What it TAKES to play D1 baseball

But the rest of us that are talented athletes that can have a chance to play at the next level, we do this, we're going to open up more doors as we go. So we're going to get in to that. Hey team, Alex Swenson here. Hey, thanks for joining me today. I'm A former Division 1 college coach and recruiter with 11 years of experience and I'm here to help you or your son play at the next level. And if you guys ever have any questions, please comment down below or if there are any topics that you want me to cover in future videos. I love hearing from you. A lot of these topics that I cover here on this channel are topics that you all want to hear about or you guys have questions about. So please leave that down below. I answer all of your questions in the comments section and really I eventually get to all the topics that you guys want to for me to talk about as we move forward. Okay. And I'm also going to leave a link down below to my college academy, college recruiting academy, where I've had a lot of success at helping guys reach the next level and also where you can schedule a call with me if you're looking for more of a personal touch as we go so you can do that as well. But in today's video, we're going to be talking about an important date that is coming up that's going to really propel us into recruiting over these next few months. These next few months are going to be super important in recruiting in college baseball as we go. And then also we're going to be talking about three strategic things that you can be doing to give yourself the best chance to play at the next level. And really it's what it takes to play at the next level. 95% of us need to go about this process and I'm going to go into detail about the other 5% that don't. It's really just the super talented kids that get picked up really early, but the rest of us that are talented athletes that can have a chance to play at the next level. We do this, we're going to open up more doors as we go. So we're going to get in to that. All right. Hey, if you get anything from this video, please select that thumbs up, that like button and you if and subscribe to my channel. I put out a weekly video. Alright, let's get into it. So recruiting is heating up again. It's really going to propel us over the next three months really into next year and the last month or so has been a downtime for recruiting. Honestly, it usually is in August. It's, it's a little bit slower. The college coaches get off the road from recruiting, they go on vacation and they wait for, for their student athletes on their current roster, their current university or college roster to come on campus. They wait for their new team, they have a new team meeting the new freshmen that are coming in, they get them acclimated to everything and then we get back on the road. This is September 10th. Tomorrow as of this recording, which is September 9th, September 10th, we get into the contact period and this period again propels us through recruiting over the next few months. And really what the contact period is, if you don't know, is college coaches can go out and recruit. We've been in the quiet period, okay, where college coaches have to stay on campus. They can only recruit on campus. Now they can go out and recruit in the fall, go watch players across the country, whether it's at a tournament, showcases, their camps, they don't have to stay on their campus. And they can do this through October 10th. And then on October 11th, we get back into the quiet period. And basically what the college coaches do is from what all they saw through this last September 10th through October 10th, they bring those players onto campus over the next few months. They can recruit on campus, they can host camps and showcases. Just you. The student athlete has to go to them where rather than the contact period, they can go to you. They're watching your tournaments, games, showcases and camps where in the quiet period you need to go to them. And a lot of the time they invite you to campus, they invite you on a tour, they invite you to camp and invite you to a showcase. And you go to them because you have to. They can't go out and recruit during the quiet period. So I just wanted to give you guys a heads up on that. So if you have showcases or you're thinking about going to showcases or camps during September 10th through October 10th, go for it. Okay, These college coaches are out. Just make sure you're going to showcases and camps that you know college coaches are going to be at, because that's super, super important. And if you're going to a tournament, then it's fine too. Just make sure you're going to the major tournaments that these college coaches are going to be at. And if you have any questions on that, please let me know. Alright, let's get into the next topic. So I see this every year of good high school baseball athletes not making it to the next level, not making a college baseball. And the number one reason is they don't do their due diligence of going through the recruiting process. They don't do what it takes to succeed at the recruiting process. Do not be that person. Don't sit back and just hope that this is going to happen or think that you're just going to be found because a lot of good high school baseball athletes get passed on, get overlooked, get missed for that simple reasons. So do not be that person. Do everything in your power to give yourself the best chance. And that's what I'm here for. I'm here to help you through this and this is why I'm doing this video. And of course there are some athletes out there every single year that they're the exception. They didn't do anything, guys, they didn't do anything and they just got a phone call and they got an offer and they're going to a big Division 1 school. Hey, that happens. But that is such a small percentage and usually those guys are so super talented that are so God gifted and in the talent that they just get picked up really