Episode 138: Listener Questions

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[00:01:10] Speaker B: Welcome to this week's edition of the Dugout Dish podcast. I'm Andy Kittis, joined by my wonderful co host who's rocking the Compass Cycle and Flow sweatshirt today, Keith Glasser. How we doing? [00:01:21] Speaker A: Great. How are you? This is a, this is a new sweatshirt. [00:01:25] Speaker B: Sharp. [00:01:26] Speaker A: It is sharp. It's very comfortable. This is the, this will be the fourth, fourth week in a row from an episode standpoint that I'm wearing this outfit, so don't judge me. [00:01:38] Speaker B: Is that, is that a 5050 cotton polyester blend? [00:01:42] Speaker A: It is not. Oh no, this is this. We're, you know, we're, we're doing pretty well here in the Compass cycle world. This is a Lululemon sweatshirt. Yes. [00:01:53] Speaker B: Yes. [00:01:53] Speaker A: So we, they splurged. We also have a blue one. I say we because my wife also has one as well. We have a blue one as well. You'll probably see me rocking it here in the near future. But you know, plugged them before. I'll plug them again. If you're in the Rochester area, Compass, Cycle and Flow, they have cycle classes. My wife teaches. She's actually teaching. Well, this doesn't matter because she'll have already taught when this goes out. But Thursdays at 6:00am and Fridays at 9:00am my wife teaches. If you want to get on that bike. They also have some yoga. Coach Larson, a former guest of this podcast, is usually a very frequent flyer of the yoga studio there. My sister in law teaches there. They have a couple more. There's a plethora of instructors. They also have a spot over in Greece on the west side of Rochester as well. So they have a downtown studio, a West side studio. So know plenty of offerings if you're looking to get your cycle on out here in Rochester, New York, so. Or if you're visiting, if you guys come and visit, swing by, tell them. [00:03:00] Speaker B: Keith sent you this ad was not paid. [00:03:07] Speaker A: That's a pretty good ad for an off the cuff. [00:03:11] Speaker B: Absolutely. [00:03:13] Speaker A: An off the cuff spot there. But yes, no, that was not paid. That was, that's completely, you know, family being proud of my sister in laws and my wife for, you know, doing what they've been able to do there. [00:03:25] Speaker B: All right, well, little Q and A action today, Coach Glass, so I'm going to fire off some questions. We're going to try to answer them. First one, what is the typical recruiting timeline for a 2027 graduate? [00:03:49] Speaker A: Yikes. Jumping right into it, I would say under current, the current landscape of college baseball recruiting, the vast majority of 2027 graduates are going to be recruited between May and November of next year in 2026. That's not to say that guys are committing right now because you're seeing it, because they're able to be talked to and extended offers to and coaches are out there, you know, making decisions on guys that they really like that are on the super top end of their board that they're trying to get and guys are committing. But for the vast majority of college baseball and you know, Division one, Division two, Division three, that, those, that timeline for the majority of people, and I'm talking like 97 to 98% of people, is going to be like May to November, December of 2026, you know, the rise of the transfer portal and coaches not really knowing what the roster is going to look like has changed. This, that not being able to talk to people until August 1st, going into your junior year of high school, from a coach, being able to talk to a potential student athlete has slowed this down, you know, in that like, you know, there's no official visits, there's no offers. None of that stuff happens beforehand. So, you know, it's really slowing down, you know, Division 3 level, especially right now. Like they're still working on the 26th class. Like, you know, there's, there's a number of Division 3 schools out there that are still looking for 2026 grads. So they haven't even turned the page to 2027 yet. You know, so I, I would say that for the overwhelming majority, it's going to be, you know, kind of post, you know, the end of your high school season, you know, late May, June, into the through the summer and into the fall. And that time frame fits right like there, there's, that's when college coaches are going to be coming off of their seasons where they're going to be able to get out and see a little bit more high school than, you know, just what's in their immediate area. And then obviously the summer and the fall where they can kind of hit the road and go do what they want to do. But you know, they're in a quiet period right now from a Division 1 standpoint, which, you know, kind of everyone follow suit until March 1st. So there's not a whole lot of recruiting going on right now, you know, so I would say that, that, that would be the time frame in which I would tell most 20, 27s, you know, unless you're going to go play in the SEC or the acc, that, you know, the majority of those guys are going to be committed, you know, the majority of college baseball outside of them are going to be committing and will be recruited. I should say like late May, June through November, December. [00:06:46] Speaker B: Yeah, I think that that's important for people to hear because we get, you know, we get people that are like, well, I haven't talked to any coaches yet, so that's fine. You know, the, the vast majority of guys aren't recruitable yet at the Division 1 level and that's fine. You got a whole