We have talked many times about things that softball players who want to play in college need to do. We have always tried to give guidance to the players and parents who strive to continue their careers in college and that advice has been very useful to many. Unfortunately, for every success story there are a bunch of failures.
Here is pretty good list of things that will get you un-recruited, no matter how talented you are:
- Bad grades. No college coach is willing to add the headache of a player they can not count on to stay eligible. Poor grades are also usually a clear indicator of other bad habits, too.
- Laziness. No matter how talented a player might be, coaches want go-getters who are willing to work hard to improve. Being actually lazy is terrible, playing like you are lazy even though you might work hard in other areas is almost as bad.
- Disrespectful nature. This is the worst of all bad traits for many college coaches. Showing disrespect to parents, coaches and umpires will get you crossed off most recruiting lists pretty quick.
- Un-coachablity. Patrick Murphy said it best. “Un-coachable kids become unemployable adults.” And will create un-recruitable softball players.
- Blaming others. You struck out, you gave up the home run, you made the error! Own it and grow and coaches will love you. Blame game is a losing proposition.
- Taking days off. Coaches love the gym rat. They love the kids who really want to to improve their game. Everyone needs an occasional break but occasional really means once in a while, not several days a week.
- Take care of your responsibilities. Do the things you are supposed to do. In the classroom, on the field and around the house. Or…
There are a lot of players who say they want to play in college. Saying it and doing what it takes are two really different things. Choose wisely!
