Editor’s Note: This is the fourth part in a series of blogs designed to understand what is needed – both physically and mentally – to get a scholarship to play college baseball.
During our series on “How to Earn a Baseball Scholarship,” we have taken an in depth look at the importance of maintaining the right approach from all angles – developing good habits, converting habits to skills, playing on the right teams, the importance of being a good student and why college camps matter.
In Part 4, I will discuss how you can use your team to showcase your skills.
If you have good habits, skills and have attended college camps that you can get accepted into, it’s time to use your high school and travel teams to showcase your skills. There’s no other reason to be on one of these teams if you’re still trying to earn a scholarship.
I also realize the joy of winning tournaments, because I have a National Championship ring of my own from coaching with Guerry Baldwin of the East Cobb Astros 16U team.
After a college coach has evaluated you on his campus and has expressed interest in your talents, expect him to attend your games. This will enable him to further evaluate you in “game action.” As you reread that last sentence, please place an emphasis on the fact that the coach has expressed interest in you after your camp performance. If he’s interested in you, he will tell you. That’s his job.
Some people say that college camps are just money makers. What’s wrong with that? A college baseball camp is the right place and the right time to be seen by a coach. A tournament can’t provide that type of access, unless it’s USA Baseball’s “Tournament of Stars,” which is invite only.
Showcases such as East Coast Professional, Area Code and Perfect Game National are invitation-only tournaments as well. And, yes, they are worthwhile for the country’s elite players. If you haven’t been invited to one of these games and you want play college baseball, you better attend a camp and perform well enough that a coach expresses interest in evaluating you in some games.
I realize it can be disappointing if a coach doesn’t verbally express interest in you. Don’t avoid the truth, because it will cause you to waste more time and money.
Has a college coach at your top three college choices personally contacted you by phone? Letters and emails are cool, but you are truly being recruited if and when you receive a phone call from a college coach.
Remember: Intelligence trumps being smart.
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BIO
C.J. Stewart has built a reputation as one of the leading professional hitting instructors in the country. He is a former professional baseball player in the Chicago Cubs organization and has also served as an area scout for the Cincinnati Reds. As founder and CEO of Diamond Directors Player Development, CJ has more than 12 years of player development experience and has built an impressive list of clients, including some of the top young prospects in baseball today. If your desire is to change your game for the better, C.J Stewart has a proven system of development and track record of success that can work for you.
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