Walk On Question

Sorry, one great story of a very successful walk on is Eckstein, just to be more clear.

There is a huge difference between a recuited walk on vs a walk on with no/limited contact with the coaches. A recruited walk on generally has a spot allocated for him and the coaches think the player can fit in the program. Just walking on without being recruited is doable but very risky.

Like risky in what way? I do realize that it is much less of a chance at a spot but in what other ways?

? Less of a chance for a spot on a roster...well yeah! What more risk does a baseball player need?

If you are walking on to a reasonable schools baseball field without the coach's knowledge, you will be lucky to play in the fall and then most likely get cut by spring. It is as simple as that and a choice of last resort, other than if a program has a JV team or a club team (then those ideas would be the last resort).

JV teams do not usually feed varsity teams either, so do not expect to make a JV program and believe that the natural progression is to play varsity next season. It just does not work that way.

Most programs have 35 slots and they have a pretty good idea who those slots are allocated to, with a couple of extras just in case someone gets injured or does not develop, etc. Those kids are usually notified that they will be competing for the few remaining spots. So if Johhny Walkon just shows up without any advanced knowledge of the coach, he knows nothing about your athletic capabilities, your potential, your academic situation, your family, nothing. You are a big risk to him over the other kids that he has most likely been following, met with them and their families, reviewed and seen for at least a year and developed relationships with. So this means you are going to have to be SIGNIFICANLY better in a very short window of time in the fall to get his attention. Walkons typically have a one to two day tryout. Your generally are not going to get the full fall to show your stuff.

Now, if he puts you on the roster then he most likely have to take someone off who he has told for the past year that they have a good shot of making. I am not saying it can't be done, but there is a huge risk associated with trying it this way.

So what questions do you ask if you are a recruited walk on? How many roster spots are unfilled and left for any type of walk on? If you are a recruited walk on, like the school and can pay the tuition and the coaches is saying you have a good chance to make the team do kids often make the team under those circumstances?

"..have a good chance to make the team...." is not a commitment to anything. The biggest problem with attempting to walkon is the limited oppourtnities to be seen by the coach in a favorable light during fall workouts. i.e. is he letting you hit on the field against his ace, or some other guy?

Obvioulsy if you are a pitcher and throw 90 walking on should not be a problem, but thats not usually the case....

Look at it this way, 35 man roster, 8 are most likely considered reserve players.

Also keep in mind, you only need 9 players to play the game.

I've seen lots of players in the last few years that thought they were "promised" a spot on a team as a walk-on. In reality they talked to the coach that said they could try to walk-on. That's not the same as being a recruited walk-on with a guaranteed roster spot. It's pretty risky to walk-on unless the coach has specified you have a roster spot, just no scholarship money available.

Son's best friend is a walk on, got called after the June draft, coach lost a player to the draft. He still had to earn his spot and has done so. He works very hard and gives 110%. He and son are having the time of their lives living together and playing baseball together for one last time. Lucky boys.

It helped him in that our son and myself recommended him so it wasn't as if the coach went in blindly. He was told by coach up front his roster spot wasn't assured.

You will not have to ask if your a recruited walk on. You will be recruited - they just will not offer you any money. And this can be for several reasons. All the money has already been given out. They believe you will come with no money so why offer it. A recruited walk on is a player that they believe has a chance to help the program. You may prove them right or you may prove them wrong. Recruited walk ons are told they have a roster spot for the spring. If your not told you will have a roster spot in the spring and you will have to earn it in the fall thats not a recruited walk on. That is simply a walk on. That is my def of recruited walk on vs walk on.

Very very very few "true" walk ons ever make a roster at a major college program. And now with the 35 man roster limits its even more rare. Coaches have the numbers already worked out before the fall even begins. They know who the def keepers are. They know who the likely keepers are. And they already know who the border line guys are. Most rosters will be fairly close to even set before the fall ever begins. There is always some extra numbers to give them some wiggle room. Players who see the writing on the wall for playing time and want to transfer after the fall. Players who are academic casualties. Players who get into some kind of off the field trouble. Draft issues.

Its a very risky if not crazy thing to do for a kid who has def college options to turn those down and walk on "try out" for a major college program. I hear the Eckstein thing thrown up a lot when we are talking about walk ons. Eckstein was a stud and you can bet the coaches knew who he was coming in. You can bet he was capable of performing at a very high level coming in and in a manner to stand out by his performance against the competition. If your as good as he was in college then by all means go for it you shouldn't have any problem making the team.

quote:

Originally posted by Coach_May:
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Very very very few "true" walk ons ever make a roster at a major college program. And now with the 35 man roster limits its even more rare. Coaches have the numbers already worked out before the fall even begins. They know who the def keepers are. They know who the likely keepers are. And they already know who the border line guys are. Most rosters will be fairly close to even set before the fall ever begins. There is always some extra numbers to give them some wiggle room. Players who see the writing on the wall for playing time and want to transfer after the fall. Players who are academic casualties. Players who get into some kind of off the field trouble. Draft issues.

Its a very risky if not crazy thing to do for a kid who has def college options to turn those down and walk on "try out" for a major college program. I hear the Eckstein thing thrown up a lot when we are talking about walk ons. Eckstein was a stud and you can bet the coaches knew who he was coming in. You can bet he was capable of performing at a very high level coming in and in a manner to stand out by his performance against the competition. If your as good as he was in college then by all means go for it you shouldn't have any problem making the team.

One of my favorite players is Bobby Scales, currently an infielder in the Cubs organization. He was a true walk-on at the University of Michigan, became team captain of their Big Ten championship team, and was drafted. He has had several short stints in the majors...not sure where he'll be this year. He has said that at every level he's had people tell him he wasn't good enough to go to the next level, but he proved them wrong by simply outworking everyone around him (he taught himself to switch hit IN COLLEGE). I know these stories are the exception rather than the rule, but they still are nice to hear! You just never know

Blue 10 I love those type of stories myself. And I am sure there are many more out there. My post was not intended to say don't chase your dreams. But simply understand the odds going in.