girls are toxic." Focus on teammate, staff, and teacher relationships and make the most of that. The girl stuff will happen over time, but it isn't ever going to make you better at baseball.
There are always exceptions to the that girl thing. My son met his wife his RS Soph year in college. She was the best thing that ever happened to him. She was an honor student, soccer player, so focused and quite honestly an awesome person. She was the anchor my son needed right when he needed it the most. She helped with study habits, helped him in so many ways. Yes when he was a freshman they were from the Devil. Lol. But sometimes the best defense from "those" girls is the right girl.
The recruiting coach told my son to arrive in September in the best shape of his life. It was great advice!
