August 11, 2025 âą 22 mins
đ„ Inside a College Coachâs Playbook: Recruiting Secrets with Venus TaylorÂ
North Central College Head Softball Coach and Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL) Operations Coordinator, Venus Taylor, has recruited at every level of the game â from JUCO to Division I. In this episode of the Significant Recruiting Podcast, she shares what truly matters when coaches evaluate athletes, the right role for parents during the recruiting process, and why character, effort, and presence can outweigh stats.
We also dive into how social media impacts recruiting, the benefits of multi-sport participation, and the traits that separate athletes who thrive in college from those who struggle. Venusâ experience as a professional athlete, championship-winning coach, and mentor gives her a perspective every family needs to hear.
Whether youâre just starting your recruiting journey or youâre deep in the process, this episode is packed with practical takeaways to help you find the right fit and make the most of your opportunities.
đ Learn more about recruiting resources, my book Significant Recruiting: The Playbook for Prospective College Athletes, and The Softball Recruitâs Journal at coachmattrogers.com.
Learn more and connect with Matt Rogers here: https://linktr.ee/coachmattrogers
Listen on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, iHeartRadio, and all your favorite podcast platforms.
Did you like what you heard and want more?
New Podcasts every week. Remember to subscribe and follow wherever you get your podcasts.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:01):
We look for those things,because we want the intangibles,
we want the great athlete, wewant the competitor.
We want somebody with some,passion and energy and hustling,
and people that you know it'slike anything else.
Energy's contagious.
So if you have good energy outthere, you know you want that
for your team, you want thosepeople that can come in and be
culture builders for you aswell.
(00:26):
Welcome back to SignificantCoaching.
I'm your host, Matt Rogers.
You just heard North CentralCollege head softball coach and
former professional athlete,Venus Taylor, sharing her
passion for helping athletesnavigate the recruiting process.
In this conversation, we getinto the qualities that really
matter when coaches areevaluating players, the role
(00:47):
parents should play, and howsocial media, multi-sport
participation and personalcharacter all factor into a
recruit's future.
Coach Taylor is recruited atevery level and brings a unique
perspective on what separatesthe athletes who thrive in
college from those who struggle.
And if you're looking for morerecruiting resources and
(01:09):
support, you can learnmore@coachmattrogers.com after
the show.
All right.
Here's part two of myconversation with Coach Venus
Taylor.
Okay.
Coach, you've done it all.
You've coached at every level.
It's crazy.
You've been at every level anddone really well at every level.
Thank you.
When you're recruiting, how doyou help athletes understand
(01:33):
where they truly fit?
Right now versus where they hopethey can play someday?
Oh, that's a great question.
However, I am someone who isalways gonna give you an honest
assessment, but I am not a dreamkiller.
So I really do believe that ifsomebody feels like they can go
out and be a division oneathlete and they have.
(01:56):
The drive and the work ethic andthe ambition and the foresight
and all that stuff to do it.
I'm certainly not gonna tell'emthey can't.
I will tell them what it's gonnatake to get there from where
they're at.
You know what I mean?
So I really just thinkeverything's a process.
I would never tell somebody theycouldn't do something.
It's more along the lines of,okay, here's what I see now.
(02:16):
Here's what you would have to beable to do better, and here's
how you can close that gap andgo out and be anything you wanna
be.
You know what I mean?
So I'm always going to approachit from a motivational
standpoint, but an honeststandpoint, yeah I love it.
How much do you get intounderstanding their value?
(02:37):
In terms of if you wanna play atWestern or Bradley or Georgia
Tech where you've coached andplayed compared to a North
Central or a Maryville where Icoached at the D two level.
How much do we talk about, Heyyou've been a starter for three
years in high school.
You've been the best player inyour club.
You gotta think about what thatplaying time's gonna look at
(02:59):
each level.
And can you handle sitting onthe bench?
Can you handle waiting yourterm?
Is that a part of.
Of your recruiting conversation.
Yes and no.
So I look at it and I say, okay,what are you trying to study?
Because first and foremost,whatever you're going to school
for is going to be the mainreason why you go there most
likely.
Now, you could be a really highlevel athlete that you wanna go
(03:21):
for the combination of both.
You're going to go there for acertain major, but you're also
going there because it's themost competitive program and
they're national champions orwhatever, and that's where you
wanna go.
However, I would say.
What you major in can dictatesome things for you as well.
Like at the D three level, Ialways try to tell people that
you can get a competitiveexperience, but you're gonna
(03:44):
travel less.
You're gonna have better balancein the sense of, you're not on
the road as much, you don't playas many games, but you still get
that sisterhood.
You still get to compete in agame you've loved your whole
entire life and that you're usedto having part of being a part
of your life.
And no matter what, when you goto college, whether it's D one,
D two, D three, you're still topthree to 5% of athletes in the
(04:05):
entire country that get theopportunity to go do that.
I look at it like all levelsmatter.
It just really depends on whatthe athlete's looking for.
Some athletes are looking forthe big school, some are looking
for a smaller school, smallerclassrooms.
Some are looking to stay closerto home.
Some are looking for, a lessrigorous schedule.
And all those things help you inthe process, figure out.
Where do I really wanna play andwhat works for me?
(04:27):
Because there are athletes thatwanna be fully committed every
day, all the time, and want thathigher level.
And there's other athletes thatare like, I still wanna play and
I still wanna compete to thebest of my ability during the
time I'm out there.
