Latest / Dugout Dish Baseball Recruiting Podcast powered by EMD Baseball / Episode 125: The Give and Take in the Recruiting Process

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Episode 125: The Give and Take in the Recruiting Process · Dugout Dish Baseball Recruiting Podcast powered by EMD Baseball

• 0:00
  Speaker A: Foreign.
• 0:11
  Speaker B: Welcome to this week's edition of Dugout Dish podcast. I'm Andy Kira Kittis, joined by my wonderful co host who may or may not be doing the Atlanta Braves Tomahawk Chop coach Keith Glasser. How we doing?
• 0:26
  Speaker A: Great. How are you?
• 0:27
  Speaker B: Good. I'm going to let you introduce this topic, but we're going to, we're going to talk about, we're kind of in the midst of the recruiting process right now for a large portion of high school student athletes. And I think there's a couple things to, that are important to wrap your head around and kind of understand in terms of how this kind of works and some of the sacrifices that you have to make. But I'm going to kick it over to you to kick this topic off.
• 0:57
  Speaker A: Sure. I was thinking the other day, we've, we talk a lot about the obviously recruiting and the interviews and a lot of the stuff we do on here. And I think something that we've never really discussed on this podcast in our, you know, pushing, I think we're over 200 episodes. Yeah, we're well over 200 episodes. So we've never really discussed this. And you know, I was thinking about it from when I was coaching and you know, doing the consulting thing on this side of stuff, working with our clients about what the recruiting process, you know, kind of what it looks like being recruited as a student athlete and how it differs from a college selection, college search process of a student who is not going to be an athlete in college. And there's certain, there's a give and take with both. And I thought it was, you know, we've never really discussed it and I thought it was at least an interesting topic to talk about some things in which you might not be able to do as a recruited student athlete that you might be able to do as a student who goes to a college and, you know, is looking to go somewhere just to be a normal, normal student. And I think one of the things that, you know, at the give and take with it, I, I think we should address and the first one and the most obvious one. Right. Is when you're being recruited as a student athlete, generally speaking, and you know, I would say the overwhelming majority, there are obviously going to be schools that are outliers when I say this, but the overwhelming majority, and especially at the Division 1 level, and I know specific at the Division 3 level. It's true. I know it's true at the Division 2 level as well, you're going to know if you're being recruited by A school, whether or not you will be admitted to that school way earlier than any other student who is set to apply to said school that is not going to be an athlete. So that right there sets this whole process apart from just being a regular student. Right. You know, you're going to know that we have guys that are committed to the, in the 2026 class, to Division 1, Division 2, Division 3 schools right now that we work with. And you can't apply to those schools until, you know, usually August, late August is when the Common app usually opens. So all of these players know that they're admitted to the school. You go through, you know, admissions clears it, you know, you get all your stuff. Depending on the school, they look at it, say, yeah, when this kid applies, he'll be admitted. And it's always with a caveat. As long as you don't fail, pretty much every single one of your senior classes, you're going to be admitted to that school. You know, so that right there sets you apart from anyone else who's applying. Like, you're going to be done way earlier than anyone else. This is a little bit different. Obviously, you know, when you and I went to school, this was. We were. We committed, you know, under current terms, very late. Right. Like I committed in September of my senior year, which 22 years ago was super, super early. And that's just not the case anymore. You have guys that are committing Division 3 level in, you know, July preceding their senior year. That. That's a lot earlier than, than what it has been. But that also, you know, you're obviously going to want to visit the school depending on when you can visit. You know, you. If you can go in the spring, you're going to get a little bit more of a feel for the pulse on campus with all the students. Obviously, in the summer, it's a little bit less vibrant because there's a lot less students on campus. You know, the ability to sit in on the class, which I know a lot of people. I saw this a lot at rpi, where you have students who are looking at a school like rpi, they would want to sit in a class and what it looks like that might not really be an option if you're a student athlete being recruited, because you're not really going to have the time frame in order to do it before you have to make a decision on whether or not you're going to go to that school. You know, you'll generally get a financial aid package along with it. So you'll have at Least a general idea. If It's a Division 3 school, most schools will be like, hey, this is the merit money, scholarship minimum that you'll get. So you have an idea of what you're going to get. Pair that with the financial aid calculator, the net price calculator, excuse me, and you'll have a pretty good idea of your need based money, your merit money, and what the package would look like and how much you'd have to pay without all of that aid. The Division 1 level, you're likely talking your need based, your merit and your athletic scholarship money. So you have a hard number as to what it is you're