KPB Podcast

Daily KPB

This episode pairs with our written article titled, Coaches Want to Know How You Lose.

There is always a lot of great baseball during the college playoffs. This year’s playoffs have included great plays, gritty pitching, and thrilling walk-offs. Of course, for all the exciting games in the playoffs at various levels of college baseball and the upcoming Super Regionals (and even the College World Series), there are still losing teams. For many players, the loss meant the end of their season. Sometimes the scores were close; sometimes they were lopsided. A loss is never easy, no matter what the scoreboard says. Baseball is a heartless game. One day you’re on top and the next, you’re facing a crushing defeat.  

While you might think that coaches and recruiters are only interested in players who win games, most actually want to see you fail some so they can see how well you handle losing or failure. Why? Because every ballplayer loses sometimes and every ballplayer fails; it’s part of the game. Coaches are looking for players with “character.” They are looking for players who will add strength, not problems, to their teams through seasons that are filled with ups and downs. Here are a few tips to help you get noticed, even after you’ve lost an important game.  

Everyone loses. It’s the players that handle themselves with the same class and character during times of loss and failure as they do when they are winning and dominating that college coaches are looking to recruit. Let that be you.

Daily KPB

Campus visits are exciting! Last week, we talked about the different kinds of campus visits and why they are important. That article and podcast is a great resource and can be found  here. In this episode, we turn our attention to visits arranged with college coaches, and what you can do to put your best foot forward. This podcast corresponds to our article on How to Ace a Campus Visit. Whether or not the coaching staff has seen you play, campus visits are the perfect opportunity to make a lasting impression. You have put in a lot of work, the school is interested, and you could be a few steps away from finding your college fit. Formal campus visits with coaches often serve as either an initial check or final litmus test to ensure a player’s personality and character mesh with the current coaching staff expectations. In other words, it’s a critical hurdle in finding a college fit and coming to an agreement. Think of it as a two-way job interview. You are not the only one who is auditioning for the part. In person visits with coaches on their own turf are great ways to get a feel for whether the coaches and program have what you are looking for. If you show up prepared, you can simultaneously find out if a program is right for you and make a good impression. In this podcast episode, we give you the blueprint to dominating your campus visit!

In This Episode:

In a departure from our normal interview, in this episode, podcast host Ethan chats it up with a former college teammate Aaron Troyansky (Carleton College, '10). In addition to discussing Troyansky's college recruitment, which saw him go from a big high school in Lubbock, Texas to a small D3 program in Northfield, Minnesota, we also discuss Troyansky's atypical college baseball career,  during which he stepped away from the game for his sophomore season before returning to the Knights program. His story provides great insight into the challenges faced by players in their transition to college baseball and college life in general. Among the topics discussed are the ways Troyansky's college baseball experience helped prepare him for his professional career as a carpenter.

During his playing career at Carleton, Troyansky was a mainstay on the mound for the Knights, helping the program reach their first ever Conference Tournament in 2009. He extended his baseball career after finishing up with the Knights, playing a season in the Belgian 1st Division with the Merchtem Cats. Troyansky currently resides in Sitka, Alaska, but has used his trade to live in a number of different places around the U.S. in the last several years. 

Topics: D3, Preparation, Recruiting, Academics, Summer Ball, Transition to College Baseball, Learning Through Baseball, Professional Life

 Daily KPB

How do you know when your son might benefit from attending paid showcases and seek exposure? The following 5 questions are a great way to tell if your son is ready for attention from college coaches.  

If you answered no to question 1 or questions 2-4, your son should hold off on attending showcases because they will not yet improve his chances of getting recruited. If you answered yes to question 1, 5, and any additional question, you and your son can start exploring showcase events that fit with your budget and give you exposure to the right schools. 

 When it comes to creating meaningful exposure, your son should get in front of college coaches when he can show them the skills that they want to see. Striking while the iron is hot will not only give your son the best chance of getting recruited, it will also save you money and keep his focus where it should be—on developing into the best player possible.   

Daily KPB 

When it comes to campus visits, there is a lot you need to know. In this article, we break it all down, including the different types of campus visits (Official, Unofficial, Formal, Informal) and the different recruiting visit rules by level and division.  If you are preparing for a campus visit, this episode is a must. If you prefer to read the article associated with this podcast, you can find it here.

We have many great resources to help you prepare for and ace your campus visits, and you can find all of them in our Recruiting 101 resource under Step 7: Preparing for Campus Visits and Visiting Schools.

