Choosing a School

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Apr 24, 2017
203
28
Georgia
Had a great talk with my DD last night about her softball goals going forward. Just wanted to be sure OUR dreams for her weren't clouding her dreams for herself. She is first year 14u on an A team with a showcase and qualifier schedule. She LOVES the game and puts in the work and wants to play in college. Her top three schools are Alabama, UNC, and Georgia State University. But that being said, she told me last night that she wants to go where she will PLAY. I want her to get a great education without paying an arm and a leg also. She has NO IDEA what she wants to do as an adult. Because she is 13! I know that recruiting is starting young, and education should be the focus. She talked about possibly playing mid major DI so that she gets playing time. But how are these girls making a decision about the college they want to attend at 14-15 years old when they don't even know what they want to major in yet? How are some of these young recruits out there handling this situation? Do they know what they want to major in or are they deciding a major based on what is available at the school they verballed to instead? She has great grades, is in advanced classes, and has an amazing work ethic. But how do you choose a school that shapes the rest of your adult life when you don't even know what you want to do when you grow up?! I am hoping some of our veterans on here have handled this or know how others have handled it.
 
Apr 16, 2010
924
43
Alabama
My DD is a second year 14 and we have had a lot of the same questions. I have also watched several girls we know verbal to major schools. One thing I will say is don't panic. As much as you hear about these early commits and and about money being gone it isn't really as bad as you think.

I am our teams coaches contact and one question I always ask is where are you with our class. More coaches than I ever expected are really not that deep into their 2021's unless the girl is a can't miss stud. I have talked with several mid-major D1's that have not really started on our class other than taking a look to see what is out there. I have spoken with P5 D1's that are looking at elite pitching and catching plus super star SS's but will wait to fill out the rest of the class.

Also the decision in what to major in will be made for her at many schools. I have a couple of close friends whose DD's were told they would not major in engineering or another hard major as players there. These were top SEC schools. As much as it is about education it is still a job for these coaches and how they take care of their family. If they do not win they do not have a job so I understand their thinking on this. As she goes through the process she will get a much better feel for what she wants in a school and out of life. It only took my DD a couple of visits and camps to change her perspective.
 
Feb 17, 2014
7,152
113
Orlando, FL
It is a process of elimination not selection. You live in Georgia and if your kid is like many in the SE they have little interest in cold weather, so start with geographic region. More than likely that means she will stay in the SE. Over the years most of the families I have worked with like to be far enough away where they cut the cord and cannot just drop by, but within a 1 day drive. That way she can get home without an airline ticket and you should be able to get to some if not most of her games. For us we started with her 4 hours away and that grew to 7 when she transferred. If that describes what she wants then you just eliminated a whole bunch of schools. Now focus on academics. Eliminate the schools that do not fit her academically. Too challenging. Too easy or just plain awful. Start looking at softball programs and toss out the ones that do not have one. What is left should be a manageable list. From there start looking at schools and their academic and athletic programs. Keep tossing them out until the list is down to about 20 - 30. Over time this will get reduced down to a handful. And above all, relax and enjoy the ride. It will be over very quickly. The recruiting process is not about getting it right, it is about keeping your options open and not screwing it up. :)
 
Apr 24, 2017
203
28
Georgia
Also the decision in what to major in will be made for her at many schools. I have a couple of close friends whose DD's were told they would not major in engineering or another hard major as players there. These were top SEC schools. As much as it is about education it is still a job for these coaches and how they take care of their family. If they do not win they do not have a job so I understand their thinking on this. As she goes through the process she will get a much better feel for what she wants in a school and out of life. It only took my DD a couple of visits and camps to change her perspective.

I have asked this question at every school's recruiting Q&A that I have sat through. ALL of the big DI schools that I have spoken to so far (Alabama, Auburn, GA Tech, Ole Miss, Florida, UGA) have said they limit majors that players are allowed. No nursing, no engineering, things like that. Most mid major DIs and down I have talked to seem more than happy to handle any major that she may choose, with few exceptions. They seem to get the education over sports mentality. It seems common practice at schools that are "sports-centric schools" to limit their options.
 
Jul 16, 2013
4,659
113
Pennsylvania
The size of the schools involved is definitely a factor. The larger schools typically have a huge range of potential majors, giving the student more time to decide. Smaller schools typically have fewer programs available.
* A family friend is a highly touted football player in the 2020 class. He has several D1 offers already. While he has no idea what he wants to do, he is sticking with the larger schools so that he has more options to choose from.
* A coach that my DD has been speaking with picked her college based on softball. She fell in love with the coach and the team. It wasn't until she completed her freshmen year that she realized the school she had chosen did not have the major she wanted. She transferred to another school to finish her degree and was lucky enough to find one she could play for. She was very open in stating that she regrets how she handled it and strongly urges all recruits to choose a school based on academics first and athletics second.
 
Jun 11, 2012
741
63
DD will be playing at a D3 school next year because she loves the school, the program they have for her major, the location, the coach and the team in that order. For her there were not a lot of D1 or D2 schools with her intended major in the location she wanted.
She talked to a bunch of other coaches but decided that her education is the focus and playing softball is a bonus. We were lucky that she’s known what she wants to major in for a few years now.
 
Feb 17, 2014
7,152
113
Orlando, FL
One concept lost on those considering or headed to the next level is that you are not just committing to a school and a sport, you are committing to a lifestyle. A lifestyle that you cannot fully appreciate until you get there. Many young adults struggle with the lifestyle of being a college Student. It is an even bigger challenge for a Student-Athlete. For some they find out that the lifestyle of being a Student-Athlete is just not for them. Nothing wrong with that.
 
Dec 2, 2013
3,410
113
Texas
My DD recently committed to a very large D3 school (27K students). Loved the coaches, loved the campus, very competitive softball program, 4 hours away and will be challenging academically. Guess what happened? The coach called DD in less than a week to inform her that he is leaving to coach at another school. Wow that really happened!!! I told her that she didn't commit to the coach, she committed to the school. It's all good. She is supposed to talk to the new coach this week. We'll see.
 
Apr 24, 2017
203
28
Georgia
My DD recently committed to a very large D3 school (27K students). Loved the coaches, loved the campus, very competitive softball program, 4 hours away and will be challenging academically. Guess what happened? The coach called DD in less than a week to inform her that he is leaving to coach at another school. Wow that really happened!!! I told her that she didn't commit to the coach, she committed to the school. It's all good. She is supposed to talk to the new coach this week. We'll see.

There is so much turnover in in the college softball coaching world, and college sports in general it seems, that it is an unfortunate reality for these girls. Especially as young as they are being recruited, most of our girls will commit to one coach and the coach will leave either before they arrive or while they are playing there. I wish your DD the best of luck with the new coach coming in! Hopefully she can build a relationship with them also and enjoy her time there.
 
Feb 17, 2015
318
18
USA
My DD recently committed to a very large D3 school (27K students). Loved the coaches, loved the campus, very competitive softball program, 4 hours away and will be challenging academically. Guess what happened? The coach called DD in less than a week to inform her that he is leaving to coach at another school. Wow that really happened!!! I told her that she didn't commit to the coach, she committed to the school. It's all good. She is supposed to talk to the new coach this week. We'll see.

Same thing happened to my DD. A week before she was to leave for school the coach called her and told her she was leaving for another coaching job. We didn't see that coming as the coach had only been there for 1 year.
 

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