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Jul 29, 2016
231
43
Wall of text coming. ...

BACKGROUND:
My daughter is a solid player. She could play at a D1 team if she put in the work, but so far she hasn't shown any interest in doing anything "extra." She's a high school freshman. Streaky bat. Catcher.

So here's the thing about her catching. When she's in a game, she's really really good. Fantastic framing. Blocks like a wall. Quick and steady throws to second in under two seconds. Sometimes 1.8, but usually a touch slower. 1.85 or 1.9. Just great numbers. But when she's not in a game situation, she doesn't look that impressive. If there's not actually a runner going in a game, her whole pop-time routine lacks intensity. In drills, she pops at 2.2 or so. Similarly, if she's not in a game, she lets more balls get by her. You've got to see her in a real game to see her at her best.

So as a result of that whole dynamic, the real elite organizations in our area have passed on her. She's finally on a good travel team, and the only reason she's on the team is one of the parents who has the coach's ear saw he play pick-up last year where she was just awesome behind the plate.

OUR PROBLEM:
Daughter "thinks" she wants to play college softball. My wife and I have good jobs, and we've planned for college with our 529 plan. Also, daughter is very smart and goes to a fantastic private school. I'm on the board of an area university's honor's college with tons of academic contacts. So we don't NEED a softball scholarship. It would certainly be nice, but its not something we need.

A guy who works for the organization called ScoutU (scoutu.org is their website) has given some recruiting talks to her travel team. He says that every player on the team could play in college (probably true). His deal is he acts as a liaison between the kid and the schools. He helps with the communications. He does video editing. He supposedly will contact coaches and help get you kid in front of them in showcases and camps.

He's expensive. All-in cost is a hair over $3K. This is a one-time fee and "buys" you hand-holding all the way to college. He will supposedly work with you until you're happy.

We can afford the fee, but I have reservations about the amount here. It seems like a lot. But my daughter hasn't been motivated to write the first email to any coach (even to prospect camps where she's been). My wife s very organized, but she has no interest in being the motivator for college prospecting.
The ScoutU guy talked to her, and she seems to be motivated, but I suspect this is more a product of him being a good sales closer.
 

marriard

Not lost - just no idea where I am
Oct 2, 2011
4,312
113
Florida
Wall of text coming. ...

We can afford the fee, but I have reservations about the amount here. It seems like a lot. But my daughter hasn't been motivated to write the first email to any coach (even to prospect camps where she's been). My wife s very organized, but she has no interest in being the motivator for college prospecting.
The ScoutU guy talked to her, and she seems to be motivated, but I suspect this is more a product of him being a good sales closer.

Depend on the age group, situation and motivation.

These services are a dime-a-dozen and the level of quality is all over the place and is often determined by who is locally representing them - so if you are going to do it, do a lot of research including the option of just doing it yourself. Especially make sure they have contacts in the schools she would like to go to that have nothing to do with softball and check up references from current local clients. If your kid is Ivy/NEASEC or similar material and they only really know the local state college scene, they are useless - go find one that will be useful. The #1 thing they provide is organization around the recruiting and sometimes a decent contact network. The rest is mostly marketing hype and sales.

None of them replace the work your DD needs to do if she wants to play in college. If she isn't going to write the emails, attend the camps, call the coaches, etc, then it doesn't matter who is helping, it isn't going to do much.

The great news is, there are huge amounts of teams who are not D1 (and a lot of D1) who recruit late and if your kid is academically gifted that means often in the summer going into their senior year when the real admissions processes kick off (as Juniors you get their attention at their camp, as Seniors you turn up and press for a spot). That means if your kid is like this, she can wait much longer before she decides whether she even wants to play in college. I personally don't need think there is a need for any of these services before 16U. If your kid is Power5 quality, you wont need them anyway, and if she isn't, the new rules give you all of 16U to get coaches attention before they can REALLY talk to you in your junior year.
 