But I would like to scale itback a little bit from a time
perspective because I need thistime to really focus on my
studies, and that's just who Iam and what I need.
(04:48):
That's a great perspective.
You've recruited at the highestlevels of the game.
What's the first thing younotice about a recruit before
they even step in the batter'sbox or before they throw that
first pitch?
Is there something that catchyour attention?
Yeah, hustle.
I really like players that, runout there with some passion and
(05:08):
hustle, to first base orwhatever they're doing, if
you're just walking lethargicout there, I'm probably
irritated from the minute I seeit.
You know what I mean?
So I look for hustle.
I look for grit.
I love grit.
I love players that are justgonna get out there and get
after it.
If the ball's anywhere near'em,they're going for it.
You know what I mean?
I love players like that.
I just, I love passion, so if Isee passion, grit.
(05:32):
Hustling, then those threethings right there stand out to
me when I'm watching someone,whether they get a hit or not,
or whether they make the play ornot, it just shows me the level
of determination that they haveand the desire to wanna be
great.
And, I think you can work withthat.
You can coach that really well.
Obviously you look forathleticism, athleticism and how
they compete.
I want somebody that's.
(05:53):
Looking like they wanna competeall the time and believing in
themselves.
When a pitcher's out on themound, you can tell if they pick
themselves over the batter or ifthey're intimidated to throw to
a certain batter, so I like thatconfidence style athlete who
picks them, who's very athletic,but also I wanna see those other
intangibles, in addition to justbeing a great teammate and,
(06:13):
having a good attitude.
All those things, they kinda allcoexist for me.
It's such a big part of howcoaches think.
I can't tell you how many fieldsand gyms I've walked out of
before even really watching thekid play.
I was just so frustrated at howthey warmed up and how they
prepared for the game.
I was like, this kid, I'm gonnapull my hair out.
It's gonna be two years before Ican help them figure out how to
(06:36):
play the game the right way.
There's too many other kids tolook at.
For you to think that way, forsure.
And and I think that's what theygotta understand too, is even if
I don't go three for three, or Idon't strike everybody out
because that's not reallyrealistic.
The coach is coming and they seeeverything.
You know what I mean?
So every little thing that youdo, every rep matters how you
carry yourself, your bodylanguage.
(06:58):
Are you cheering on yourteammates?
I'm not saying you have to be arah person.
But you have to be engaged inthe game, you have to high five
the teammate that just came offthat, maybe struck out or was
having a bad day, or you'repicking them up.
We look for those things,because we want the intangibles,
we want the great athlete, wewant the competitor.
We want somebody with some,passion and energy and hustling,
and people that you know it'slike anything else.
(07:18):
Energy's contagious.
So if you have good energy outthere, you know you want that
for your team, you want thosepeople that can come in and be
culture builders for you aswell.
It's a great lesson for theyoung softball players out there
that, yeah, flash is great ifyou can hit a bomb and you can
make that great play at third,but if the next three plays,
(07:38):
you're not down in the stance,you're not ready, you don't take
good swings every at bat.
You're not creating an energyfor your teammates and
supporting them.
It doesn't matter how much flashyou have, if you're not
consistent with that energy.
And it goes back to what youwere talking about before with
consistency and routine.
Yeah, for sure.
And I just think that a lot ofathletes will leave the field
(07:59):
and they're like, oh, I didn'tdo that'cause they may have
gotten nervous or whatever whena college coach was in
attendance.
I look at it and go.
Think all the things that youcould have influenced the coach
with.
You know what I mean?
And that's what they don'tprobably think about.
And I wish they would, I wishthey would think about that
because like I said, it's aculmination of everything out
there.
It's, all the things that Imentioned, it's the athlete that
(08:19):
you are, it's how you holdyourself.
It's your body language, it'syour hustle.
It's how you react to adversityand failure, how you pick up a
teammate.
It's all those things we'relooking at.
So if you.
Went one for four on the day,but you were able to do eight
out 10 things in that, in those,in that list, we're probably
still interested in you.
Yeah.
So don't go home and beatyourself up.
(08:39):
That's right.
If you're a center fielder and acoach watches 20 pitches in an
inning and you don't ever get aball hit to you, that's still 20
pitches that coach was watching.
Were you prepared?
Were you moving?
Were you adjusting?
Did you know where the pitch wasgonna be thrown?
I love that stuff.
Just love it.
Yeah.
And then on the flip sidethough, it's also but it is
performance based.
(08:59):
Do you know what I mean?
Yeah.
You do have to compete, you haveto do, you have to learn from
your previous at bat.
So if you go in and you do thesame thing.
Next time, it's we hope that youlearn from your previous at bat.
We hope that you look your coachin the eye and take their
feedback so the next time youget in that position, you know
you're coachable and you canrespond, and make that quick
adjustment.
But, no one has to be perfect.
They don't have to be perfect atthat age, but you have to be
(09:20):
competitive and you have to beout there wanting to win and
showing us, like I said, someseparation from everybody else.
I love it.
So many athletes focus on stats.
How much do stats really matter?
And compared to the bodylanguage and the effort and the
coachability and the athleticismwhat role does stats play in
your world in recruiting?
(09:43):
That's a tough one becauseeverybody keeps stats
differently, so I never I wouldnever go out and look at a stat
sheet, and that's how I choose aplayer, right?
Yeah.
Right now, when you're withinyour own system, you look at it
and go, okay the numbers don'tlie, but the numbers don't tell
everything.
You know what I mean?
