There Is No Off-Season

Andy Ferguson: Another Day, Another Double Play

While there are still a few competitive team events around, the vast majority of players are done with their 2008 baseball season. For some, this time of year also signals football playoffs and/or the beginning of basketball. For others, the countdown to the first day of 2009 practice is on.

In any case, this is the beginning of the season of opportunity – not the off season. You have the opportunity to better yourself as an aspiring college baseball player - without the constant games, travel, showcases, travel, tournaments, travel and more games. Keep in mind that as an aspiring college baseball player, you have a lot of things to work on…so you shouldn’t have any trouble staying busy.

Over the course of the next several weeks, we will identify and review areas in which you should focus your “opportunity season” efforts.

ACADEMICS

If you think it’s tough to stay on top of your school work now, spend a couple of weeks as a student-athlete in college. And no, not just because of bus rides and weekday night games during the Spring semester/season. How about 6:00 am workouts, afternoon swimming and/or running, early work before practice, or extra time on the tee/extra flat ground work after practice…all while trying to handle a 15 or 18 hour course load during the Fall semester.

Take the time now to try and improve your academic standing. You don’t have as many demands on your time – you really need to take advantage of that. Get some extra help on a subject you are weak in, and make it important to prepare for the SAT and/or ACT tests.

Remember, ACADEMICS MUST BE CONSIDERED FIRST. You have heard it a million times, but you have to understand that student always comes before athlete. Ever heard of anyone being called an athlete-student?

STRENGTH TRAINING

There are very few, if any, high school age players that have any real amount of physical strength. To be fair, it is hard to actually get stronger over the course of the 500 or so game schedule it seems most play between March and October. However, that isn’t the case from November through the beginning of high school practice.

Skip the bench press (unless you are willing to keep the weight low and the reps high), and spend time instead on improving the strength in your legs and your core. You don’t want bulk in your upper body, so spend time strengthening the smaller muscles in your shoulders (Jobes) and work hard on your forearms. Jobe work can be done with a sand filled tennis ball can and/or elastic band, and forearm work can be done with rope connecting a weight to a small length of PVC pipe – simply roll the weight up, then back down. (For more information on these excercises, please feel free to email me at andy@baseballfactory.com.)

Baseball players must maintain range of motion while improving strength - flexibility is vital. Make sure to stretch often – whether you are lifting or not, you can make gains in your flexibility. I see so many players that are stiff and muscle bound, which makes it so hard to play a sport that requires quick and compact movements. It is so easy to do, it just requires time, effort and commitment – something most are not willing to give. For more on this topic, please read (or re-read) Dana Cavalea's entry on static stretching methods.

Coming next week: SKILL DEVELOPMENT, THROWING

Andy Ferguson is currently the Senior Director of Baseball Operations with the Baseball Factory. Ferguson joined the North Carolina State baseball team as a walk-on, and went on to solidify his role on a team that participated in four consecutive NCAA Regionals. He later coached with the Harwich Mariners of the Cape Cod Baseball League, and then served as an Associate Scout with the Pittsburgh Pirates and the San Diego Padres.

Striking a Balance

Julie Thompson – A Baseball Factory Parent’s Perspective

Introduction

Like most things in life, finding the best college for your son usually means striking a balance. Sometimes a school meets every one of the criteria on the student’s wish list, but most often there are a few trade-offs in the picture. The role the player expects to have on the school’s baseball team may become the deciding factor. At the risk of lightning striking me, though, there’s more to life than baseball – and when baseball gets frustrating, it’s the rest of college life that helps your son keep a healthy perspective.

The college search was a good way for Kyle to define who he really was, and what he truly wanted out of the next four years of his life. First, we created a profile, which was reflected on his baseball resume. Then came the wish list: a four-year school with solid to strong academics, competitive baseball – defined as the highest level at which Kyle could expect to play (and okay, in reality, baseball came at the top of Kyle’s wish list…), a climate where baseball could be played outside as many months as possible, and an urban, or at least busy, college setting.

