Because there are many talented players here at West Ottawa, winter time is often a time when I get calls from college coaches wanting to learn out about some of our players. It's a part of the job I thoroughly enjoy. Last year we had a solid class on both the men's and women's side, so I received calls about several of our players. As you may imagine, I got a more than a few regarding Nick Schnobel. Most college coaches, I should point out, are very professional, talented, and positive people. An example of one of these terrific coaches would be a guy like Adam Ford of Hope. Adam runs a first rate program, and fortunately, there are others like Adam out there. I love it when our players head their way.
One college coach, however, said something that really got under my skin last winter. This is what he said: "So, I understand that Nick has WMU as his favorite right now. Will you help him realize that he'll never be able to start for Western. If he comes to (insert his school here) he could actually see the court in a match at some point in his college career?" Wow, it was nice talking to you too coach...great recruiting pitch...not!!!!
I was just checking out the Western website now. I would like to point out that Nick not only made the team, but is often a starter...as a freshman. So I thought, hmm, is this just because Western is down this year? Did a little digging, and nope, they are currently 8-3 in duel play. So I thought, well maybe they only played bad teams? Hmmm, nope, last I checked Notre Dame and Iowa are pretty big names. And they beat Purdue recently...so, a MAC school beating a B1G Ten School, that's probably pretty good, right?
As of this post, Nick has 19 starts and a winning record.
What should a talented high school tennis player take from this:
One college coach, however, said something that really got under my skin last winter. This is what he said: "So, I understand that Nick has WMU as his favorite right now. Will you help him realize that he'll never be able to start for Western. If he comes to (insert his school here) he could actually see the court in a match at some point in his college career?" Wow, it was nice talking to you too coach...great recruiting pitch...not!!!!
I was just checking out the Western website now. I would like to point out that Nick not only made the team, but is often a starter...as a freshman. So I thought, hmm, is this just because Western is down this year? Did a little digging, and nope, they are currently 8-3 in duel play. So I thought, well maybe they only played bad teams? Hmmm, nope, last I checked Notre Dame and Iowa are pretty big names. And they beat Purdue recently...so, a MAC school beating a B1G Ten School, that's probably pretty good, right?
As of this post, Nick has 19 starts and a winning record.
What should a talented high school tennis player take from this:
- If you are a talented tennis player looking to play in college, then really take some time to learn about who the coaches are. Remember, you're not really playing for a school, you are playing for and with people. And the people are what make or break the experience. Today I saw Adam Ford working with several of his men and women at Dewitt. For the first hour, he was totally dedicated to giving an awesome one-on-one hitting lesson with one of the men. As I was leaving, he was facilitating what appeared to be a player lead and research based session on character development. Wow, that's a great coach. I imagine that Western's coach is having a similar positive influence on Nick right now. These people are out there, and they are the kind of people you want to seek out in college and in your career someday.
- If several smart people are telling you that you should or shouldn't do something...you ought to sit down and really consider what they have to say. However, if you run against a negative person saying you can't do something, just smile, wish them well, and then continue to be awesome.
