Scouts Asked to Look Closely at Prospects
Legendary Mississippi State baseball coach Ron Polk, the winningest coach in the history of the Southeastern Conference, gave the keynote addresss to NSR‘s licensees and scouts at the 2010 NSR National Meeting held in Birmingham, AL. Faced with a room full of attendees, Coach Polk treated the group with a myriad of stories and recruiting lessons learned in a Hall of Fame career.
Coach Polk addressed NSR's scouts and signed books at their National Meeting.
After taking a number of digs at NSR’s Robert Cagle, a former Ole Miss football player who introduced him, Coach Polk spoke for an hour on the importance of identifying prospects who not only have the ability to play college athletics, but to home in on those who have good grades and character. Talking about parents, Coach Polk emphasized that once a program begins recruiting a prospect that parents should allow the coach and recruit to develop a relationship. He also recounted various stories from his illustrious career tying his cojent points to NSR‘s mission of identifying and promoting qualified high school student-athletes to college athletic programs nationwide.
Coach Polk’s message, mixing heart felt tales with humor rang true with NSR scouts which had gathered in Birmingham, AL. Following his speech, Coach Polk took time to sign his most recent book for every scout.
In July 2009, Coach Polk was inducted into the College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2009 and the American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 1995. He retired from Mississippi State in 2008 after his 29th season there leaving him seventh all-time in NCAA career head coaching wins. He was a head coach for a total of 35 years. Coach Polk’s career record was 1,373-700 for a .622 winning percentage. His teams appeared in eight NCAA College World Series, won five SEC championships and made 23 Regional appearances.
Coach Polk earned three National Coach of the Year awards. In 35 years as a college baseball coach, Polk’s programs produced 35 All-Americans and more than 75 All-SEC performers, with 21 former players competing in the major leagues. He was a member of the coaching staff for the USA National Baseball Team seven times, twice as head coach. Two teams he led represented the United States in the Olympic Games.
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