NSR vs. NCSA questions

Welcome to Discuss Fastpitch

Your FREE Account is waiting to the Best Softball Community on the Web.

Sep 11, 2017
43
6
Seattle, WA
Hi guys. Been lurking around this place for a few months, finally deciding to post.

DD is a 2020 graduate, and wants to play college ball badly. She is 15 years old playing on an 18 Gold TB team. Recently, she was approached by a NSR rep that said he had been scouting her for the past couple of weekends and wants to get her on board with the program, etc. It is very expensive ($3500), but seems pretty worth it from the pitch we got from the rep.

Questions for the board: do any of you have experience using the NSR services? What about NCSA? Is one better than the other? Are they helpful?

Thanks in advance for any insight.
 

marriard

Not lost - just no idea where I am
Oct 2, 2011
4,312
113
Florida
Hi guys. Been lurking around this place for a few months, finally deciding to post.

DD is a 2020 graduate, and wants to play college ball badly. She is 15 years old playing on an 18 Gold TB team. Recently, she was approached by a NSR rep that said he had been scouting her for the past couple of weekends and wants to get her on board with the program, etc. It is very expensive ($3500), but seems pretty worth it from the pitch we got from the rep.

Questions for the board: do any of you have experience using the NSR services? What about NCSA? Is one better than the other? Are they helpful?

Thanks in advance for any insight.

In my experience NSR depends HEAVILY on their personal rep and their reputation locally. There are some great ones in some areas... and then not so great elsewhere.

NCSA is a little more consistent in helping out overall but often doesn't have the local knowledge of the top NSR reps (Especially if you are loooking closely at in-state or local area colleges).

You can do it without either, but both are good at helping you organize and help you through the process. They both do help - do they $3500 help? Well they can if you are willing to put the work in as well and really take advantage of what they offer. For many it is good to have the extra tools and organization.

To your original question - go find out what others think of the local NSR rep talking to you and how much help they have been. Check on facebook for their profile and posts. And so on
 

JAD

Feb 20, 2012
8,231
38
Georgia
There is a lot you and your DD can do to get your DD recruited without spending $3500. Create a skills video, get a computer and get to work! Focus on regional schools your DD would like to attend and that matches her abilities, preferred field of study, and finances. DO NOT wear rose colored glasses during the recruiting classes and think Patrick Murphy and Tim Walton are going to fight over your DD's signature...

Create a Top-10 and attend their camps. Keep in mind that 90% of softball scholarships are partials, so figure out what your out of pocket expenses will be and what your budget allows. If a school costs $40K/year and your DD gets a 50% scholarship, that is still $20K/year out of pocket. Your DD's Top-10 can change as she goes through the recruiting process. Schools that show interest move up the list, schools that do not show interest are removed. My DD's starting and final top-10 had only two schools in common...
 
Dec 2, 2013
3,410
113
Texas
to add to what JAD said:

I would discuss this with your DD's Gold team coach. Not all Gold teams are equal. Where do they rank on US Club Rankings and what is their history of helping players get to college? You are already paying that team and you should lean on them first. We use NCSA as one of the many tool at our disposal. We paid $800 for their program and we find it very valuable as far as the feedback is concerned with along with the Youtube Analytics from DD's page. Once we have established a line of communication with a coach we transfer emails off of NCSA and on to Yahoo. The parent is the CMO (Chief Marketing Officer) of your player. Websites don't get your kid recruited. Don't ever forget that. You have to do the work alongside your DD. NSR reps I have found will get you aligned with some of the smaller schools around here, which you can do that on your own. But so can your team's recruiting coordinator and head coach if they are connected.

My top 3 recommendations as you get started.
1. Skills Video
2. Skills video
3. Skills video
You will be surprised, but coaches watch most skills videos that are sent.

Others will be able to add on this discussion.
 
Nov 18, 2013
2,255
113
DD posted a skills video on YouTube and received several contacts from coaches who searched videos for a 2015 pitcher. If they’re going through random videos on the internet you can be sure there’s plenty who will watch every one sent to them.

She had also received several invitations from recruiting services who had been “scouting” her. It only took a couple questions to figure out all they had scouted was her name and didn’t know a thing about her. I’m sure there are some legit ones. Just be very careful because most are scammers. Talk to her travel coach or one of the programs directors. If they can’t help her with skills videos, college contacts etc, find a new team. For $3,500 you can fly her anywhere in the country to play for a nationally recognized program with a history of placing girls in college. Just do your homework and make sure the program is developing girls and not just gathering ones who are already committed.