There weren’t a lot of schools that fit this list – in actuality, there was only one Kyle wanted. He never lost sight of the list, but talked to every coach who called, responded to every email, and visited as many schools as he could. Kyle thought about ideas that were out-of-his-box – and, although he may have been less enthusiastic with some situations, he never closed a door. He surprised all of us one night after a conversation with a coach from a junior college in a cold climate. The coach’s presentation and ability to connect had made Kyle realize there were a lot of different ways to approach the college years.

In the end, Kyle went to his “wish list” school – with one caveat. He chose to be a part of a large, outstanding baseball program where he was “one of the group,” instead of an impact player. That decision has its own set of trade-offs. The talent pool was deep, and the playing time, limited. To someone who lives for baseball, the work-outs were ‘rigorous’ – to those less dedicated, they were ‘grueling.’ It was a lot work and a heavy time commitment for what many players would consider too little a return.

Kyle’s friends that chose to be impact players at lesser known, but still solid programs freely admitted they wouldn’t have had the patience or personality to be a part of Kyle’s situation. Kyle kept a positive attitude however, accepted the trade-offs, and improved substantially as a player. And on those days when baseball got frustrating – and it did – Kyle reveled in the rest of his life. He loved so many things about the school – the climate, the surroundings, the type of student the school attracted – his life there, in general. He thrived academically. Others may have chosen a different balance, but Kyle set his priorities, resolving to accept the trade-offs – and even when baseball dealt Kyle some disappointment, life in general was still pretty darn good.



Julie Thompson is a parent of a former Baseball Factory Exclusive Program player. She has volunteered to share her opinions, observations and general thoughts regarding the college recruiting and player development process. She will share what worked and what didn’t for her son, in the hope that other parents and players may benefit from her experience.

Back to School

Rob Naddelman: Through a Parent’s Eyes

September is back to school month here in MD. The start of a new academic year is a chance for each student to recommit himself in the classroom. It is also a chance to set some academic goals and strive for strong performance.

As parents, it is a really good time to sit down and develop an academic game-plan with your son. List your child’s classes on a piece of paper and have him write down the grade he thinks he can get if he gives it a 100% effort. At the end of the semester/marking period, pull out the goals and see how he performed. Try to hold him to this high standard of excellence he has set for himself.

Here are a few key points to consider as you are building an academic game-plan and considering NCAA eligibility rules:

1. Core Courses – NCAA Division I requires 16 core courses as of Aug 1, 2008. NCAA Division II requires 14 core courses as of Aug 1, 2008. Division II will require 16 core courses as of Aug 1, 2013.

For Division I you will need 4 years of English, 3 years of math (Algebra I or higher), 2 years of natural science/physical science (one must be a lab science), 1 year of additional English, Math, or Science, 2 years of social studies, 4 years of additional core courses (from any area listed above, or from foreign language, non-doctrinal religion or philosophy)

For Division II you will need 3 years of English, 2 years of math (Algebra I or higher), 2 years of natural science/physical science (one must be a lab science), 2 year of additional English, Math, or Science, 2 years of social studies, 3 years of additional core courses (from any area listed above, or from foreign language, non-doctrinal religion or philosophy)

Please note that electives do not count towards your NCAA GPA eligibility!

2. Test Scores:

Division I has a sliding scale for test score and grade-point average. The higher the SAT/ACT score, the lower the GPA can be.

Division II has a minimum SAT score requirement of 820 or an ACT sum score of 68.

The SAT score used for NCAA purposes includes only the critical reading and math sections. The writing section of the SAT is not used.

The ACT score used for NCAA purposes is a sum of the four sections on the ACT: English, mathematics, reading and science.

All SAT and ACT scores must be reported directly to the NCAA Eligibility Center by the testing agency. Test scores that appear on transcripts will not be used. When registering for the SAT or ACT, use the Eligibility Center code of 9999 to make sure the score is reported to the Eligibility Center.