off season to go through. So the reality is, and you nailed it, that you know, the vast majority of the recruiting is going to happen April, May, June, July, August of next summer. And you know, it's not time to panic in terms of timelines by any stretch of the imagination. And you know, the guys that you're seeing commit now, they're kind of cream of the crop. But you know, the ACC and the SEC and the Big 12 and the Big Ten and the upper level conferences in Division 1 baseball, like they're going to be recruiting 27s well into next summer too. They're just hopping on some of the premium guys right now. So yeah, it's very, very normal. If you're listening to this, if you're a 2027 grad and you know, you haven't been on the phone with anybody or you haven't gotten a ton of interest, that that's totally normal. And this race is not finished, you know, in October of 2025, you know, you got plenty of time to get better. You got plenty of time to put together a recruiting plan. I think it's important to understand that. Speaking of recruiting plans, what are some of the key things to consider when you're building out your target list of schools? [00:08:14] Speaker A: Sure. Obviously, what they have to offer academically should be one of the first and foremost things that you're looking for. You know, you want to make sure that the school you're going to has what it is that you want to study at school. You really don't want to make any compromises on the front end before you even start your process of like, well, I'd go to this school if they had this, even though I don't really want to do it. You know, so you want to cast a wide net. You want to make sure, you know, they have, A, what you want to do academically, B, you're competitive in the admissions process at that school. You know, we've talked about this, you know, frequently on this podcast, but I think that, you know, there's a little misnomer out there that, you know, no matter how good you are, schools can get you in academically. And that's just not true at all levels. You're going to have to be able to be competitive from an admissions standpoint. So you want to make sure that the schools you're targeting, you actually have a fighting chance to be able to get into academically. And what I mean by that is like, if you want to play in the Nescac, you have to have NESCAC rates. You know, you have to be upper 90s, you know, 3, 7, 3, 8 and above. And then, you know, in that 1400 and above two part or a 33 and above act for the middle 50th percentile. So those are the, you know, you want to check those two boxes academically, then you're going to want to find a fit from a, a baseball standpoint. You want to be able to find a school where, you know, you're, you can fit in from an athletic standpoint. You know what I mean by that is if you can't play at the University of Virginia, then you need to a, either be self aware enough or have someone that you trust tell you, like, hey, that's not going to be a fit for you academically, so you should probably, or athletically, you should take them off your list. You know, you want to target schools in which you're going to be able to legitimately have a chance to be able to make that roster. From there, you know, you're, you're going to want to pare down, obviously from the, you know, the type of campus or the size of campus you're Looking for, you know, some people want to go to school in the city, some people want more rural, some people want suburban. You know, some people want to go to a giant school where there's 30,000 people. Other people want to go to school, that's 1200 people. You know, you want to get that feel and that idea from a campus setting, what that looks like, because stolen from a frequent member of this podcast, Jonathan Grasse, who, you know, said it eloquently, if you're not happy standing on the center of campus, you're not going to be happy standing at shortstop either. So you want to make sure that you're at a place where you're going to be comfortable outside of the baseball field as well. From there, you know, find coaches and coaching staffs that want you in their program. You know, that they want you to be a part of what it is that they're building, what it is that they're doing. You know, you'll obviously have a really good idea if they're recruiting you, how you know, how badly they want you. But there's something to be said about going to a program where they really do value you as a student athlete and find a coaching staff that you're comfortable with. You know, you're going to be spending an inordinate amount of time with coaches and players, but especially with your coaches during the course of your, your career. You want to make sure that you are comfortable enough being able to a, be coached by them probably at some point in your career be coached tough by them and somebody that you can actually communicate with on what's going on and like, hey, why am I not playing? Or what is it that I need to do to get better? And has a true open door policy where you can go in and talk those things out and have that conversation. You might not like what you hear, but that trust in that, that ability to be able to have those conversations will pay dividends moving forward, but also allows you to grow as a player and as a person. You know, so, you know, to kind of sum it up, I guess, in a brief five point thing, I think. [00:12:20] Speaker B: I said five things. [00:12:21] Speaker A: You know, you want to find a place that has what you have from an academic stand, what you want from an academic standpoint that you can get