So if there's a player that's onmy team that can greatly
influence everybody around'em isthe best defensive player out
(10:06):
there is battling every timethey get up to bat, even if
they're batting averages alittle bit lower.
If I like all those otherthings, they're making the
lineup.
You know what I mean?
But with that said, if somebodyelse is hitting way better than
them, or pitching way betterthan them, you're gonna lean and
there is a pecking order.
You know what I mean?
I'm not gonna sit here and say,oh, everybody gets to play.
And especially at the collegiatelevel, you have to choose who
(10:29):
you feel are the best nine atthat time.
And that can alter throughoutthe season.
You know what I mean?
Some people are really hot atthe beginning of season.
Some people are really hot atthe end of the season.
But at the end of the day, itcomes down to the intangibles
that are in between.
That help you decide when it'sclose?
Yeah, absolutely.
Let's talk about building yourroster.
(10:49):
Let's say you got a senior as ajunior.
She hit 12 home runs, 60 rbisbatted three 90, you're losing
her next year.
How are you going aboutrecruiting third base a year
ahead now?
What are you looking for thatpower hitter?
Or are you looking just for thebest player at that position?
(11:13):
How do you go about that whenyou're building out your roster
from year to year?
Yeah.
I really like a combination ofspeed and power myself.
But I go for the best athleteand the most competitive because
one thing I like is versatility.
I like to be, I don't go withjust oh, I know like corners or
catchers, sometimes they canonly place a pitcher.
(11:33):
Sometimes they're po only.
But at times you also find otherplayers that can pitch and play
for space or catch and play forspace, or I have middle and
fielders that I can turn intooutfielders.
So for us, we're really lookingfor highly competitive athletes
that we feel that we can plug inwhere we need'em.
You know what I mean?
And then you adjust as a coachbased on the style.
(11:57):
Then you know, if you don't haveas much power.
You're gonna run more, you'regonna hit and run more.
Going to take an extra baseevery time you can.
Things like that.
Yeah I'd like to have both.
Like I said, yeah, I like thebeginning and the end of my
order to be quicker, fastercapabilities of stealing bases,
opportunity to steal bases andthings like that.
Because I feel like in thisgame, it's a fast game and you
(12:20):
can run on people and putpressure on, you have a really
good chance to win.
Although with one swing of thebat, if you hit the ball over
the fence, you don't have tomanufacture all that.
You know what?
That's right.
What I mean, so I really do likea combination of both, and I
would never have one or theother.
My philosophy is I want both.
I want those big bumpers in themiddle of a lineup or throughout
my lineup.
(12:40):
But I also want the players who,hey, when this pitch iss tough
to hit, and I can just put abunt down or slap it or
whatever, and beat it out justby getting it on the ground
pretty much.
Yes, please.
I'll take those too, becausehitting ly is difficult and
there's a lot of great pitchersout there, so whatever way,
whatever it takes to manufacturethe runs, to get the wins.
I love it.
(13:01):
What's one thing you wish everyhigh school athlete knew about
the recruiting process beforethey ever sent that first email
to you?
What do you want them to knowahead of time?
I think one of the biggestthings for me is just, make it
personal.
A lot of times, you can telllike something's copy and pasted
or sent out to everybody, Ithink it's really important to
make it personal.
(13:22):
I also think it's reallyimportant to include your
schedule.
And any video that you mighthave, because that kind of like
the minute that, coaches get alot of emails, the, and the
minute they get to look at thatinformation, you wanna make it
readily available for them sothat way they can tap in and
watch you and see your beststuff.
And it doesn't have to beperfect.
(13:42):
So send what you have with reps,so if you're taking 30 ground
balls, you're gonna boot two of'em or whatever.
That's okay.
We don't need 30.
Perfect.
Fielded balls, we wanna seeeverything.
We wanna see the mistakes too sothat we can see what we're
working with.
But put as much information onthere to make it readily
available and include like yoursocial media as well, because
that's something that's ongoing.
(14:03):
So then we can follow you and wecan see as you keep up with
that, we can follow you.
'cause we can't be everywhere,right?
It's really difficult for us tosee everybody that writes.
I think social media has beengreat for the opportunity to
see.
People outside of a gamesetting.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I agree.
And I love how you described it'cause you're not necessarily
recruiting through social media,but you're following and
(14:25):
tracking those recruits that youlike.
And being able to keep up withthem and see their development.
So I love that.
That's a great message.
I want to talk a little bitabout parents here.
They can be their recruit'sbiggest advocate.
They can be their sometimesrecruit's biggest obstacle.
What's the right role for aparent during this process?
(14:46):
I think you're dealing withyou're not dealing with the
adults, so I think there has tobe some parental involvement.
Any time that you can teach yourchild to speak for themselves,
they should, because that showstheir maturity being able to
look coaches in the eyes andthings like that.
Like it just shows where they'reat, from a maturity standpoint.
But I think it's good forparents to be involved because
(15:06):
they're older.
They can make the, they can helpmake.
Decisions and things like that,and they know the athlete better
than you do at this point.
So I think some involvement'svery important, but I also think
letting your child and yourathlete have a voice themselves
and learn that learn to maturein the process is important as
well.
How would you feel if you got anemail from a mom or a dad
(15:27):
endorsing their kid to recruitinstead of from the kid?
I think it needs to come fromthe kid for sure.
Okay.
Yeah, I think that coaches willtake to that much better than
the parent, but it isn't likewhen we receive a parental email
that we're like, oh, absolutelynot.