In this Daily KPB, we set the stage for the upcoming summer recruiting articles that center around Alex, a fictional recruit we use to tell real like recruiting lessons.

You may not realize it, but everything you do around the baseball field, from the way that you wear your uniform to the way you run out a ground ball, is being watched by college recruiters who come to see you play. In the next few weeks, we want to tell you about common mistakes that can get you crossed off recruiters’ lists.  

While some of the things we tell you about may seem very picky, keep in mind that coaches normally only get to see you play for a short time. Coaches and recruiters will formulate their ideas about you as a player based on everything they see you do, and these judgments are often made quickly. If you are lucky, coaches will get to see you play multiple games. That way, they can see your ability as a player and what kind of teammate you are. But, most recruiters will watch you play one game, maybe only one at bat, one play in the field, or one inning of pitching to determine whether or not to see you more. In that moment, will you be doing something that will make recruiters want to come back to see you or something that will get you crossed off the list? Fair or not, everything you do is magnified and recruiters will make quick decisions based on what they see. Everything you do matters!  

We’ve made up a story to help you see what we mean. It follows Alex, a recruit just like you:  

Alex is a good high school baseball player. He found the KPB website early in high school and learned about what he needs to do to play college baseball. He studies hard and his grades are good. He makes a video and sends it out to schools. He receives several letters of interest from coaches who saw the video. He also goes to a local showcase at the end of his junior year where a lot of college coaches are present. He performs well at the showcase and hears from several more interested colleges. It is now the summer after his junior year and his summer team is going to a big national tournament. On his way to the tournament, he stops for a few unofficial visits and is shown around college campuses by the coaches.  

John is a college recruiting coordinator. He spends his summers recruiting and he attends many showcases and tournaments. Early in the summer, he goes to a showcase where he sees Alex and a number of other prospects. He gets in touch with Alex and 6 other players and he arranges for them to visit his school on their way to the national tournament. John is also going to the national tournament to see 25 potential recruits at the same event and he is sure to pick up more names as he watches the games. The event is hectic and takes place at several different high schools and baseball complexes. He tries to see as many of the players on his list as possible, and because of scheduling conflicts and priority players, he is only able to watch 5 innings of Alex’s game before having to leave to see a pitcher who is scheduled to throw. He gets to Alex’s game a little early and has time to watch him warm-up and interact with his teammates.  

Without even knowing it, Alex is on John’s shortlist of potential players for his team. Alex isn’t aware, but he and 4 other infielders are being considered for one scholarship. Alex’s chances for the scholarship depend on what he does during the 5 innings that John sees him play. During these 5 innings, Alex can help, hurt, or ruin his chances of earning the scholarship to play college baseball.  

During the summer, we will return to this story and talk about the little things that Alex does that help or hurt his chances. We hope that you’ll learn from Alex’s mistakes and use the lessons to help you successfully navigate the recruiting process.  

This longer Daily KPB covers our 3-part mini-series on important considerations for summer baseball. Here's a bit of an intro before we dive in:

The dog days of summer are ahead and that can only mean one thing– summer baseball is right around the corner. If you are trying to decide what showcases or events to attend, what team to play for, and how to balance development, exposure, and rest this summer, this 3-part mini-series is for you! We start off by exploring showcases and camps in this article, we follow up by tackling how to decide where to play in Part II, and Part III brings everything together with a discussion on balancing development, exposure, and rest. 

For each of these summer baseball decisions, your skill level and financial situation will dictate the options available to you. Your goals as a ball player and knowledge about each option will help you make educated decisions about what’s best for you in the short and long-term. Let’s explore some of these ideas and help you figure out what’s best for you.   

First, consider your skill level. Are you getting invited to invite-only events? Have schools already expressed interest? Are you one of the better players at your school or in your league?  If the answer to these questions is yes, then you are well on your way in the recruiting process. If you are still working hard to get noticed and improve your game, that’s okay too. There are good summer options for players at every stage of the recruiting process. It’s important to remember that last year the D1 recruiting rules have changed. Since you will be unable to visit with college coaches on campus tours prior to junior year of high school, really pushing the exposure envelope in the underclassmen (freshman and sophomore) years of high school doesn’t make sense. You won’t be able to make a fully informed decision until junior year at the earliest. This is a big difference from summer’s past when top tier players could commit to a school with all the information they needed at any point of high school. With these changes in mind, let’s look at important summer baseball considerations when it comes to camps, showcases, choosing a team, and balancing recruiting, development, and health.

