RANKINGS
EVENTS
I COMMITTED
COLLEGE
ABOUT
This is Brentt Eads, President and Executive Editor of Extra Inning Softball
On behalf of our staff nationwide, we are excited to announce a joint venture with College Bound Jocks, run by two impressive softball figures who know their stuff!
Brian Chidester and Brian May—I call them “Brian2”—both have club coaching experience and have helped many softball players get exposure to college coaches.
Brian May is currently coaching in the Finesse organization, one of the top club programs in the Midwest. Brian Chidester has coached at all ages of travel ball and is the father of one of the top players in the world, Olympian Amanda Chidester who is now the new assistant coach at the University of Michigan.
Recently CBJ has added former Arizona Wildcats outfielder Ashleigh Hughes (click HERE to read more). The two-time All-Pac-12 selection will be heading up the CBJ Southwest and West Coast operations.
EIS will be doing joint promotions with CBJ and have already featured one aspect you’ll see regularly on our site—the CBJ Player of the Month.
So why are we at Extra Inning so high on CBJ?
Even with all the technology we have today to help players get seen, including live streaming of games and social media updates with video clips, there are still many talented players not getting the attention and exposure they deserve.
Along with their knowledge and connections in softball, the CBJ team does excellent work creating videos that’s tailored to a player’s strengths. They then help market those athletes to the appropriate college coaches based on their evaluation of the players abilities.
You can see in this video promotion of CBJ and how great their work is…
Recently, Extra Inning Softball connected with Brian May, who soon will have committed all 14 players on his own Finesse team, to learn more about College Bound Jocks and dig deeper into why the company has been so successful… here’s that interview…
What was the genesis for the company? Did you see a need in the marketplace that wasn’t being addressed?
Brian (Chidester) made national TV commercials for over 20 years, so when college coaches started asking for skills videos, he knew exactly what to do. After his videos were successful in getting his kids get recruited, he began helping their friends get recruited. After successfully helping dozens of kids, the business pretty much started itself.
Where are you based?
We are in Michigan but have satellite offices in Southern California and Orlando, Florida and now Phoenix, Arizona.
Where do you have softball players/clients that you work with? Is it mostly regional or all over the country?
We have produced softball skills videos for players from coast to coast. We will travel anywhere to work with teams or travel organizations.
How did you two get connected initially?
I am currently a Finesse coach and got to know Brian from having his own players produce skills videos. During the onset of the COVID pandemic, I struck up a conversation with Brian C. about who handles the sales/marketing/business development side of the business and one thing led to the next, and here we are, together since January 2021.
What, in your opinion, makes CBJ unique and of great value to the softball market?
There are two things that separate CBJ from any other recruiting service:
- Every athlete we work with is an individual, they have their own athletic skill sets, academic goals, and athletic goals. We start by producing the athletes’ skills video with the mindset of that video being the athlete’s National TV Commercial; it will help them market their skills to college coaches across the country. Every athlete will be proud to show coaches their skills video because it shows the best they have to offer. We never shoot more than four athletes at a time. This allows us to take the time needed to capture that player’s best. This is not an assembly line process where you shoot 50 players in a day and each player gets 10 ground balls or 10 fly balls. Chidester’s knowledge of the game combined with his knowledge of video allows him to produce the highest quality and most effective skills videos in the country.
- Is the CBJ Evaluation. After every video is done, Chidester gives the athlete a written evaluation of where he thinks she is most likely to be recruited. Based on their measurables, their overall athleticism, hustle, attitude and our 20+ years of helping kids get recruited. Brian C. likes to say: “To get recruited, you need to be fishing in the right pond.” If you are a D2 athlete and the only schools you contact are D1, you will go unrecruited. The sooner you start fishing in the right pond the sooner you will start getting bites and that leads to getting recruited. Our evaluations help athletes start fishing in the right pond.
What are your softball backgrounds and some top accomplishments you had before starting CBJ?
Brian C. has coached baseball and softball from 10U to 18U on the national travel ball scene. He has watched his daughter play all over the world and he’s had a front row seat learning from the best players and coaches in the world. I have coached softball for over 11 years and the last five with the Finesse organization. My top accomplishment as a travel coach has been seeing every athlete get recruited and play in college. I also coach high school softball, and love helping current high school athletes commit to play softball at the collegiate level.
What are some success results you’ve had at College Bound Jocks helping athletes?
CBJ has helped athletes get recruited across the country at every level. From Power 5 D1 schools to every program in the Ivy League, D2, NAIA, D3 and junior colleges. In the last fast years, 99% of the softball players we produced a Skills Video for have been recruited.
Talk about your jobs prior to creating CBJ and how that’s helped you with this company?
I came to CBJ with almost 20 years in sales/marketing/business development and am currently working that side of the CBJ operation. From assisting individual players in the early processes of starting with CBJ to speaking with organizational leaders to start working with their entire organization. During the video shoots, I handle the “coaching” duties of front toss, hitting balls to the players, assisting them with certain techniques. As mentioned earlier, Brian brings 20-plus years of producing national TV commercials with him to every video shoot. He even created two Super Bowl ads in his career.
Generally speaking, where do you think the sport of softball is today? How can CBJ help improve the game, be it athletic recruiting, marketing, etc.?
The sport of softball is growing so fast around the world. This is easy to see as the Women’s College World Series has over one million viewers now and Athletes Unlimited professional softball had record viewership this year. CBJ seeks to help every athlete who wants to play at the college level. We are experts at assessing talent levels and advising athletes at what level they should be trying to get recruited.
What is your “elevator pitch,” meaning how do you explain what you do to others in and maybe outside the softball world?
We say that CBJ produces the highest quality skills videos for softball players and then we help market those softball players to the appropriate college coaches with 99% of them going on to play in college.
What if a player goes to a school but ultimately decides it’s not a good fit… Do you have ways to help her then?
CBJ cares about all of our athletes and their college experience. If for some reason the school that you choose does not work out and you end up in the transfer portal, CBJ will restart your CBJ Profile page and help you find a new school absolutely FREE.