staring down having to pay to go to that school. So a lot of these things for student athletes are at an advantage for you to be able to make these decisions a lot earlier than anyone else who is looking to apply to those schools. So because of that, again, you're not necessarily going to be able to do some things that you might otherwise want to do. That's not saying that you can't go on an official visit or commit and then go in the fall and stay overnight, sit in a class and do those things. But you're likely not going to be able to do that prior to committing to said school. Because there is a time frame in which, you know, some schools, and we've talked about this, I think the podcast that went out, maybe it's coming out next Monday, we talked about the slow, the slow burn of what the recruiting process is right now. Some schools are waiting, some schools are, you know, they're convicted in what they see and they're making a decision on guys that they really like right now and they want to, you know, have decisions over the course of the next couple of weeks. It's July 22nd as we record this. So, you know, there's going to be guys that are going to commit to Division 3, Division 1, Division 2 schools over the course of the next two, three, four weeks before a student sets on foot for campus this fall. You know, so you might be, you know, you can commit and then, you know, obviously talk to coach like, hey, can I come down and visit and do an overnight with, you know, somebody and sit in a class? Just so I have a feel for what this looks like. And maybe after that, maybe you don't like it and that's okay, but you're better off knowing then. And you're early enough to be able to kind of reopen your commitment, but at least, you know, you can go and say, hey, no I made the right decision. Like I get it, you're sitting in on class. The other thing, and this is the non academic person who worked at an academic school. A college class is a college class for the most part, especially at the freshman year, freshman introductory courses. We're not splitting the atom here and finding the cure for cancer. You sit in on one, you're likely, you have a pretty good feel for what it's going to look like. So, you know, I don't necessarily know if that's something that has to move the needle and I'm not, you know, for some people it might. I, you know, it's what you want to do. But you know, I think the point that I'm trying to make in this long winded opening monologue of this episode is that there's certain trade offs that you get with being a recruited student athlete and that is knowing that you're getting into the school, knowing what your financial aid package looks like and being able to make a decision way earlier than the application process is even open for anyone else. And because of that, there are certain things that you might not be able to do to check those boxes off before you make that decision. And that's just the give and take with being a recruited student athlete and understanding that it's far different than somebody else who is not being recruited to play a sport there. You know, so it's, and I think sometimes, like I've seen it a lot from a coaching standpoint and on this side where you have a family where there's some older siblings who didn't play any sports in college, right. So like this is something that this recruiting process is completely new and kind of foreign to them in making these decisions and having to do this. They've, you know, that we don't really, you know, we were able to go do X, Y and Z and we visited all these schools and we sat in on classes and we ate in the cafeteria, we do it all. Like you're likely not going to be able to do that as a recruited student athlete. You're going to have to make a decision early on in the process before doing any of those extra things that you might have done, you know, for your older siblings, you know, so it's a different look, it's a different feel. But there's trade offs again with knowing that you can get in, knowing finances, knowing the things it is that you need to, you know, realistically the foundation of what it is that you need to know to make that decision, to go to that school, because aside from all of that, you're going to have met the coaching staff, you're going to have probably talked to somebody on the team, you know, maybe an alum, something like that. Like coaches, they're getting very creative nowadays with making decisions early on, getting guys to be able to talk to current players, getting them to talk to young alumni who can talk to what their experience was and how the school helped them, things like that. So you get a really good feel. You know, the other stuff just kind of becomes a little bit more ancillary as to whether or not, like, are they really that important? Like dorm rooms secret here. Most college dorm rooms are generally the same. There's going to be two people in there. You can loft your bed. You can not loft your bed. You can have your computer over here, you can have it up there. You can loft it and put your computer under it. You know, really, you're just deciding how you want to design that thing. Right? Like that's gonna make or break our.
• 11:08
  Speaker B: Decision then, if you're lucky.
• 11:11
  Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. I mean, it's a. It's like a single full.
• 11:15
  Speaker B: They got showers, they got bathrooms.
• 11:17
  Speaker A: They got showers, they got bathrooms. We got uniforms and everything here. Be like, you know, some have elevators, some have ac, you know, you know, we're kind of splitting hairs with those things. But, you know, again, my monologue has gotten long. But that's, you know, I kind of wanted to talk about the trade off really, of like being a recruited student athlete and then what that gets, you.
