Pitchers Parents: Opinions Needed

Yes to what JAD mentioned too. Recruiting is huge if she want to play college ball. Are they going to showcase your dd or will they use her occasional? Game experience is critical.

MightyMO said:

My answers are above.

The goal would be to get her to a point to where she could really hit recruiting hard at the 16U level if she still wants to a year from now. By that time she will have a better idea of what she wants out of a college and not just a softball program.

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How old is your DD? 14U or younger I would go with the B-level team. 16U and above I would go with the A-level team.

Sparky Guy said:

The most important question was left out by everyone. On the good team does the coach have a DD who pitches? If the answer is yes the decision is easy.

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My DD's team ruined a good situation for the last 3 months they were together. They added me as an AC. But funny, she only pitched in one game after I was added as an AC.

JAD said:

How old is your DD? 14U or younger I would go with the B-level team. 16U and above I would go with the A-level team.

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Just finished up her first year of 14U.

JAD said:

My answer is "it depends"...
1) Does your DD want to play in college?
2) If the answer to #1 is "yes" where is she in the recruiting process?
3) If the answer to #1 is "yes" what size school? P5? D1? D2? D3?
4) How much lower is the B-level team? Do they ever "play up" in tournaments?
5) Do the coaches on the A-level team understand the recruiting process?
6) Are the coaches on the A-level team committed to winning or getting their players recruited?
7) Showcase schedules?

I am a big fan of being the #1 or #2 pitcher on a team, on most teams the #3 and #4 pitchers see limited circle time in blow out games, pool games or against inferior competition. If your DD wants to play P5 it helps to be on on a team in a marquee organization that plays in the top showcases. Other schools do a much better job of finding talent on other teams.

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The bold part is not case all the time. Going by personal experience, my daughter did not play in a big national organization. Never went to any big showcases and in the showcases we went to, we were put in a field far far away from where all the big marquee teams were playing. But she is committed to a P5 school as a pitcher. This year was the first time she even went and played in PGF national in California with a big name team, because the coach wanted her to play tougher competition. The point is, if you are good enough and if you are needed for that particular program, colleges will find you.

Phandle said:

The bold part is not case all the time. Going by personal experience, my daughter did not play in a big national organization. Never went to any big showcases and in the showcases we went to, we were put in a field far far away from where all the big marquee teams were playing. But she is committed to a P5 school as a pitcher. This year was the first time she even went and played in PGF national in California with a big name team, because the coach wanted her to play tougher competition. The point is, if you are good enough and if you are needed for that particular program, colleges will find you.

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Never said it was mandatory to play on a marquee TB team to play P5, but "it helps", especially the top P5 teams. There are @ 60 (5x12) P5 teams, and there is a BIG difference between the top 20 and and the bottom 20.

MightyMO said:

Thanks for the replies everyone.

First off DD is playing 14U. She played on a decent A team last year and was the third pitcher. She would have loved to stay on that team but it fell apart late in the tryout process meaning opportunities were limited. The coach of the A team she tried out for does NOT have a daughter who pitchers (neither does the B team) but the team has been together for a few years and the top pitchers are pretty well set. She is an A level player defensively and offensively but not an A level "top of the rotation" pitcher right now which is what led to looking at a lower level team in the first place.

After reading through all of these and discussing with DD, the decision was made to go with the B team (that aspires to be A) for the fall and get as many innings as possible. We will re-evaluate after that and decide if she wants to stay there or look for something different during the winter months. She is also taking this as a challenge to use the fall and winter to become the best pitcher she can.

Worst case scenario the team isn't what she wants and she gets a ton of innings and looks to move on. Best case, they are a great team and advance to A quickly with her as their #1 pitcher.

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I saw in your response to JAD she wants to play college and possibly D1. I’m only saying this as food for thought based on this sentence... “She is an A level player defensively and offensively but not an A level "top of the rotation" pitcher right now.” I’ve seen MANY HS age pitchers with superb athletic skills that had the potential to play high level college softball. What generally happened is they played as position players at mid-level colleges or at lower end schools as pitchers. You did stress “right now” and at 14U she still has more than enough time to develop into a high level pitcher. I wouldn’t say any of these girls made the wrong choice. They all seem perfectly happy where they are. Just pointing out if her dream is to play at a P5 school pitching might be the ticket, or to her detriment.

I’d like to offer a different take on the going for innings vs being a #3 on a better team. It’s not an absolute that you need to go either way. DD began her travel career at 14U as #3 or #4 pitcher on a very good team with great coaches. The competition drove her and the coaching gave her the skills to get to the next level. That obviously won’t be the case for everybody, but don’t dismiss a team because they have a couple of girls ahead of your DD. It might turn out to be the perfect fit.

Phandle said:

The bold part is not case all the time. Going by personal experience, my daughter did not play in a big national organization. Never went to any big showcases and in the showcases we went to, we were put in a field far far away from where all the big marquee teams were playing. But she is committed to a P5 school as a pitcher. This year was the first time she even went and played in PGF national in California with a big name team, because the coach wanted her to play tougher competition. The point is, if you are good enough and if you are needed for that particular program, colleges will find you.

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That is so not true. It’s dumb luck if you get noticed without putting in the work of getting yourself in front of coaches. The only kids I’ve seen play for P5 schools without playing high level travel ball were near their home towns. If you want to go anywhere else you need to get in front of their coaches.

I agree with the rest about still being able to get noticed if you're not with a marquis TB org. It can definitely help, but there are many ways to get recruited.

Being on a top travel team helps if you get to play. No use in being on a top team and siting the bench. If you have the talent, you can go to camps and get in front of the coach. [MENTION=5663]JAD[/MENTION] she is going to top 5 program.

While everyone would love for their DD to have a full ride scholarship to a top school where their DD would be the superstar and compete in the WCWS all 4 years she is there, the reality is players need to make decisions based on what makes the most sense financially, academically, and athletically (in that order). I would also like to point out that a most schools bring in @ 8 freshman every year while only graduating 2 seniors, so the odds are stacked against players being there all 4 years.