But we know that every parent isbiased towards their own kid.
And I also think that if it'scoming from the, I don't even
(15:49):
know if it's kid, but studentathlete, it just puts a more
personal touch on it.
It's not to say one's wrong orone's right, but I think it
means more coming from theathlete and just puts a little
bit more personal touch on it.
I'm always worried is the, doesthe mom and dad want this more
than the kid?
You know what I mean?
Yeah.
I think it says a lot that thekid's saying, I want this.
I'm gonna, I'm gonna send anemail to Coach Taylor.
(16:10):
I'm gonna, I'm gonna be the oneto call her and ask her, she'll
evaluate me.
So for sure I need the answer tothat, but I wanted you to say
it.
I think it's a better route togo to center yourself.
Absolutely.
But it's good to get guidancefrom your parent on, Hey, does
this, does this sound good?
What are your thoughts?
Should I include anything else?
Because, they're doing it forthe first time too, and so
sometimes they just need someguidance.
(16:31):
Absolutely.
Yeah.
Help'em with it.
Yeah.
Let's talk about multi-sportathletes.
I get so much feedback fromparents.
They're so worried that if theirdaughter doesn't play club
softball, they're not gonna getrecruited.
They're not gonna have to chanceto play at the best schools, but
the kid is a.
Great basketball player, greatvolleyball player, three sports
stud, and they love playing allthree, so it's really hard to
(16:54):
play club softball.
Where are you at from arecruiting standpoint with those
type of kids?
Personally, I'm a big believerin multi-sport athletes, and I
believe that you should playmulti-sport if you can when
you're younger.
Just the wear and tear it putson your body to do one thing
over and over again.
When you're a, one dimensionalplayer is probably not the best
(17:14):
thing.
And I know some people probablywill hate hearing that from me,
but I think it's great whenyou're a multi-sport athlete and
I'm in full support of that.
I do think, however, that theclub level is really important
from an exposure standpoint.
I think if anything, I see moreof the other way around where
people don't participate in highschool.
But they stay in club, but Ithink that if you're willing to
(17:37):
find the right club team thatwill work with you as a
basketball player, and you'realso a standout basketball
player, I think there's somebodyout there that's gonna work with
you to be able to do that.
You don't have to shut yourdreams down and be one specific
sport if you're not ready to,it's.
I probably until late in mycareer was between basketball
and softball.
You know what I mean?
I just got more exposure insoftball because I didn't play a
(17:58):
u.
Now, if I had played a u maybe Iwould've been a basketball
player.
You know what I mean?
So it's really just about eachindividual's journey.
But I do think that playing clublevel's important.
However, you don't have to do itall year long and, give up
everything else.
Yeah.
You talked about a kid emailingyou and you like the
(18:19):
individuality that they knowyour program.
It's obviously, they've done theresearch, it's clear in that
email, they're writing thatemail to you.
If a kid leaves you a voicemailwhat do you like to hear?
If they send you a message andif call you.
Yeah, that's a great question.
I just like to hear them.
Tell me, why they're choosingour school or why they're
interested and what positionthey play, what year they
(18:41):
graduate, and what they'relooking for in a school and the
reason why they're calling.
And where, a lot of timesthey'll just say, if you don't
have the opportunity to talk,can I just, I'm gonna shoot you
an email and provide myschedule.
And with a little bit of detailand a heads up, I think that's
great.
You know what I mean?
They don't have to leave a longelaborate message, but I think
just.
It shows me a lot of couragefrom someone to call that's
(19:04):
younger and leave a voicemailand be organized about it and
personal about it, I think.
I think that's special.
I think that says somethingabout.
I agree.
I agree.
I think courage is the rightword.
I use that all the time.
Very few kids have the courageto not only send an email, to
pick up the phone and say, coachTaylor I'd love to go to North
Central.
I'd love to be evaluated by you.
(19:24):
Love to get your feedback.
I think it says so much abouttheir character, so I love
hearing that.
Yeah.
Last piece of advice for highschool coach, club director,
parent.
Student athlete, just about therecruiting process in general.
What advice do you give allthose people about making sure
(19:45):
great kids that wanna play atthe next level get that
opportunity?
Yeah, I think just utilizingyour network is really
important.
Anybody that you know in thesport that you think can be an
advocate for you, don't beafraid to reach out to'em.
Because I think there's so manypeople in this great sport that
we play that are just reallyabout helping others and are
(20:06):
great people.
People might think, oh, I don'tknow if they have time.
Everybody has time to helpsomebody.
So if you know somebody that canhelp advocate for your daughter
that can help give you someadvice, reach out to'em, because
usually everybody's gonna bewilling to help.
Coach, you're a rockstar.
Thank you for containing to be aleader and a role model and
(20:28):
somebody that cares about theseyoung people.
North Central's lucky to haveyou, and we've been lucky to
have you on the podcast.
Thank you.
Thank you so much.
And that's a wrap on anothergreat episode.
Talking with Coach Taylorreminds us that recruiting isn't
all about finding a roster spot.
It's about finding the rightplace to grow as a player and as
a person.
(20:48):
Her insights into coachvaluations, the role of parents
and the importance of characterare lessons every family can put
into action.
If you're ready to takeownership of your recruiting
journey, I've created resourcesto help you do exactly that.
My book, significant Recruiting,the Playbook for prospective
college athletes gives you astep-by-step roadmap for
(21:11):
navigating the recruitingprocess.