Jan 18, 2018
22
0
I have no experience with recruiting services, so I will not comment on the advantages/disadvantages of hiring one of them. However, I do have experience with the demands placed on our daughters who play at the collegiate level. If your daughter can only perform during games and coasts during practice, the chances for success at any level of college softball are pretty slim. In addition to the coaches not liking that attitude, the girls on the team will be hard on your daughter because they want to win as well. My suggestion is to pick a few schools where you daughter would like to go and take her to some camps. Fortunately, you have some time as she is only a freshman. Most high academic schools want to see an acceptable ACT score before they get very interested. Be patent and see where her head goes in the next year or 2. I wouldn't spend the money now on a recruiting service. She has to really want it (playing in college) before I would even consider writing that check.
 
Apr 16, 2010
924
43
Alabama
As far as recruiting services go it honestly depends on the person you work with. Make sure you research the program and the person she will be working with. My DD is with NSR and her scout is amazing. He knows everyone it seems. With the recruiting rule changes it seems he can get more out of coach than TB coaches can. He will save us money on camps this year because we know who is looking at her. One went as far as saying she needed to be on campus for everything they had because they really like her and asked if she would like to stay local for college.

He flat out told us his job wasn't getting her to a top 10 softball program. It was finding us the most money possible to help her get the best education. He was honest up front and told us DD was an SEC talent with a mid-major body. He told her she could play for a Power 5 but would need to find the right coach that likes kids like her. He pointed us towards programs he thought she would be a good fit for and it got her some interest. He also has worked every level from JUCO up to get her out there. One key is a lot of coaches trust him. He doesn't sell DI coaches on a girl if she can't play at that level. I think that is one of his biggest assets, he is honest and doesn't oversell parents or coaches to protect his reputation.
 
Feb 16, 2015
933
43
South East
I don’t know anything about ScoutU but I have been hearing good things about CSA.... The interesting thing about CSA is that they stay with the athlete all the way through college..... which I hear is where the athlete/family actually gets their monies worth. So they do not consider themselves a recruiting service but more of a mentoring service.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Feb 17, 2014
7,152
113
Orlando, FL
Wall of text coming. ...

BACKGROUND:
My daughter is a solid player. She could play at a D1 team if she put in the work, but so far she hasn't shown any interest in doing anything "extra." She's a high school freshman. Streaky bat. Catcher.

So here's the thing about her catching. When she's in a game, she's really really good. Fantastic framing. Blocks like a wall. Quick and steady throws to second in under two seconds. Sometimes 1.8, but usually a touch slower. 1.85 or 1.9. Just great numbers. But when she's not in a game situation, she doesn't look that impressive. If there's not actually a runner going in a game, her whole pop-time routine lacks intensity. In drills, she pops at 2.2 or so. Similarly, if she's not in a game, she lets more balls get by her. You've got to see her in a real game to see her at her best.

So as a result of that whole dynamic, the real elite organizations in our area have passed on her. She's finally on a good travel team, and the only reason she's on the team is one of the parents who has the coach's ear saw he play pick-up last year where she was just awesome behind the plate.

OUR PROBLEM:
Daughter "thinks" she wants to play college softball. My wife and I have good jobs, and we've planned for college with our 529 plan. Also, daughter is very smart and goes to a fantastic private school. I'm on the board of an area university's honor's college with tons of academic contacts. So we don't NEED a softball scholarship. It would certainly be nice, but its not something we need.

A guy who works for the organization called ScoutU (scoutu.org is their website) has given some recruiting talks to her travel team. He says that every player on the team could play in college (probably true). His deal is he acts as a liaison between the kid and the schools. He helps with the communications. He does video editing. He supposedly will contact coaches and help get you kid in front of them in showcases and camps.

He's expensive. All-in cost is a hair over $3K. This is a one-time fee and "buys" you hand-holding all the way to college. He will supposedly work with you until you're happy.

