Recruiting at Showcase Tournaments. What does your team do?

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Jul 4, 2014
141
0
I'm wondering how your team handles the "recruiting" aspect at Showcase Tournaments. What I mean by this is, when your team attends a showcase tournament, who do you have handing out team / player profiles to college coaches? Orr do you hang the player profiles from a folder on the backstop or behind the bench and college coaches help themselves? Which is more effective? Do you offer individual player profiles or do you simply have 1 team profile? Do you have a "recruiting coordinator" or does your team's coaches deal with the college coaches themselves? What are the benefits of having a recruiting coordinator versus team coaches dealing with college coaches? If college coaches are asking to watch a particular player play, is it better that they deal with the team's coaches directly or go through a recruiting coordinator or even team manager?

We will be going to our first big showcase tournament next month and are trying to figure out how best to deal with the situation. Any advise is greatly appreciated. Thank you.
 
Feb 15, 2013
650
18
Delaware
We have team profiles that a recruiting coordinator hands out at the tournaments. The recruiting coordinator only passes out profiles and then gets key info from coach to pass on to the manager so the players can be put into proper positions. Individual profiles are on the team website. We also hang the extra profiles on the fence for coaches that may pass by.

Recruit Coordinator: This is nothing more than a parent that just gets info from coaches, the manager of the team doesn't have a child on the team and does all "official" communication with coaches for the players. The benefit of a recruit coordinator that I've seen is that college coaches tend to show up after the game has begun if they are moving from field to field and don't interrupt the coaches during the game. So the recruit coordinator will gather the info and then bring the info to the dugout so the changes can be made.

We have had a few college coaches that would only deal with someone on the coaching staff.
 
Feb 17, 2014
7,152
113
Orlando, FL
The biggest thing is that everyone, players, parents, and coaches are on the same page as to why you are there. You are not chasing a piece of plastic. You are there to get girls recruited, period. That said, if a college coach wants to see a player hit, pitch, steal, bunt, or whatever it happens ASAP. Folks need to understand that it is not a competitive tournament and playing time is NOT necessary typical or equitable. First and foremost it is done based on which player has connected with a coach and has that coach there watching them. Again that is why you are there. Secondly it is who is unsigned and closest to their NLI date. So regardless if you are the stud hitter or pitcher, if you are not working the process you see the field after everyone else.

The success of your showcase experience is not based on your won/loss record! It is based on how many interactions occur with college coaches, invitations to camps, visits, etc. IMO any team that boasts about their W/L in a showcase, posts it on Facebook, etc. should be viewed with the highest suspicion. If you win every game in the showcase and get nothing done with regard to recruiting, congratulations you have wasted everyone's time and money.

As to whether to use a recruiting coordinator, I do not recommend it. First and foremost this is the job of the HC. There is nothing more important going on than interacting with the coaches and getting girls recruited. When we are at a showcase you will find me doing this, with my AC running the offense from the base closest to our dugout. That way I can send a parent to the dugout with specific instructions as who needs to do what. I make it a point to recognize a coach as soon as they arrive and make it clear to them that they are the reason we are here and if they want to see a player in a position or situation we will make it happen ASAP. Coaches do not like to be "sold" so do your best Sgt. Friday and give them just the facts unless you are asked to opine. I walk up to each coach, give them a flyer and a 30 second elevator speech and then leave them alone.
 
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Jul 16, 2008
1,520
48
Oregon
Agree with Riseball, except the Recruiting Coordinator (assuming you meant for the team). Just in my experience, the really large Showcases aren't worth the effort unless you are on a team that routinely plays on the main complex fields. We have attended a couple of large Showcases and placed in the outlying fields, if there is a College Coach there (and that is a big IF) they are watching a specific player.
 
Jul 4, 2014
141
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Great advice all! Please keep them coming. Our coaches are a little new to this area and my fear is that they will run this showcase like a W/L tournament and waste everyone's time and money if no one gets recruited. As manager of our team, I'm advising our girls to write! write! write! to coaches and invite them to come watch them play. Since we are not a big name team, chances are, we'll be playing in the farthest field along with the cows. The only way that we will get noticed is if the girls invite the coaches to come watch them.