into, or at least are competitive enough in the admissions process, the type of campus setting that you're looking for, the type of program that you want to play in, that you fit in, that you can play in, and then a coaching staff that is willing, you know, that that wants you and also will be able to develop you as not only a baseball player, but as a human being throughout the course of your career there too. [00:12:55] Speaker B: Yeah, I think, yeah, I mean, you nailed a bunch of the things that I'm probably going to double down on here. But I think it start from a baseball perspective. It starts with getting an understanding of where you fit in the college baseball landscape, both currently and where you could potentially fit. Right. So there's some projection involved in this. But you know, you're sitting here on October 15, you need somebody who can look you in the eyes and go, hey, I think that this is the type of school that you fit in right now from a baseball perspective. And this is the type of school that I think you can get to if you work really hard for the next six months. And you need to see kind of where the chips fall. So you got to have some schools that are quote, unquote, target schools, and then some schools that you're reaching for a little bit could be a mix of division one, two and three. It could be a mix of division one, whatever it is. But it starts from a pure baseball perspective. It starts with having a good understanding of what your skill set, what your ability allows you to do from a college baseball perspective. And then you hit on the non baseball stuff that I think you need to consider how far are you going to be from home? Right. If you're from Massachusetts and you want to stay in New England, there's your constraint. You got to be looking at schools that fit from a baseball perspective in that particular region. So is there a geographic constraint that you're going to put on yourself? The academic portion has to play a factor. Specifically, if you're a high academic kid, do they have the right degree? Are you admissible doing some research on those schools? And the campus setting I think is huge. When you get into the process and you start to get recruited, that what you were talking about with the coaches, that's a huge piece of the puzzle. But in terms of crafting that initial list, that initial target list, from a pure baseball perspective, it starts 100% with a current evaluation of where you're at, where you fit now, and where you could potentially fit depending on how you continue to progress. And then you got to factor in the non baseball pieces of the puzzle that are going to help you have a more refined list so you don't end up with 150 schools because that doesn't really do much for you in the long run. So. All right, next question. Are tournaments with your travel team sufficient for exposure? So yes and no on this one. Like a lot of things that we talk about, there's different use cases. What I would say in general is that for most kids, you need to supplement your travel schedule with other events and camps that are going to maximize your chances to get in front of the schools that you want to get in front of. And the reason I say this is, is you can't always count on the coaches that you want to be seen by to be at the places you're going to play. Right. If you're a kid from Texas and you want to play in the Ivy League, you need to make sure that you get in front of the Ivy League coaches or you have some contact with those coaches in some way, shape or form. So maybe it's, you have to go to one of their camps. Maybe you need to go to an Academic Focus showcase. So taking into account what your tournament schedule is and is that going to get you in front of the right coaches? That's huge. And then you need to look at how you can supplement it. So that would be kind of my quick answer to it can be for some guys. Some guys are good enough. They're going to be in the right spots because their travel team does a really good job of being in the right places to be seen by guys. But for most kids, you need to have a contingency plan. You need to ensure that you have a schedule put together that gets you in front of the schools that you can, that you're one, interested in or interested in you, or two, that you have a chance to play at and you need to get in front of them so that you can get recruited. [00:16:56] Speaker A: Yeah, I don't really think I have much to add there. I think that the, generally speaking, the tournament setup is not going to be all inclusive for the programs. It is that you might want to be recruited by. Right. And I think it's going to be specific to each and every kid. You know, if you're a high academic kid and you're going to Hoover, that might not be the best move for you to be seen by those schools as an example, because they're not going to be there. Right. So, you know, I think kind of understanding where they're at and what it is, they're where they're going to be recruiting. And it's as simple as just sending an email and saying like, hey, where, you know, this is where I'm going to be at. And they might say like, hey, we're not going to be there, but we're going to be at these places. That gives you the ability to be able to supplement with what you're doing from a recruitment plan standpoint, to be able to be seen. So in some regards, yes, that playing in tournaments and things of that nature are going to be able to suffice for some people. Other people are going to have to supplement. Depending on what it is your ultimate goals are from a baseball and an academic