• 11:36
  Speaker B: Know, you got somebody speed racing outside.
• 11:42
  Speaker A: It's like, it's like, I'm sorry, everybody. It is like Fast and the Furious out there and Vin Diesel is chasing someone down the road to talk about family.
• 11:59
  Speaker B: Oh, that's funny.
• 12:01
  Speaker A: Goodness gracious.
• 12:02
  Speaker B: No. I think, I think he nailed it. And it, the idea that there's some trade offs is important. Like, there are significant advantages to being a recruited student athlete. Right. And with that comes the fact that you may have to sacrifice some of the experience heading into college. Right. Before you make your decision. I should say, like you said, you can do a lot of this stuff in the fall, you know, kind of as your official visit and that, that type of stuff. But there's some ways to combat this, right? And we talk about it all the time. You need to go see places, you need to go visit these places. Right? You don't need to have the full student population running around campus to get a feel for what the campus is like. Right. You can, you know, you can do Some, you know, some, some thought experiments as to what it might look like. But like you're going to be able to see the buildings, you're going to be able to see the academic buildings, you're going to be able to see the dorm rooms, you're going to be able to see the facilities. But let's not pretend it's something that it isn't, right? Even in the highest academic world, right. The ivy Leagues, the NESCACs, the UAA schools, right. You're still making a baseball decision. And yeah, you can look at the academic profile, make sure that that's going to fit you from an academic perspective, right? The, the major that you're looking for. But at the end of the day, you, the people that you are signing up to go play for matter so much in this that that should be the main focus is are you, are you going somewhere where you feel really good about the people that you're going to be around? And I think that getting to foster a relationship with the coaching staff prior to that commitment, that outweighs the disadvantages of having to commit before you can go see a class. Because to your point, no matter where you go to school those freshmen and sophomore years, the, the class experience isn't going to vary differently. It'll vary maybe in class size, right? Like if you go to a school that's got 30,000 people at it, like, yeah, your freshman seminar class is probably going to be a little bit bigger than it is if you go RPI or Maris where you might have 50 to 75 kids versus you're sitting in an auditorium with 250 kids. But you can do some research on that. There is so much content on YouTube, on the interwebs, where if you're going to go commit to a school and that stuff really matters to you, like you can do some research to get a really good feel for what that looks like. I mean, some of these places give wildly cool in high tech interactive tours of the campus and you can, you can see what it's going to look like when school is happening. You can get a really good feel for it. But you know, at the end of the day, the advantages of being a student athlete in this process to me outweigh some of that stuff. And I don't think getting hung up on that should be a reason that you punt a decision. Because to your point, if somebody really likes you in August or July, they're probably not going to let you sit around on an offer until October so that you can go sit in on the, you know, the one on one English class so that you can, you know, see what the classroom feels like. Most coaches aren't going to. It's just too competitive. So you're going to have to go into this with some, some quote unquote questions a little bit unanswered. But as you mentioned, there are, there are resources to better understand this. You can talk to a player, right? You can ask these questions very pointed to a coach, and they'll give you an idea. You could sit down with the academic advisor at the school, get an idea what that's going to look like. So you can fill a lot of those gaps. But it's unique. And unless you're a 2027 who's highly recruited this fall, you're probably not going to be able to get the full experience of what it's like on campus unless you do a lot of these visits and stuff preemptively. Right? You find time during your high school season to go get a tour and see classes at a school that is either of interest to you or maybe you've had some contact with. That's probably the only way you're going to be able to get that experience. And even then, you're probably not going to go sit in on a class. You're probably just going to be able to see campus when it's maybe buzzing a little bit, right? And we talk about this like going, seeing games, go visit schools when you have an opportunity. It may not line up tightly to the schools that are recruiting you, but you can get a feel for what college feels like. I think it's kind of what I'm driving at. You picking up what I'm putting down?
