Episode Transcript
[00:00:02] Speaker A: Hey, parents and coaches, are your kids using the right glove? The most important skill for youth athletes to learn is how to play proper catch. The problem is most youth gloves are made with bad leather and are too big for small hands. They actually make it harder to play catch. That's why former Major League Baseball shortstop Kevin Smith created Cali Gloves. Cali gloves are crafted from 100% Japanese kip leather and are the perfect size for kids.
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[00:01:10] Speaker B: welcome to this week's edition of in the Clubhouse with EMD Baseball. I'm Andy Kiri Kutis, joined by my Wonderful Co host, Mr. Keith Glasser. How we doing, sir? Great.
[00:01:19] Speaker C: How are you?
[00:01:20] Speaker B: Good. We just celebrated the nation's 250th anniversary of independence.
We're creeping up on kind of the halfway ish point of the summer recruiting window. Right. Everything kind of closes up for most schools being able to leave campus in about six weeks or so, roughly six weeks in.
So I thought it was relevant to talk about making some decisions on and kind of recalibrating where you're at in your recruitment process and the information that you've got thus far and talk about the importance in doing that in order to, you know, ultimately reach the goal of being able to play college baseball. So kick it over to you for, for some initial thoughts on this topic. What, why is this important?
[00:02:18] Speaker D: I think you should be adjusting and recalibrating throughout the process. Right.
And I think this is something that we, we usually bring up a little bit later in the, maybe the early part of the fall. And this maybe is a good time to, you know, get ahead of it, is figuring out where your list kind of lines up, who's recruiting you, what your, you know, maybe initial aspirations were and how they line up to what you're currently doing. Who's seen you, who's talking to you, who have you visited, those types of things, you know, and I think at this point it's a, you know, it's not always going to be true, but there's some truth in the fact of, you know, if you are, you know, if you're only being recruited by 3, 4, 5 division threes and 0 division twos or ones, like, you were more than likely going to be like, the market is telling you that you're a Division 3 player right now.
And, you know, you should focus a little bit more heavily on those types of schools and, you know, the schools that are obviously recruiting you and not say, no, I, I'm not interested at all because I think I'm a Division 1 player. But hey, these are the schools that are interested in me. I'm going to go take visits, I'm going to see if I, you know, get to know the staff, see if I can get, you know, on campus, see the school, see if it might be a fit for me and start targeting on some of those schools. And then I think the other side of it too is, you know, given some of the information that you have in front of you, like, what, what more do you need to do?
[00:03:44] Speaker E: Right?
[00:03:45] Speaker D: And I think part of that is, you know, do you need to, you know, are you still going to be seen by a handful more coaches over the course of the next couple of weeks in your summer? What does the rest of your summer schedule look like right now? Does it wrap up the end of July, beginning of August? Because that opens up almost the entire month of August. Maybe go do some showcase or camp stuff, right? What's your plan for the fall going to be? Are you going to play fall ball? Are you, do you have a football team?
Those types of things that I think is, you know, getting out in front of it now in July, you know, and this is kind of where, you know, for us, you know, when we, with our clients, it's talking about it
[00:04:25] Speaker C: in January and February.
[00:04:26] Speaker D: What are we doing in June, July, May, June, July and August, right? And now we hit July and it's like, okay, what are we doing August, September, October, November. And it ranges with from 27 all the way up to 29, right? So, like, there's a, There's a varying difference of where you are in your, your time, your time frame for your recruiting. But there's got to be some semblance of a plan. It can't just be like, I'm going to go to these turn these tournaments, hope I get seen and figure it out from there.
You know, you should be hunting camp websites and what school, you know, when they're going to have camps and can you get on campus, see these types of those schools and with those, in front of those coaches, things like that But I think it's a good time to kind of sit down and reflect on, like, what you've seen. Have you visited anywhere? And even if you haven't, like, do you have visits set up? Right? Like, hey, I have visits set up over the course of the next two, three weeks because the summer's been super hectic to this point in time, and I just haven't really been able to get anywhere.