easy. And it's easy for us. For most of the athletes like myself, okay, that was just a good athlete but I needed help getting noticed. I needed to go through this recruiting process the right way. Most of us are that way. All right. Most of us are the athlete to give yourself the best chance in and to succeed at this. So we're going to go in reverse order. We're going to start with number three. Find a college fit. And it's not just on you. It needs to be the right fit for the college. You need to be the right player for them. You need to fit their player profile. Do you know their player profile? And this is a big one. You need to know are they recruiting your position? And this is where I recommend that you get help. Alright? You have somebody, it doesn't have to be me. I do this but it doesn't have to be me. I'm not trying to sell you on this but I just know how powerful and how much it can help somebody go through the recruiting processes. If your high school coach or your summer coach just gives a college coach a call and like hey, are you in need of a right handed pitcher? Whatever position it is, right handed pitcher, catcher, middle infielder, outfielder. And yeah, we are in need of this and boom, we attack those schools or hey, no, we got them, we have three or we have four catchers on our staff right now and we have another one coming in because it could be go off of the recruiting class prior year that they're just not in need. Maybe they recruited a bunch of your position, a bunch of players at your position the year before. Or again, maybe they have a bunch on the roster. The thing is, it changes year to year. And you need to do your homework, okay? You need to do your homework of knowing who is in need of your position. That is really big. And then of course, it needs to be a good fit for you athletically, academically, geographically. Are you willing to go across the country or do you want to stay local? And financially, you need to talk to your parents or whoever's helping you through this. Maybe you're just on your own. It needs to fit financially because colleges can range from essentially, they're all expensive, but they can go all the way up to $75,000, $80,000 a year. And those are the Ivy Leagues. Not all of them, of course, are not that expensive. But it can go that high. Guys, they can go that high. So you need to make sure it fits there as well. All right, Number two, exposure. It starts with exposure in the sense of they need to see you, coaches need to see you. They're not just going to go on a limb because you sent them an email and say, hey, you know, I have this gpa. I throw this hard. They're not just going to recruit you. And it starts with the recruiting video. The recruiting video grabs attention. Guys in the recruiting video, if you've followed this channel at all, it helps so much. I've seen so many guys have a good recruiting video and boom, it starts. Attraction. Next thing you know, they're down deep in the recruiting process and they're getting close to offers and eventually they get it offers. Then they need to see you in person. Very important they see you in person to see your actions. And the three major athletic things that they're looking for is physical. Physicality, athleticism and your actions and projectability. Projectability basically includes all of those things. Your actions and your athleticism. It projects, are you going to continue to get better as you grow into your body? And then three is measurables. Do your measurables, do they see your measurables getting to the par that they want them to? Whether you're a pitcher or a catcher or your exit velocity or outfield or whatever position you are, do your measures match up in the. In the sense of you're on the trend to get to that standpoint and that goes into your projectability. So There's a lot of variables to this, but it starts with exposure in the sense of, hey, from a college coach, they need to see you. And then number one, and this is the most important one is development. It is a boring one, but it is so true, guys, if you are not developing and you are not getting better, you are going to get left behind and say even you get recruited. A lot of college coaches have mentioned this. They have trouble, kids get committed and then they kind of let their foot off the pedal and they don't continue to develop. And then they get passed by easily at the next level. So whether you're freshman, sophomore, junior, senior, you always have to be developing. That's got to be your number one thing to match the skill level that these college coaches are looking for. To match the player profile that these college coaches are looking for. That is huge. Guys, I cannot emphasize this a month enough, but if your skill level continues to improve and improve, hey, more doors open as we go. More doors open. That is just massive going through this. So making sure you develop. One quick thing. I always try to think of it this way. When I was in high school, I always tried to play two years above where I was. So for example, if I was a sophomore, I wanted to play like a senior. So if somebody came and saw me, whether it was a parent or scout, I don't care who it was, they're like, man, how that guy carried himself, how the player carried himself, how he played, played like a senior, he must be a senior, right? Or if I was a senior in high school, I wanted to play like a sophomore. College guy. They're like, this guy's in high school. What? That was my goal and that's how I went about my training. That is massively important. Go about your training and your development as hard as you possibly can so you can be two years ahead. That was always my goal. I didn't always meet that. Okay, I eventually, in college plateau, I kind of got as good as I was going to get. But that is a good goal to have as we go through. If you have any questions, please, guys let me know. Ask below. Subscribe like the video and I will see you in the next one. Take care. Bye.