• 16:57
  Speaker A: Yeah, no, I'm, I'm picking it up. The, you know, not going to tell you that every college campus is the same, right? Everyone has a different feel and they are largely different. I think the nuts and bolts of it are some of the things that, to me, and I'm not saying that these are insignificant, but to me are not necessarily the most important things are like, you know, what does the class look like? Dorms, the food, it's generally all going to be the same, you know. So I think being able to understand that the having a leg up on the admissions process, the financial aid process, knowing that you're going to land at a place where you're comfortable with the coaching staff, you have that relationship because, you know, the college level. And I think this is something that, you know, everyone has this shock when you get to College, your freshman year and you're playing a sport, whether it's baseball or lacrosse or hockey or football, whatever, the sheer amount of time that you're going to spend with your teammates and doing said sport in one way, shape or form is astronomically more than you've ever experienced in your life to this point for the majority of people. Right? So you're going to be, you know, you're probably going to be lifting three to four days a week. If you're a baseball player, you're lifting three to four days a week. You are going to be practicing between four and six days a week, depending on the level, for 24 to 35 days. Then you're going to get into individuals. If you're at the division one or two level where you're going to have two hours of skill work a week with a coach, it might be individual, it might be group work. And that's going to lead you all the way up till in and around Thanksgiving. Then after that, you know, you're into finals, you go home, you're going to have to do all your work on your own. Then you're going to come back, you're straight back into individuals. Then you're into team practice, then you're playing six days a week, 56, 40 to 56 games. You know, you're lifting, you're traveling, there's a lot of time. Oh, by the way, in all of this you do have to go to class. So that is something that you have to do. But it's, you know, again, I'm not telling you that sitting in a class is the most important thing that you need to do. Do you know, it's not like you're going to go in there and learn what Matt Damon did and you know how you like them apples. But you know, the point is that, you know, you want, like that you want to be comfortable in making the decision with the coaching staff, the team, the school itself, that you profile there academically and that, you know, you can go visit the school and get a feel for. Yeah, this is a place that I really could see myself being at. You're, you're 92 to 95% of the way there. You know, to me, all that other stuff is just more, you know, it's really just kind of the same because you're. The vast majority of the people that you are going to interact with over the course of your four years are going to be athletes. It's not to say that you don't interact with non athletes when you're at school because you do. You obviously have to go to class and do groups and stuff like that. But all, all in all, the majority of people that you're probably going to spend the majority of the time that are going to be a lot of your, your, your longtime friends are going to be athletes. It's just kind of how it works, you know. So again, like, I'm not trying to sway anyone off of those things not necessarily being important, but I do think that it's. They're less important than some emphasis on. In the process, you know, the, the trade off again in all of this is that you, you know, I profile at this school, I can get into the school, it's going to be affordable for my family, and I'm going to be able to walk out of here with a degree in four years and, oh, by the way, be able to play baseball for four. So, you know, those things kind of outweigh, in my own personal opinion, some of those other things where, you know, dorm rooms, what does the union look like? How's the food? The food, you're gonna, you can go on a billion college campus tours and they're gonna, you're gonna be like, how's the food? And everyone's gonna be like, that's fine, it's fine. And that's what it is. It's fine. It's college food. You're going to want to go home and have your mom cook you a meal from time to time. Just how it is. I wanted to do it when I was in college, but, you know, eventually you just go to the calf. Sneak by the cafeteria, please, and have yourself a. You know, they have ice cream machines in there. I mean, there's a whole slew of things in the cafeteria that you can eat.
• 21:47
  Speaker B: Opera of cereal.
• 21:49
  Speaker A: Oh, the cereal, the salad bars, the breakfast station, the eggs, the bacon. I mean, you could have as many bagels and English muffins as you could dream of if you really wanted to. Waffle makers, you know, they got it all nowadays.
