My 14 yo DD has an opportunity to play with an 18u TB team in a good organization. A couple of people have told me that she might get overlooked by college coaches playing 18u. The argument is that they won't be looking for a 14 yo on an 18u team. Has any one else heard this? The whole recruiting process is still new to me so I am trying to get as much info as I can. Thanks.
Can Playing Up hurt College Chances?
- Thread starter 3sDad
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- Jul 28, 2008
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Nope, it won't hurt her chances. As a matter of fact, as a sophomore, she should be playing up if she wants to get looked at. D1 coaches are not really watching the 16U tournaments. They are watching the 18G. They want to see how these girls are performing against the best possible competition.
JMHO
JMHO
They will look for your daughter if she is emailing them and contacting them. They will not just discover her.
My daughter has played Gold for the past year. It is always a mix of sophomores thru seniors, some committed, some not. Plenty of coaches come out and watch our team play, because we are at good tournaments playing good competition and our girls communicate with the coaches.
I agree with shockcoach- any kids in high school should be playing, at minimum, 16U.
My daughter has played Gold for the past year. It is always a mix of sophomores thru seniors, some committed, some not. Plenty of coaches come out and watch our team play, because we are at good tournaments playing good competition and our girls communicate with the coaches.
I agree with shockcoach- any kids in high school should be playing, at minimum, 16U.
Thanks for the input. DD is a freshman and we are trying to decide between a 16u and 18u team. Both teams have a good reputation for helping players get scholarships. I agree that she needs to do here part contacting coaches. What is confusing is that just yesterday I had someone tell us to be careful playing 18u. Their comment was a lot of the coaches at 18u events are just babysitting girls they have picked and not looking for new talent. I guess what is going to come down to is which team seems like the best fit for DD after playing with them and for DD to take a more aggressive role in contacting schools.
My dd went from 14u to 18u. She was recruited from her 18 u team. We skipped 16 u altogether. That's our personal experience.
- Jul 26, 2010
- 3,554
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My biggest concern would be the instruction and coaching.
Most 18Gold coaches are just managers. The girls already know exactly what they need to do and how to do it, the coach is just managing at this point. Focus is on the tournaments and showcases, correspondence with college coaches, and and honing already known skills.
At 16u, coaches still have a bit to teach and practices should still be full of teaching moments. Faster, faster, faster should be the mantra here. Faster ways to get to the ball, faster ways to field the ball, throw the ball, run the bases, ect. The emphasis is still on player and team development and less on "showing".
My concern with a 14u kid skipping straight to 18G would to make sure she already knows all she needs to know to be successful in that age group. Certainly there are kids out there who are ready, but if she's "not quite" ready and if you're expecting the 18G coaches to get her there, it isn't likely to happen.
-W
Most 18Gold coaches are just managers. The girls already know exactly what they need to do and how to do it, the coach is just managing at this point. Focus is on the tournaments and showcases, correspondence with college coaches, and and honing already known skills.
At 16u, coaches still have a bit to teach and practices should still be full of teaching moments. Faster, faster, faster should be the mantra here. Faster ways to get to the ball, faster ways to field the ball, throw the ball, run the bases, ect. The emphasis is still on player and team development and less on "showing".
My concern with a 14u kid skipping straight to 18G would to make sure she already knows all she needs to know to be successful in that age group. Certainly there are kids out there who are ready, but if she's "not quite" ready and if you're expecting the 18G coaches to get her there, it isn't likely to happen.
-W
Greenmonsters
Wannabe Duck Boat Owner
Ridiculous. So if all the 18U coaches have to do is babysit because the girls know what to do and how to do it, why do the college, national, olympic, NFP etc coaches have to to do anything but fill out a lineup card? In any sport, how many top level players (other than Alan Iverson) or coaches will tell you they that can't get any better and have learned everything there is to know? Any coach or player with that mentality should be avoided at all costs.
My DD plays Gold and she gets more instruction in one game than she got in an entire year of 16U. Gold may be a high level, but it is still instructional. Unless you have a bad coach-- the kind that collects good players for his/her own ego, but teaches nothing (been there, too).
- Apr 11, 2012
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your daughter not getting personal instruction last year in 16U wasn't because of the age group she was playing in....it was whatever team she was on....and it could be the other way around too for some people.....
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