How do I help a kid get recruited?

My DD is still a few years away from recruiting but my DW just came to me with a complaint that she has from an upset Aunt.

So, my DN(Darling Niece) has been playing travel ball for her whole life, plays for her school team, and is an all around great kid. She hits for power and plays a mean 1st base and has moved to 3rd base for her Senior year to help her school team. Her travel coach has been telling her mother and grandmother that she would help DN get recruited and that she was taking care of the process of reaching out to colleges. Mom and Grandma don't know how to go about getting a kid recruited, she goes to a small, rural High School in Alabama, and the family trusted her travel coach to stay true to her word.

DN is now in March of her Senior year and the coach just told Mom and Grandma that her daughter has a scholarship to go play for Mississippi State but they haven't done anything to get DN noticed. I am 13 hours away in Florida, but I want to help as much as I can. Are we too late to put together a skills video and send it to coaches? What else can we do to help get a deserving player noticed by coaches so that she can have a chance to play college ball somewhere?

quandofloo said:

My DD is still a few years away from recruiting but my DW just came to me with a complaint that she has from an upset Aunt.

So, my DN(Darling Niece) has been playing travel ball for her whole life, plays for her school team, and is an all around great kid. She hits for power and plays a mean 1st base and has moved to 3rd base for her Senior year to help her school team. Her travel coach has been telling her mother and grandmother that she would help DN get recruited and that she was taking care of the process of reaching out to colleges. Mom and Grandma don't know how to go about getting a kid recruited, she goes to a small, rural High School in Alabama, and the family trusted her travel coach to stay true to her word.

DN is now in March of her Senior year and the coach just told Mom and Grandma that her daughter has a scholarship to go play for Mississippi State but they haven't done anything to get DN noticed. I am 13 hours away in Florida, but I want to help as much as I can. Are we too late to put together a skills video and send it to coaches? What else can we do to help get a deserving player noticed by coaches so that she can have a chance to play college ball somewhere?

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I'd love to know who she plays for because it seems he has not helped them very much and should have told them they have their own work to do. We are going into our second year of 14U and DD has been sending out emails and going to camps for three years. We have a team rule that the players are required to send out at least 5 emails a week once school ball ends and copy in the HC and myself so we can track. During the spring we want them keeping up with their favorite programs so they can reach out occasionally to give updates on their season and congratulate the college coach on big wins. We are making sure they are doing their part in the process and they understand it isn't just on us or a scouting service to find them a place to play.

I honestly don't think it is too late to find her a spot. Get the video together and get it to some coaches. She may have missed out on some opportunities but their are some very good juco programs in Alabama that will get two years of school paid for and give her a shot at finishing at a 4 year school.

If you need any info on teams here in Alabama please shoot me a PM. I would be happy to help any way I can.

Quite a bit to unpack in this one...

Quick clarifying question - when you say the coach told Mom and Grandma that "her daughter has a scholarship", I assume that means the coach's daughter, not your niece? Because if the coach meant that your niece has a scholarship at MS State without ever being seen, I'd call BS immediately.

So, it is March of this girl's senior year and presumably she or her parents have done nothing towards recruitment (you don't mention if she has ever been to college camps or played in any exposure events). By March of her senior year, wouldn't her college plans by pretty much set? I know that final decisions don't need to be made until May, but by now wouldn't applications be long submitted and acceptance/wait list/decline notices already received?

Regardless of the answers to those questions, you asked about helping your niece.

"Are we too late to put together a skills video and send it to coaches?" - Do you know which level (DI, DII, DIII, etc.) she best suited for, academically and athletically? You can certainly go ahead and put together a video, but in March of her senior year, not sure how much impact the "send it to coaches" part will have. If she has a narrowly defined list of realistic target schools, it couldn't hurt to reach out to those coaches, explain the situation, share the video, etc. I think it's a huge longshot that anything comes of it, but you never know (for example, one of their previous committed recruits got injured or had grade issues or whatever so a spot for a 2018 grad just opened up). Even most DIII schools, who have no athletic money, have a pretty good idea of who their incoming freshman will be for next year. That said, maybe a walk-on opportunity could result.