3. Grade-Point Average:
As stated above, only core courses are used in the calculation of the grade-point average.

Be sure to look at your high school’s list of NCAA-approved core courses on the Eligibility Center's Web site to make certain that courses being taken have been approved as core courses. The Web site is http://www.ncaaclearinghouse.net/.

Division I grade-point-average requirements start as low as 2.0 but require SAT scores as high as 1010 (Math/Critical Reading).

The Division II grade-point-average requirement is a minimum of 2.000.

For more info on these topics, visit http://www.ncaa.org/

Good luck to all the students starting a fresh academic year. Remember, college coaches are recruiting Students First and Athletes Second. It is never too late for students to commit themselves in the classroom!

Rob Naddelman is the President of Baseball Factory. Naddelman is a former two-time All Ivy League Third Baseman at the University of Pennsylvania, where he competed in a College World Series Regional. He has served as the President of Baseball Factory for the past 13 years, and also is the Executive Director of Baseball Factory's charitable arm The B.A.S.E. - H.I.T. Foundation. Naddelman and Steve Sclafani (CEO) have been featured in Business Week and CNN for their work in building Baseball Factory into the nation's leader in player development and college placement.

Baseball Factory Four Point Check List – Part 1, Baseball, Books and the Beach

Steve Sclafani: All Access Pass

When was the last time you went 4 for 4 at the plate?

No doubt it’s always great to step up to the dish four at-bats in a row and get four hits, but today I want to talk about the Baseball Factory system of moving your career forward as a student-athlete with our monthly four point check list.

Each month you should sit down and ask yourself the following questions:

1) What am I doing to improve my academics? Not only GPA, but preparation for the SAT/ACT.

2) What am I doing to improve my baseball skills? Am I attacking my weaknesses? Do I know exactly what I need to work on?

3) What am I doing to make sure I play against top competition so I truly test my skills in a game situation?

4) What am I doing to promote myself to college and pro scouts?

In our view at Baseball Factory you need a balanced attack that starts with your academics. There is a reason our logo prominently features a book along with a baseball.

Let’s talk this week about improving your academics (GPA/SAT’s). I know what a lot of you are thinking….I’m on summer break and I would be more than happy to get started with points two through four above, but point #1 is not on the radar.

Well let me tell you that the summer is a great time to make academic improvements. For one, you have a lot more time on your hands and can truly focus on your weaknesses in a more relaxed environment. Instead of going to school for seven hours, then off to practice for two hours and then home to do homework, in the summer you can be fresh and well rested and dive into a subject with full concentration for one hour a day. This will help you take a giant step forward in your academic career.

Why not pick one subject that you seem to struggle with every year and get a head start for September? How about picking up a book on a completely new subject to broaden your horizons? What about taking an SAT prep class during the summer?

Have a great summer, train hard, have fun, play lots of baseball, but don’t forget to develop yourself academically and work on the subject that causes you trouble during the school year!

Next week I will discuss what you can do for baseball skills development over the summer.

Sclafani’s ability to create new opportunities for baseball players nationwide and to develop exposure vehicles has led to over 20,000 Baseball Factory and Team One players competing at the college level, $500 million in scholarships, and over 2,000 players selected in the MLB draft. Sclafani was recognized as a member of Baltimore’s prestigious 40/40 Club, honoring 40 top executives under 40 years of age. Steve is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania where he played second base.

Getting It Right the First Time - Part 4

Kelly Kulina: Your Link to the Colleges

If you are just checking out the blog, take a look at Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 of this discussion. Let’s jump right back in and cover the last two criteria players should consider when evaluating the baseball program at colleges on your target list.

• Academic Support & Graduation Rates – Baseball players at the collegiate level play more games and spend more time on the road than any other student athlete. Without a doubt, 56 games a year adds up to a lot of time spent on the road and in hotels and not in the library and the computer labs. If you don’t have the grades, you will end up watching from the stands! When looking at schools you are interested in, it is important to evaluate the structure of academic support the Athletic Department provides for the team. Staffing and resources can make a big difference in the academic career of any baseball player.
  
