UK Coach Lawson

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Off of the Hey Bucket site:

What a Top SEC Coach Told Me About How She Recruits

I had the pleasure of sitting next to University of Kentucky Head Softball Coach Rachel Lawson last July at the 18 Gold ASA Nationals in San Diego (if you recall Lawson's Kentucky Wildcats knocked Michigan from the tournament last year and came close to beating Cal to qualify for the Women's College World Series). During our game long 90 minute conversation I learned a whole heck of a lot about what a top SEC coach is looking for in a recruit.

Coach Lawson was there scouting, among others, two players from a Georgia based travel team she said she had seen play nearly 30 times. That's right...I said 30 times. I asked her why she had scouted them so many times in which she replied, "The decision to award any player at Kentucky a scholarship is such a big deal I can't afford to make a mistake."

Another interesting comment Coach Lawson made about her recruiting efforts is her emphasis on recruiting players who have a high level of mental skills. She indicated that they would teach new players the proper hitting, pitching or fielding mechanics once they got to Kentucky. However, if a player had a bad attitude or could not demonstrate the ability to focus, bounce back from adversity or play consistent softball they would be crossed off her list.

To Coach Lawson the rigors of playing in the SEC demand a high degree of scrutiny for all potential recruits to the program. Travel, academic commitments and the daily softball practices totaling four hours or more a day (including conditioning) can cause more players than not to fail under such pressure. Thereby Coach Lawson wants to have ample opportunity to observe potential players under all conditions.

Most interesting to me was when Coach Lawson told me that she observes how each potential recruit interacts with her teammates, her coaches, the umpires and her parents before, during and after the game. So prepare your daughter to be watched at all times by college coaches.

In short top college coaches are looking for skill, certainly, but they mostly want attitude, effort and composure; the ability to handle the pressure of the game, to be a consistent peak performer.

 

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Thanks for posting Strohbro

 

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I learned a lot of recruiting info from my brother who went through this with his daughter in Florida. And one of the things that he told me was the same thing that the UK coach stated how the coaches will watch how DD interacts with her teammates and parents, if DD carries her own equipment or if mom/dad do, they will follow you after a game to see if or how DD talks about their teammates or players from the other team. I found this very intesting as well.

 

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Two things about this

* Coach Lawson makes it sound like only her team or SEC teams look at this part of the player - ALL COACHES do!!! Whether they are SEC teams or NAIA coaches - this stuff matters.
* Coaches and their staffs also keep tabs on players via facebook, twitter and team websites. Social media is a gold mine of info for coaches. Players, parents and travel coaches need to be careful what they post.

 

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Two things about this

* Coach Lawson makes it sound like only her team or SEC teams look at this part of the player - ALL COACHES do!!! Whether they are SEC teams or NAIA coaches - this stuff matters.
* Coaches and their staffs also keep tabs on players via facebook, twitter and team websites. Social media is a gold mine of info for coaches. Players, parents and travel coaches need to be careful what they post.

In regards to your second point flarays, Coach Candrea told the girls at a clinic I was at this exact thing. He told them that if there is a girl he is interested in recruting, he will look for her on Facebook to see what she posts and how she acts. It is a reflection of what she is like. He told the girls to be very careful in how they express themselves for all the world to see.

 

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"In short top college coaches are looking for skill, certainly, but they mostly want attitude, effort and composure; the ability to handle the pressure of the game, to be a consistent peak performer."

We've always preached the attitude angle going through the recruiting stage once, I have implemented some minor team rules with my 10u team that will serve them in the future. That being said college coaches at times make their methods seem more complicated then they are: They are MOST interested in skill first and foremost. The proof is in the teams they field, you go to their clinics and they preach defense and then you go watch them in a big game and the best 9 hitters are in the line-up. Also, attitude good or bad can be subjective. You might have a girl that hates to lose, she gets difficult to deal with when the team is losing, one coach might think she has an attitude problem another coach might love it.

Don't misunderstand me, Relationships and attitudes are everything in life. I am just pointing out after attending many clinics put on by college coaches they tend to say one thing and make it sound so vital, then you see the teams they field and it makes you realize what is most important to them is winning.

 

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No doubt Uber. But what they will also tell you is that there are TONS of kids that can fill the rosters athletically. Because of the limited scholarship $$$ actually available they have to get the players that fill the skills part and can pass the intangibles.

 

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No doubt Uber. But what they will also tell you is that there are TONS of kids that can fill the rosters athletically. Because of the limited scholarship $$$ actually available they have to get the players that fill the skills part and can pass the intangibles.

Yes I hear that too, meanwhile big schools are sending coaches to 14u ASA/USA nationals. The #1 sport for girls that age is drama hardly the age to get a real feel for the attitude of a player. I just think if I was so concerned with attitude I'd be watching 18u not 14u lol.

 

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Ok, maybe I'm an idiot but how can Candrea or any coach follow someone on Facebook who they are not "friends" with? Nobody can see my FB page that I'm not friends with, I would imagine most people keep theirs locked too.

 

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Ok, maybe I'm an idiot but how can Candrea or any coach follow someone on Facebook who they are not "friends" with? Nobody can see my FB page that I'm not friends with, I would imagine most people keep theirs locked too.

I think the point is to be careful what you say on any of the social media sites. Also, facebook is only locked down if you take the time to go through and set restrictions.

 

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Actually many Facebook people have their profile set up so that anyone can see them.

 

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Go to facebook and type in random names. check to see how many have their profiles turned off and how many are "public". VAST majority have them turned off.

 

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I agree with both Uber and flarays, and not just to be nice. I agree with Uber in that my observations have also led me to believe that most college coaches have skill level as the top consideration by far. I agree with flarays that everything else is also considered and often will make or break a girl.

Because all of us are mostly recruiting players who are a good fit skill-wise for our level, the skill part is usually a very close call between recruits. Once it's determined a girl is skilled enough to play at whatever level, I think about all coaches try to take a close look at attitude and the other intangibles. We all have our specific likes and dislikes. One thing I look at is whether a girl is willing to think hard about game strategy in terms of odds and percentages and how it translates to on-field play. If I interview a recruit and she seems to have the attitude of "don't bother me with this stuff, just let me go out and play," then she is off our list, no matter how good she might be.

Anyway, it's good to see Coach Lawson wants to watch players 30 times. I've always tried to tell ADs and other administrators that we need to watch girls many times before knowing anything for sure. Of course those of us at D2 and below (and certainly the smaller D1s) do not have the resources to watch a girl 30 times, so it can become an inexact science, to say the least. I've had administrators at two schools ask me why we can't recruit from lists! They are truly that clueless when it comes to softball and baseball. The one area in our budget that I won't compromise is in recruiting. My assistant and I could watch games morning to night every week all summer and fall and still not see near as much as we'd like.