With confidence and the softballrecruits journal is your week by
week planner to set goals, trackcommunication with coaches, and
keep your recruiting organizedfrom start to finish.
You can find both books alongwith more recruiting tips and
resources.
At coach matt rogers.com and ifyou haven't heard part one of my
(21:34):
conversation with Coach Tayloron the significant coaching
podcast, go back and check itout.
It's a great look at ourcoaching journey and leadership
philosophy.
Hey, thanks for listening, andwe'll see you next time on the
Significant Recruiting Podcast.
We look for those things,because we want the intangibles,
we want the great athlete, wewant the competitor.
We want somebody with some,passion and energy and hustling,
and people that you know it'slike anything else.
Energy's contagious.
So if you have good energy outthere, you know you want that
for your team, you want thosepeople that can come in and be
culture builders for you aswell.
(00:26):
Welcome back to SignificantCoaching.
I'm your host, Matt Rogers.
You just heard North CentralCollege head softball coach and
former professional athlete,Venus Taylor, sharing her
passion for helping athletesnavigate the recruiting process.
In this conversation, we getinto the qualities that really
matter when coaches areevaluating players, the role
(00:47):
parents should play, and howsocial media, multi-sport
participation and personalcharacter all factor into a
recruit's future.
Coach Taylor is recruited atevery level and brings a unique
perspective on what separatesthe athletes who thrive in
college from those who struggle.
And if you're looking for morerecruiting resources and
(01:09):
support, you can learnmore@coachmattrogers.com after
the show.
All right.
Here's part two of myconversation with Coach Venus
Taylor.
Okay.
Coach, you've done it all.
You've coached at every level.
It's crazy.
You've been at every level anddone really well at every level.
Thank you.
When you're recruiting, how doyou help athletes understand
(01:33):
where they truly fit?
Right now versus where they hopethey can play someday?
Oh, that's a great question.
However, I am someone who isalways gonna give you an honest
assessment, but I am not a dreamkiller.
So I really do believe that ifsomebody feels like they can go
out and be a division oneathlete and they have.
(01:56):
The drive and the work ethic andthe ambition and the foresight
and all that stuff to do it.
I'm certainly not gonna tell'emthey can't.
I will tell them what it's gonnatake to get there from where
they're at.
You know what I mean?
So I really just thinkeverything's a process.
I would never tell somebody theycouldn't do something.
It's more along the lines of,okay, here's what I see now.
(02:16):
Here's what you would have to beable to do better, and here's
how you can close that gap andgo out and be anything you wanna
be.
You know what I mean?
So I'm always going to approachit from a motivational
standpoint, but an honeststandpoint, yeah I love it.
How much do you get intounderstanding their value?
(02:37):
In terms of if you wanna play atWestern or Bradley or Georgia
Tech where you've coached andplayed compared to a North
Central or a Maryville where Icoached at the D two level.
How much do we talk about, Heyyou've been a starter for three
years in high school.
You've been the best player inyour club.
You gotta think about what thatplaying time's gonna look at
(02:59):
each level.
And can you handle sitting onthe bench?
Can you handle waiting yourterm?
Is that a part of.
Of your recruiting conversation.
Yes and no.
So I look at it and I say, okay,what are you trying to study?
Because first and foremost,whatever you're going to school
for is going to be the mainreason why you go there most
likely.
Now, you could be a really highlevel athlete that you wanna go
(03:21):
for the combination of both.
You're going to go there for acertain major, but you're also
going there because it's themost competitive program and
they're national champions orwhatever, and that's where you
wanna go.
However, I would say.
What you major in can dictatesome things for you as well.
Like at the D three level, Ialways try to tell people that
you can get a competitiveexperience, but you're gonna
(03:44):
travel less.
You're gonna have better balancein the sense of, you're not on
the road as much, you don't playas many games, but you still get
that sisterhood.
You still get to compete in agame you've loved your whole
entire life and that you're usedto having part of being a part
of your life.
And no matter what, when you goto college, whether it's D one,
D two, D three, you're still topthree to 5% of athletes in the
(04:05):
entire country that get theopportunity to go do that.
I look at it like all levelsmatter.
It just really depends on whatthe athlete's looking for.
Some athletes are looking forthe big school, some are looking
for a smaller school, smallerclassrooms.
Some are looking to stay closerto home.
Some are looking for, a lessrigorous schedule.
And all those things help you inthe process, figure out.
Where do I really wanna play andwhat works for me?
(04:27):
Because there are athletes thatwanna be fully committed every
day, all the time, and want thathigher level.
And there's other athletes thatare like, I still wanna play and
I still wanna compete to thebest of my ability during the
time I'm out there.
But I would like to scale itback a little bit from a time
perspective because I need thistime to really focus on my
studies, and that's just who Iam and what I need.
(04:48):
That's a great perspective.
You've recruited at the highestlevels of the game.
What's the first thing younotice about a recruit before
they even step in the batter'sbox or before they throw that
first pitch?
Is there something that catchyour attention?
Yeah, hustle.
I really like players that, runout there with some passion and
(05:08):
hustle, to first base orwhatever they're doing, if
you're just walking lethargicout there, I'm probably
irritated from the minute I seeit.
You know what I mean?
So I look for hustle.
I look for grit.
I love grit.
I love players that are justgonna get out there and get
after it.
If the ball's anywhere near'em,they're going for it.
You know what I mean?
I love players like that.
I just, I love passion, so if Isee passion, grit.
