The Truth About College Baseball

When it comes to how one experiences life, expectations play an incredibly important role. Not only are they influencing how one perceives every part of life, they’re also affecting one’s emotional and mental well being. This means that what one attracts into their life and what one sees in others is largely being defined by expectations. Therefore, accurate expectations are vital when helping players get the most out of the experience they wish to acquire while playing college baseball. Below, Trent Reynolds shares insights parents and players should possess while forming expectations around playing baseball in college. Review Part 1 and Part 2 before reading Part 3.

The most important thing to realize when talking to your son about playing baseball is college is that it’s not for everyone. There is not much scholarship money in it, it takes a lot of time and effort, and most players do not end up at D1 or well known schools. Therefore, the players who end up continuing to play are playing solely for their love of the game.

The bulk of scholarships earned by players will be academic, as baseball programs simply do not have many scholarships they can use to fill their team. Most lower level programs can’t even provide athletic scholarships.

Most players will not play college baseball at a school you knew prior to your search. D1 players are few and far between, and those that do receive a spot on those teams, spend a few years of junior college or at another school building their resume before transferring in. Generally the only freshman recruited to big name schools are those that are MLB draftable.

Most players also don’t realize what it honestly takes to play in college. A typical day for a college player is comprised of:

• Waking up at 7am for workouts
• 3-4 hours of class
• Another 3-4 hours of practice
• An additional 1-2 hours of individual practice
• Studying and homework
• 12am bedtime
• Repeat

This is not the life that most college kids dream of, and it only gets harder in the spring. Coupled with doing all of this away from home for the first time and competing with 4-6 other players at your position, playing at the college level is not an easy thing to do. However, for those players who have passion, the drive and an understanding of what it takes to follow their dreams, we at TRPD want to try and help them get there.

Through a partnership with Al McCormick at MVP Baseball, we help players market themselves to find the school that best fit their skills and personality. We do this by:

• We help each player create a video showcasing their skill sets
• We market the video to hundred of schools
• The player creates a dialog with interested schools about their intentions
• The player chooses a school to attend and play for that fits them as a player

No magic pill here, just a lot of hard work. This approach takes chance out of the equation as TRPD and Al McCormick help players evolve their skills into what colleges are looking for and then market themselves appropriately.

While not for every player, college baseball can be the next steps for those passionate about a career in baseball. Accurate expectations can help a player know what’s ahead of him and excel to their fullest potential.

The above thoughts are from a meeting Trent Reynolds held on March 29th with TRPD’s current 14U team to explain what expectations parents and players should possess. If you have any questions or any of these topics require further explanation, please contact [email protected].