Where do we go now for our High School Players?
Welcome to our first ever “email blog” that Coach Skaggs and I hope can bring some assistance in this ever evolving window! Today’s topic will be in regards to the College Recruitment Process and what the NCAA and College Coaches are doing about it. Also, what YOU should be doing.
Obviously we are in an unprecedented time period. There has been never been a situation like this ever during our period of being a Coach / Parent or player!! I know you guys must have a MILLION questions so we will try to assist you and bring to light any knowledge we have. Coach Skaggs and I have reached out to numerous College Coaches from major programs to find out their game plan moving forward.
THINGS FOR YOUR KNOWLEDGE:
-College Coaches are currently in a freeze. They do not know what to do nor are they allowed to do much. I asked one Head Coach what his plan was and he said, “Well sit tight until the boys can play again”. These coaches can not even recruit because there is no actual baseball being played. The NCAA has placed what is called a “dead period” until April 15th (you can contact a coach, a coach can’t initiate contact). This is widely expected to continue as long as we (The Nation) are in this Pandemic.
-A lot of changes are about to happen to scholarships and roster sizes. If you are unaware, the NCAA will be voting on 1 of 2 things: 1, either to allow every player another year of schooling. So Freshman will stay Freshman and such forth. 2, will only allow Seniors to repeat and everyone else moves up a grade. That voting is on Monday, March 30th.
-This changes a lot and also creates a lot of uncertainty. What will roster sizes go to? What about scholarship money, will they get more of it? One of the coaches I spoke with at a Mid-Major university said they don’t have the money to keep kids like a Power 5 school may have. Roster size will change everything on who stays, who goes. In my opinion, this makes it a tad bit difficult for Seniors, rather than juniors and below.
THINGS WE CAN DO:
-This is a time we must CONTINUE to train. We are all feeling hard times but our training MUST NOT stop. This can be viewed as a opportunity for “little Johnny” to get stronger, to hone his swing and get faster! Improvise at best if you have to!!! We have programs (see above) that can help and excel our boys to the next level. This NEEDS to be done.
-Reach out and contact your college of choice. A simple, “Hey Coach, hope all is well and everyone is safe. Looking forward to getting back out and playing some baseball.”
-Be ready for your moment. Yes, it stinks we lost our HS season. It also means we lost a chance to shine in front of our coaches. Our next moment is critical. Don’t be caught off guard.
Again, please do not hesitate to reach out to us for any questions that you may have. Coach Skaggs and I are here for you guys and make no mistake, as soon as baseball is allowed to come back we will attack it with full force!!