Dress for Success - Taking Pride in Your Appearance

For those of you who wonder why we as a program pay just as much attention to our dress code off the field as we do our uniform code on the field, here is a fun story that took place recently that we'd like to share with you.

Chris Betts, a former CBA player and Tampa Bay Rays 2nd Round pick in the 2015 MLB Draft recently called up one of our coaches to talk to him about an incident that took place while he was rehabbing in Florida this past summer. A Rays coaching staff member was doing a shuttle run to pick up some players from the hotel, and while all of the other players wore tank tops, t-shirts, athletic shorts, and flip flops, Chris was the only one in a polo shirt and a nice pair of dress shorts with tennis shoes. Not surprisingly, he was also the only one who was not scolded by that coach for being a slob.

The CBA players in the picture above bought into the smallest details that were presented to them from our program on and off the field. They took more pride in their appearance than any other group we've had thus far, which no doubt plays a large part in their successes. This picture of our 2015 team was taken at LAX last year while they were en route to play in the WWBA World Championships in Florida (from left to right: Kyle Robeniol - Oregon; Trevor Beard - Purdue; Niko Navarro - San Diego State; Kyle Molnar - UCLA; Luke Williams - Philadelphia Phillies (3rd Rd); Chris Betts - Tampa Bay Rays (2nd Rd); and Bryce Fehmel - Oregon State).

In another occurrence, we recently took a group down to a team camp at the University of San Diego. We mandated that our players show up to the facilities tour in a collared shirt and jeans or a nice pair of shorts, while the other teams who participated showed up in their uniforms, which did not go unnoticed with the coaching staff that was present. They were highly impressed with our group that they took the time to show up looking like professionals instead of kids, even though they needed to take the field for warm-up shortly after the tour. The coach who gave us the tour made a comment in the locker room, "Every single one of your players in this clubhouse would transition well into our program."

If you have not had a chance to look over our standardized policies, policy #6 on the CBA Players Dress/Look Policy is written follows: Proper travel/hotel attire consists of casual dress shorts (Khaki style), slacks, jeans, collared shirt (button down or polo), and shoes (no sandals).

Please be mindful going forward that on any trips we may take as a team, all staff will be enforcing the dress code in the hotel and while we travel. And please, if you have not done so, go to the "Policies" page to brush up on what we expect from you as a part of our program.

Thank you,

Jon, Josh, and Joe