standpoint point. And that can be on campus camps, could be the private showcases, could be the, you know, kind of private camps that are out there too. There's. There's multiple different avenues to get there, but it's just kind of figuring out where those coaches are going to be that you want to be recruited by or are recruiting you that can see a place so they can make decisions on you. [00:18:36] Speaker B: That dovetails nicely into the next question, which is what are some of the best ways to get on a coach's radar? [00:18:46] Speaker A: Have a high motor, look good in a uniform? [00:18:53] Speaker B: I think, I think this question is more driving at, like, yeah, how do they. [00:18:57] Speaker A: Like, how do you get on the radar so they'll see you. [00:19:00] Speaker B: Yeah, but those two are very valid. Like, play hard, look good in the uniform is a good place to start. [00:19:05] Speaker A: Yes, I think. [00:19:11] Speaker B: It'S. [00:19:13] Speaker A: I think the easiest way is to make sure that your, the video that you're. The videos that you're sending to coaches, your communication with coaches and the stuff you're putting on social media are showing where your current skill set is at so that they can kind of evaluate that brief snapshot of what you have, what you. What you're showing them so that they can determine whether or not they're. You're. You at least meet the floor of their program. For them to continue down that road is probably the easiest way. I don't think being able to, you know, I don't think calling people or, you know, that's not going to move the needle. I think it's way more along the lines of making sure. And this is why I think it's important in 2025, like create your own YouTube channel, you know, be able to send updated video, you know, every month to kind of show where you're at and what you're doing. It at the very least, is going to show them where you are currently at. And again, like, if you're reaching, if you're at the floor for what it is that they want in their program, they're. They're way more likely to reach out to you where if you're below the floor, they're, they're, they're not as likely to reach out. Um, and then I think, you know, being able to, you know, throw something in your emails about what you want to do academically and those types of things, right? Like when I was at rpi, if someone emailed me, it was like, I really want chemical engineering. Like, well, hey, we're pretty good at chemical engineering. Like, let's see what this kid is all about and kind of go from there. So, you know, and I think sometimes you just have to parse through the responses you're getting and kind of read through the lines as to whether or not they're very interested or if they're just kind of responding to respond, which is a true thing that happens. So the best way, I think, to get on the radar is to have updated video. It doesn't have to always be gameplay, but updated video of where you're currently at. From a skill set standpoint, what you've been doing. I think if you are telling coaches that you're and you have to be doing it, you can't just say you're doing it, but like, hey, I'm in the weight room four times a week and, you know, I'm doing this and I'm doing that. Like, it's going to move the needle because it's like, okay, like this. This kid's really getting after it, right? Like, he lifts four times a week. He also plays football and, you know, maybe he's a wrestler or he plays hoops. Like there's some athleticism there. Like, you know, I like his swing, I like how he moves. It's like, at the very least, this is someone we have to follow up with if we can, over the course of the summer, or if we can't try to get him to camp so that we can see him play in front of us and see what it. See what he's like. It's probably the easiest way to get on our radar. [00:22:07] Speaker B: Yeah, I think, I think still the most tried and true method is email. With all of the stuff that you just talked about, relevant video, some sort of a cadence to reach out. This kind of goes back to the target school. Like, you need to be reaching out to the right types of schools, right? You know, they got to be a place that you legitimately could potentially play at. I think that that's important. But I think email is still tried and true. I think leveraging social media, making sure that you have some posts that are going up on social media that you're following coaches of schools, that you have interest is a great way to showcase it the other way. Right? Shameless plug, I guess, in a sense is like, if you have some people in your corner that are trusted, that can make some calls for you, like, that helps, that can shoot an email and say, hey, so and so. Like, listen, you know, I saw this kid the other day. I think he's got a chance to be pretty good, like, worth following up with, whatever it might be. I do think that having somebody in your corner, whether it's your high school coach or your travel coach or, you know, somebody to help you get through this process, I think that that does increase your visibility and kind of increase your chances. But still, tried and true, you got to put in a little bit of the legwork when it comes to getting emails out, following coaches on Twitter, updating your video. I, I think your YouTube video advice is. I don't think enough people take advantage of that. It's. It's video that's there in perpetuity. It's easy links to send. It's a place where coaches can go and look at your stuff regularly without being prompted. I, I think it makes a ton of sense for kids to kind of set that