Baseball Factory Four Point Checklist - Part 4

Steve Sclafani: All Access Pass

You gotta Market and Promote…

The last ingredient on the Baseball Factory Four Point Checklist is an action item that you don’t want to miss.

Okay, your grades are in good shape, you have improved your weaknesses on the field and you have tested yourself against top competition. Now what?

There are usually three types of approaches I have seen families take when it comes to marketing their respective sons to college baseball programs:

Approach 1
Coaches Will Come and Find Me – The type of player who sits back and thinks coaches and scouts are going to magically appear at their high school and summer league games.

Approach 2
Over Showcased – The player that attends as many showcases and college camps they can get to in the hopes of being recruited by whomever is in attendance.

Approach 3
Strategic Planner – The player that maps out a plan with targeted colleges that are a match academically and athletically and finds the best way to reach that particular coach.

How many of you are taking the third approach listed above? This approach will not only save you time and money, but also the headache of not getting the results you want.

Here is the bottom line, college coaches need to know about you as a player in order to recruit you. Furthermore, the best way to promote yourself to a college is to provide the college coach with a video of yourself performing and an evaluation from an unbiased source.

A college coach can then either take the next step and come watch you play, or eliminate you from his recruiting list. Either way, you then know where you stand with that particular school and what your next step should be.

Go out and get a video and a recommendation from a pro scout or baseball person that a college coach can trust. Get this recommendation and video e-mailed to colleges that match your athletic and academic ability.

Be aggressive and stay on track with your strategy!


Steve Sclafani is the CEO and Founder of Baseball Factory. Steve's ability to create new opportunities for baseball players nationwide and to develop exposure vehicles for players has revolutionized the player development and recruiting industry. His contacts and strategic partnerships have led the way to Baseball Factory being recognized as the top recruiting service by The National High School Baseball Coaches Association. Steve's scouting ability and penchant for matching players up to the right college baseball programs has lead to over 10,000 Baseball Factory and Team One players playing college baseball, $500 million in scholarships, and over 1,500 players selected in the MLB draft. Steve is a 1993 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania where he played second base.

Baseball Factory Four Point Checklist – Part 3

Steve Sclafani: All Access Pass

Are you playing against top competition?

This week we are going to discuss part three of the Baseball Factory four point checklist; What type of competition are you playing against?

We already discussed the cornerstone of the four point checklist which is academics. We have also discussed the importance of training and developing your strengths and weaknesses. Now it’s time to get down to business and test our new found improvements in a game situation.

Are you testing yourself against top-notch competition? Have you been outside of your state and competed nationally? Have you played against players who are a year or two older then you?

In the game of baseball (and life, for that matter) we need to constantly test ourselves and make adjustments to our game if we want to continue to improve and give ourselves a chance to play at a higher level.

While it is certainly fun to mash the local rec pitching and hit .500, in the long run a combination of building your confidence locally and getting humbled nationally will normally be the right mix for a high school player’s development.

Another important factor is the type of coaching you are receiving as the game gets more difficult and moves faster. Do you have a coach who can help you to interpret the game? For example, after swinging at a first pitch curve ball and popping it up, is your coach discussing your overall approach and game plan as a hitter with you?

Do all you can to play on some national teams with top notch coaching and competition. It will help you to grow as a player and you will better understand why accelerated training is important for your maximum development.

Think you have what it takes to play on an Under Armour/Baseball Factory National Team? See you at a tryout near you!


Steve Sclafani is the CEO and Founder of Baseball Factory. Steve's ability to create new opportunities for baseball players nationwide and to develop exposure vehicles for players has revolutionized the player development and recruiting industry. His contacts and strategic partnerships have led the way to Baseball Factory being recognized as the top recruiting service by The National High School Baseball Coaches Association. Steve's scouting ability and penchant for matching players up to the right college baseball programs has lead to over 10,000 Baseball Factory and Team One players playing college baseball, $500 million in scholarships, and over 1,500 players selected in the MLB draft. Steve is a 1993 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania where he played second base.

Baseball Factory Four Point Check List – Part 2

Steve Sclafani: All Access Pass

What type of training am I doing over the summer to improve my game? It is time to take a self-inventory.

Last week we discussed point one of the Baseball Factory Four Point Monthly Check List: What am I doing to improve myself each month academically? Hopefully all of you picked one subject to improve upon this summer and are successfully moving towards your academic monthly goal.

This week I would like to discuss point two on our Check List: What am I doing to improve my baseball skills?

I will address game competition next week, but let’s spend some time this week discussing how to improve our individual skills. For more on the physical aspects of this topic you can check out Steve Bernhardt’s blog, “Building the Better Baseball Player.” I am going to focus more on the mental side of Player and Self Development.

One of the best ways to improve as a player is to take a self-inventory. How many times have you really sat down to assess what makes you tick as a person? What are your strengths? What are your weaknesses? I know you are probably thinking to yourself “What does this have to do with becoming a better ball player?” But, in my opinion, it means everything.

For example, if you are an anxious person by nature than just training your swing to become better mechanically will not necessarily result in you becoming a better hitter. You will need to work on relaxation and breathing techniques (yoga/meditation) so you can get your emotions under control and get the most out of your ability.

Stay with me now, I know what you’re thinking…I am a tough baseball player and this doesn’t sound like my cup of tea, but being open minded to new ways of approaching your skill and personal development is very important to your growth.

No doubt it is very important to work on skill specific deficiencies to improve your game, but many times pealing the onion and learning more about yourself will help you to improve quicker as a player and reach your true potential. Many players become disinterested in the game when their skills don’t translate into a game situation. They practice day after day, ground ball after ground ball, swing after swing, but never get to the root of the problem. The definition of burnout is when you feel you are putting in more than you are getting out of any one situation.

Let’s say you attended a Baseball Factory event or tryout and received an honest evaluation on what you needed to work on. Well, now you’re well on your way to becoming a better baseball player because knowing where you stand nationally and your strengths and weaknesses is half the battle.

Your next step will be to begin a rigorous program to improve your weaknesses. Many players we see across the country at our Under Armour National Tryouts go on to Baseball Factory Player Development events where both the mental and physical parts of the game are worked on in order to build the complete baseball player. Taking a step back and asking yourself the following questions will help you to re-focus so you can maximize your practice sessions:

1) Am I a better hitter/player in practice or game situations?
2) Is my work ethic helping or hurting my game?
3) Am I truly a good listener and coachable or do I go back to doing things “my way” during times of stress/crisis (slump)?
4) Do I really want to improve or am I just going through the motions?
5) How do I handle adversity? If I make an out do I throw the helmet or am I confident I will get a hit my next at-bat?

Rick Sofield, Baseball Factory Consultant and Instructor has designed a life skills questionnaire that takes this self-inventory check list to a whole new level. Click Here to check it out and take inventory of yourself.

Knowing who you are as a person and what makes you tick will make your skill specific training that much more valuable and allow you to flourish both on and off the field.
Before putting on your glove or picking up the bat, get your head on straight!

Next week we will discuss tournament competition.


Steve Sclafani is the CEO and Founder of Baseball Factory. Steve's ability to create new opportunities for baseball players nationwide and to develop exposure vehicles for players has revolutionized the player development and recruiting industry. His contacts and strategic partnerships have led the way to Baseball Factory being recognized as the top recruiting service by The National High School Baseball Coaches Association. Steve's scouting ability and penchant for matching players up to the right college baseball programs has lead to over 10,000 Baseball Factory and Team One players playing college baseball, $500 million in scholarships, and over 1,500 players selected in the MLB draft. Steve is a 1993 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania where he played second base.

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.