Monthly Archives: May 2015

Being Invited

Posted on by

When today’s parents were kids, being invited to a camp or an all-star game meant something that everybody understood. Not anymore. Things have changed. Now recruiting and money drive most of these events and the word invite is cleverly used by the organizers to entice and confuse families. Here are three cases almost everyone can learn from. If you think these are the exception, or that this isn’t you, think again. This is more common than you think..

A mother told me recently that her daughter had been invited back to a camp she attended last year and I cringed when she said it. She believed the invitation mean something special, that it was an indication of a special level of her child’s talent. This mom really didn’t understand that 800 other girls of all talent levels also got invited back and that anyone who isn’t invited could still sign up for the camp.

Another family I talked to includes a son who was invited to play in a football all-star game. They family’s income level is just above the poverty line and the game is a 4 hour plane ride from their home. Unlike some all-star games, this one requires the family to pay all their own expenses for young man to participate. This family was planning on doing it, somehow, because they believe the exposure at this all-star game would earn their son the scholarship they badly wanted. They didn’t know that virtually none of the players attending would be of scholarship level, or that almost no coaches from scholarship schools have even heard of the game, much less attend it. The “invitation” was what sold them. They believed they had been invited to something special.

One final example involves a baseball player who had aspirations of playing college ball at the D1 level. Receiving little recruitment of any kind at any level, let alone any that he liked, the athlete started contacting colleges himself. Not lacking for confidence, if not common sense, he didn’t contact just any colleges, he went for D1 schools ranked in the top 20. Managing to get the assistant coach from one on the phone he had a conversation and pitched himself. At the end of the conversation, the coach “invited” this young man to a tryout the school was going to be holding. Hearing what he wanted to hear, and not quite understanding the process, this young man was excited. Believing he had a legitimate shot or reason to attend, he and one of his parents flew from one coast of the US to the other for a weekend to attend this event. He didn’t know that virtually anyone who could afford it was invited and there was no real interest on the part of the college, other than to make money. (The family also had to pay for the event, in addition to the travel.) What they failed to perceive was that there was no risk on the part of the school because it had made no investment. Having only something to gain (if the athlete turns out to have talent) and nothing to lose, it’s easy for the school to “invite” the athlete without having any real interest in recruiting him.

Most of the time being invited means you’re invited to spend money. Colleges and other organizations have figured out that using the simple word invited changes the perception of parents and athletes. It somehow makes events like showcases or elite camps more desirable, or implies they are of higher quality, even though they’re usually not. While there are still some events where being invited means something, it’s not always easy to tell the difference. Try to be smart and not get fooled.

 

 

Share

Defining Types of Improvement

Posted on by

Improvement is an important part of sports. Coaches, parents and players often like to say that a particular athlete is only going to get better. But what does that really mean? It seems obvious, right? It’s not. Let’s look at what it really means and why it matters.

There are really two categories of improvement, arithmetic and geometric. (There’s actually a third, no or negligible improvement. We’ll ignore that, as it speaks for itself). For the purpose of this blog, arithmetic is defined as a straight line with a gradual upward direction. Geometric is a line that goes up more quickly or even curves upward.

If an athlete is improving arithmetically, that’s important, but it’s not saying that much. In a competitive world, it’s a given. Most athletes are going to get better arithmetically, so this really just means an athlete is keeping up with the competition. If athlete’s are not improving, they’re falling behind.

Geometric improvement is what catapults some athletes past others. It’s that really surprising type of improvement, a transcendent improvement that is sometimes out of the control of the athlete, regardless of effort and time spent on improving. It’s the type of change in ability that causes everyone around to reexamine and reassess players, teams, even leagues. That’s the type of improvement that’s really worth talking about.

Failing to understand and differentiate between arithmetic and geometric improvement leads to the inability to accurately understand and predict why certain athletes will have more success than others.

 

 

Share

How to Get Playing Time as a Freshman

Posted on by

Most athletes, parents and high school coaches don’t understand what it takes to get playing time as a college freshman. When they talk about playing time they usually start breaking down an athlete’s game or the returning players on the team, and it gets complicated and confusing in a hurry. It’s really pretty simple. In most instances, playing time as a freshman comes down to two factors  – not making mistakes and physical strength. This is particularly true in the high profile sports.

Most outsiders think college coaches are inclined to not play freshman. In fact, it’s the opposite. Coaches want to play freshman. Generally, freshman don’t have to give them a reason to play. The trick is to keep from giving them a reason not to. That means not making mistakes. It sounds simpler than it is, of course. All else being equal, a younger player gets time over an older player. It’s a time honored truth.

Almost every college athlete, especially those at the scholarship level, was a standout or star in high school. In order to be a star they had to do great things. That usually meant producing lots of great stats that generated attention and lead to college recruitment. Once they get to college they quickly see everyone else is as good or better than they are. Their natural instinct, and it’s a hard one to fight, is to try to stand out by doing what got them there. Because the level of play is so much higher than high school, that reaction often results in the athlete trying to do too much. That’s rarely a good thing. All they really need to do is not make mistakes. That is usually more than enough to generate praise, which leads to playing time.

The physical aspect of college is different than high school. The athletes are no longer kids, they’re adults, making strength a huge factor that affects virtually all aspects of play. Lack of physical strength keeps the majority of college freshman from any significant playing time. Ironically, this weakness is easily fixed while in high school. Compared to improving individual skills, learning to understand offenses and defenses, or adjusting to the speed of the college game, improving strength is so simple. It’s also easy to measure and compare yourself to others. For example, if you’re a boys’ basketball player and can bench over 200 lbs., you are ahead of the curve. Most can’t. It doesn’t matter if you’re from a big city with a high level of play or a small, under recruited town in the middle of nowhere. Everyone and anyone can know if they are physically ready to play at the college level and they can do what it takes to be ready. There is some knowledge involved, but it’s easy to access. The real keys are desire and dedication. It sounds simple, and in many ways it really is. Doing it is another story. If it were easy most athletes would not arrive in college physically unready to compete.

Figuring out what it takes to be successful at the college level is a process that takes time for most incoming athletes. How quickly the athlete figures things out and makes the transition can be the difference between having a good career and never getting off the bench. Some incoming freshman simply are not even close to ready. A small percentage have talent that transcends mistakes and physical strength. Certain teams are just loaded with talent, so even the most college ready freshmen have no choice but to wait and be patient. In most situations the opportunity for playing time is there, if you know how to take advantage of it. Any athlete who doesn’t make mistakes and is physically ready is going to have a great chance to play right away.

 

 

Share