What do college coaches look for?

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What do college coaches look for?
Garland Cooper
Managing Editor


Now that the signing period has settled down, it is time for many of you to start thinking about the recruiting process! StudentSportsSoftball.com has done some research to find out exactly what coaches are looking for when recruiting for their universities. Now all you seniors who already have signed can find out why your college chose you, and those of you just beginning the process will find this article very helpful!

Many players are always concerned about how they play when college coaches are watching them. Girls always say that they feel pressure to play well at tournaments when they know they will be watched. This, however, should not be a priority.

Many coaches are looking for players with great attitude and spirit. For example, Amanda Rivera the assistant coach at North Carolina State shares what is to her, one of the most important factors when recruiting an athlete.

"I like to watch how the athlete interacts with her teammates, coaches, and parents".

Amanda Freed, assistant coach at the Univ. of Virginia looks for similar qualities listing some of the most important qualities for a player to possess.

"Good attitude, good hustle, good communication, and good body language," she adds. "We look for someone who has a good presence on the field."

Penn State pitching coach Jocelyn Forest explains, "We want girls that are talkative, and have a bounce in their step. Even if a player is really good, if they are playing as an individual, we wouldn't want her on our team."

She goes on saying, "We want someone who is positive, and into the game; a girl that sprints on and off the field and is excited to be there."

As for pitchers, Forest says she likes a pitcher who "walks tall and is confident."

With any sport comes failure, and coaches also will look for how the athlete responds when they are in a tough position. They want to see the attitude of the players not only when they are interacting and doing well, but also when things are not going their way.

"I also watch what happens when the athlete fails and how they carry themselves when things get hard," Rivera notes.

This is especially true for pitchers as Forest states, "When a pitcher does fall behind and things get rocky I want to see if they fall apart or step it up. You can't coach toughness and on the mound we need someone who is tough and can answer back and get out of jams."

She also wants a pitcher that "has good poise and demeanor on the mound and doesn't throw fits or roll their eyes when things don't go their way."

Along with displaying good attitude and sportsmanship, coaches are looking for girls with potential; that is, players displaying athleticism.

"When I'm out there, I look for a great athlete! I want to find an athlete that will get better and better," Rivera declares.

Similarly, Freed states, "We look for someone who has good fundamentals and moves athletically on the field."

Jocelyn Forest agrees with Freed and Rivera stating, "We look for mobility and athletic girls that can change direction and are well rounded. We don't just want a homerun hitter, we look for girls that can hit, run the bases, and field athletically."

It is especially important with the change in the recruiting process to find athletes and girls that show potential. Now that girls are committing to school at a younger age, coaches don't get to see them at their most advanced and mature level.

"I think more than anything right now, coaches are looking for someone they feel has the potential to be a great player. Especially because girls are starting to verbal in the sophomore and junior years there is really no telling what those girls will become in two to three years when they finally get to college," Freed admits.

Forest makes another good point, many times when coaches come to watch you, they don't see the stellar plays and big hits, so sometimes you will have to find other ways to catch their eye.

Forest shares her feelings saying, "When we watch the girls, we rarely get to see the homeruns they hit and the diving catches. My attention is caught in different ways."

"I may be watching a girl and the ball may never be hit to her, so I watch other things like how she throws the ball around. Is she talking and excited to be there? If she is, then it will make me want to keep watching and see what happens when the ball does get hit to her."

If many times they miss the big plays and girls are committing before they have matured, how then do coaches like Freed and Forest find pitchers that will be able to compete at the collegiate level? Freed says it's looking for a girl that can learn.

"Different coaches look for different things I guess. When I go out recruiting pitchers, I look to see if they have decently sound fundamentals, at least decent speed, but most importantly can spin the ball."

"I don't concentrate on speed or a TON of movement when they're young but rather whether I think I can work with what they have. I'm certain they'll get stronger and faster as they get older and start training. If a girl throws 65mph every pitch but has no spins, then it's going to be harder to work with that."

Similarly, Forest states, "Speed may get your attention at first, but that's not what it's all about. I like girls that have a good change-up or look like they might have the potential to develop one. If they can set hitters up and hit their spots, that's a pitcher I can work with."

These coaches are about potential in players; players that have the ability to improve, and that are athletic enough to get better and compete at a higher level.

What is comes down to is, players put more pressure on themselves than they need to. Coaches are not necessarily looking for the girl that strikes everyone out or hits homeruns; they want to the girl with the great attitude, who works hard and has potential to learn and get better.

The coaches sum up what they really want in a student-athlete.

Freed shares with StudentSportsSoftball.com. "Basically, they need to be able to be flexible and versatile and just athletic."

Similarly Rivera adds, "I try to find an athlete that will represent me and my university and do a good job!"

Forest chimes in, "We look for someone who is into the game, talkative, has a bounce in their step and is just excited to be there. We want a girl that is a team player and can lead their teammates."