Travel ball coach: Freshmen, start by being a great teammate

Freshmen can help build a culture by celebrating teammates' successes. (Kyle Prudhomme/NEBJ)

What are college coaches looking for when it comes to evaluating freshmen?

I spoke with three New England college head coaches and asked them all the same thing: “How did the freshmen perform in your fall scrimmages?”

Their answers provide a good illustration of the transition coaches go through from recruiting high school athletes to now developing (and trusting) college freshmen.

One coach said, “It was great to see the confidence in a few of our freshmen. You could tell they had played in big games before.”

The coach went on to talk about how some of their freshmen were big-time multi-sport athletes who had experienced big game experience in sports other than baseball at the high school level. Their composure was on display in the fall scrimmages.

Another coach said, “I didn’t realize the amount of power one kid had, and we haven’t even gotten him in our strength and conditioning program.”

That is a great depiction of how all coaches, especially in New England, are recruiting on the potential of what their freshmen can become. Finished products aren’t walking through the door of New England programs, and that is what makes recruiting even more important in our region.

This same Division 1 coach was most interested in how this surprisingly powerful freshman was now going to compete in the weight room for the next five months to be able to take the next step to being a college contributor.

In my conversations, none of the D1 coaches mentioned exit velocity, pitching velocity or any recruiting metric that many high school players obsess over in recent months and years. Instead, the coaches described freshmen as “fantastic kid(s)”, “awesome teammate(s)”, “great competitor(s)”, and “dirt-dog(s)”. My personal favorite: One coach described a freshman as “a kid you would be OK if your daughter brought home.” 

The ultimate takeaway is that coaches are most excited about feeling the impact of top-notch human beings joining their respective programs. They’re not looking for finished products. They want student-athletes who have the projectability to become better baseball players than they are today.

The next five months of baseball are spent indoors, in weight rooms, in the classroom, in dining halls, and at campus events. Coaches prioritize the desire to have players that they are proud to have representing their program in forums far beyond the playing field.

For this year’s freshmen, remember that coaches are evaluating much more than on-field performance as you approach the winter months. For aspiring college baseball players, remember that the whole tool set, baseball and beyond, is what coaches are looking for in their programs.