  
• Conditioning and Athletic Training – Back when I was the Associate Head Coach and Recruiting Coordinator at the University of Maryland, when my players signed their Letter of Intent the first thing our staff sent them was our strength and conditioning program, which they were to begin immediately. Players need to look into the type and amount of training the baseball program requires of its players, as this can be a major jump from your own regiment. You are playing at a much higher level, and you will need to get bigger, stronger and faster. Training and medical facilities are also an important component to consider, as bruises and injuries are a part of our game. Does the school provide you with the means to get yourself back on the field when the injury bug hits? To evaluate this criterion, players should look at the size of the training staff, and whether or not they work across multiple sports.
  

One out of every 250,000 amateur baseball players eventually makes it to the Major Leagues. For the 249,999 other players, the degree they receive in college will assist them in being successful in life after baseball. Some of the best advice I can give prospective athletes is to set baseball aside for a moment; at the end of the day, your overall happiness is most important. This alone shows how important it is to evaluate a college as a total package. Most college athletes will be professionals in something other than sports. Plan and prepare yourself today to be successful tomorrow.

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.

Balanced Attack - Part 2

Rob Naddelman: Through a Parent’s Eyes

Last week I wrote about the importance of a “Balanced Attack” to the college recruiting process for high school players. Parents need to avoid the “showcase and college camp itch” when it comes to every invite received in the mail. Try not to allocate your family’s entire budget to these two categories. As I mentioned last week, showcases and college camps are important, but they need to be a part of an overall strategy that makes sense for your family’s goals and objectives.

At Baseball Factory, our staff constantly stresses to families that they need to look at four different areas of focus EACH year when determining their plan of attack to prepare for college baseball. Leaving out any of these four areas can create an unbalanced approach and leave you behind the curve.

For those parents that are scratching their head and are looking for some guidance, here are the first two areas to focus on when creating a game plan for the college recruiting process:

Academic Performance – This is #1 on the list by a long shot. An honest assessment of the student’s academic achievement needs to be performed. Make sure to get a copy of your son’s official transcript from the guidance office and calculate his core course GPA. Remember only the core courses (ie: Math, Science, English, History, etc) will count towards your son’s eligibility for NCAA programs. Check out NCAA.org for more information on this topic. Those lovely elective classes like baseball and weight lifting will not contribute one bit to his academic eligibility. Have him take sample PSAT, SAT, or ACT tests depending upon his year in school to see how he measures up. If the academics need improvement beyond what the student is capable of doing on his own through hard work, seek academic tutoring or standardized test prep courses. The reality is that the admissions process is wickedly competitive and the better STUDENT-athletes (notice STUDENT and not athlete is capitalized) have an admissions advantage every time.

Skill Development – As Steve Bernhardt wrote in his Building the Better Ballplayer Blog, parents need to seek professional instruction assistance for the areas of their son’s game that need improvement. It is easy to practice the areas of the game where the players are excelling. It is much tougher to work on your weaknesses and try to elevate them to a player’s strengths. Just think: instead of running off to another showcase and “exposing” a weakness for everyone in attendance to see, what if you used those same budget dollars to get professional instruction and improve your game? Doesn’t that make more sense? Well rounded players at the high school level usually make better players in college. Whether it is running speed, overall body strength, throwing mechanics, hitting mechanics, defensive ability, etc. get yourself some professional help and attack your weaknesses.

Next week, I will touch on the final two areas of focus for your balanced attack. If anyone can guess what the last two categories are, feel free to post them as a comment to get some discussion going!

Naddelman is a former two-time All Ivy League Third Baseman at the University of Pennsylvania, where he competed in a College World Series Regional. He has served as the President of Baseball Factory for the past 13 years, and also is the Executive Director of Baseball Factory's charitable arm The B.A.S.E. - H.I.T. Foundation. Naddelman and Steve Sclafani (CEO) have been featured in Business Week and CNN for their work in building Baseball Factory into the nation's leader in player development and college placement.

