International players?

[peachyvolgirl]

How do college coaches find international players? I've always been curious.


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[marriard]

How do college coaches find international players? I've always been curious.


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Several ways...

Every country has their national teams and junior age national teams (Softball Australia). And most countries have regional teams (for example in Australia each state and territory has their representative squad in all age groups) Which also means national and world championships where the top talent in every countries are all in one place. I know of several scouts who attend the Australian Nationals or at least ex-Aussie college players who have contacts they report back to in the USA. The coaches of the USA teams are scouting these heavily for coaches back in the States who are interested. Also in some countries talent is not as deep so the most talented teenagers will often be with the senior national team.

Touring teams - teams like Aussie Sparks (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Aussie-Sparks/143581302348987) will form and then tour the USA and play tournaments and attend camps, etc. Lots of talent is found this way.

Scouting - ex-college players - just like in the USA - see a talent they like and promote it. When someone like Tanya Harding (UCLA, ex-Aussie National Team) picks up the phone and says "I have someone you should be interested in", you will listen. Alternately many national coaches are USA Nationals hired to develop the game in other countries and often have control of the whole program from yougsters all the way to the senior national team. They see the talent, they call their contacts.

Some talent even comes over for during their high school recruiting age. See this more in Basketball than Softball, but you still see it.

Little League World Series/Other World Series: International teams again coming to to the states and playing. I know a number of girls in LL Seniors from The Philippines and Peurto Rico have been recruited through this event - maybe more than the local USA girls who have the travel circuit to get noticed on.


I don't have the exact number, but I believe there were close to 30 Australian girls playing college softball last year across the NCAA divisions. May have been more.

Links to some Aussie Girls (including Georgia Casey) in NCAA programs:
http://www.softball.org.au/news/Aussie-girls-abroad-in-the-US-part-1)-x-38563.html
http://www.softball.org.au/news/Aussie-girls-abroad-in-the-US-part-II)-x-38592.html

Georgia Casey also has a sister playing Junior College in OK

 

[marriard]

Story of how Georgia Casey got recruited:

OU softball: Georgia Casey, a native Australian, quickly adapts on and off the field | News OK

Ally Casey plays at Seminole State

 

[Greenmonsters]

Thanks for setting me straight guys cuz here I was naively thinking that the new ads in the forum were for recruiting international talent.