You seem to have taken this one to heart.
It was not directed at you or your program. Just "unsolicited" advice directed into the universe.
If kids and their families want to make commitments before making visits, that is their deal.
My experience is that in some (not all) circumstances kids and parents that have not been through this process may choose to bypass visiting the places that are obvious choices for them to go play at places at are obviously not good choices for them because they feel they'd be letting down their teammates that weekend.
Rich
www.playinschool.com
I have coches turn in lineup cards with no uniform numbers
TR, was that meant for this thread?
quote:If kids and their families want to make commitments before making visits, that is their deal.
I certainly don't recommend that. But most serious, academics/campus life exposure will actually happen on a weekday visit anyway -- you know, the way non-athletes do their tours.
If someone is on the verge of committing and needs a day or two away, sure we'll accommodate that too. Or if the coach really wants an intensive look and wants a kid at his camp for a day or a weekend, we'll do that, too. But to just skip an entire team trip because it's based at a campus that is not of interest to you, to me that's just undermining your team while also expecting the team to serve your interests. You don't have to skip weekends that may not be right up your alley in order to get your tours done. And you shouldn't.
With the start of high school baseball in our area I'd like to welcome everyone back to Tip of the Week.... where I dole out completely unsolicited advice for those that care.
Sometimes real world experiences lead me to tips. Other times its just stuff that is rattling around in my head. Names have been changed or omitted to protect the innocent. If you think I'm talking about you... I'm not. Its just your conscience speaking to you.
Tip of the Week...
Coaches:
Know your players grades. Verify your players grades with their counselor. If your player tells you they have a 3.0 they are either lying or they dont know. 3.0 is code for both. I know a high school coach and a travel coach that coach the same kid. Both tell me his grades are 3.0. Neither can confirm that or SATs. Kid has D1 skill with big league body. Why are no schools touching him? Kid can barely spell SAT. Confirmed through multiple college coaches that can't get the kid in. Really too bad because his coaches are spinning wheels wasting time pointing the kid in wrong direction and wondering whats going on.
Players:
Saw a great tweet from Redbird last night... "fundamentals > swag".
For those that don't speak "text" you may recognize ">" as the "greater than" sign from your math class.
So players, please, for the love of everyone coming to see your games, please work on your fundamentals. Practice hitting your teammate in the chest with throws. Practice hitting ground balls the other way. Practice laying sac bunts down. And for goodness sake, learn your coaches signals! You will thank me. And all the fans will thank you!
Parents:
This may be a repeat from a previous Tip of the Week but its important. Support your players high school coach. THEY ARE VOLUNTEERS. That is capitalized on purpose. Because where I come from a $2,000 stipend that equals about a $0.05 per hour over the course of the season is volunteering. If they were in it for the money they'd be better off working at Starbucks. So give the guys a break. And if you have that big a problem, perhaps you should volunteer next year.
Hope we don't lose the entire week to rain!
Rich