Colleges Can Keep You Confused
One of our pitchers went to three different college camps as a part of her recruiting effort. She returned confused.
One college pitching coach demanded that she bend over at the waist to start with chest facing the ground, one wanted to take away her backswing to have her stand upright, and a third had a starting motion that was more complex than a ballet. Worse yet in her mind, each pitching coach forced her to make those changes before seeing her throw a single pitch, and each one said that any other way was wrong.
Last year one of my students went to two consecutive college camps. Both were in the same conference and both had about the same record. One school wanted to change everything about her approach and soon she was totally confused. They reported back to her travel ball coach that she was not a very good. The other pitching coach watched her, asked a lot of questions to see if she had sound reasons for her approach, and soon loved her. She reported back to her travel ball coach that the kid was very impressive.
Colleges makes statements that scare kids, like: “This is the only way to throw a drop effectively”. “No, you have to grip a curve like this”. One of my students went to a college camp and her riseball, as expected, stopped the show. They were totally impressed. But one of the coaches began tinkering with it and insisted she needed to throw it a specific way even though that school has never had a riseball pitcher. We had to fix the damage.
We encourage our kids to be flexible at camps so the coaches feel they are open to coaching, but sometimes it is tough on the kid. Kids think college coaches are gods and they are easily confused when people tell them one week to do it this way and the very next week a different coach demands the opposite. Let’s just be honest. There are many incredible college coaches. Many of them feel they have a calling to be in the profession. We appreciate them, respect them, and want to deliver great kids to them. And, before you think this is criticism of all of these coaches, remember that each is different and often they are successful with a particular type of athlete and doing things in a particular way. If the kid matches their approach, they may win.
That being said, some pitching coaches graduated from college, and suddenly decided they love the game, so they just took a job as pitching coach. They just knew one way to do things. They threw a specific type of curve, because that is what their pitching coach taught them, so that is the way her pitchers are going to do it. The average tenure for pitching coaches is around 18 months. Do not choose a college based on whether you like the pitching coach. He or she probably will not be there when you arrive. One of my really strong pitchers was recruited by one pitching coach and verballed to the school. The next year a different pitching coach arrived, but my pitcher met and liked her a lot, so she signed the NLI. The following year a third pitching coach took the job and it was not a great experience.
Just like any profession, there are great coaches and some are still developing. Often one of my kids will accept a scholarship offer and the coaches are in contact with us immediately. They ask questions, come watch some lessons, and try to understand our approach so they can be consistent with the kid. Mature coaches do not feel threatened, rarely break a kid down and start over, but simply look for the best way to help this specific kid do her best.
The moral of the story is simple. Do the obvious things like making sure the college you consider has your major and is a good fit academically. Then see if you connect well with the pitching coach. If not, see how long he or she has been there. If you love the pitching coach, but she has only been there a year, be careful because the next one might not be so great. There is no easy answer.
This does not always mean the pitching coach is good or bad, but that person may not be the right fit for you. Unfortunately, for every kid who has a great experience in college softball there is one who was not as happy. Some get out of the game, some transfer, and some find common ground with the coaches and find ways to be productive.
Even if you have a great situation it can change with a new coaching staff, you may be hindered by injury, or you may discover a new major which is so demanding you have to step out of the game. Make sure you love the college so much that, even if you did not play, you would be happy there. College softball is not a career choice. It often helps pay the bills so you can pursue your career. Keep it in perspective. Realize that your coaches do want to win, even if you don’t understand their methods. And, most of all, look inside yourself and make sure you open to new ideas which might make you better.