Well it's mid-November and for the most part the tournament season is behind us. Basketball season as well as 4 good months of winter lie ahead. For most players, that signifies that baseball season is over. How wrong !
I'm still getting daily e-mails from college coaches as well as showcase people asking me to pass along information. This is where the issue arises about your season being over. If your dream/goal is to become a college or professional player, there is no real down time. You are or want to be a baseball player. That means 11 months of the year, you have to work at "BASEBALL". I have no problem with multi-sport athletes and in fact I encourage it. However, if you want to be a baseball player you need to continually work at your skill even while playing soccer, basketball, hockey etc. You can not and should not ever think of attending one of these camps or showcases if you have not stayed in baseball shape.
We just got back from Jupiter,FL at the Perfect Game WWBA Championsips, which is the must attend event, at least once in your career. As Mr Tom Rizzi stated "It is the Woodstock of baseball". Coach Gallo from Iona Prep called it "A Baseball junkies heaven". For me, It's just a great time and I have great memories of being there with my boys. At the end of the event I have the same speech with all our players. I encourage them to now begin the tough work. They have all just watched games featuring the best players in the country, many of whom are bigger, stronger and possibly more skilled. It's time to narrow the gap. There are not many players from the Northeast who get the opportunity to play in this event and our guys are fortunate that we are able to take over 40 of them. I hope that they learn a lesson and fully understand what we are asking of them. The joke has been, work hard, round is not the shape I'm asking you to get in. Find a workout for yourself and get involved in it. Go to GNC and ask for supplements that will help with your workout routine to add some muscle and get bigger and stronger all while you continue to do some hitting, light throw and running. It works, trust me.
So what is the off season? It's a time to slow down your routine. It's a time to evaluate your strengths and weaknesses. It's a time to figure out what needs to be done to be a better player. It's a time to do your school work, better grades open up more doors for you. It's a time to research schools that peak your interest and send the coaches emails, be proactive. No summer coach is going to be able to do it all for you although there are many parents/players who think we can. it's a time to schedule some un-official visits, see what size school appeals to you. The off season is not a time for the couch and video games.
I had a player last year who used the off season to do just that, sit around. He missed winter workouts to watch football games and by looking at his size, he obviously missed the part about hitting the gym. I tried to keep an eye on the sports pages during the HS season to see how our boys were doing and didn't see his name in the papers at all...my mind is wondering..Then I get a call from him right around the first of June asking what my plan was for him this summer? Had I contacted any schools for him? All because, as he stated "This is a very big, important summer for him". My reply was, not sure, no and did you realize your summer began on November 1 the fall before? Obviously I knew the answer!
The season never ends, it just slows down! If you want to play at the next level, there is no off-season.
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