(05:32):
Hustling, then those threethings right there stand out to
me when I'm watching someone,whether they get a hit or not,
or whether they make the play ornot, it just shows me the level
of determination that they haveand the desire to wanna be
great.
And, I think you can work withthat.
You can coach that really well.
Obviously you look forathleticism, athleticism and how
they compete.
I want somebody that's.
(05:53):
Looking like they wanna competeall the time and believing in
themselves.
When a pitcher's out on themound, you can tell if they pick
themselves over the batter or ifthey're intimidated to throw to
a certain batter, so I like thatconfidence style athlete who
picks them, who's very athletic,but also I wanna see those other
intangibles, in addition to justbeing a great teammate and,
(06:13):
having a good attitude.
All those things, they kinda allcoexist for me.
It's such a big part of howcoaches think.
I can't tell you how many fieldsand gyms I've walked out of
before even really watching thekid play.
I was just so frustrated at howthey warmed up and how they
prepared for the game.
I was like, this kid, I'm gonnapull my hair out.
It's gonna be two years before Ican help them figure out how to
(06:36):
play the game the right way.
There's too many other kids tolook at.
For you to think that way, forsure.
And and I think that's what theygotta understand too, is even if
I don't go three for three, or Idon't strike everybody out
because that's not reallyrealistic.
The coach is coming and they seeeverything.
You know what I mean?
So every little thing that youdo, every rep matters how you
carry yourself, your bodylanguage.
(06:58):
Are you cheering on yourteammates?
I'm not saying you have to be arah person.
But you have to be engaged inthe game, you have to high five
the teammate that just came offthat, maybe struck out or was
having a bad day, or you'repicking them up.
We look for those things,because we want the intangibles,
we want the great athlete, wewant the competitor.
We want somebody with some,passion and energy and hustling,
and people that you know it'slike anything else.
(07:18):
Energy's contagious.
So if you have good energy outthere, you know you want that
for your team, you want thosepeople that can come in and be
culture builders for you aswell.
It's a great lesson for theyoung softball players out there
that, yeah, flash is great ifyou can hit a bomb and you can
make that great play at third,but if the next three plays,
(07:38):
you're not down in the stance,you're not ready, you don't take
good swings every at bat.
You're not creating an energyfor your teammates and
supporting them.
It doesn't matter how much flashyou have, if you're not
consistent with that energy.
And it goes back to what youwere talking about before with
consistency and routine.
Yeah, for sure.
And I just think that a lot ofathletes will leave the field
(07:59):
and they're like, oh, I didn'tdo that'cause they may have
gotten nervous or whatever whena college coach was in
attendance.
I look at it and go.
Think all the things that youcould have influenced the coach
with.
You know what I mean?
And that's what they don'tprobably think about.
And I wish they would, I wishthey would think about that
because like I said, it's aculmination of everything out
there.
It's, all the things that Imentioned, it's the athlete that
(08:19):
you are, it's how you holdyourself.
It's your body language, it'syour hustle.
It's how you react to adversityand failure, how you pick up a
teammate.
It's all those things we'relooking at.
So if you.
Went one for four on the day,but you were able to do eight
out 10 things in that, in those,in that list, we're probably
still interested in you.
Yeah.
So don't go home and beatyourself up.
(08:39):
That's right.
If you're a center fielder and acoach watches 20 pitches in an
inning and you don't ever get aball hit to you, that's still 20
pitches that coach was watching.
Were you prepared?
Were you moving?
Were you adjusting?
Did you know where the pitch wasgonna be thrown?
I love that stuff.
Just love it.
Yeah.
And then on the flip sidethough, it's also but it is
performance based.
(08:59):
Do you know what I mean?
Yeah.
You do have to compete, you haveto do, you have to learn from
your previous at bat.
So if you go in and you do thesame thing.
Next time, it's we hope that youlearn from your previous at bat.
We hope that you look your coachin the eye and take their
feedback so the next time youget in that position, you know
you're coachable and you canrespond, and make that quick
adjustment.
But, no one has to be perfect.
They don't have to be perfect atthat age, but you have to be
(09:20):
competitive and you have to beout there wanting to win and
showing us, like I said, someseparation from everybody else.
I love it.
So many athletes focus on stats.
How much do stats really matter?
And compared to the bodylanguage and the effort and the
coachability and the athleticismwhat role does stats play in
your world in recruiting?
(09:43):
That's a tough one becauseeverybody keeps stats
differently, so I never I wouldnever go out and look at a stat
sheet, and that's how I choose aplayer, right?
Yeah.
Right now, when you're withinyour own system, you look at it
and go, okay the numbers don'tlie, but the numbers don't tell
everything.
You know what I mean?
So if there's a player that's onmy team that can greatly
influence everybody around'em isthe best defensive player out
(10:06):
there is battling every timethey get up to bat, even if
they're batting averages alittle bit lower.
If I like all those otherthings, they're making the
lineup.
You know what I mean?
But with that said, if somebodyelse is hitting way better than
them, or pitching way betterthan them, you're gonna lean and
there is a pecking order.
You know what I mean?
I'm not gonna sit here and say,oh, everybody gets to play.
And especially at the collegiatelevel, you have to choose who
(10:29):
you feel are the best nine atthat time.
And that can alter throughoutthe season.
You know what I mean?
Some people are really hot atthe beginning of season.
Some people are really hot atthe end of the season.
But at the end of the day, itcomes down to the intangibles
that are in between.
That help you decide when it'sclose?
Yeah, absolutely.
