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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.
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.