EVALUATE YOUR ABILITIES

The key to the recruiting process is to target the appropriate colleges that are academically and baseball talent wise suitable to you. The academic part should be easier to figure out. The baseball part is the hard part. The reason why is that players (and parents) usually use stats to measure their talent level. This can be misleading and create a 'false' appraisal of your talent because there are too many factors that cause stats to be deceiving. For example, some teams and conferences are not as strong as others. Simply being the best player on your High School or Legion team may not qualify you to compete at Division I college baseball. On the flip side, maybe you played sparingly in High School because the starter at your position was an all-state player. You could be a great catcher but never got the chance to showcase your skills.

Another reason why figuring out the baseball part is harder is that players rely on their parents. And the problem with that is that parents are biased in their assessment of their son's skills. As a parent, when it comes to their son, they see things a little bit differently. Its human nature.

So the important question you need to ask yourself is; "What level am I good enough to play at?" The following are some ways to find the answer to that question:

· Ask a high school, summer or opposing coach. And ask for the truth!! You can't afford to have some coach tell you what he thinks you want to hear. You need an honest answer.
· Enroll in showcase and 'select' camps. This will put you in front of college coaches and give them the opportunity to evaluate your skills against those of other players interested in playing college baseball. This gives college coaches the chance to get to know you, your work ethic, your ambitions and competitiveness. This is a great way for you to see how your skills fare up with against players from 'other' areas.
· Ask college coaches who have seen you play. Whether he is interested in you for his program or not, most will give a fair evaluation.
· Ask former players who have competed at the college or professional level.

You also need to make an honest evaluation of your skills and your skills at the position you are currently playing. For example; you may be doing a good job as a shortstop at the High School level but do you fill the skill needs of a College shortstop.

Indicated below is a ranking or 'order of skills' of a player's ability by position. As an example; look at the First Base position. The #1 skill coaches look for is Hitting with power. If you are a singles hitter, its going to be an 'uphill battle' making the team at that position. If your skills do not line up you need to consider a position change and / or work on your weak skills to better fit your desired position.

Note: The chart above is from 'A Guide to College Baseball and Beyond' by Bobby McKinney