"What else can we do to help get a deserving player noticed by coaches" - The problem is that every single college softball program in all divisions in the country is currently "in season", so opportunities to get noticed between now and the end of high school is slim to none. Is she willing to play JUCO? That could be a great way to both get a start on her education while tuning her SB skills a the collegiate level, with an eye towards transferring to a 4-year school. JUCOs can also be pretty generous with scholarship money, and many have good reputations for feeding players on to 4-year schools. Another option is an exposure program run by TripleCrownSports in June in Colorado specifically for unsigned 2018 grads and current JUCO players called the "Unsigned Senior Workout". I have no direct experience with this camp so can't say how successful its attendees have been in the past, but it may be an option to explore.

Link - https://www.cosparkfire.com/unsigned-senior-workout.html

It's a shame she is in this position. Please don't make the same mistake with your daughter...make sure the she/you own her recruiting process and don't trust some TB coach who says that she'll take care of it.

TMD said:

It's a shame she is in this position. Please don't make the same mistake with your daughter...make sure the she/you own her recruiting process and don't trust some TB coach who says that she'll take care of it.

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So I am going to disagree somewhat.
- Yes do video
- Yes start sending around to colleges
- Yes, honestly assess her level
- It is probably not something you are going to get a lot of attention on until the college season is over.
-- they are going to have to take control of the process. Having one of the local recruiting orgs is probably a really good idea at this stage. They will have local contacts and have knowledge of who needs what.

A truly TALENTED, uncommitted senior is a rare beast indeed and guess what - that early recruited kid isn't doing nothing for the coach if they have a big old gap in their team next season. If you can find a heavy showcasing team you will get attention. It might not be what you expect - but it can happen. There are a surprising number of teams that have roster spots just not filled for some reason or another.

quandofloo said:

DN is now in March of her Senior year and the coach just told Mom and Grandma that her daughter has a scholarship to go play for Mississippi State

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What does this mean? Are you saying that DN's coach's DD has the scholarship? If so, okay? What does that matter and why should that affect your DN? Of course the Coach is gonna get her kid recruited. Happens all the time. What is the history of this coach placing players in college? How many emails, phone calls, camps has DN sent/participated in? Where does DN want to go to school? What is her real skill level and what type of team is she currently on? What conversations have been held with coach/DN/parents? Has her team played in any showcases? Has there been any college coach interest garnered from those tourneys? There are so many questions yet to be asked to determine a course of action. In all reality it's up to the parents and player to own the recruiting process. The TB coach should be a facilitator and connector.



Here's a start: Index-Home Page

Read through every blog and send Cathi's book to your DN ASAP. There is a place for her to play in college if she really wants to.

We have a baseball friend that didn't play softball until her senior year. She did one of those combine things where they measure all your stats and then send them out to coaches. I guess she scored pretty well because she has a full ride to a top D1 school this year. So, it can happen.

For now, I'd get her signed up at a local community college just to continue her schooling. She can still be recruited. Others may have some better options as well.

There are some good JUCO's like Coastal Alabama in Alabama that will give her a tryout. Go to the games on Sunday and talk to the coaches and ask for a tryout to see if they would offer her a spot. I am sure they won't mind spending few mins with her to see if she is good. Don't forget NAIA schools, they have 10 scholarships whereas a NCAA D2 has only 7.5.

FastpitchScout is a great website you can do now and get the process rolling. Agree with the link about the TCS workout camp. https://www.cosparkfire.com/unsigned...r-workout.html


Send out and make the CALLS to colleges today. Not tomorrow. Not next week. Now!!

Junior Colleges will gobble her up in a heat beat. As a HUGE bonus they have money to burn and if shes a stud, she'll get some serious tuition assistance. Maybe even a free 2 years of school. After 2 years, a transfer is mandatory but not a big deal.