The opposite side of College Teams

[Indiana]

This is a great thread. DD wants to go out of state for college, so we have a lot to think about regarding academics, student life and softball. She's visited a few schools with amazing facilities and a few without a home field on the campus. One mid size school practiced on an open field with a backstop on campus, and a softball field which was part of a community park 10 miles away. Another much smaller school looked like a country club and a ballplayer's dream.

GD, thanks for sharing and for your humor! (They say you learn more from losses- my kids have had a few seasons which should pretty much make them geniuses ha ha) Tell your daughter's knee to hurry up and heal itself- it sounds like they need her!

 

[Greenmonsters]

Your last paragraph is why DD chose this path of a college choice. Her juco, largest in the state, is almost done building a $16 million facility for the nursing/biotechnology program after your initial college courses. The timing should be perfect.

Obviously they haven't spent $16 million on the softball program.

Priorities!!!

 

[riseball]

I am often amazed at the low quality of talent playing college softball on a full ride.

 

[marriard]

I am often amazed at the low quality of talent playing college softball on a full ride.

Talking to people I don't actually see any low quality players on full rides - unless it is for something other than softball. With partial scholarships allowed and not enough of them for a sport that that carriers 15 min rosters, most players are lucky to get anything signicifant.

"My DD got a full ride to X" generally means they managed to piece together various grants, academic scholarships and other sources to go along with the partial athletic scholarship to not be too out of pocket - or they are defining full ride as getting enough for tuition and are actually paying for books/accommodation/food or alternately in some cases they are just lying about it.

 

[Lenski]

When my dd was in 6th grade she played for the MS Club team. A local JUCO team's home games were at the same complex as the MS team, and that MS team would have run-ruled that JUCO had we played each other.

This past fall my dd's 18u team played a JUCO team from a neighboring city and had run rule numbers in the first inning, we lost to a decent D-2 program by a run, lost to a very good NAIA team by 3 runs, and beat a D-3 school by a couple of runs all during a weekend. There was another JUCO team at the tournament that we did not get to play that looked very tough and probably would have beat us.

My guess is JUCO can be a crap shoot. Some years you get players and some years you don't. GOINGDEEP, keep the Pepto handy, rough it out this year, and maybe next year you guys get some players that will make a difference.

 

[Cannonball]

I am often amazed at the low quality of talent playing college softball on a full ride.

At what level? I understand that D-I gets 12 full scholarships but the majority carry 20+ players. D-II gets 7.2 full rides but they typically carry 18+ players. I only know of a few "Full Ride" softball players (pitchers) but know of literally a hundred "full ride" scholarship kids who aren't.

 

[Mrek]

When my dd was in 6th grade she played for the MS Club team. A local JUCO team's home games were at the same complex as the MS team, and that MS team would have run-ruled that JUCO had we played each other.

This past fall my dd's 18u team played a JUCO team from a neighboring city and had run rule numbers in the first inning, we lost to a decent D-2 program by a run, lost to a very good NAIA team by 3 runs, and beat a D-3 school by a couple of runs all during a weekend. There was another JUCO team at the tournament that we did not get to play that looked very tough and probably would have beat us.

My guess is JUCO can be a crap shoot. Some years you get players and some years you don't. GOINGDEEP, keep the Pepto handy, rough it out this year, and maybe next year you guys get some players that will make a difference.

While I'm sure your DD 18u team is very good. I would be careful evaluating opposing college teams "out of season", especially the D2 and D3 teams.

I would guess your DD's team was still playing often and would be considered "in season". Many girls in college softball take the summer off, and do things like... working a full time job. Some play a "light" 23u schedule just to keep the rust off.

My DD took her first summer off from softball in 8 years after her Freshman year at D3.

The outcomes might be a little different if those games happened in March or April.

 

[GOINGDEEP]

GOINGDEEP, keep the Pepto handy, rough it out this year, and maybe next year you guys get some players that will make a difference.

I was thinking of starting a prayer thread, we're going to need Devine intervention for sure!!

 

[riseball]

At what level? I understand that D-I gets 12 full scholarships but the majority carry 20+ players. D-II gets 7.2 full rides but they typically carry 18+ players. I only know of a few "Full Ride" softball players (pitchers) but know of literally a hundred "full ride" scholarship kids who aren't.

Keep in mind that for D1 and D2 its is a pool of money equal to 12 or 7.2 full scholarships. How that money is allocated is up to the program. True that few players are on full ride athletic scholarships. But many have a full ride consisting of partial academic and athletic scholarships. Which is yet another reason why coaches seek out the high GPA players.

The bottom line is that many players with suspect skills get most if not all of their college paid for while players with superior skills for a multitude of reasons miss the opportunity.