how much value do college coaches place on the Team?

DD is changing teams. The program director (of the team she is leaving) says that you need to play for a top showcase team (like his) in order to attract attention.
My thought is that the player needs to reach out o the coach first, who will then come to watch her play regardless of what team she is on.

at the same time, I think I have heard that some schools may avoid a player because they don't want to deal with the coach.

obbay said:

DD is changing teams. The program director (of the team she is leaving) says that you need to play for a top showcase team (like his) in order to attract attention.
My thought is that the player needs to reach out o the coach first, who will then come to watch her play regardless of what team she is on.

at the same time, I think I have heard that some schools may avoid a player because they don't want to deal with the coach.

Click to expand...

Sounds like the program director may have the over inflated ego that anyone would want to avoid. Work the process by reaching out to the college coaches, go to camps and she will be fine.

ETA: Recently there was a lengthy thread on this topic. One thing that I do not recall being mentioned was the value of reaching out to other TB coaches and letting them know the schools that you are targeting. We played in a tournament last weekend and the vast majority of my conversations with other coaches revolved around which players were looking to go where. You never know who may have a connection with a particular school or know of another school that has a need for specific type of player. The last thing you want to do is work the process in a silo.

I don't think the organization you are leaving is any more of a "top" organization than the one you are going to. Both organizations have been around for a long time and are known names in the area.

DD left one of the top organizations in the area and went to a much smaller organization that is very well respected and has had no problem getting coaches to come watch her play. She has put a lot of time and effort into emailing coaches.

From what you have said, your DD's current team is not the right fit and it seems like the director is just trying scare tactics to try and get her to stay.

Thanks for the responses- I didn't realize there was another thread ongoing on this topic, sorry about that!
FWIW, RB hit the nail on the head re: ego. This PD brags incessantly about all the players HE has gotten into colleges when infact, they are all going to middle of the road DIII schools where I don't think the competition was too heated.

Murphdog- I believe you are correct. Delusions of Grandeur.He always refers to his program as one of the top 5 in the region.

My $0.02...
A college coach can come watch your DD play regardless of the team she is on. The advantage of a showcase team is playing in marquee showcases against other marquee teams while coaches will already be present.

If your DD has a focused college search she can do it by contacting the coaches directly, attending their camps, and inviting coaches to come watch her play. If she is going with a shotgun approach, being on a marquee team will have some benefits. Some of the opportunities my DD had came out of "left field" and happened when a coach came to watch another player and saw DD in the circle.

IMO the success of a TB coach or program should not be judged on which college the players attend, but rather what they do once they get there and after they graduate.

riseball said:

IMO the success of a TB coach or program should not be judged on which college the players attend, but rather what they do once they get there and after they graduate.

Click to expand...

I almost started a thread on this EXACT topic and I could not agree with you more!! Both athletically and academically it comes down to what you actually do once you are IN college. So many threads here are about just getting into a school versus what happens once you are in and then what they do once they are out!! Making it to orientation at the school of your choice is great but that is just the beginning!

obbay said:

DD is changing teams. The program director (of the team she is leaving) says that you need to play for a top showcase team (like his)...

Click to expand...

obbay, sent you a PM. We're in same geo and same boat. Depending on what org your talking about, the "name" aint what it used to be.

The one advantage this PD talks about that could be legit is that he does have strong connections to certain schools. However, if DD's not interested in that range of schools, the cost to play for them quickly begins to outweigh the benefits.

At least here in the southeast, some of these showcases are getting a little too big. As a result, teams are playing at multiple parks, some as far as 45 minutes away from each other. Coaches don't want to spend time driving around unless they have to. And if you have targeted a particular school, but so have 10-15 other girls that weekend, the coach is going to have to choose who to watch if you're at different locations. If you are with a "big brand" your odds at being at one of the "featured" parks is much much much higher. Having done the Atlanta Legacy and the Scenic City several times in the past few years I can tell you that some parks are very heavily attended by college coaches, and some barely attended. There are certain brands of teams that seem to always be at the featured parks.