Softball Recruiting - Are You Paying Attention to the Little Things?

Last night I held an information session for the coaches, players, and parents of my association.

The purpose of the seminar was to educate them about college softball. I talked about the reality of college softball, the recrutment process, the academic requirements, what coaches are looking for, and so on.

I also spent time explaining to the young athletes that were present that besides refining their softball skills and having the best marks possible in school, they have to pay attention to the little things.

I told them that college coaches are often looking at these little things to give them an idea of the personality of the player. They want serious and committed athletes and want to avoid potential slackers or trouble makers.

Here's a sample of the little things they might be looking at…

• How do you respond to your coaches and teammates?
• How respectful are you with everybody?
• How do you treat your parents?  <— Mike Candrea told me that one!
• Do you hustle like running on and off the field?
• Do you look professional like having your shirt tucked in?
• Is her stuff neatly organized or you're always looking for your glove?
• Are you prepared to compete?
• Do you take the game seriously or you just goof around?

There are a lot more but you get the idea. These little things reveal a lot about your personality, your mindset and your character.

And personality traits, character and a winning mindset are absolutely crucial to the softball of softball program. Good coaches know that and will try to recruit athletes with that possess it and evaluate that through the little things that I've listed above.

Do you pay attention to the little things?

Here's another list for you. A couple of months ago, I spent a week observing some of the best players of the planet at an international competition and they don't take anything for granted.

They realize that little things and little details do matter when preparing for competition.

They don't left anything to chance. And that's true for ALL the teams.

Here what I mean by that:

• They watch what they eat
• They make sure their shoes shine
• They tuck in their uniforms
• They all have a bottle of water or Gatorade
• They sprint to get on and off the field
• They go for morning jogs and stretch even when they play later
• They bring healthy snacks to the park
• They do dynamic warm-ups
• They are very serious in their pre-game preparation
• They observe what the other teams does
• They share information with their teammates about what they notice
• They are disciplined
• They are always on time and even ready way before they have to
• They pick up after themselves and always leave dugouts clean
• They take very good care of their gloves and bats
• Non-starting players are keeping themselves ready to go in anytime
• They take every swing very seriously both in practice and in their pre-game warm-up
• They put sunscreen on
• They stay in the shade between games to recover faster
• They put ice on after games
• They say "thank you" to anybody that helps

Do you do those things?

Think about it.

Coach Marc
"Your Softball Peak Performance Coach"