up. And, you know, it's just a. I guess it's an extension of. I guess YouTube is technically social media, but kind of an extension of Twitter. Being able to embed your YouTube link in a, in a tweet, being able to put it in your profile and, and make your. Make your video and your skill set as accessible to coaches as you possibly can. All right, next question. How do coaches weigh or value high school and travel ball stats? And we've, we've definitely covered this, but this is always an interesting question for me, because for me, it's. They matter until they don't. Which is. Might not be the best way to put it, but let me try to walk it back. There's not many high school guys who hit.250 who end up going on to be good high school, to be good college players. Not all guys who hit.400 are good college players or even good college or even college players right at the high school level, but coaches are going to look right, and we've talked to a bunch of guys about this, where I need to see that you're having some success at the level that you're currently at. That's a big cue. They're like, okay, he's. He's doing well at his level right? Now and then the evaluation is going to start on the tool set, right? Because you can be a really good high school pitcher and you know, go seven and oh and punch out eight or nine guys a game and be 82 to 84. And that's not going to be a division one arm. But it doesn't mean that you're not a college guy. But it kind of starts with those numbers. Like if you can't go be successful at the level you're at, it's generally not a good indicator that you're going to be successful when the competition gets harder. So being good in high school matters, having good high school stats matter. But you have to understand that that doesn't necessarily qualify you to be recruited at certain levels of college baseball. There's guys who hit.400 in high school who are going to go play low level Division 3 baseball because they're a sub subpar runner or they're a first baseman only or, you know, they may not have a tool set that translates to higher levels. But it doesn't mean that that kid can't play college baseball. Just like there's kids who are going to hit 350 that are going to get division one scholarships because they're six three and they run six fives. And so it's. For me, it matters. You need to be able to showcase that you're good at the level you're at right now. And coaches do it is a part of the equation. It's something that they do look at. And I think that it's relevant for people to understand that. [00:26:48] Speaker A: Yeah, I think that the. They matter, but they also matter to a certain extent. And to your point, like if you're, if you're hitting.400 in Class D baseball in New York, not to characterize it, but you know, you're, you're talking about like 80 people high schools. So the math kind of bears itself out a little bit there, you know, but you know, and I think it's not just hitting too right. Like they're going to care about your ERA and they're going to care about your fielding percentage and things of that nature, because those are all components of what you're doing. You could hit.450, but if you're going to field.710, that's going to kind of indicate to me that you probably can't field yourself out of a wet paper bag. And I don't know if you're going to be able to defend at the college level. And it's all, it's all relevant because it's the they number, they do matter. But there's going to be other things that matter as well. And I think we go down a rabbit hole with this one because you're right, like you could hit.350, but you know, if you're a 6, 6 runner and you can do a lot of things, coaches can look at that and be like, we could, we could teach that guy, you know, excuse me, let me walk it back. You might be a.300 hitter in high school, but you're a 6, 6 runner and you're hitting in the 3 hole in high school. Like as college guys you might look at and be like, I could teach that dude to hit.325, 330 in college just by bunting and utilizing his speed and not hitting him in the three hole and giving him an opportunity to see more fastballs. And those are things that are thought about in the recruiting process, right? Like, you know, it's generally going to be thought about where we care, but to a certain extent. But like, you know, if you're in a buck 50, there's not a lot of high school guys that are hitting a buck fifty and then turn around and all of a sudden are really good college hitters. So it cues you into where guys are at and how good they might be in their current setting. And then you kind of go from there, you know, but you know, I don't know how many people are going to. You're splitting hairs if you're going to tell me you're hitting 300 or 320, right? Like, okay, over the course of a shortened down condensed 20 game season, like we're talking about one or two hits, you know, but yes, they matter. But to a certain extent. [00:29:28] Speaker B: Another statistical based question. We live in a world of metrics. It's increasingly a part of the evaluation process. And I'm going to preface this question with what we're going to say is that at least my response is going to be metrics matter as long as you can take them into the game, right? The exit below the velocity 60 time. Like they all need to show up in the game. But the question here is what metrics do coaches value most and why? And for me, there's kind of three core metrics that I think coaches look at to get an idea. If you have a physical tool set, right? And this is besides the height and weight stuff, right? Because