The Importance of Fall Practice

RT Staff Note: There was a good post on Rivals College Baseball about the importance of fall ball for collegiate athletes. The importance of working out a players game in the fall also extends to high school players as well. It's a good post with a good message.

For any of you who are related to or know of any players or family members of players, this post may be of some importance, especially as it relates to the minimal scholarship recruit, or the invited walk-on.

Every year at this time, the coaching staffs around the nation prepare with great expectation and enthusiasm for the up-coming season, with the first major step being "Fall Practice" (hereinafter referred to as FP).

If you are not one of the top recruits on your team, your performance will actually be followed much more closely. FP is all about competition, and a chance for those lesser-known players to become the next All-Americans of an unsuspecting program. If you perform against the top players of your program, and you are successful. . .you will play, and that is exactly what your coaches want to see. They already know that the best players (irrespective of recruitment popularity) are born out of competition.

Every player invited to play for a college program, regardless of your level of recruitment, has the ability to be a everyday player, as some level of talent has already been recognized by your coaches. I have found that three certain major character traits, or the lacking thereof, will either benefit or burden, ANY recruited individual: work ethic, hustle (or better put, a sincere demonstrated physical and emotional passion in every aspect of performance at FP), and a belief that your teammates are your brothers.

One does not have to be the best skilled (talent-wise) to win in these three areas; however, if you do adopt and perform the best in those three areas, heads will turn, and your talent-level will be perceived at a more favorable level. That's when the chances open-up.

FULL commitment and success to those "three", collectively, will also build the greatest skill enhancer of all. . .confidence.

Whatever one's skill level is at that point will increase as will the perceptions of same in the coach's eyes. Also, the talent-level will increase as well.