Approaching recruiting when scholarship isn't needed

[let it be fun]

I have a question I have not seen a lot of information on and was hoping to get some input; that is in regard to being recruited onto a college team without a scholarship. DD may be in the very fortunate situation where she may have college funding taken care of through a family trust (assuming she maintains her academic, civic and extra-curricular status) and some residual military benefits I have.

My question is, would/how you change your recruiting approach if a scholarship is not needed? Assuming she met the skills, needs, profile etc. for a college and team, do you think it would lend any added appeal to getting looks from schools she's interested in? If so, would you mention this on a profile / info sheet or just wait for it to come up organically?

For those of you who have players in or through college, does being a non-scholarship player have any bearing on playing time in your experience?

I would change the approach slightly. Obviously there has to be interest in your daughter. If she has a favorite school that is interested, I would have her make it very clear to the coaches that the school is her #1 choice. Go to camps and clinics when they have them, go on several unofficial visits to football games, basketball games, volleyball games or whatever. Your DD has a whole year+ to go on unofficial visits. If the school is close enough to drive to easily, go to sporting events! They are free and I believe she can get three tickets to anything from Sep 1st of her junior year until signing day. The staff needs to know how much she loves the school. You are not trying to play coy to see if you can get some extra money by showing there is "demand" for your DD from other programs. Of course none of this will work if your DD does not get on their radar to the point that she is a girl who they contact on 1 SEP in my opinion.

 

[SoCal_Dad]

I have another question since the OP's question is on available money and the search. Is that money only set aside for academic endeavors? IOWs, if your dd finds a place to play that meets some of the other criteria listed above, but she gets an athletic scholarship to play, would she have that money waiting for her after she graduates college? If so, your dd will start her career with money in the bank and available for all of those expenses needed to start a career, buy a car and/or build a house.

or grad school...

 

[vdubya]

Find a school where softball can help get your DD into the school.

E.g., University of Chicago, Dartmouth, Princeton, etc. Those schools are almost impossible to get into without extraordinary academics. But, they will show some flexibility with an athlete.

They aren't going to let someone with a 20 ACT into the school...but, an excellent athlete who scores a 28 might have a chance.

^^^This is perhaps true, but let's take it a step further and consider whether you SHOULD be leveraging these doors open with softball.

If a student wouldn't make it in based on academics alone, is it really a good idea for that student to attempt to survive academically while her (academic) time and energy are being consumed by a sport? Temper that by the availability of extra study tables, free tutors, and other hand-ups that may be available to the student athlete and maybe she can keep up. That said, I would only consider leveraging up to a school if she is realistically very close to to being accepted on academics alone.

Picture this the other way around, since we are softball people afterall. What if a college softball team rosters a sub-par player that wouldn't stand a chance at making the team otherwise, simply because of her elite academics. How do you think the softball side of college is likely to work out for this kid? Would she finally become a much faster sprinter and an elite hitter now that she is surrounded by great players and top notch coaches? Or... would it be a struggle at best, with the feeling of being perpetually behind her peers? Would she get fulfillment out of clinging to the bottom rung and watching the better players succeed?

Now flip back and consider if this is the struggle she wants to enjoy academically. It may be for some. Some would succeed. I'm just suggesting you consider these things when leveraging doors open.

Good luck!

 

[sluggers]

^^^This is perhaps true, but let's take it a step further and consider whether you SHOULD be leveraging these doors open with softball.

Are you kidding?

Pass up a chance to go to Harvard, MIT, U of Chicago, or Stanford so that you can devote more time to learning how to catch a popup?

Sparky and I know kids who leveraged their softball so they could get into Harvard, Stanford, U of Chicago, and Colgate.

Those schools are in a whole different league than other universities.

 

[JAD]

^^^This is perhaps true, but let's take it a step further and consider whether you SHOULD be leveraging these doors open with softball.

If a student wouldn't make it in based on academics alone, is it really a good idea for that student to attempt to survive academically while her (academic) time and energy are being consumed by a sport? Temper that by the availability of extra study tables, free tutors, and other hand-ups that may be available to the student athlete and maybe she can keep up. That said, I would only consider leveraging up to a school if she is realistically very close to to being accepted on academics alone.