that matters too. There's a reason that guys at the highest level all seem to be large humans, because that is a preferred trait. But when you're looking at metrics, and I'm not going to dive deep into the trackman stuff because it's, it goes beyond kind of probably the scope of this question, but you've got, for me, you've got the exit velocity, you've got the 60 time and you've got pitching velocity. And the reason I think coaches value these metrics, right? And arm speed. If you're going to, you know, look at positional guys, although I don't think that a lot of guys really care too much about how you hard you throw across the infield with a crow hop. But the exit velocity matters because it gives me an idea of do you have the requisite strength and bat speed in order to hit? Right? So if you have exit velocity of 88, it tells me that you probably don't have a ton of strength in bad speed in your swing. And it's going to be really tough for you to hit. Regardless of how pretty your swings looks, you're going to have to make swing decisions super early. You're probably going to struggle with velocity, which means you're probably going to struggle with spin, trickle down effect. But if you're in that 95, 96 range, like that seems to be where a lot of the conversation starts. But then I need to see if you can actually hit right. If you can hit a ball 95, 97, 98, 100 miles an hour, you can do something physically that allows you to probably hit. But now I need to see you take that into the game. And that's kind of what I've preface this with is, you know, what are your swing decisions? Like, how do you handle velocity? Are the moving parts of your swing repeatable? How do you take it? Bats like I'm going to dive into the big piece of that. But that exit velocity does matter. Pitching velocity absolutely matters. It's not the end all, be all part of the equation, but I think it's the barrier. It's a barrier to entry at a lot of different levels. It's going to be different at every level. It's going to be different for different programs. And there's way more that goes into the evaluation than just velocity. But it's usually where the conversation starts, right? If you're 85 to 87, you're probably going to have a really tough time getting people out in the SEC or the SEC or the Big 12 or you know, a lot of Division 1 levels for that matter. It doesn't mean that you can't but you got to do some other stuff that's pretty special. And coaches dive into the trackman data and release points and entry angles and spin rates and movement profiles and it gets pretty nuanced in terms of, of how that all works. But at its core that pitching velocity is a, is something that coaches are, they're definitely going to look at and is it important to them. And then the 60 yard dash, it might be a little bit surprising to people is for me it's a measure of athleticism. Guys who are good athletes tend to be able to run. So it's not the end all, be all. It's less important for certain positions. But nobody ever turns down a guy who can run that does all the other stuff. So if you can go run a six, seven, like you're going to catch somebody's eye whether you're a really good baseball player or not. If you can really run, a coach is going to pay attention to you. So for me that's a measure of athleticism. And if I was going to boil it down to like three metrics that coaches look at as a part of their evaluation, not the whole of it, because they still need to figure out can you play, can you compete, what your character look like, you know, how projectable are you, how do you move? Like it gets way more nuanced than those. But those are the three that I think stick out to me. [00:34:02] Speaker A: Sorry, I was fighting for the mute button there. Yeah, no, I don't really think that there's. You're not going to get more nuanced in the metrics department unless you're further down the recruiting process and you have the requisite technology to be able to do it on campus, things like that. I think those ones are relatively easy and a lot more available at tournaments and showcases nowadays. I don't think it actually changes anything that we've really seen from a recruiting standpoint over the last 20 years. You know, I think it validates some of the things that we've seen. But dudes who can move really well are generally going to be easier to kind of lock in on and go see to recruit guys who are on the barrel with bat speed and ball jumps off their bat. Like yeah, man, those are guys that we're all going to recruit. Same thing from a velo perspective. Now obviously there's, there's nuance to all of it where, you know, I've seen guys that are triple digit exit velos in the, you know, showcase setting and then you get them into the Map box and they swing on the same plane and you can pretty much as long as you don't throw it into their barrel, you're going to get them out. And same thing from I've seen guys be max effort and they're 89, 91 for one inning and then after that they're 84, 86. You know, and guys, I've seen guys play up from a speed perspective where they're a 6,970-Runner, but they play the game a lot faster. And guys who are 6667 runners who, that first step is slow and it takes them a while to get going and they're a little bit slower. So there's a lot of nuance to it. But you know, to your point originally, and we've said this a million times, like, it's got to show up when the lights are on, right? Like, it doesn't matter if you're doing it in the bullpen at a showcase, hitting off a tee for your exit velocity. Like, we don't play the game that way. You actually