Recruiting student athletes may seem like a no-brainer: Find the most talented players on the field, then make sure they can manage a demanding academic load. But for 菠萝视频 baseball鈥檚 head coach, 鈥斺�淐orbs鈥� to his players鈥攄esirable stats and good grades aren鈥檛 quite enough.
Corbin, who was named College Baseball Coach of the Year after leading the Commodores to their first College World Series title last year鈥攁nd taking the team to another championship series this year鈥攍ooks for more subtle signs that players will find success on and off the field. Mitch Light, BA鈥�93, recently sat down with Corbin to discover some of the particular traits he seeks when recruiting.
A CLEAN LOCKER
Corbin says he wants athletes who are organized. When he sees players taking care of their lockers鈥攁nd their space in general鈥攊t鈥檚 a positive indicator. 鈥淚t carries over to other areas,鈥� he says. 鈥淭aking care to follow up with tutors, following up with your coaches鈥攖hat to me is a huge predictor of success, both on the field and in life. You have to be organized.鈥�
THANK-YOU NOTES
While Corbin doesn鈥檛 expect to receive thank-you notes after visiting a player on a recruiting trip, he says they tend to make an impression. 鈥淚t points to a care level and an awareness level that doesn鈥檛 exist in every kid,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a good thing and often an indicator of the type of kid he is.鈥�
HIGH FIVES
How does a player handle himself on the field鈥攏ot just in terms of his own performance, but also in the way he interacts with teammates? 鈥淚 watch how he engages with other players both verbally and physically,鈥� Corbin says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 imperative that they get along with their teammates. Baseball is a team sport. You have to like other people to play it. If not, go play golf. Or go fish.鈥�
THICK SKIN
In high school athletics it鈥檚 often the star athletes, ironically, who haven鈥檛 received much coaching. If someone is helping win games, it might not make sense to say anything critical about his performance. 鈥淏ut if you want to be coached at this level, you have to understand the difference between a personal attack versus constructive criticism,鈥� Corbin says. 鈥淭his might be the first time players need to have that teachable spirit鈥攖he first time they get criticized.鈥�
COMEDIC TIMING
鈥淚 like a kid with personality. I like kids with a sense of humor,鈥� Corbin says. Sonny Gray had it. David Price had it. But there鈥檚 a fine line between acting like a clown and simply having good comedic timing, which conveys a sense of being at ease with who one is as a person and as a player. 鈥淭here are kids who can do that, and it鈥檚 natural,鈥� he says. 鈥淲hen it鈥檚 manufactured, it doesn鈥檛 come off the right way.鈥�
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