Dear Mr. CEO,
After you finalize your investment strategy on how to enhance your physical performance and your focused and determined to play college baseball its now time to focus on the recruiting process. Investing in the recruiting process can be very expensive so its imperative to be very strategic.
Thousands upon thousand of high school players across the United States have goals of playing college baseball but only a small percentage have a strategy of how to get noticed and seen by college coaches.
Coach, “What do I need to do to get noticed by that school”? This is the biggest question that I get from players.
As you plan to start spending your capital and investing in your future you need to invest wisely. Spending money on getting recruited will cost you thousands of dollars, and we do not want to waste thousands of dollars. Have a strategy that will maximize your investment.
So what should you do?
The first thing you need to invest in, outside of your physical development, is a recruiting/skills video which can cost you $450-$600. Coaches need to see what you possess. They need to see your body type, your baseball skill set, your arm action, and your movements on the field. Most importantly they need to see your mechanics.
Once you have a video you need to start a dialogues with the college coaches at the schools your interested in and can play at. Coaches want to hear from players, not parents. This shows that the player is interested in the program and the player is mature enough to speak for himself. It also gives the player and coach the opportunity to learn about each other.
*As far as the skills video goes, DO NOT make a skills video if your skills are not polished. As soon as the coach sees your skills are not polished and/or are lacking he will turn the video off and move on. Coaches are trained to look for what they don’t like in a player so they can move on to the next. They have dozens of videos to look at and not enough time.
Next, you need to decide how you want to get in front of the coaches in game/workout settings. You need to determine how much to invest in:
- Travel/”Showcase” teams ($2,200+)
- College Camps ($175-$225)
- Showcase events ($250-$400)
All of these options need to be considered. Depending on your skill set and the level of your game you may only need to choose two or you may need to choose all three. But don’t limit yourself and your exposure, but also, don’t waste money! Choosing camps to attend is a great route to go but only go if your interested in that school and can fill a need there.
Its very important to have a strategy when deciding on where and how much to invest during the recruiting process. To market yourself for one year it will cost you at least $3,500. (Calculated by assuming playing on one team, attending two camps, two showcases and making a video). Does your business have the money to fund these expenses? Do you have to do less? Or can you do more? Create a plan and answer these questions before any decisions are made.
So Mr. CEO, I advise you to invest wisely and strategically plan out your marketing efforts.
Stay tuned in for next weeks post as we wrap up the Attention Youth Baseball Players! You Are a Business series.
Andy Schindling 