have a dude 60ft 6 inches away who's trying to get you out. It has to show up. Then the speed has to show up in game, not only offensively but defensively, right? Like if you're an outfield, you can go run like showcase that off, go get balls, chase them down. If you're an infield, you can run like range out and go get balls. You know, if you have the arm strength, show it off, stick that foot in the back. You know, you go back into the showcase and you stick that back foot in the ground, unleash it across the diamond. Like there's going to be dudes that are circling your name because we know, you know, but those types of things need to show up in game. And I think that, you know, sometimes it's, it's forgot about that. Those things still really do matter and matter a lot more than I think people really kind of give it credit for with, with the Statcast era in which we live. But they like, at the end of the day, no matter what it is that you're going to do from a metrics perspective, you could have the best metrics in the world from a showcase standpoint. Like they have show up in game. You got to be on the barrel with Velo. You got to be able to, you know, you got to be able to carry your Velo more than just one inning. And you know, you have to be able to showcase your speed all the time. So, you know, like those Things while yes, like those are the easiest ones to kind of identify again. When the lights are on and we're playing the game, you got to be able to do it. And then. And then they like it validates what we saw in the showcase setting. And now we're a lot more interested. And now we're like, now you become a lot more recruitable at multiple levels and at multiple schools. [00:37:34] Speaker B: Well said. Last question. Three pieces of advice you would give players. We asked this to coaches at the end of our podcast, but I think. I don't know if we've ever directly answered this question. Three pieces of advice you'd give players who have aspirations of playing college baseball. [00:37:57] Speaker A: 3. [00:38:00] Speaker B: What do you want to do? 5, 10, 12. [00:38:03] Speaker A: No, I wasn't expecting a number. I was just going to go off. [00:38:07] Speaker B: But three, baby, give me three. [00:38:10] Speaker A: I wasted all my energy on the. I wasted the good surprise on the Compass ad. [00:38:15] Speaker B: Wasted the good surprise on you. [00:38:19] Speaker A: The. I would say number one, you want to be realistic in your process, like where. What it is that where you slide in from an athletic standpoint and where you. Where you fit in academically. I think one of the. One of the things where people can kind of get jammed up is, is either overestimating where they fit athletically and or overestimating where they fit academically. You know, so you want to be realistic in where you're going to fit in from a baseball. In an academic standpoint, you want to find a program and a coaching staff that believes in you, that wants you to be a part of their program. You know, I think a lot of people make the mistake of. Of chasing the shiny thing over here when this thing over here is probably going to be way better for them from a career standpoint, from an academic standpoint, from a development standpoint, from, you know, being able to walk out of there in four years with a degree and being a better human being than you were when you set foot on campus. So finding that. That coaching staff and that program that believes in you. And I think the third one would be finding a place and, you know, not from a program standpoint, but from a campus and a team standpoint where you feel as though you. You're going to fit in and you're going to be able to be yourself. I think sometimes that, you know, it's hard when you're going through this recruiting process because you have to make decisions, you know, with relatively limited information. But I think, you know, when you go visit campus and you meet kids on the team, you get a sense of what it actually is from a culture perspective and what that team is like. And you want to, you want to go to a place where you feel as though you can walk into that place and be who you are the second you set foot on campus. And I think it's a little bit separate from the coaching staff and from the belief in you. I think that you're likely to find a handful of staffs in the recruiting process where they are going to believe in you and you do feel comfortable with them. But I think a separator is the team and the guys that you're going to be with. I think back to, you know, my recruiting process, but also, you know, where I went, where we went to school, I should say, you know, and you see what we're doing. Like, we work together, we own a business together, we do this, we talk more than most people are probably even aware of throughout the course of the day, you know, but there's still a number of guys that I played with at Marist College that I talk to regularly. Like, maybe not every day, you know, but me, you and Eric talk every day. And I talk to Kyle Meyer multiple times a week and Kenny Anderson and the list goes on of guys that I still keep in contact with and talk to quite a bit. Because there's still some of my very, very good friends that I was able to do a lot of really cool things with over the course of four years. And if I hadn't chose that place, I don't know if I would feel that way. And I chose that place because when I went there, I felt like I was going to be able to go in there and be who I am. And, you know, not necessarily. I don't want to say, be judged because there's some, you