There is NOTHING a recruiting service can offer that you can’t do yourself. If you need help getting started there are plenty here who have been through it or Cathi Aradi’s book has tons of information.

Book Information
 
Feb 17, 2015
318
18
USA
If you are wanting to use a service I highly recommend Cathi Aradi. She runs Collegiate Softball Connection and her services are very affordable. Unless your DD is an SEC/PAC12 type of recruit it can be hard getting through the door by using just email. Cathi can help with getting your DD through the door. Now she won't guarantee any offers and your DD will still have to do a lot of work on her own, i.e. Skills video, mailing packets and calling coaches. I recommend scheduling a 30 minute consultation phone call for $30. If you like what you hear then she usually subtracts the $30 from the service you use. Her most expensive option is $500. She is well respected in college softball circles. My DD was a JUCO transfer and had a few schools interested in her but overall I wanted her to have more options to choose from. Cathi's service was able to deliver that and then some. Good luck.

Index-Home Page
 
Feb 4, 2015
641
28
Massachusetts
In addition to what JAD, Orange and MNDad provided, which was great advice, you should also...

Get your DD on the best showcase team that she can make, that gets on the best fields against the best competition, and plays the showcases that match with where she wants to go to school. It wont help to go to showcases if your at the C & D complexes playing equally uninspiring competition.

Her team should also have coaches/director with a deep understanding of recruiting, helps with recruiting and speaking with college coaches, and has a history of players playing in college.

Put together a bio pdf that can be sent with her emails. 1 page max.

Email, email, email. Let them know your schedule, ask what camps they're attending, know something about their program.

Choose schools that are a fit academically, financially, socially, geographically, and athletically. Be realistic. There are great programs and competition at all levels, be open and she'll have many more options.

DD's 2020 as well and it's been a huge learning curve. From our experience, and others in our organization, you don't need to spend $3.5k on a recruiter and can use that for travel, camps, and lessons.
 
Apr 16, 2010
924
43
Alabama
My DD is signed up with NSR and we didn't spend anywhere near that. Sounds like your rep is pushing their top plan instead of options. Our line of thinking when we signed up was finding opportunities we would not look for. Our rep was straight up with us. His job was not to get her a hundred offers but rather the one offer that would let her get the best education possible at a place she loved and get her as much money possible athletically and academically. He has a very good reputation and knows a lot of people. I work as our recruiting contact for her team and the coaches I have talked to really respect him and trust him so I really feel good about our decision. He has gotten her attention from some schools and he is working on her top ones right now. I know when she goes to camp at her #1 this weekend he will go to bat for her because he has known the HC for 15 years.

If you have the right scout working for you through NSR I honestly feel you will be able to recoup the money down the line. On the flip side she went to camp this past weekend on an invite earned through TB so I firmly believe it can be done on your own but I like the extra help and it is worth it to us.
 
Feb 15, 2016
273
18
In addition to what JAD, Orange and MNDad provided, which was great advice, you should also...

Get your DD on the best showcase team that she can make, that gets on the best fields against the best competition, and plays the showcases that match with where she wants to go to school. It wont help to go to showcases if your at the C & D complexes playing equally uninspiring competition.

Her team should also have coaches/director with a deep understanding of recruiting, helps with recruiting and speaking with college coaches, and has a history of players playing in college.

Very good advice, but don't confuse "Best" for your DD with one that travels all over the country. Do your homework on travel teams and look at where their former players are playing in college. If your daughter is focused on schools in your region of the country you may be able to save a lot of money playing for a regional team as opposed to a nationally recognized club team. If you know the teams your DD is interested in playing for regularly attend nearby tournaments then your DD needs to be playing there as opposed to flying across the country playing in front of coaches from schools she is not even interested in. Depending on your area, the colleges your DD are interested in might be attending the PGF/USA/USSSA qualifier 30 minutes from your house. If a specific TB team puts a lot of players on college teams that your DD is interested in playing for, their coaching staff most-likely has a relationship with the coaches at those schools which will be a big help. If you can narrow down the list of schools now, get to camps at those schools.
 
Dec 28, 2014
117
16
Save your money and do what JAD said. Most HC don't even open services emails. Be realistic in the school she can play for and target their camps.
 

Forum statistics

Threads
42,830
Messages
679,473
Members
21,443
Latest member
sstop28
Top