Input on hiring a scouting/recruiting organization like NSR???

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Aug 12, 2015
14
1
Several parents of players on my DD's travel team have hired a recruiter/scouting organization (National Scouting Report, in particular) to help their DDs find a college to play at. The cost is an obvious down side -- it's pretty pricey from what I understand. Does anyone have any opinions on, or experience with, going this route that s/he could share? Pluses and minuses? Any input is much appreciated!
 

JAD

Feb 20, 2012
8,231
38
Georgia
If you have $$$ burning a hole in your pocket and want to cast a wide net over the recruiting landscape, NSR may be a good fit. If you want to keep your hard earned money, and don't mind putting in a little time/effort, then you and your DD can run a VERY EFFECTIVE recruiting campaign yourselves. A word of caution, even if you do decide to go the NSR route, take OWNERSHIP of the recruiting process.
 
Nov 27, 2012
197
18
Several parents of players on my DD's travel team have hired a recruiter/scouting organization (National Scouting Report, in particular) to help their DDs find a college to play at. The cost is an obvious down side -- it's pretty pricey from what I understand. Does anyone have any opinions on, or experience with, going this route that s/he could share? Pluses and minuses? Any input is much appreciated!

What is your Kid's graduation year? If she is a Jr or Sr, and don't have any coaches following her then hire a recruiting service. I know a kid who don't play for a big name team, but is a decent player and she was not getting any offers. A coach from a school about 8 hrs away wanted a pitcher because his commit had decomited and he called this recruiter and the recruiter set up a visit for the girl and them coach loved her and made her an offer.

If your kid is still in 8th grade, take a objective look at her skill level and target the schools that she will fit in. Spend your 3500$ on camps and getting to know the coach and the program. Tip about the camps, don't go to summer camps. They are big and there are lot of kids in those camps. Look for fall clinics and winter camps, you will get lot of one on one time with the coach.
Have your coach sign up for tournaments that the colleges put together during the fall.

Last but not the least, the kid should be able to perform to the level of the program. Every coach is different and what they look for in a player is different.
 

Chris Delorit

Member
Apr 24, 2016
343
28
Green Bay, WI
Several parents of players on my DD's travel team have hired a recruiter/scouting organization (National Scouting Report, in particular) to help their DDs find a college to play at. The cost is an obvious down side -- it's pretty pricey from what I understand. Does anyone have any opinions on, or experience with, going this route that s/he could share? Pluses and minuses? Any input is much appreciated!

superg,

In addition to the other great advice you've been offered, you could choose to invest your time in a great travel program and targeted college skills camps. Nothing can take the place of direct exposure and/or connections. If neither are possibilities in your area, a standout skills video with presence and exceptional communication skills. If you're daughter has the grades, talent and is coachable, you're likely just fine with your own efforts.

Recruiters can work, but as you've experienced are very expensive.

Chris
 
Jul 4, 2014
141
0
Several parents of players on my DD's travel team have hired a recruiter/scouting organization (National Scouting Report, in particular) to help their DDs find a college to play at. The cost is an obvious down side -- it's pretty pricey from what I understand. Does anyone have any opinions on, or experience with, going this route that s/he could share? Pluses and minuses? Any input is much appreciated!

We did our research and finally settled on Cathi Aradi. Reasons were as follows:

1.) She's very knowledgeable and approachable. I could call her anytime of the day to pick her brain and she'd always have time for me. And she knows what she's talking about.
2.) She's as honest as the day is long. She always tell it like it is. She never sugar coats anything. She's brutally honest.
3.) She has great connections with college coaches. She'd personally call coaches at the schools DD was interested in to find out if they were interested in her. If they weren't, she'd tell DD to move on. No point wasting time on someone who isn't interested back.
4). She gives advice that works. A few times we found ourselves not knowing how to respond to a coach or how to move from a situation. We called her, she adviced us, and DD responded to the coach with an outcome predicted by Cathi.
5.) She's inexpensive. Regardless when your DD signs up with her, it's one flat fee for the entire duration. We signed up with Cathi when DD was a Sophomore. It is the best $500 we've ever spent.

