The Power of Now

Kelly Kulina: Your Link to the Colleges

Greetings from Kiwanis-Wallas Park! For the past two weeks, the Baseball Factory has been operating the Kelly Kulina All-Star and Elite Summer Baseball Camps in the Howard County area. The camp was designed to teach and hone the fundamental skills of baseball, while all of the proceeds went to the B.A.S.E.-H.I.T. Foundation. Even as our focus shifted away from recruiting and onto youth development, I had a chance to speak with many of the campers about my experiences with the recruiting process, and I feel that there are still some excellent points to make to our younger prospective student-athletes.

As a former associate head coach and recruiting coordinator, I tried looking at prospective student-athletes in terms of the “Three Aces”: 1) Attitude, 2) Academics and 3) Athletic Ability. While athletic ability may be an obvious choice, I think too many players overlook attitude and academics. If a player can’t show me the attitude necessary to compete and willingness to learn, I don't want him on my team. And as for academics, coaches simply do not have the time to waste on athletes who are academic liabilities. Everyone loves to work on their game, but few spend the same amount of time on their studies, which ultimately, will make or break you in the end. For you younger players, you all can work on these two areas starting today- make them a priority!

My staff and I spent a great deal of time trying to instill lessons that can be applied to both on and off the baseball field. The biggest point I made to our campers is that, no matter how hard you throw or hit the ball, you won’t be playing college baseball if you don’t show a coach:

• that you have the discipline to improve your skills beyond physical ability and, more importantly, study hard and effectively in the classroom.


• a willingness and an interest in learning about the game.


• character inherent to a team leader, and someone that will always represent themselves (and their school) in the best way possible.

Granted, not all of this has to start on a baseball field. Instead of finding ways to avoid chores, try actively volunteering to help your parents with everyday tasks around the house. As for school, be proactive and ask your teachers for areas they believe you can improve on, and how to do so. I believe you’ll find that if you change how you approach daily issues and activities, you’ll find a change for the better on the field, as well.

There is no better time than now to focus on being a better player, student and person. The intangibles such as leadership and self-discipline don’t happen overnight. It takes a concentrated effort to change your habits, whether it be how you approach homework, chores or taking extra infield groundballs. So, why not give yourself as much time as you need? Just like in the recruiting process, there is no such thing as “putting it off until later.” Unfortunately, in life, “later” happens in the blink of an eye!


Kelly Kulina is the Senior Vice President of College Recruiting at Baseball Factory. Kulina is a former Associate Head Coach and recruiting coordinator with the University of Maryland. As a former recruiting coordinator for ten years in the ACC, Kulina has vast contacts and is widely respected throughout the nation. From 1989 to 2000, Kulina coached 46 players who were selected in the MLB draft.