Getting It Right the First Time – Part 2

Kelly Kulina: Your Link to the Colleges

Last week, I began discussing criteria to consider when evaluating the schools on your college list. The first two areas to consider were Academics and Location. This week we will take a look at three more points of interest when narrowing down your choices:

• Size – As I mentioned last week, bigger schools are not for everyone. Larger schools generally have much larger classes and less chance for face time with the professor. If you come from a small high school, you need to consider how moving to a larger school will change your experience in the classroom.

• College Environment – One of the biggest mistakes people make in the process is falling in love with a school before they’ve had a chance to see the campus in person. Players must spend time on campus and get a feel for the student environment. It is important to project how this environment will factor into the next four years of your life. Just by walking around campus, you can get a feel for what it is like to try to get around, especially during classes. Just like a coach won’t make a final decision based on what he sees in a video, you can’t make a decision based on what you’ve seen online!

• Cost – Every year, there are always players that find themselves at the end of the process without options because they failed to put down on paper what they can afford for college. It does no good to look at schools that realistically you will not be able to afford. Even if you excel in the classroom and on the field, there’s no guarantee that the bottom line is going to be manageable for all the schools on your target list. Be proactive and research different avenues with financial assistance, whether it’s academic grants or outside scholarships. You cannot rely on baseball to pay for your education. There are simply not enough scholarships available at any level to think otherwise!

Next week we will take a look at the criteria to consider when evaluating the baseball program.

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.

Getting It Right the First Time – Part 1

Kelly Kulina: Your Link to the Colleges

I’m a firm believer that there is a school out there for every single player just as long as they are committed in the classroom and on the field. If there’s a will, there’s a way! A startling statistic I came across the other day showed that 30,000 student athletes transfer every year. Of all Division I baseball players, 27% have transferred at one point during their career! While this also includes junior college transfers, these numbers show that student-athletes are making decisions to go to a school that, for one reason or another, turns out to be the wrong fit for them. Now that the NCAA has eliminated the “one-time transfer exemption” at the Division I level, players must now sit out a year after they transfer to another school. It is more important than ever for prospective athletes to take the time to make the best decision possible!

One of the biggest misconceptions is that the bigger (and usually more visible) school is the better choice. There are more than 4,200 degree-granting institutions in the United States, and only a fraction of them get the T.V. airtime that the University of Texas, UCLA and a handful of state schools receive. Just because a school has the mystique of an appearance on ESPN’s College Gameday does not automatically make it the better school for you. There is good baseball at all levels: DI, DII, DIII, NAIA and JC. Don’t get hung up on what division of baseball a program plays—your job is to find the best combination of athletics, academics and social atmosphere that is right for you.

It’s never too early to begin the college search process. While the junior year picks up significantly in intensity, there are plenty of things to do during the freshman and sophomore year. Simply reaching out and doing research on schools is a great way to get started! I have found that one of the best tools to help develop a college interest list is the College Board’s College Matchmaker. Not only does it help identify regional schools with your academic interests, but it can also divide schools by division of collegiate sport.

Making this process work for you requires a lot of research and a lot of time spent visiting schools and writing coaches. In Rob Naddelman’s last entry, he offers up some excellent thoughts on what players should ask themselves as they try to manage the college search process. What I’d like to do is give you some additional direction and criteria to evaluate schools that you are considering:

• Academics – Academics have to be the priority. A lot of money is going towards your education and many of you work too hard out there for this not to be a priority in the process! There are enough options academically to provide several possible “fits” for you athletically. All players need to ask themselves how their degree will be valued after college and what doors this education will open up. This one criterion alone can put many smaller schools above the bigger “State U” schools!
• Location – Geography is often overlooked, but can have a big impact on the college experience. Players need to consider the climate they are accustomed to and the climate of the school they are considering. There is a reason you don’t see to many native Floridians playing in Maine!

Check back next week for more key components to consider when determining the right program for your needs.

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.