But over the course of the next couple of weeks, I'm getting on campus and meeting with people. All right, awesome. Like, let's, let's see how those go and go from there. So it's a good time to sit and, you know, reflect on where you're at and what's your plan moving forward because you're still in the middle of it and we can't let off the gas at this point in time.
[00:05:43] Speaker C: If you're the parent of a high school baseball player with college aspirations, you already know the recruiting process can feel overwhelming. Endless showcases, nonstop emails, and big promises with very little clarity. That's why we recommend Diamond College Showcase Camps, the nation's premier academic baseball showcase. At Diamond College Showcases, every college coach in attendance is there with a purpose to coach, instruct, evaluate and recruit. Every player is seen, every player is engaged, and every family leaves with a clear understanding of where they truly stand. This is not a mass camp. College coaches run the drills, evaluate every athlete, and provide honest professional feedback that you can trust. Diamond College Showcase Camps are built for serious student athletes who value both baseball and academics. If you're looking for transparency, clarity, and a recruiting experience that respects your time and your players future, Diamond College Showcase is the place to be. To learn more, visit diamondcollegeshowcase.com
[00:06:47] Speaker E: parents if you've ever felt overwhelmed trying to navigate youth sports, there's a new resource designed just for you. TeamMatch. Team match is an online platform built to streamline how families find the right youth sports teams by location, sport and skill level all in one place. It also provides a safe, organized space for kids to share their accomplishments, stats and highlights, while giving coaches and teams a clear way to connect with athletes who are the right fit. Less searching, less stress, more confidence in the process. Youth sports just got simpler for families. This is Team Match. Check it out today@teammatch sports.com
[00:07:29] Speaker B: no, I think. I think you nailed it with just kind of trying to figure out where.
Where you fit. And you know the market's going to tell you, right? If you've been to some camps, if you've been seen by some schools and you're getting some positive feedback from some and you're not getting any feedback from others.
You know, it's probably pretty good information to take in and it should help you kind of define your path forward for July, August. And you know, for a lot of guys, I know this might be uncomfortable for people to hear, but you know, the reality is this process will go for 27, it'll go September, October, November for a lot of kids. And I know that's a little bit nerve wracking, but it's the reality of the situation we're in with, with things slowing down and I think taking a, taking a minute to take a step back and, you know, figure out exactly where you fit is really important to not waste any more time and make sure that you're going to the right events, that you're communicating and reaching out to the right coaches and you're focused on the right things because those spots do fill up. And if you back burner that Division 3 coach who really likes you, you know, come October, you might not have a spot, you know, they might not come back around to you and pursuing those places. Like anybody who shows interest in you right now, I think you need to show interest back. And you can always say no. You're going to have to say no if you're getting recruited by a couple of different schools. But I think now is the time where guys have been on the road, there's showcases going on, there's camps going on, there's been plenty of tournaments that have happened in the last five, six weeks where, you know, you should have a pretty good idea where you stand and use that information wisely. And I, I would, I would implore people to lean into the information and not bucket off as well. That's not what I want to hear.
So I think that's what really gets people in trouble.
I think it's important that if you, if you hear something from somebody who is knowledgeable in this world, in this college baseball recruiting world, if you hear something from them and it differs from your opinion, I think it's extra important that you listen to what they have to say because that person more than likely is willing to tell you what you need to hear, not what you want to hear. And I think a lot of families and a lot of kids lean into the information that validates their opinion and it can get them in trouble at the back end of this process. And you can pass on some opportunities, some really, really good opportunities, because you're reaching for something that might, might not really be attainable right now. So this is a good time to do it. Give you a little bit of time to plan and I think that's what a lot of people need.
[00:10:21] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:10:22] Speaker D: Couldn't agree more.
[00:10:25] Speaker B: Anything else you want to add on that topic, Coach?
[00:10:28] Speaker D: No, sir.
[00:10:30] Speaker B: Nice and quick today. To the point.
All right, we'll tune in next week, everybody. We will talk to you then.
[00:10:37] Speaker E: Thank you.
[00:10:39] Speaker B: Thank you for listening this week.
[00:10:40] Speaker E: 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 Podcast 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.
