A college coach once told me something that stuck with me since high school.

He crossed a player off his recruiting list before the first pitch was thrown. Before the first 60-yard dash was run. Before the player even touched the field.

Here’s what happened.

The player got out of the car in flip flops and shorts. Hat on backwards. Parents trailing behind him. You could tell he didn’t want to be there.

And that was enough.

College coaches aren’t just evaluating what your son does between the lines. They’re evaluating everything around it. And most players have no idea how much is being watched.

The warm-up.

The players who get recruited show up locked in before anyone else.

Not when the event starts. Not during warm-ups. Before they even arrive.

The mindset shift happens in the car on the way there. By the time a top player steps out of the vehicle he’s already mentally in baseball mode.

The below average player waits until the first pitch to flip the switch. By then he’s already behind.

The dugout.

Coaches are watching the dugout constantly.

When your son strikes out looking and walks back to the bench what does his body language say?

Is he giving the on-deck hitter information about what the pitcher is throwing? Is he up off the bench celebrating when a teammate hits a home run?

The player who can only celebrate his own success is a liability in a college program.

The player who makes everyone around him better coaches notice that.

Pre and post event.

How your son gets out of the car. How he treats the umpires. How he carries himself when things go wrong. How he treats the opposing team after the game.

All of it is part of the evaluation.

Four things that get players crossed off the list immediately:

Playing the blame game. Throwing your hands up at a teammate who bobbled a feed is poor leadership especially from a shortstop.

Poor body language. After a strikeout. After an error. Coaches want to see a brick wall not a player who crumbles.

Arguing with umpires. They’re not going to reverse the call. All you’re doing is showing a coach you can’t manage your emotions under pressure.

Being on your phone in the dugout. This one should go without saying — but it still happens.

And one for the parents.

If coaches see a player they like but watch his parent arguing with an umpire or making a scene between games they start asking themselves one question.

Is the apple going to fall far from the tree?

Two players with similar tools. One has drama around him. One doesn’t.

That decision is easy.

The mindset that fixes all of it.

Act like there’s a security camera on you from the second you get out of the car to the second you get back in.

Because there is.

It’s a college coach with a clipboard.