Students who play baseball have little time for other activities because they also play travel baseball to get noticed by college coaches. In order to meet the volunteer requirements for their high schools and colleges and diversify their extracurricular experiences, they need to make use of their off-season time.

Another issue for students who play baseball has been that they tend to want to write all their essays about baseball. That makes perfect sense given that their main base of experience is baseball. Unfortunately, they sometimes come home from college visits with advice to avoid writing about baseball. College representatives lament that baseball essays don't always tell them enough about the student.

One way that families can help athletes have a better shot at their preferred colleges is to get them involved in community or church activities early. These activities can help them have additional opportunities for leadership and broaden their experiences. More experience translates into a wider variety of material for essays to help students tell their stories.