• 22:05
  Speaker B: Yeah, it's. I think this highlights another thing too, and we've talked about this a little bit, but if seeing campuses getting a little bit of the college experience is important to you in this process. Right. Which it is for some people and to a certain degree matters. Right. Understand that if you are going to get recruited in the summer going into your senior year, you're likely not going to be able to experience this at the schools that are going to recruit you. Right. And we've Talked about it 98% of high school kids, this is the window they get recruited in. But if you need to get a better understanding of what college life looks like in different campuses, this is why it's important to start your recruiting process early, right? Maybe not necessarily getting recruited, because maybe you're not ready to get recruited, but if you have an idea of where you fit in the landscape, right, you have an idea of the type of school that you want to go to, you have an idea of the, the, the degree that you're looking to pursue, you can start to chip away at gathering this information well ahead of time. So, like, for the 27s who are going through this, right, for 98 of you guys, you're not going to get recruited until next spring, next summer. That doesn't mean that you don't go and take a little bit of time this fall and you're traveling to some tournament in, you know, down in the Philadelphia area, and you're a Fringe Division one guy and you're a really good student. Maybe you go check out St. Joe's right? Maybe you go check out Lasalle, or maybe you go check out Villanova and you get a feel for what some of these schools look like. Or maybe you're a really high academic kid and you want to play at the Division 3 level because there's liberal arts schools that you're really targeting. One of them is Haverford, one of them Swarthmore, and you're playing down in Philadelphia. Go see those places, get ahead of the game a little bit so you can start to gather some of this information and you get to crunch time when you have to make a decision and you have already seen some of the things that you need to see and you feel a little bit more comfortable about maybe some of the schools that you're starting to target, or maybe you go visit some of these schools and you go, you know what? I don't really like that type of a setting. So some of these schools that I thought I would like that fall into a very similar category, maybe I want to shift gears and start looking at some other places so you can combat some of this. If you have some, some anxiety around being able to accomplish some of the things you may not be able to accomplish due to the fact that the student athlete process is very different. You can get ahead of a little bit of this if you just plan. And it's why we encourage people to start this process earlier rather than later. Understand that things will change and you'll get better and you'll develop and Your target list is going to change, but you can start to go and get a feel for some of these schools, the different types of campuses, these different locations. And I think it's a really valuable thing to undertake because then you get to your decision making point and you have more information to base that decision off of.
• 25:23
  Speaker A: Right. And I think it's especially valuable for, you know, if you're a 27 right now, it's not a bad idea this fall, depending on what you're doing. If, you know, even if you're playing fall baseball or, you know, this winter, because you can now talk to college coaches, doesn't mean that they necessarily have the time to do it, but you can at least reach out and say, hey, I'm, you know, I'm visiting X campus on Tuesday. Is there Anyone around for 10 minutes to answer some questions I have, whatever it might be. But at the very least, you can go to the campus and get a feel for, hey, like, I like the buzz around campus. I like the vibes they have here. I like the setting. Or like you said, Dan, you know what, this really, really isn't a place that I could see myself going to. And then, you know, and you know, early, and it makes it a little bit easier when you go, which is why, you know, for us, when we do this with families, we talk about this super early in the process about what it is you're looking for, what it is you like, what type of college campus, how big the size. Because there is, there is a difference between, and this is obvious, but there is a difference between a school being 18,000 and a school being six or three. But there's also a difference in campus sizes. You could be on a smaller campus with 3,000 people and it feels a lot bigger than it actually is. Or you could be on a campus that you know is 500 acres and there's 6,000 people and it feels a lot smaller than it is, you know, so things like that, where, you know, what is it that you're looking for? And to be quite honest with you, you don't have to know. That's kind of why you want to go do this a little bit earlier than later so that you start getting an idea for what it is that you like and what you don't like. So that when the time comes, it's not, you know, hey, these two schools are recruiting me. And they're kind of the same from a campus and population standpoint. You go and you're like, I don't even really like either of these, what do I do? And then you can find yourself in position where you don't really. You make a decision based off, you know, on things that you don't really love, you know, So I think being able to get out in front of, how to get out in front of it gives you more of a Runway to really be able to hone in on what it is that you want. And then when you become recruited, and again, this is the trade off with it is that, hey, I, you know, I visited the school, they're recruiting me. I really liked it. I don't really have to like, I would like to go in the fall and, you know, meet the team and stay overnight with a guy, whatever it might be. But, you know, I visited. I really like the vibes on campus. I really like the coaching staff. I've talked to a couple of the players, seem like awesome guys. I'm in. Here's my financials. Boom. I'm committed, and you can be done, you know, so I, I think that it's. It's not a rush. I want to be very clear when we talk about this too, is that it's not a rush to get committed. It's a long, It's a slow burn to figure out what it is that you really like so that when you eventually start to be recruited, you really have an idea of what it is that you, you want out of your process, your, Your school, your academics, those types of things, so that you have, you know, you can pull the trigger a little bit quicker once you have all that information in front of you from a admissibility standpoint, a financial standpoint, it just makes the decision that much easier because you've already gone through it over the course of the last 12 to 16, 18 months. But, you