On This Episode:

He took over as college baseball's youngest head coach at 23 years-old. Fast forward 8 seasons and he has amassed the best winning percentage in the region over the last 5 years and lead the program to new heights. You won't want to miss our conversation with Mitchell College skipper Travis Beausoleil. Since taking over the Mariner program, Beausoleil has transformed the once marginal program into a perennial powerhouse, breaking records along the way. In addition to the best record over the last 5 years, Beaus has helped his program collect tons of hardware, including NECC championships and numerous player awards, including conference player of the year and All-American honors. Prior to his time at Mitchell, Beas spent time on the staff at UCONN where he helped the team earn a Super Regional bid and coached numerous former Big Leaguers. No stranger to higher levels of college baseball, Beaus has spent time coaching for the Chatham A’s in the prestigious Cape Cod Summer League and the DC Grays in the Cal Ripken League. We take a deep dive into recruiting, D3 baseball, team culture, and much more. Listen in and you'll quickly see why Coach Beausoleil's program has taken off.

Contact Coach Beausoleil:

Twitter: @CoachBeau7

Email: [email protected] 

Topics: 

D3, Recruiting, College Decision, Practice, Hitting, Infield, Financial Aid, Day-to-Day student life, Student-Athlete Experience, Mitchell College, Team Culture

 This Daily KPB episode is the podcast version of our Staying on Track on the DL blog article. In this episode, we discuss how to take ownership over your recovery. We lay out 10 things you can do to ensure you keep improving and help your team get better, even if you can't play. We list the 10 suggestions below but listen in for more detail!

Daily KPB

This is the audio version of our Early Season Lessons From MLB: Plate Discipline (2019) article. Click on the article for more information on how the 3 players discussed transformed their offensive approach and the numbers that resulted.

Over the last 3 years, we have profiled MLB players who are having great seasons due in large part to changes in their plate discipline. This year, that player is Hunter Dozier. Like Andrelton Simmons and Eric Thames the two prior years, Dozier's breakout year is showing hitters at every level of baseball from Little League on up the importance of plate discipline. Regardless of your physical size or tools, improved plate will make you a better offensive player and it's something you can start improving today!

Improved plate discipline means you are swinging at good pitches to hit, which translates to hitting the ball harder more consistently. Being patient enough to wait for a pitch you can handle forces pitchers to throw in the strike zone and beat you with their stuff. It also allows a hitter to see more pitches, get on base more consistently, and strike out less. Plate discipline is a sign of maturity and understanding in the box, a trait that college coaches love.

Plate discipline goes beyond swinging at strikes and taking balls. It also doesn’t mean that you are passive at the plate. You should still take a "Yes, yes, yes, YES!" or "Yes, yes, yes, NO!" approach to hitting. Plate discipline has to do with swinging at pitches you are looking for and that you can hit hard at a high rate. It’s a skill that helps distinguish between a batter and a hitter. A batter has an approach and a plan that changes from pitch-to-pitch and situation-to-situation. Batters understand that there are ways to help generate offense beyond trying to get a hit on every pitch. A lineup of batters is much more consistent than a lineup of hitters. Hitters are streaky—on a constant roller-coaster. When you rely on getting a hit every AB, you are likely to expand the zone, start pressing when the results aren’t coming, and be at the mercy of the pitcher. When a player swings at pitches he can hit hard on a regular basis and lays off pitches that hitters get themselves out on, he no longer relies on pitchers to make mistakes to be successful.

So how can you improve your plate discipline and turn yourself into a batter that is a true offensive weapon?  Start by understanding which pitches you hit well and which you don’t. Practice working in certain hitting zones during BP and drill work. For example, take inside strikes and swing at strikes on the outer half. Then switch. Or do the same on pitches up and down. Always provide context and situation for your swings. Next, watch the game closely. Pitchers have tendencies and patterns. If you watch every hitter during the game intently, you will gain a lot of information and be able to make much more educated/accurate guesses on what pitch is coming in a given count or situation. This will allow you to sit on a pitch or a speed during leverage counts. Another thing to do is train your eyes like you do your swing! Find ways to get as many visual reps as possible. Stand in on bullpens. Look into vision strengthening games and exercises. Finally, become a student of the game. The more you learn about approach and plate discipline, and the better you understand which pitches you hit well, the tougher out you will become. Not only will these skills turn you into the batter that college coaches want, your team’s offense will benefit immensely as well.

You don't need to have Hunter Dozier's physical tools to improve your offensive value, but you would be smart to copy his blueprint for success. Focus on plate discipline and watch your offensive production improve.