Let's talk about building yourroster.
(10:49):
Let's say you got a senior as ajunior.
She hit 12 home runs, 60 rbisbatted three 90, you're losing
her next year.
How are you going aboutrecruiting third base a year
ahead now?
What are you looking for thatpower hitter?
Or are you looking just for thebest player at that position?
(11:13):
How do you go about that whenyou're building out your roster
from year to year?
Yeah.
I really like a combination ofspeed and power myself.
But I go for the best athleteand the most competitive because
one thing I like is versatility.
I like to be, I don't go withjust oh, I know like corners or
catchers, sometimes they canonly place a pitcher.
(11:33):
Sometimes they're po only.
But at times you also find otherplayers that can pitch and play
for space or catch and play forspace, or I have middle and
fielders that I can turn intooutfielders.
So for us, we're really lookingfor highly competitive athletes
that we feel that we can plug inwhere we need'em.
You know what I mean?
And then you adjust as a coachbased on the style.
(11:57):
Then you know, if you don't haveas much power.
You're gonna run more, you'regonna hit and run more.
Going to take an extra baseevery time you can.
Things like that.
Yeah I'd like to have both.
Like I said, yeah, I like thebeginning and the end of my
order to be quicker, fastercapabilities of stealing bases,
opportunity to steal bases andthings like that.
Because I feel like in thisgame, it's a fast game and you
(12:20):
can run on people and putpressure on, you have a really
good chance to win.
Although with one swing of thebat, if you hit the ball over
the fence, you don't have tomanufacture all that.
You know what?
That's right.
What I mean, so I really do likea combination of both, and I
would never have one or theother.
My philosophy is I want both.
I want those big bumpers in themiddle of a lineup or throughout
my lineup.
(12:40):
But I also want the players who,hey, when this pitch iss tough
to hit, and I can just put abunt down or slap it or
whatever, and beat it out justby getting it on the ground
pretty much.
Yes, please.
I'll take those too, becausehitting ly is difficult and
there's a lot of great pitchersout there, so whatever way,
whatever it takes to manufacturethe runs, to get the wins.
I love it.
(13:01):
What's one thing you wish everyhigh school athlete knew about
the recruiting process beforethey ever sent that first email
to you?
What do you want them to knowahead of time?
I think one of the biggestthings for me is just, make it
personal.
A lot of times, you can telllike something's copy and pasted
or sent out to everybody, Ithink it's really important to
make it personal.
(13:22):
I also think it's reallyimportant to include your
schedule.
And any video that you mighthave, because that kind of like
the minute that, coaches get alot of emails, the, and the
minute they get to look at thatinformation, you wanna make it
readily available for them sothat way they can tap in and
watch you and see your beststuff.
And it doesn't have to beperfect.
(13:42):
So send what you have with reps,so if you're taking 30 ground
balls, you're gonna boot two of'em or whatever.
That's okay.
We don't need 30.
Perfect.
Fielded balls, we wanna seeeverything.
We wanna see the mistakes too sothat we can see what we're
working with.
But put as much information onthere to make it readily
available and include like yoursocial media as well, because
that's something that's ongoing.
(14:03):
So then we can follow you and wecan see as you keep up with
that, we can follow you.
'cause we can't be everywhere,right?
It's really difficult for us tosee everybody that writes.
I think social media has beengreat for the opportunity to
see.
People outside of a gamesetting.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I agree.
And I love how you described it'cause you're not necessarily
recruiting through social media,but you're following and
(14:25):
tracking those recruits that youlike.
And being able to keep up withthem and see their development.
So I love that.
That's a great message.
I want to talk a little bitabout parents here.
They can be their recruit'sbiggest advocate.
They can be their sometimesrecruit's biggest obstacle.
What's the right role for aparent during this process?
(14:46):
I think you're dealing withyou're not dealing with the
adults, so I think there has tobe some parental involvement.
Any time that you can teach yourchild to speak for themselves,
they should, because that showstheir maturity being able to
look coaches in the eyes andthings like that.
Like it just shows where they'reat, from a maturity standpoint.
But I think it's good forparents to be involved because
(15:06):
they're older.
They can make the, they can helpmake.
Decisions and things like that,and they know the athlete better
than you do at this point.
So I think some involvement'svery important, but I also think
letting your child and yourathlete have a voice themselves
and learn that learn to maturein the process is important as
well.
How would you feel if you got anemail from a mom or a dad
(15:27):
endorsing their kid to recruitinstead of from the kid?
I think it needs to come fromthe kid for sure.
Okay.
Yeah, I think that coaches willtake to that much better than
the parent, but it isn't likewhen we receive a parental email
that we're like, oh, absolutelynot.
But we know that every parent isbiased towards their own kid.
And I also think that if it'scoming from the, I don't even
(15:49):
know if it's kid, but studentathlete, it just puts a more
personal touch on it.
It's not to say one's wrong orone's right, but I think it
means more coming from theathlete and just puts a little
bit more personal touch on it.
I'm always worried is the, doesthe mom and dad want this more
than the kid?
You know what I mean?
Yeah.
I think it says a lot that thekid's saying, I want this.
I'm gonna, I'm gonna send anemail to Coach Taylor.
(16:10):
I'm gonna, I'm gonna be the oneto call her and ask her, she'll
evaluate me.
So for sure I need the answer tothat, but I wanted you to say
it.
I think it's a better route togo to center yourself.
Absolutely.
