Scott Berndes is the President of the Power Surge travel organization out of San Diego and has had great success in his 24 years of coaching in the sport, including two national championships and a runner-up finish at PGF Nationals in 2018.

He also has quite the resume in helping talented players get to the collegiate level, including future stars and eventual NCAA champions such as pitcher Selina Ta’amilo, outfielders Aaliyah Jordan and Chip Bennett at UCLA, infielder Cydney Sanders at Oklahoma and other standouts such as catcher Carlee Wallace, who helped Auburn finish second at the Women’s College World Series in 2016.

Coach Scott was a D1 baseball player himself at UC Riverside and when his daughter was 6 years old, his local league leaders found out about his college experiences and asked him to be a softball coach for his young daughter’s team. Like many in fastpitch softball, “Coach” has been doing it ever since!

Scott is a regular contributor to Line Drive Softball as we love to share his expertise, and valuable insights to the softball world!

Click HERE to read his earlier article on “Recruiting Strategies… From the Perspective of a Head Recruiter” and click HERE to read his perspective on How to Create Your Top College List.

Today, the successful coach shares his thoughts on the things you CAN control as a player when you’re on the field!

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Continuing with the college recruiting themes in my previous articles, today we go over the “Do’s and Don’ts” for players trying to be recruited for a college scholarship.

Here are questions to ask, and definitely be prepared to answer:

• What should you be aware of?
• What are the college coaches looking for in a player?
• What will catch their eye?
• What will turn the coaches off?

There is one thing I tell all my players: no matter what is going on with your recruitment, if you can hit—and hit well—you will get a college scholarship! Hitting is the top of the top for college coaches and, of course, it helps if you are a pitcher who throws 65-mph plus!

But what are the little things that are super important?

Hustle, hustle, hustle!

And when you are done hustling… hustle some more!

College coaches love players who show energy and hustle. At a camp, when a coach says “Over here, ladies,” you be the first one there. Be the first in line for every drill, dive for a tough ball and get up and hustle back to the line or your position.

Just hustle your tail off… coaches love it, I promise you!

Other things to be aware of:

1. Be loud. College coaches love a loud dugout. They love a lot of loud support out on the field on defense. The coaches correlate being loud with being a leader and they love leaders.
2. Do not, and I mean DO NOT show a bad attitude! Do NOTE throw your bat, throw your helmet, refuse to high five your teammates when you are upset, pout after an error… you get the idea. Players have been told this throughout their careers: a bad attitude is a sure way to lose a chance at a college scholarship. If you have a tendency to have a bad attitude, change it now!

This always reminds me of the story that has lived in the softball community forever.

Mom and daughter are buying something to eat between games at the snack bar. The college coach of school who offered the daughter a scholarship is in the line a few spots behind the mother and daughter.

The Mom asks her daughter if she wanted a hot dog and the daughter, very rudely,  responds:

“No mom, you are so stupid!  I have told you many times before that I don’t like hot dogs. Just stop asking me that stupid question!”

The college coach who offered the scholarship watches the whole scene and taps the daughter on the shoulder before stating:

“My school is not interested in people like you representing our campus. Your scholarship has been rescinded and I am withdrawing our offer to you. We want people who respect all and will represent our university by their good actions!”

You see, the college coaches want players that will fit in at their university and represent their university in the highest regard.

So… mind your P’s and Q’s, know that they matter and, very importantly, don’t forget to hustle every chance you get!

— Scott Berndes/President, Power Surge