A question that should come up early in a ballplayer’s involvement with high school baseball is whether playing baseball after high school is of interest? If so, then realistic options can be assessed and specific steps can be pursued.
As coaches, we put a great deal of thought, time, and effort into the high school to college process and want you to know the facts as we see them. This information reflects the combined expertise of our coaches coupled with previous college-bound players' experiences and input from parents.
As a freshman, it is enough to be aware that this connection exists. As a sophomore you will understand more about your baseball ability with respect to others. As a junior you will be paying close attention to where baseball might fit into your college plans and you will put that knowledge to work early in your senior year in choosing your school.
Here is what you should know:
1) What works?—Let academics lead the way!
Here is a system that we know from experience will bring you to the attention of college coaches at the schools you want to attend. It is a partnership of players, parents/guardians, and coaches that is highly effective.
? Get the best possible grades and the highest possible ACT or SAT score.
? Identify the five or so colleges or universities that you want most to attend. If you are focused on going to a major university and you are not a serious D-1 candidate, then you are a candidate for inte
? Arrange college visits. Arrange a visit with the baseball coach at the same time.
? Let Coach Consiglio know when you will be meeting with the college coach. He will call the college coach personally and talk with him about you and what you will bring to the college program. He will make the call just before your campus visit so that the conversation will be fresh in the coach’s mind.
o This is important. You want the high school coach’s call and the campus visit to coincide. If too much time passes, the college coach may forget what he has been told by Coach Consiglio and the impact could be less.
? Visit the campus. You will find that the combination of your campus visit and a meeting with a baseball coach who has just talked with Coach Consiglio will be very effective.
2) Be realistic about your college ball potential
We have fine ballplayers at ETHS. Only a few will move on to top Division 1 programs. We are not saying this to be discouraging. It is simply a fact. If you are a player with Division 1 potential you will be putting up the type of numbers during high school play that will attract the attention of D-1 programs. When that is happening, you will be noticed. Note that in 2010, less than one pe
Think carefully about what you want to achieve in college and where baseball fits into that picture.
We have 11 coaches on the ETHS baseball staff, and each coach has college and university connections. The ETHS program has a fine reputation and we constantly meet more college coaches. We will reach out to coaches whether we know them or not.
Note however that we will be hesitant to call a coach at a school where you have no realistic chance of playing. Our credibility depends on players we recommend living up to what we say about them. This means an objective assessment of your playing ability must come from in-depth analysis and discussion between you and the coaching staff.