know, I just think that there, you just have to understand that when you step into this world and this is what you want to do from a college standpoint, that you want to go play baseball, that there are going to be trade offs in this process. And in my opinion, the trade offs far outweigh the lack of being able to do some things that other students might, might be able to actually do during their, you know, during their process, because their process is going to be a lot longer. Right. You know, your normal students are either going ed in November or early action or running it right up into January or February with regular decision deadlines where, you know, you could commit tomorrow, July 23rd, we'll call it the end of the month. But August, September, October, like you're done four months before early decision and six months before regular decision, like you're done. And either there's some freeing anxiety and feelings in that of where, you know, I don't have to worry about this anymore. I know where I'm going, I'm comfortable in my decision. I know what we're gonna have to pay and I just got to get my stuff in on time and boom, I'm done. You know, so it's, there's, there's some, there's some positive trade offs to it. The other thing too, as I talk about this, when you have those, those types of trade offs is that it can feel a little wait and see. And what I mean by that, like you know you're in, but you, even though you're in, you have to go through the same process post acceptance as everyone else. So you might commit in July but like you ain't getting your housing until everyone else does in, in May of the following year, you know, all of those types of things. So like it might feel like. And that's another trade off in this where those people have made a decision, they got accepted in April and then they let everyone know in May, like it's, it's moving fast for them. It's going to feel like a super slow crawl for you because it's like, well, I committed in July. Like you're not, you're not going to pick housing or do anything else for another 10 months. It's just, just how it works, you know. So there's that trade off in it as well where it's going to feel a little bit, it'll feel super slow on the front end and then slow on the back or super fast on the back end and slow on the. Wow, I can't speak. It's going to feel super fast on the front end and then super slow on the back end where it's going to be flipped for the person who's not going to be an athlete. It's going to be super slow on the front end and then it's going to feel like it's pretty fast on the back end for them because you're going to make a decision and have to do your housing, your meal plan, your, all that stuff, you know, relatively in quick rapid succession. So, you know, one of the other trade offs that come with it as well. But your coaches, for those of you that are going to commit are going to be on you about doing this stuff. Make sure you answer your emails, make sure you fill out this stuff on time. Because they're going to be getting it from all of their bosses about why their guys haven't been filling stuff out. So start being responsible and fill it out.
• 32:19
  Speaker B: The other thing I'll add about this, we're talking about the differences in being a student athlete, being being a regular, you know, admission candidate. You still have to put in a good application, right? You can't just mail it in because you committed to a school. You can't just mail it in in the classroom just because you committed to a school. Especially if you're in the high academic world, right? You need to write a good essay. And this stuff is, is stuff that we address with the people that we work with, but for the people that we don't who are listening to this. Just because you make a commitment doesn't mean that you can just cash it in and that you can submit the common app and half ass your essay and half ass your supplements and, you know, not get good recommendations. Like, you still need to do all of that at the highest level possible because one, it's a reflection of your willingness to do things well. But the other part of it is specifically with these high academic schools, if you don't write a good essay, if you don't put your application together correctly, you don't want to be the guy that they have to call and be like, hey man, you didn't get in because you didn't do what you needed to do from an application standpoint. Now this is few and far between because coaches stay on top of players, but in recent years, nobody that we worked with but coaches that I have talked to have told me that they had to go to bat with admissions BE because a kid basically half assed their application and they had to vouch for it. And the kid actually had to resubmit essays and prove that he was willing to do the work. You do not want to be that person. That is the one part of this process that it is exactly the same as regular admissions. You need to do everything that is required of you from an application standpoint, from a submission standpoint. It needs to be done on time. It needs to be done in to full completeness. Do not let that lack because you do not want that to come back and bite you in the butt. So, yeah, there's some significant differences here in terms of how the process plays out, but that is the one thing that is common across, is that you still have to do all of that stuff at a high level and make sure that you get yourself admitted to that school.
• 34:47
  Speaker A: Yeah, good point. You don't. Just because you commit doesn't mean that you don't have to apply. You still have to go through the entire process for said school. And you also can't fail all your classes senior year. But you can't just kick it into cruise and not get good grades. Because while not necessarily. While wildly uncommon, I should say, I have heard of horror stories of, yeah, they just mailed it in academically and couldn't get him in. The other side of it too, is that if you don't do it the right way or coaches have to continually stay on you about all this, you're going to like, you're setting yourself up to be the guy that all the time is going to be like, I have to hold his hand and I'm already frustrated and he hasn't even gotten the canvas yet. So don't be that guy.
• 35:48
  Speaker B: Don't be the high maintenance guy. The, the best thing you can be as a player is low maintenance. The guy that coach never has to worry about that he's going to class and he's doing what he's supposed to do. And to your point, do not start off your relationship with that coach in terms of you. Because once you submit that application and you get to that point, like you're essentially a student athlete, do not start that off on the wrong foot where that coach has to call you on October 30th or October 31st and be like, hey man, your, your application is not in and it's due tomorrow at noon. Don't be that guy.