know, what I was going to say, but I won't say it on the podcast. Like, you walk in there as an 18 year old, like, there's some things about you that, like, people are going to look at you and be like, what's going on here? You know, but like, I knew that I could walk into that place and be who I wanted to be and be who I was, I should say. And I was going to be able to make lifelong friends and I was able to do that. So I think that, you know, you know, the, the Pat Feeney's and the Travis Mousoff's and the Joe Sergeants of the world and the Robbie Ryan's and the Chris Trazes, like, you know, being able to, to, you know, still Stay in contact with a lot of people that you played with over the course of 20 years. Like, that stuff matters in the long run. And I think if I could give advice like, those would probably be my three biggest ones. You know, make sure you're going to go somewhere academically and athletically where you fit in and you're not reaching too far. You find a coaching staff that really believes in you, but you also find that other component of that team and that culture standpoint of being able to walk in there and be who you are and more or less be able to make lifelong friends that you can go do a lot of cool stuff with over the course of your lifetime. [00:43:01] Speaker B: Yeah, I'll try not to double up too much. For me, three pieces of advice. One would be get in the weight room, focus on your development. And I think one of the places that guys. The lowest hanging fruit for most guys is adding strength and making yourself recruitable from a physical perspective. So I think anybody who has aspirations of playing college baseball, if you're not in the weight room, if you're not taking that part of your development serious, you need to. I think skill acquisition is way easier than getting strong. So that for me is a big one. If you have aspirations to play in college baseball, the second one would be follow your own path, like, put blinders on. There's a lot of distractions out there. There's a lot of. There's a lot of opportunity to focus on what everybody else is doing when other guys are committing, where guys are committing, playing the comp game. Don't worry about that stuff. Everybody's timeline is going to be different. Focus on what I just said is, number one, which is the development, the strength piece. But number two, put your blinders on and focus on you and your path and what you need to do in order to become recruitable. And then the third one, which you hit on with a couple of yours. But I'll try to put it simply, like, people matter and you hit on the people that you experience when you're in college. And it's. It's hard to put a price on how important that is and like, what you get out of it in the long term. If you can find yourself in the right place with the right people. I'll take it one step further from a pure recruiting perspective is surround yourself with the right people, the right people to help you develop. Maybe it's a strength coach, the right people to help you with your skill acquisition. Maybe it's a hitting coach, maybe it's A pitching coach, somebody who can give you guidance on this, who has experience in it, like the people that you surround yourself with in this process should elevate you. They should be honest with you and they should elevate you and make this process easier and less stressful. And then you get to the people portion that you talked about, which is the coaches that you play for and the people that you play with. Those are when you get to college, you can't, I can't emphasize how important it is to make sure that you, you're at a place that's going to get the most out of you from a baseball perspective, but probably even more importantly from a personal perspective. So those would be my three. You hit on one of the other ones that I think needs to be a priority. So if I was going to add a fourth is it's got to be a long term decision and the academic portion of it is absolutely paramount. And just making this a baseball decision, I think you're selling yourself short. It doesn't mean that you have to go to the Ivy Leagues, doesn't mean that you need to go to the best academic school that you can possibly get into, but it needs to be a place that has a major that you can pursue, that you could see yourself pursuing post college. It can't just be some throwaway degree if at all possible. So there's where I'm at, weight room and development. Focus on yourself, focus on your process. Don't let all the noise get in the way. Worrying about what other people are doing. It's not a zero sum game. And then don't underestimate how important the people that you surround yourself with during the process and then the people that you choose to be around when you go to college to play baseball, they matter. They matter more than you'll ever be able to wrap your head around as a 16, 17 year old. You, you won't really know it until you look back in your our age and you can say, wow, I did. I didn't think that that was going to matter as much, but it does. It matters more than you can, you can possibly imagine. So. [00:47:09] Speaker A: Agreed. [00:47:11] Speaker B: Anything else you want to add, Coach? [00:47:13] Speaker A: Nope. [00:47:14] Speaker B: Right. Well, thank you for listening to our Q and A tune in. Next week we'll have some more content for you and we will talk to you then. Thanks everybody. Thank you for listening this week. If you're watching on YouTube, go ahead and hit that subscribe button and smash that like button 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.