We can afford the fee, but I have reservations about the amount here. It seems like a lot. But my daughter hasn't been motivated to write the first email to any coach (even to prospect camps where she's been). My wife s very organized, but she has no interest in being the motivator for college prospecting.
The ScoutU guy talked to her, and she seems to be motivated, but I suspect this is more a product of him being a good sales closer.

If she is not all in on playing college ball you are wasting your money. You need to really want to play and go to college. It is not for everyone and you have not listed a single good reason for her to pursue it. I would have her play, attend a camp or two and figure it out before throwing dollars at the recruiting process to chase a dream she does not have.
 

CoreSoftball20

Wilson = Evil Empire
DFP Vendor
Dec 27, 2012
6,215
113
Kunkletown, PA
I agree with Rise here. "Can be" a good player means nothing if she has no ambition, work ethic or desire. Tons of girls "could be" good and play college ball, but
when it comes to working hard and putting forth effort every practice, every play, every at bat...that's where the separation begins. At some point, all the hard workers
will catch and pass the girls that just have gotten by so far on good genetics but don't work hard to improve their skills.

And OF COURSE the guy that works for a recruiting service says everybody on a team can play college ball...HE WANTS YOUR MONEY...haha.

All of this said, nothing here is bad in the big picture. If she is a smart girl, she goes to college for an education, not softball...gets a great degree and goes on to a great job and lives her life!!!!
 
Dec 2, 2013
3,409
113
Texas
I would hire someone like this if my DD is late to the recruiting process, under recruited, TB organization is not helping, un-recruited Senior. Since your DD is a freshman, she has plenty of time to begin contacting coaches on her own, attend program camps, or decide that she doesn't want to play in college.

My DD has a HS teammate that is an un-recruited Senior Pitcher. Her and her parents have done absolutely nothing with regards to contacting coaches, camps, etc and I don't understand why not. She doesn't even have any video clips of her pitching either. She has no college prospects in her pipeline either. Last weekend I happened to talk about her with DD's future college coach not necessarily to get her recruited, but the coach started asking more questions about her. It seems that she is a good fit academically and possibly athletically. Now this pitcher is on their radar, and the ball is her in court. The coach is expecting a phone call from the player today and she is pretty excited.
 

Strike2

Allergic to BS
Nov 14, 2014
2,044
113
I see many "solid" players in this game who don't have a strong desire to play in college. IMO, there is nothing wrong with playing ball through HS, but having other priorities that limit how much effort is expended on getting to that "next level".

Even if your DD did have that desire, there's a very good chance that her softball skills might not match up with her academic ability AND your resources. It's easily conceivable that she'd have little chance to play for the schools that she could attend, and no interest in attending the schools that would want her for their softball team. The competition for spots on college rosters is very tough; I see many very good and motivated players end up at regional state colleges and JUCOs that I never heard of, and certainly wouldn't be on my list.

I'm in a similar spot...resources and a smart kid. Regarding the scout, save your money. Let your DD enjoy playing ball and see where she is when it's time to look at schools. Perhaps there might be a way onto a roster at a school she chooses to attend. I'd be more concerned about the apparent difference in effort during practice. I don't require that DD play softball, but I expect her best effort in whatever she does. While her skill level may not say "D1", her attitude and effort usually does. She has team mates with greater talent and college aspirations that she often outperforms because of that work ethic.
 
Jul 29, 2016
231
43
Thanks, everyone, for the feedback and insight. I showed this thread to my wife, and she suggested that I might have portrayed my daughter as being a slacker. She is NOT a slacker. She is very intense at practices (school ball and travel ball). She works out with an athletic trainer who focuses his workouts on what she needs as a softball player. She also goes to weekly workouts with a batting/catching coach.

She has plenty of scheduled softball time, and when she's doing that stuff, she is intense, listens, and is very "coachable." When I suggested there was a problem with her motivation, I meant only that she very rarely works on her game outside of the structured stuff we've arranged for her.
 

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