• 36:28
  Speaker A: No, it's, it's not, it's not becoming. It's unbecoming. Yes, yes, that is, that is correct. But again, like, it's. And it happens every year, right? Because you have this relationship, you can do all these, like you, you know, you're. There is a lull in the action. Like it's going to feel. Again, I already said it. It's going to feel super fast on the front end and there's going to be a lull in the action once you commit. Doesn't mean that they're not, you're not talking to the coaches and doing these things. But you also have to keep in mind that they're starting school, they have practice, so it might be a little less frequently that you're speaking and you know they're going to be checking in, making sure you're doing stuff like you want to be the guy who's, you know, check. Like you don't need the check ins. Like all my stuff is in. We're good to go. Xyz. And you'll set yourself up for a very successful. Not be flying under the radar freshman year from a, you know, being in trouble and on coach's radar of he has to watch me like a hawk. There's only one player that comes to mind for me in my 16 years of college coaching that I had to watch like a hawk for four years. And not to say that I dislike any of the players that played for me, but one in particular that I had to watch like a hawk who I would still do anything for.
• 38:07
  Speaker B: We played with a couple of them for sure.
• 38:10
  Speaker A: Cool, baby.
• 38:11
  Speaker B: Where you would see coaches showing up at classes to make sure that you were there. You do not want to be that guy because it is tough to climb out of that hole.
• 38:25
  Speaker A: The worst is when you get the text of like, hey is so and so in class. You're like, yes.
• 38:34
  Speaker B: And then you show up at practice and the coach is like, why did you cover for him?
• 38:39
  Speaker A: Then you gotta text him like, yo.
• 38:42
  Speaker B: It's like, well, if you knew, why'd you text me if you knew he wasn't there? Well, I just.
• 38:47
  Speaker A: Throwing him under the bus.
• 38:48
  Speaker B: Yeah. What were you doing throwing my guy under the bus? He wasn't feeling good this morning. He'll be good to go for practice, though.
• 38:54
  Speaker A: Yeah. You. When you got. He came in 10 minutes late. Like, you guys walked by. He wasn't there. He came in afterwards. Sorry.
• 39:00
  Speaker B: Had trouble finding a parking spot. A little late to class. Had to park in the McCann center and walk across campus.
• 39:09
  Speaker A: Tough to cross Route 9.
• 39:13
  Speaker B: All right. Anything else you want to add to this topic, Coach?
• 39:17
  Speaker A: No, there's nothing I want to add. I just. Again, I just thought it would be a poignant thing to kind of have the discussion of because we've never done it. And I've already said this, but, like, there are. There's a lot of give and take and being recruited. And you just have to understand that there are. There are some things that you might not necessarily be able to do prior to commitment and, you know, but you get a lot of benefits in being able to do so while being recruited to play a sport, whether it's baseball or softball or lacrosse or field hockey, whatever it might be. So there's trade offs there. And just understand that. I think is the biggest thing is just understanding that there are trade offs. And just because you are being recruited doesn't mean that you get to do all of these things earlier than everyone else. You likely won't be able to get to do some of them. And that's just kind of the trade off with, with what it is that you're doing.
• 40:18
  Speaker B: Well, this is why we pay in the big bucks. Coach, you come up with these wonderful ideas for the podcast. So. But no, I think it was a good topic to cover. I'm glad that we did because I think that this is one of those pieces of the recruiting process that probably doesn't get enough attention. And the reason we do this is to try to pull back the proverbial veil of this process and shed some light on some things that often go un talked about.
• 40:49
  Speaker A: Yeah. But well said, Andrew. Well said.
• 40:54
  Speaker B: I appreciate that. Well, thank you for listening, everybody. Tune in next week. We'll pull back the veil a little bit more. Thanks, everybody. Talk to you soon. Thank you for listening this week. If you're watching on YouTube, go ahead and hit that subscribe button and smash that like button for us. Check us out on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, as well as Spotify. You can follow us on Twitter and Instagram MD Baseball. If you want to find out what me and Keith do to help families and players navigate the recruiting process, go ahead and check us out on emdbaseball.com take a few minutes to check out our new online academy. I promise you'll get some good information out of that. Thanks again for listening. Check in with you next week.