Lessons From Your Past

Julie Thompson – A Baseball Factory Parent’s Perspective

You’ve heard it so many times—the successful fit between a baseball player and college program involves a complex mix of factors. As families, we do our homework and try to anticipate situations, asking what we hope are the right questions. We keep a positive outlook, because of course, college baseball should be a positive experience. In addition to looking forward though, we need to look at the past. Part of building a positive experience means avoiding negative ones—often, those things we thought we’d gotten by, and frankly, would like not to think about again. But if we ignore those negative situations, we can’t learn from them, and you really don’t want that part of history repeating itself.

Most parents I know are optimists. If we or our sons want a particular situation, we may not ask some of the hard questions, or be objective about things that could result in words we don’t want to hear. We probably don’t even realize we’ve overlooked the hard questions. We think we’ve covered everything objectively. Unless there are glaring tip-offs that a fit isn’t right, we might believe bad things with that desirable baseball program happen to someone else. ‘Our sons are great players, right? They’ve won awards and been on championship teams! Of course that coach will see how talented he is! He’s not going to recruit behind our son...that’s just something he did to that other player.’

Perhaps we don’t know the hard questions to ask. Recruits are presented with positive feedback and an optimistic outlook—after all, coaches and players want to show their school and program in its best light. Usually, recruiting time is fun and flattering and it’s easy to get caught up in all that positive energy. Perception isn’t always reality, though, so when objectively evaluating that school and program you’re sure you’ll love….ask ‘What has gone wrong in the past, and what can go wrong in the future?’

1). ‘Not that guy again…’ If you’ve reached the point to be considered for college baseball, you must have had at least one experience where the fit with a coach wasn’t great. Make sure your son is comfortable with the coach’s style, philosophy and general personality so he can be successful working with him.

2). Ouch, that smarts…What happens when a player gets injured? Would he maintain his scholarship if he couldn’t play baseball again? What are the facilities both on-campus and off-campus for diagnosis and treatment? What are the trainers’ backgrounds? Make sure the school has a good system in place to deal with an injury.

3). Competitive compared to what??? What’s the baseball program really like? Is the program as demanding and challenging as your son expects? Do they put out 100% in practice—or do they ‘show up’ and do what they need to do in practice, and nothing more? Try to watch a team practice to see how it is run and the effort the players put forth. Can your son see himself fitting in?

4). Oh yeah…academics. What are the academic offerings and expectations? (Remember? That’s why he’s really there). Is there any tutoring assistance? What happens when your son has to miss a class (or a few classes) for a game? It’s more important to find a school that is an academic fit than an athletic fit. If things aren’t going well in the classroom, he may never make it onto the playing field.

5). That’s a nice little sport you play there. How important is baseball to the school’s administration? Are the facilities impressive, adequate, or downright substandard? What’s the work-out room like? Is there a separate locker room for the baseball team? Make sure that the program is supported and that the facilities are going to provide your son with the best opportunity to succeed and enjoy his experience.

6). Who is your son, really?? The most important question of all: what is your son’s true personality? What will really matter to him in college, and what will happen if those elements aren’t there? Does your son adapt well to imperfect conditions? What about the climate? Is he a warm-weather boy adapting to snow and cold, rainy springs? If your son got injured his first day of school and wasn’t able to play baseball again, would he still be excited about the college and enjoy his experience? This isn’t something you want to think about, but it’s important to make sure, just in case. If the answer is NO, then this isn’t the right school for him, regardless of how good a fit the baseball program might be. It is important for your son to ask himself in-depth questions that will help with making the right decision.

Take it from one who has been close to a situation that didn’t work out—learn from all the negatives and mistakes you and your son have experienced in the past, and then, let him make the decision. Take a hard, objective look at your son. Know who he is and what he really feels in his core. Your guidance is valuable, but in the end, it’s his journey. Learn from the past and avoid those things that didn’t work. Give your son’s journey its best chance to be filled with positive experiences by taking off the blinders and considering all of the factors that might affect that “optimistic” view.



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.

Having a Quality At-Bat

Matt Schilling: From the Batting Cage

In my last blog, I talked about "The Quickest Way to Become a Better Hitter", which was to make sure that you swing at strikes. This week I thought it would be good to discuss exactly what a hitter SHOULD be trying to do each time he steps in the batter's box. While teaching hitting lessons at the Baseball Factory I often like to ask players what their goal is when they step into the batter's box. The most common answer that I get is: "To get a hit." While I can understand this thought process, I am not convinced it is the best approach.

In my opinion a hitter's goal should be to have a "quality at-bat." What is a "quality at-bat?" I would define it in the following ways:

1. You swung at a good pitch to hit.
   
2. You hit the ball hard.
3. Or, you did your job that particular at-bat.

Note that the hitter has control over all three of these points. You can't control whether or not you get a hit. You can't control whether the defense makes a diving catch and robs you. You can't control the umpire when he calls you out at first when you are clearly safe. But you can control your pitch selection, centering the ball on the barrel and whether or not you do your job.

So when a hitter says to me that his goal is to "get a hit," he is not setting a goal that he has total control over AND he is also setting a goal that a great hitter will reach only 35% (.350 hitter) of the time. Trying to have a "quality at-bat" each time at the plate IS realistic and can be obtained 70 to 80% of the time. If you achieve your goal more often you are going to be a more confident hitter which makes you dangerous.

I have seen too many young hitters celebrate a bloop single on a bad pitch, and then get angry when they line out to left field. Isn't that backwards? Shouldn't you be happy to hit the ball hard and angry to hit a lazy pop up? Coaches and scouts want players who hit the ball hard, often.

In reviewing the three points I mentioned that can define a "quality at-bat" I want to make sure that you understand them clearly. We talked about Point 1 in-depth last week. You must swing at strikes. Swinging at pitches in the zone gives you a much greater chance to get a hit.

Point 2 is also pretty clear: hit the ball hard. Ultimately that is the goal of hitting...to hit the ball hard. I have gone 0-4 many times and felt like I hit the ball great. Too many young players tell me they were 0-3 and not hitting well when in reality they hit the ball hard, just right at people. If you can hit the ball hard in 3 of 4 at-bats that is a great day.

Lastly, Point 3, do your job in that particular at-bat. This is the one that hitters often have trouble grasping. This is situational hitting. If you are up with a man on second and no outs, your job is to move the runner over. If you hit a dribbler to second, you did your job and had a great at-bat. If you are up with a man on 3rd and 1 out with the infield back, just hit a routine ground out to short. You will drive in the run and have done your job. That is a great at-bat. Too many hitters try to crank the ball to the outfield and wind up hitting a pop up. Now you are out, didnt score the run and took a bad swing. When faced with situational hitting opportunities don't be greedy, just get your job done and you will have "quality at-bats" and be a productive hitter.

Clint Hurdle, Manager of the Colorado Rockies, once gave me this simple formula:

Quality at-bat + Quality at-bat + Quality at-bat = A productive hitter

Simple but it makes sense. So when you are out playing in your games or coaching your players, preach to them to have a "quality at-bat" every time up and watch your players confidence, production, and average rise.

Schilling graduated from Coastal Carolina University, where he was an All-Conference and All-State player while being voted the fourth best second baseman in the country by the Smith Award Group. Schilling went on to coach at Coastal for five years, helping them reach the top 25. He is also a former Associate Scout with the Atlanta Braves.