Picture this the other way around, since we are softball people afterall. What if a college softball team rosters a sub-par player that wouldn't stand a chance at making the team otherwise, simply because of her elite academics. How do you think the softball side of college is likely to work out for this kid? Would she finally become a much faster sprinter and an elite hitter now that she is surrounded by great players and top notch coaches? Or... would it be a struggle at best, with the feeling of being perpetually behind her peers? Would she get fulfillment out of clinging to the bottom rung and watching the better players succeed?

Now flip back and consider if this is the struggle she wants to enjoy academically. It may be for some. Some would succeed. I'm just suggesting you consider these things when leveraging doors open.

Good luck!

Colleges want to achieve high graduation rates for all of their student athletes, and coaches who do not meet expectations do not last long. Therefore, it is in everyone's best interest for coaches to recruit players that can handle the academic rigors of the school. With tutoring, mandatory study sessions, and academic advisers to help, athletes who do not succeed usually did not take advantage of the resources provided. My DD was told that the toughest thing about Duke was getting in, and once she got in they will do everything they can to help her succeed. It will be interesting to see what she decides to major in.

 

[vdubya]

Are you kidding?

Pass up a chance to go to Harvard, MIT, U of Chicago, or Stanford so that you can devote more time to learning how to catch a popup?

Sparky and I know kids who leveraged their softball so they could get into Harvard, Stanford, U of Chicago, and Colgate.

Those schools are in a whole different league than other universities.

^^^^^Point missed.

More along JAD's line, the schools who accept lower academic admissions standards from athletes have likely figured out exactly where the line in the sand needs to be drawn in that respect.

 

[Greenmonsters]

Colleges want to achieve high graduation rates for all of their student athletes, and coaches who do not meet expectations do not last long. Therefore, it is in everyone's best interest for coaches to recruit players that can handle the academic rigors of the school. With tutoring, mandatory study sessions, and academic advisers to help, athletes who do not succeed usually did not take advantage of the resources provided. My DD was told that the toughest thing about Duke was getting in, and once she got in they will do everything they can to help her succeed. It will be interesting to see what she decides to major in.

This may or may not be true despite all the resources that may be made available to your DD. In a similar situation years ago, what I found the hardest part was going from being one of the smartest in high school to feeling like one of the dumbest in college. She will need to be prepared to work harder on academics than on softball, and if she continues to work as hard on softball as I suspect she has, there will be little time for much else.

FWIW - My DD applied ED to one of the top NESCAC schools that she'd fallen in love with. I secretly hoped she wouldn't get in (and she didn't) because, just like softball, her academic success was due to hard work, persistence, and determination and I was concerned that she wouldn't have time to partake in softball and/or other irreplaceable college experiences. Ultimately, she ended up at another high academic D3 that was a perfect academic/softball fit.

 

[Tom]

I have another question since the OP's question is on available money and the search. Is that money only set aside for academic endeavors? IOWs, if your dd finds a place to play that meets some of the other criteria listed above, but she gets an athletic scholarship to play, would she have that money waiting for her after she graduates college? If so, your dd will start her career with money in the bank and available for all of those expenses needed to start a career, buy a car and/or build a house.

She wouldn't receive any money paid directly to her post graduation. My Great Grandfather set up a trust that provides funding for his direct decedents for higher education. She has to meet and maintain some pretty aggressive requirements for the Board of Trustees, but if she does, it will fund undergrad fully and grad fully or partially depending on discipline.

 

[Coach JV]

......when you're competing against thousands of the top academic .5%'ers in the world it's a crap shoot at best. Both of the girls were able to sneak into the schools through the softball door.

To take this a step further, when a student athlete qualifies at these institutions and they are on the line of yes/no at admissions, the athlete
will get the nod (many times) as the question from college administration becomes "what student will contribute most to the culture and community of our campus?"

 

[Coach JV]

My Great Grandfather set up a trust that provides funding for his direct decedents for higher education.

Can you look at the family tree and see if I'm out there on a branch?