Texas Heat and German Grit: Paul Schmitz Journey to Houston

For these international student-athletes, the recruitment process plays an important role in beginning the process of playing within the U.S.

Junior University of Houston pitcher, Paul Schmitz experienced his fair share of culture shock when it came to the recruitment and transition process to the U.S. Born and raised in Bonn, Germany, the talented college baseball player has been a force to be reckoned with on the bump and has been seen as a major threat to hitters across the United States. But it’s not every day you hear of baseball being popular in European countries like Germany. 

When asked what brought Schmitz to the sport, he recalled that baseball had always been a part of his family, especially at the hands of his oldest brother.
 

“My family lived in Seattle from ‘95 to ‘97, and I have four siblings, but my oldest brother started playing baseball there because he was in Seattle and kind of picked up on everything, and the Seattle Mariners at that time were good. So, when they came back, he wanted to keep playing baseball. So, my parents were looking for a baseball club, and they found one in my hometown, Bonn, which is called the Bonn Capitals, and he started playing there. I always tagged along, watched his games, and grew up around him and baseball. I wanted to do what the bigger brother was doing, so I started playing.”

 

The process of recruiting within college athletics is already seen as stressful enough, with film being observed, scouting, meetings, and visitations of prospective schools and teams. However, you add the international aspect of an entirely new level of difficulty and stress. 

But Schmitz was willing to do whatever it took to get an opportunity to play baseball in the States. 

Luckily, through the baseball circuit that Schmitz had grown accustomed to, he had the help of friends and teammates to fall back on for help throughout the process.

 

“Through a friend of mine who I played with since I was 11 years old, I got connected with the University of Houston. We played in a tournament together for the under-18 national team, and our coach at that time was a recruiting coordinator. He had asked him if there was anyone on the team who could play for us, meaning Houston. My friend said, ‘Yeah, we got this tall, tall dude who can throw it pretty hard!’” He laughed. “So the recruiting process was just through Social Media, YouTube videos, like Repoda and TrackMan data. They had never seen me in person before. We FaceTimed a couple of times, but then they just went ahead and offered me.”

 

Ready to take on this new adventure, Schmitz admitted that he was taken a bit off guard by the culture shock that was attending school in Texas compared to what he had known in Germany.

However, he explained that he carries three major takeaways from what he has learned and experienced so far in the United States: Texas is much bigger than what the maps show, the American dream is very real and very contagious, and everyone owns a pick-up truck.

 

“In Texas, it’s impossible to get around without a car because everything is so much further apart than it seems. I found out that Texas is three times the size of Germany, which blew my mind. But aside from that, the culture and the way that Americans approach life are different, too; the American dream and spirit are real. Hard Work will help you achieve a lot. And of course, there are a lot of pickup trucks in Texas,” Schmitz laughed, who later explained that he fell into the trend himself and got his own pickup truck like his teammates.