What coaches look for?

quote:

Originally posted by njbaseballkid2015:
What do coaches look for, or prefer more? An athletic player with raw talent that needs work? Or a solid ballplayer that isn't the best athlete?

A great question that can answer itself to a certain extent. Put yourself in the coach's shoes. If you had your druthers, you would prefer the great athlete who is also a solid ballplayer.

Since things are usually not that clear, I think coaches will overlook some athletic deficiencies if they see a kid who will sell-out to make himself better. A kid who wants it bad enough will improve himself athletically to where that is no longer an issue. From the great Bruce Lee "Talent creates opportunity, but it is desire that creates talent."

Similarly to what I just said, if a coach finds a raw athletic kid with great upside potential, he'll likely be willing to take a chance on him as well if he thinks the kid will continue to improve himself.

In one case, a raw kid might have to focus more on the skills side of the game whereas the grinder-type kid might have to focus more on the physical improvement type of game.

There are no perfect answers here but remember this. Coaches will often recruit guys who are like themselves. Thus, some coaches might perfer raw guys with tons of upside who they can mold whereas other coaches might prefer more polished guys even if they have to sacrifice some athleticism. Ideally, a coach is looking for both however. It usually is not an either/or proposition.

If you are one or the other, then get busy improving that area of your game while still continuing to improve on the other.

njbk,

It may not answer your specific question, but you may be interested in one of our downloadable transcripts titled "Recruiting through the Eyes of a Coach." It's from an interview with former Vanderbilt assistant, and now Oklahoma State head coach Josh Holliday. You can find it here:

http://www.informedathlete.com/store#

Good luck!

quote:

Coaches will often recruit guys who are like themselves.

Fantastic 'pearl' in the middle of that response (the rest was good too! ).

quote:

Originally posted by justbaseball:

quote:

Coaches will often recruit guys who are like themselves.

Fantastic 'pearl' in the middle of that response (the rest was good too! ).

When my son was in high school the varsity coach wasn't fond of playing sophs. I told my son he didn't need to shave his head. But get rid of the long, floppy, wavy hair. He shocked me with a crew cut. The coach loved him. He was the first soph starter opening day in six years.