Getting Better and Growing Stronger
“Play a lot of summer ball: it prepares you more like a college level. Really utilize the fall and the winter to get ahead of the competition to get a spot on the team, to get playing time.” –Active D1 Pitcher, CA
“Being a pitcher is really about working on your mechanics, so watch professional players and dissect how they do things since they are mechanically doing it right. Work on your mechanics so that you can get the maximum potential out of your body. For me, it was a lot of observation of pitchers similar to me, whether in the pros or college—people I could watch video on. You can learn from the pros and obviously, practice, practice, and more practice. But observe people at the top level and take pieces of what you see and put it into your game.” –Active D1 Pitcher, CA
Confidence
“Confidence is huge. I remember playing my first college series as a true freshman thinking this isn’t that different from high school. Everyone is a little bigger, but it’s the same game. As a freshman with a lot less talent than I had as a senior, I sometimes felt more comfortable and confident than I did as a senior. Confidence is a big issue. That’s something that our coach stressed a lot, probably one of the biggest parts of the mental game of baseball is confidence.” –Daniel Cepin, Outfielder, UC Davis (2008-2011)
“Practice hard in the off season. Prepare physically and mentally. The mental part of the game is big. You have to have a winning attitude out there or you are going to get eaten up.” –Active D1 Pitcher, CA
The Recruiting Process
“Make sure on your recruiting visits to ask the players about the coach. This should really be an art form as it is important to keep in mind that 1) players will probably tend to rate the coach favorably to a recruit, and 2) some players are very outspoken and may extremely like/dislike the coach. If you ask a bunch of players in a group, you probably won’t find out whether or not everyone really likes or dislikes him. If you ask guys one on one, your feedback will probably be helpful. A coach can make or break your college baseball experience so finding out everything/anything about him is very important.” – David Ames, Infielder, Carleton College, MN (2008-2011)
“Make sure you know what you are getting into. Any sport in college is an extremely time-consuming endeavor. You will most likely spend the majority of your time in college with the guys on your team, whether it’s living with them, practicing, eating, studying, or anything else you might do on or off campus.”
“You need to make sure that the school is a good fit for you, because although baseball will be a major part of your experience, you still will be creating an academic foundation for the rest of your life and the career you will seek out.”
“Having a coach and players you respect and can connect with is key. Make sure to get a sense of the social and academic scenes and how they’d affect your desire/ability to play ball.” – Dan Matthews, Pitcher, Carleton College, MN (2007-2010)
“As a recruit you have leverage. Use that leverage.” –Active D1 Pitcher, CA
“Don’t sacrifice academic opportunity for baseball. Go somewhere you’ll be happy.” –Active D2 Pitcher, CA
“Coaches can sugar-coat the way things are going to be versus how they actually are. Get to know the personality of the coach before you commit.”