We didn't use Cathi for the recruiting process - although she does offer that service as part of her $500 flat fee (all inclusive). We understood the process and were knee-deep in the process when we hired Cathi. To us, Cathi was like our own personal advisor. DD and / or I would call her for advice. Her advice is what's invaluable and that's what made her stand out from the rest..... that immediate, personal connection.

Finally, if not for Cathi, DD wouldn't be where she is today. Quick story (sorry for the repeat if you've read my other posts), DD received an offer from her dream school in late June / early July. But because of financial reasons, DD had to walk away from it. It was one of the hardest things DD had to do. DD received several other offers but DD was lukewarm about them at best. In early October, DD received news that allowed her to attend her dream school. But as you know, she walked away from the coach and the school over 3+ months ago. I contacted Cathi, explained the situation and asked her what we should do. She contacted the coach at DD's dream school, explained the situation, and within an hour of getting off the phone with Cathi, dream school coach contacted DD and told her that she still wants her and that she would support her application. The rest is history. Cathi helped make it happen for DD. Yes, DD could probably have contacted the coach herself to explain the situation but having someone like Cathi in your back pocket is invaluable. It's like having a trump-card. (no pun intended). Please PM me if you need more info on Cathi.
 
Last edited:
Mar 8, 2016
313
63
DD went to a college exposure camp two weeks ago. There were 8 college coaches there. Every coach got a chance to speak before the skills part. Every single coach said that recruiting services were a waste of time. They had no interest in speaking with someone from a recruiting service. If they wanted to talk to someone they wanted to talk to a coach or the travel ball organization's college liaison that had direct experience with the recruit. As has been said many times before they wanted to spend most of their time on girls who had expressed interest in their school. At one station one of the coaches asked DD if she was interested in his school. It was not a school that had ever been on DD's list. She didn't know what to say so she just said "no". She then realized that maybe she was being a little to honest. After camp he came up to DD and gave her a card with all his contact info, so maybe they make exceptions to what they say.
 

obbay

Banned
Aug 21, 2008
2,199
0
Boston, MA
What JAD says is correct and probably the best advice on the subject.
DD (2018) has been planning to play college softball her whole life. In her freshman or sophomore year, she realized Alabama probably wasn't Interested in 5'-2" , 125 lb pitchers who can't throw 60mph, so entering her junior year she had decided on 5 colleges (DI, DII and DIII) she wanted to look at. She decided on a field of study and a fall back major in the case of one school that didn't offer her major.

She met with 4 of the 5 coaches and it went very well. She has received academic scholarship offers at all but the NESCAC school that she won't hear from till April. I have been receiving frequent emails from captain U telling me of colleges who have shown interest in her, but none of them are schools she is interested in attending. I too have heard coaches say that they don't use website recruiters like Captain U to find talent. That being said I am frequently getting emails thru Captain U from at least one of those same coaches asking her to attend their camp.

So what I learned on DFP:
Look for schools she is interested in, whether she can play ball there or not.
Go for the education first. Although it would be seen as a positive by some employers, her softball career alone won't get her a job.
College is a BIG life change for kids. Playing a sport can make it even more difficult.
Enjoy the time you have left before college, it goes quickly.

..,and one thing I learned from a guy I never met: Allyson Fournier's father. Try to pick a school that's close enough for her father to attend the games.
(she was the Ace at Tufts for the 3 or 4 years they won the DIII National Title and went on to pitch one season in the NPF)
 
Aug 12, 2015
14
1
All --

This input has been great. Can't thank you guys enough. I think I can get the process done on my own (with all of the help on this forum, that is) rather than spending tons of money on a recruiter, at least at this point. DD is on a travel team for a good-sized organization, and we're in the Atlanta area so I think I have enough to work with in that respect. I'm thinking of ordering Cathi Aradi's book (as recommended, when the 2018 edition is released) and also of looking into her (much less expensive) services, as well as continuing to gather info on this site.

One more question, if anyone can answer -- is there any way of knowing whether a school is no longer looking for a particular class/position (for example, if a school is all set on 2020 pitchers, etc.), so as to not potentially waste time going to their camps? My DD is a 2021 pitcher, so it's probably not an issue quite yet for most schools, but I was still wondering.

p.s. JAD - I used your DD's postcard as a model to make some thank you's for my DD to send out. I also plan on using your DD's skills video as a go-by for ours. Hope you don't mind!

Thanks all, and have a great evening!
 

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