Riseball, how can I educate our coaches (without offending them) that they should play the girls immediately when asked by a college coach? Is there reading material out there that I can share with them?
 
Jan 31, 2011
453
43
I agree with riseball. My experience is a coach will ask to see a certain player. I had coaches ask to see certain pitchers throw later in the day, say at the next game. Its important your club coach gets that kid warmed up, etc. Its not about winning, its about exposure. And yes, the big time clubs get the best fields, game times, etc.

I hate to be negative, but if you're kid is not on a big time club team, you are fighting a very hard battle depending on your goal? If the goal is big D1, then its all about the club team. I read your post about a kid being on the top of a recruiting list & the uncertainties/anxiety/disappointments associated with it. As long as the D1 coaching group can verbal 8th graders and make it stick, the players are 100% at the mercy of the system. I'll quit there on all of that. However, if D2, D3, JUCO, or NAIA schools are attractive to your DD, then most definitely write, write, write, like you said.

I think a "recruiting coordinator" makes sense. At least someone to approach a coach watching the game and ask if he/she is looking for a specific player or has certain needs to fill. Last year I had a coach ask me at the D9 tourney in Orlando if we had any 2016 catchers. She was desperate and had money. Unfortunately, both our catchers were 2017 kids, but opening a discussion kinda breaks the ice especially for a team from Iowa, like ours...

Good luck & have fun! its definitely stressful if you let it...
 
Jul 4, 2014
141
0
I hate to be negative, but if you're kid is not on a big time club team, you are fighting a very hard battle depending on your goal? If the goal is big D1, then its all about the club team. I read your post about a kid being on the top of a recruiting list & the uncertainties/anxiety/disappointments associated with it. As long as the D1 coaching group can verbal 8th graders and make it stick, the players are 100% at the mercy of the system. I'll quit there on all of that. However, if D2, D3, JUCO, or NAIA schools are attractive to your DD, then most definitely write, write, write, like you said.

Most girls on our team have realistic goals. Most are looking to play D2, D3 or NAIA. We do however have a couple of 2019 who think that they are good enough to be starters for any of the top 20 D1 program. For those girls, I say good luck! I think it's great to dream big but it's important to have realistic goals as well.
 
Feb 17, 2014
7,152
113
Orlando, FL
Glad to see that [MENTION=3322]BB875[/MENTION] deleted their post as it was way off the mark and perpetuates one of the biggest myths in softball. Many kids at big D1 schools, including my DD and many of her friends were first seen on TB teams your have never heard of before. Only once they verbaled did some make a jump to the mythical big name teams. If you have the goods and properly work the process, who you play for is of little consequence.
 
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TMD

Feb 18, 2016
433
43
Glad to see that [MENTION=3322]BB875[/MENTION] deleted their post as it was way off the mark and perpetuates one of the biggest myths in softball. Many kids at big D1 schools, including my DD and many of her friends were first seen on TB teams your have never heard of before. Only once they verbaled did some make a jump to the mythical big name teams. If you have the goods and properly work the process, who you play for is of little consequence.

I'm just curious with no ill-intentions (my daughter is firmly in the D-III camp, so D-I recruiting was just not part of her experience) - what is the benefit of moving to a "mythical big name team" after you have verballed? Since there isn't an exposure/recruiting benefit anymore (assuming that one side or the other doesn't decommit), is it just to play mythical big name competition in prep for D-I?
 
Dec 23, 2009
791
0
San Diego
"If the goal is big D1, then its all about the club team."

Funny...I hear quite often about "club team" studs coming back to the "excuse me while I look down my nose at you" lowly JUCO or NAIA schools after bombing at Monsters University...seems the studs forgot to emphasize study skills, time management, and good grades over keggers...think the D1s are holding their spots for them? :cool:
 

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