Advantages of Big Name Organization???

Here is an outside the box approach... if you really think your DD is that good.

We live walking distance to a University. We are blessed that they offer courses for local HS students. It would be possible to get 1-2 years of college free while in HS.

With the 1 yr on your transcript already, pick exactly where you want to go... pay the first year, and walk on....and come out of it with an Associate Degree, and perspective on what you want to do.

Personal opinion.... The process itself is widely misunderstood by many players, parents, and coaches. The thought of "being discovered" at a showcase or even high school game is the assumption among many people I have met and talked to. Many others assume their high school coach or travel coach will take care of the process for them. The first thing athletes and parents need to do is educate themselves concerning the process. I am very thankful for the great information that is offered on DFP by those more knowledgeable than me. It has been very helpful to me in my education process. I would love to see a "sticky" in the Playing College Softball forum covering some of the more important information and misconceptions.

Perfect Circle said:

Here is an outside the box approach... if you really think your DD is that good.

We live walking distance to a University. We are blessed that they offer courses for local HS students. It would be possible to get 1-2 years of college free while in HS.

With the 1 yr on your transcript already, pick exactly where you want to go... pay the first year, and walk on....and come out of it with an Associate Degree, and perspective on what you want to do.

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We have been doing something similar down here. Have a few that are graduating from HS with an AA degree. They are going to Florida State Colleges which are NJCAA but offer 4 year degrees. At the end of their first 2 years the have a BA/BS and then have 2 years of NCAA/NAIA eligibility to get their MA/MS degree.

riseball said:

To the extent that a name might matter, common wisdom says you would want that as soon as you start the process. Unfortunately most younger TB teams, regardless of the organization are noobs with respect to the recruiting process. The most important aspect of selecting a TB team is to get with a coach that has actually gotten kids recruited in the past, especially if they have been successful with the schools your DD is targeting.

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Mine's only 10U. Surely it doesn't matter at all at this age? She's been offered spots w/ a couple of big names and played on a kind of 2nd tier A team last year (not one of our big 3 but right below those) but it's not really something we want to do right now. Last year basically sucked. I see the big names at this age level are like a revolving door, even between fall and spring. Nobody seems happy, lots of stress and drama. I like to think this gets better as they get older. We were thinking of making the move to a big name, *if* she thinks she might want to play in college at that point, for 14U. As it is now she's the #1 pitcher on her team by a lot, and starting 3B or SS depending on who is pitching at the time. Strongest batter as well. So she's going to get more reps on this team (which is a solid B, not a junk team) than she would if we made the switch now. One of the big name 10Us here has something like 5 or 6 pitchers, all good enough to be #1 on another team. I don't really want to put her back into a situation like that when I don't even know if she'll want to play at a college level, ya know? Sorry for the hijack...

As a college coach I dont care if your team/organization is #1 in the state or only has one team. I will go watch anyone who has an interest in playing for me and my school. Send me an email and your schedule and that you are interested in playing for my school and I will go watch. A good player is a good player.
Also dont wait to get noticed...get yourself noticed...go to camps...send emails (lots of them)...etc

grcsftbll said:

*if* she thinks she might want to play in college at that point, for 14U. As it is now she's the #1 pitcher on her team by a lot... Sorry for the hijack...

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I've been following your posts for sometime now (i'm a bit of a lurker, hopefully not in a bad way), but I think you are far, far ahead of the curve of the process. As FP26 said above, it is a process.

My DD did not even start playing softball until she made the 8th grade team, so I missed all of the softball travel scene up to 2nd year 14U. At that point we were behind in getting softball contacts. So, IMO, if you think your direction is to go to to Big Named GA org, then target the 14U. But, I think you are right about the stress of some of these orgs. Lots of pressure and $$$ and cut throat sometimes.

In our small org, our coach has said time and time again, that he has never had the group of parents that he has enjoyed as much and the girls have made lasting friendships playing the last 2-3 years together. That's a big positive for my DD and us too.

IRONMAN said:

I've been following your posts for sometime now (i'm a bit of a lurker, hopefully not in a bad way), but I think you are far, far ahead of the curve of the process. As FP26 said above, it is a process.

My DD did not even start playing softball until she made the 8th grade team, so I missed all of the softball travel scene up to 2nd year 14U. At that point we were behind in getting softball contacts. So, IMO, if you think your direction is to go to to Big Named GA org, then target the 14U. But, I think you are right about the stress of some of these orgs. Lots of pressure and $$$ and cut throat sometimes.

In our small org, our coach has said time and time again, that he has never had the group of parents that he has enjoyed as much and the girls have made lasting friendships playing the last 2-3 years together. That's a big positive for my DD and us too.

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Yes! The stress and pressure and all the cut throat stuff seems a bit much for 10 year olds. I *may* be a bit of an over-thinker...

grcsftbll said:

Yes! The stress and pressure and all the cut throat stuff seems a bit much for 10 year olds. I *may* be a bit of an over-thinker...

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Fortunately there are not many 10u showcase events. At least not yet I agree with IRONMAN, you are well ahead of the curve in many respects. My DD is approximately 7 years ahead of your DD. And I wish I knew 7 years ago what I know today. You are light years ahead of me at that stage.

I feel very, very lucky to have found DFP since this is the source of about 95% of what I know. I'm so grateful to everyone with older girls who share their knowledge with us newbies. I hope when mine is older I can return the favor to parents of younger girls when I'm not one anymore. Though I don't want to think about that right now. *sniff*

I think there are advantages and disadvantages to "big name" organizations. I think playing at the very highest levels probably prepares girls better for the college game (particularly at the D1 level). However, after being involved with several different types of programs and talking to many college coaches at different levels, they want the athletes that they think can help their program. I talked to the HC at a very good P5 team who has found many of their best players in the less-heralded travel organizations. This coach told me that these girls may take a year to develop but an athlete is an athlete. Get to the camps, contact the coaches, and play in the tournaments where the coaches of the schools your DD is interested in will be. I have seen plenty of coaches show up to obscure fields to watch a particular player play in a loser's bracket game if the coach knows the player is playing there and is interested in the player.

On another note, I think the single most important thing a parent can do is to help your DD assess her ability correctly and then assist your DD in finding the correct college and team that fits your DD. If your DD is not as good as you or she thinks she is, it will be tough to get there regardless of the name on your TB uniform.