longwood university

They recruited me, they mainly take instate players. Fairly new to division 1 and joining a conference in the next year or two. Beat a few strong teams I believe.

Do a search for Longwood on here. MidloDad has discussed them previously.

quote:

Originally posted by LIONS10:
They recruited me, they mainly take instate players. Fairly new to division 1 and joining a conference in the next year or two. Beat a few strong teams I believe.

For better or worse, they largely rely on a network of former players turned high school coaches in order to recruit players. Of course they do recruit other players as well, but you just rarely see their coaches out seeing players.

They're not a school that's going to attract the very best D1 recruits for a variety of reasons. However, you will see some guys that are overlooked by other D1 schools go there and thrive. I think that in order for them to take the next step, they'll have to become better at developing players, but that isn't a strength in my opinion.

There is hope of them joining a conference soon, but saying that it will happen in the next one to two years may be optimistic. Unless I'm overlooking someone, it looks like they do play every D1 in Virginia. However, they do play those schools almost exclusively in mid-week games, obviously, since the other D1 schools play their conference games on the weekend.

Send me a PM, I can give you an e-mail address for a former teammate of ours who is now one of their top pitchers, just finished his freshman year there. He seems to have enjoyed it a lot. I would categorize him as one of those who got overlooked by other D-1's and is flourishing there.

Longwood from a baseball perspective would be a great fit for the Big South, but the Big South has said no repeatedly because Longwood does not offer football. They are having a very tough time finding any conference to take them, in all honesty. It presents some challenges for scheduling, and also virtually rules out any chance of an NCAA bid.

Beyond that, we have many area kids who have landed there and seem to love it. Their recruiting network in VA is very strong, and they play competitively against a pretty respectable schedule. It's a true "college town" (small town in a rural setting) atmosphere and a relatively small school for D-1 as well (I think less than 4,000 students).

Longwood I think will be one of those universities that, like James Madison 25 years ago, will expand in size tremendously in the coming years, and that will expand their recognition and alumni network. It wouldn't surprise me in the least to see Longwood with over 10,000 students 15 years from now.

Let me add this as well....my brother played baseball there and also enjoyed his time there. We're from Farmville, so the pros and cons about the area didn't surprise him. There isn't a lot in Farmville, but it's growing and it's a nice town. When college is in, there is plenty to do and I think most people enjoy their time there.

Also, you'll hear some absolutely hilarious stories about Coach Bolding and the stuff he says and does. He certainly doesn't coddle his players, but he is loyal to his guys (even if that loyalty is sometimes reflected more off the field or after graduation than with playing time).

If you or your sons have had specific experiences with the school/program, please PM me. I will have some specific questions for you...

Many thanks!!!!

Please post as much as you can in this open forum, as many folks are interested in genuine perspectives and information on these schools (in this case, Longwood). I like the PM format for private stuff, but if it can be said publicly, please post it for the benefit of all. Thanks.

Longwood University is a beautiful school. In my opinion it is a mini version of UVA, as far as the building is concerned. The baseball program is much different from other programs. Offense is everything! If you can hit, then you have a chance. But you have to really hit. As far as getting better there, you are on your own. You have to get extra hours in on your own because the program won't make you better in itself. The coaches are great people. Scott Abell and Billy Daniels are the future of the Longwood coaching staff. That is the upside. The downside is that until Bolding retires (2012?), it is an entirely old school program. In every way.

And just what is wrong with being an " old school program", as you term it?

Well I mean no disrespect to anyone who is "old school," but what I am trying to say is the game is always changing and there are new techniques taught that can make ball players better. Please don't read into it to much. I'm just saying, when I played there we didn't condition, we didn't lift, and we didn't even take infield/outfield during practice. Four hours of straight batting practice.

I know both assistant coaches quite well...and both will be adding some exciting new blood into the program. I can vouch for both of them as quality individuals. Coach Bolding, I do not know, though.

Coach Abell and Coach Daniels will definetly bring the Longwood baseball program in the right direction. Two very young coaches with a ton of knowledge.

FYI....my son has committed to play for Longwood this coming season....needless to say, we are very excited.....

My son is very excited......should be signing his NLOI this week.

Coach Abell was VERY emphatic that conditioning and lifting will play a big part of the Lancer program, beginning NOW.

JUST an FYI.....Coach Daniels is no longer with Longwood. At least that is what we were told on our visit to Longwood on May 28.

Congrats to your son...FYI..I play for Longwood

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