But it's good to get guidancefrom your parent on, Hey, does
this, does this sound good?
What are your thoughts?
Should I include anything else?
Because, they're doing it forthe first time too, and so
sometimes they just need someguidance.
(16:31):
Absolutely.
Yeah.
Help'em with it.
Yeah.
Let's talk about multi-sportathletes.
I get so much feedback fromparents.
They're so worried that if theirdaughter doesn't play club
softball, they're not gonna getrecruited.
They're not gonna have to chanceto play at the best schools, but
the kid is a.
Great basketball player, greatvolleyball player, three sports
stud, and they love playing allthree, so it's really hard to
(16:54):
play club softball.
Where are you at from arecruiting standpoint with those
type of kids?
Personally, I'm a big believerin multi-sport athletes, and I
believe that you should playmulti-sport if you can when
you're younger.
Just the wear and tear it putson your body to do one thing
over and over again.
When you're a, one dimensionalplayer is probably not the best
(17:14):
thing.
And I know some people probablywill hate hearing that from me,
but I think it's great whenyou're a multi-sport athlete and
I'm in full support of that.
I do think, however, that theclub level is really important
from an exposure standpoint.
I think if anything, I see moreof the other way around where
people don't participate in highschool.
But they stay in club, but Ithink that if you're willing to
(17:37):
find the right club team thatwill work with you as a
basketball player, and you'realso a standout basketball
player, I think there's somebodyout there that's gonna work with
you to be able to do that.
You don't have to shut yourdreams down and be one specific
sport if you're not ready to,it's.
I probably until late in mycareer was between basketball
and softball.
You know what I mean?
I just got more exposure insoftball because I didn't play a
(17:58):
u.
Now, if I had played a u maybe Iwould've been a basketball
player.
You know what I mean?
So it's really just about eachindividual's journey.
But I do think that playing clublevel's important.
However, you don't have to do itall year long and, give up
everything else.
Yeah.
You talked about a kid emailingyou and you like the
(18:19):
individuality that they knowyour program.
It's obviously, they've done theresearch, it's clear in that
email, they're writing thatemail to you.
If a kid leaves you a voicemailwhat do you like to hear?
If they send you a message andif call you.
Yeah, that's a great question.
I just like to hear them.
Tell me, why they're choosingour school or why they're
interested and what positionthey play, what year they
(18:41):
graduate, and what they'relooking for in a school and the
reason why they're calling.
And where, a lot of timesthey'll just say, if you don't
have the opportunity to talk,can I just, I'm gonna shoot you
an email and provide myschedule.
And with a little bit of detailand a heads up, I think that's
great.
You know what I mean?
They don't have to leave a longelaborate message, but I think
just.
It shows me a lot of couragefrom someone to call that's
(19:04):
younger and leave a voicemailand be organized about it and
personal about it, I think.
I think that's special.
I think that says somethingabout.
I agree.
I agree.
I think courage is the rightword.
I use that all the time.
Very few kids have the courageto not only send an email, to
pick up the phone and say, coachTaylor I'd love to go to North
Central.
I'd love to be evaluated by you.
(19:24):
Love to get your feedback.
I think it says so much abouttheir character, so I love
hearing that.
Yeah.
Last piece of advice for highschool coach, club director,
parent.
Student athlete, just about therecruiting process in general.
What advice do you give allthose people about making sure
(19:45):
great kids that wanna play atthe next level get that
opportunity?
Yeah, I think just utilizingyour network is really
important.
Anybody that you know in thesport that you think can be an
advocate for you, don't beafraid to reach out to'em.
Because I think there's so manypeople in this great sport that
we play that are just reallyabout helping others and are
(20:06):
great people.
People might think, oh, I don'tknow if they have time.
Everybody has time to helpsomebody.
So if you know somebody that canhelp advocate for your daughter
that can help give you someadvice, reach out to'em, because
usually everybody's gonna bewilling to help.
Coach, you're a rockstar.
Thank you for containing to be aleader and a role model and
(20:28):
somebody that cares about theseyoung people.
North Central's lucky to haveyou, and we've been lucky to
have you on the podcast.
Thank you.
Thank you so much.
And that's a wrap on anothergreat episode.
Talking with Coach Taylorreminds us that recruiting isn't
all about finding a roster spot.
It's about finding the rightplace to grow as a player and as
a person.
(20:48):
Her insights into coachvaluations, the role of parents
and the importance of characterare lessons every family can put
into action.
If you're ready to takeownership of your recruiting
journey, I've created resourcesto help you do exactly that.
My book, significant Recruiting,the Playbook for prospective
college athletes gives you astep-by-step roadmap for
(21:11):
navigating the recruitingprocess.
With confidence and the softballrecruits journal is your week by
week planner to set goals, trackcommunication with coaches, and
keep your recruiting organizedfrom start to finish.
You can find both books alongwith more recruiting tips and
resources.
At coach matt rogers.com and ifyou haven't heard part one of my
(21:34):
conversation with Coach Tayloron the significant coaching
podcast, go back and check itout.
It's a great look at ourcoaching journey and leadership
philosophy.
Hey, thanks for listening, andwe'll see you next time on the
Significant Recruiting Podcast.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Special Summer Offer: Exclusively on Apple Podcasts, try our Dateline Premium subscription completely free for one month! With Dateline Premium, you get every episode ad-free plus exclusive bonus content.
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
Iâm Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and Iâm so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood youâre able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and lifeâs ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them weâve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I donât take it for granted â click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I canât wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!