Seven Tips For the "Big Time" Recruit Once You Get to College

Seven Tips For the “Big Time” Recruit Once You Get to College
By: Eddie Smith
November 11, 2015

“He’s going to be an All American and high draft pick after a few years there.” 

It’s a common phrase heard in the world of high school games regarding the “big time” recruits who have signed to go on and play in college.  The toughest task for a college coach is figuring which of the thousand “no doubt, big time” recruits will truly be the All American everyone proclaims that they will be and which players will simply be remembered as the high school hero who didn’t pan out. 

Based on 10 years of experience coaching at the college level, these seven tips are designed to give a player a great look into the realities of college sports for a successful transition from high school to college athletics.

1. The game will be different – the quicker you adjust to this the quicker you will be successful

No matter how good your high school or select team was, the game at the college level will be an adjustment.  Players are older, faster, stronger and the talent level is much better than any level you have ever played before.

Accept this and realize that you will need to be eager to make adjustments in order to be successful at this new level.  Recognize that you have coaches and veteran players doing everything they can to tell you and show you what it takes to make this leap.  The quicker you can adjust, the quicker you will be successful!  

2. Surround yourself with people who push you to get better

So you have done it.  You were the best player on your high school team and likely the best player across many counties.  As a result, everyone wanted a piece of your time, thoughts and Twitter account.  Most of these people – teachers, relatives, coaches, parents of teammates – told you how good you are.  This is great as they appreciate your ability and are supportive of your opportunity.

But to become the best college player you can be, DON’T BELIEVE THE HYPE!  You are now surrounded by several teammates who were also the stars of their recruiting class.  To top it off, the majority of these teammates are older and already have valuable college experience.

To be able to compete at this new level, focus on the people around you who are looking to make you better rather than tell you how good you are.  This can be a high school coach who sees the potential in you and is always pushing you to be better, a local athlete in your hometown who has recently moved to the college level and experienced the transition first hand or most certainly your college coaches and strength coaches who have years of experience at this level that is completely new for you.  

These people are tremendous resources who will use their experiences to help you have a smoother and more successful transition to the new world you have become a part of – be sure to use them!

3. You will have to earn playing time – embrace the challenge!

Once a family friend who was playing college baseball across the country called me the summer after his freshman year as he was contemplating transferring from a Division I school (that had been ranked in the top 25 all year and reached the NCAA Tournament) to a junior college.  While he had played in nearly half the games as a freshman, he explained to me that he was one of six infielders who would be fighting for three spots in his sophomore year and if he didn’t start as a sophomore there were some big time infield recruits who had committed and would be freshman when he was a junior.  “The coach might not ever give me my chance” he continued.  I stopped the conversation right there and explained to him that the coach’s job is to win games and his job as a player is to perform in a way that there is no doubt that he is the best player on the team for the starting position.

You were recruited to a program because someone in that program believed in you and your abilities enough to think that you could help this program win.  In college athletics the coach is going to play the players who are going to give the team the best chance to win.  The scholarship you received was based on the program’s belief that you could help that program win.  No matter how good you were in high school or how high of a priority you were in the recruiting process, if the program is of any quality at all there will be several talented teammates competing for playing time. 

You must know that you are competing for playing time based on your performance in practice and games.  It is likely the first time in your life that you have had to work for playing time – EMBRACE IT!  The competition within the team will make you a better player and if your goal is to be the best player you can be, you need to compete every day!

4. Your mom and dad love you, but you’re not as good as they think you are

I don’t have kids yet and the day that I do I too will likely fall in to the most delusional force known to mankind:  believing that my kids are exponentially better athletes than they actually are.  It is amazing to see the way the most highly educated professionals - CEOs, doctors, lawyers and the like – can all lose complete sense of reality when it comes to the athletic ability of their children.

The beauty of this is that it is based in a deep love and care that they have for you as their child.  The downside is that believing them when they tell you how good you are or how you should be playing instead of so and so will quickly hinder your development.

You chose to attend a college (hopefully) because you believed in the place and the coaches to give you the best college experience possible and make you the best player you can be.  Letting parents (or friend, girlfriends or relatives) opinions of how good you are and when you should be playing will only take your focus away from reaching your top ability.

Instead, trust the coaches who are doing everything they can to make you the best player you can be and seek advice from veteran players who have experienced success at the college level already.

5. Every day is the most important day for your development – you must bring this mindset!

In a competitive environment, the smallest things can produce the greatest edge for one player over another.  The intensity that will be demanded from you to be successful as a college freshman is unlike anything that has ever been required from you before.

You must be able to bring more energy than you ever have before and a mindset that you are coming to be the best player you can possibly be every single day.  If you’re not thinking this way, someone else is and that person will be beat you out.

This is an easy mindset to take on for the first day of workouts.  Even the first week and first months provide plenty of stimulation for most to be great.  But the best have this mindset every day.  They understand there is not a shortcut to success and never get sidetracked from the mindset to be the best in everything they are doing. 

6. You will face adversity – How you respond to it will define your career

No matter where you are you will face challenges in college – especially your freshman year.  The jump in level of play is steep, the intensity level is at an all-time high and you are going through several other transitions in your life – college classes, living on your own, being away from family.  

Everyone who has ever succeeded in college has been knocked flat on their face at least once and several times for most. Instead of pouting or looking for someone to feel sorry for them, successful players use these failures to spark a fire within them to respond to this adversity and be better than ever.  They learn from the failure and find ways to get better and find motivation in the daily challenge to improve.  The successful players rarely face less adversity than the players that didn’t find success, they simply use their energy to find solutions rather than excuses.  

Brace yourself now – adversity is coming your way.  How will you handle it?  Remember, “You can find a solution or an excuse but you can’t find both.”

7. Always play for the love of the game and love of your team

As a successful athlete there will always be distractions.  For the biggest prospects these distractions range from agents to endorsement deals while most high profile players face other distractions such as “will I get drafted?” or “if we win this big game on TV we might get a new set of uniforms and gear”.

Being a baseball coach I believe baseball to be the greatest game on earth.  The crack of the bat, the way the grass feels beneath your feet, or a great play can all stimulate a great sense of joy for me.  My hope is that your sport makes you feel the same way.

When you play the game because you love the game itself, you will get more out of your ability than from any other motivation.  When you are able to put all focus on playing the game you love to the best of your ability, the distractions (draft, uniforms, contracts, etc.) always have a way of working out.

And more importantly, play for the love your team.  The bonds and memories that sports create are unlike any other human connection.  The lessons learned in leadership, teamwork, accountability, toughness, resiliency and sacrifice by working with a group of others – A TEAM – toward a common goal are life lessons that can’t be learned in any better forum than the sports field.

Join your new team with a focus to serve the team and the team’s mission.  The incredible thing about a team is that when every individual is serving the team, every individual benefits because of the strength of the team.  

John Wooden once said, “Finding the right players who put the interests of the team ahead of their own requires finding mature individuals who understand that what helps the organization ultimately helps them.”  It is certainly a mature concept but the rewards are unmatched.

As you transition to your college career, never forget: play for the love of the game and the love of your team.