- Apr 24, 2019
- 9
- 3
I wasn't sure where to post this, it's a long post. I've read just about every thread on here regarding club, travel, college, recruiting, etc and I have so many questions!
My DD is 14 (8th grade) and will be playing for her VERY small-town high school team this summer (we are in Iowa). She will probably make Varsity for her hitting and play first (5'10" & left-handed).
Her pitching is great (I think) but there is a very deserving upperclassman that will probably pitch the majority of the Varisty games (she has three seasons left). DD's average pitching speed is 59-60 but has hit 62, and puts lots of spin/movement on her pitches. She has a fastball that naturally drops, a two-seam drop ball, a change-up, and a curve. She is working on a riseball but I (and her pitching coach) think her drop ball will be her best pitch. I don't think she will pitch JV because the team is developing other pitchers that don't get any off-season experience. So probably just a few Varsity innings here and there and maybe a game or two during HS tournaments.
She is playing with her Iowa club team in March & April (five tournaments) and picked up two tournaments in May and a showcase in June with a Nebraska A-level team. Her Iowa club team isn't playing after April because HS practice starts on May 3.
The HS team has gone to state in the past but probably not in the cards for 2 or 3 years and they only have 17 games and 3 Saturday-only tournaments scheduled for the 2022 season. We are encouraging DD to focus on hitting for HS and to hone her pitching with club ball.
DD's regular club team doesn't plan on going to any showcases in the future but we had switched to them from a Nebraska club team that did because they were in Iowa and would not conflict with DD's HS team.
This is a critical time (right?) to be seen if she would like to play at the next level. Like all kids, she thinks D1 would be "amazing". She plans on getting a degree in Animal Sciences or biology and becoming a dog trainer. We are still in the research stages of what schools would be best (at any college-level).
How does she get seen by coaches if her HS probably won't be very good and her regular club team doesn't travel much? I think she has a chance to really shine at the HS level despite how they might do AND I think it is important for her to continue to foster the HS team relationships.
She did attend a local D1 pitching camp and got invited back for a smaller pitching camp but it isn't really a college she wants to attend as they don't have the major she wants. We do have plans to take her to any camps, etc that there might be once she narrows down her list of potential schools.
Side note: Her HS coach is already trying to switch her pitching from IR to HE and keeps contradicting everything her pitching and hitting coaches tell her. HS coach is telling DD that she wants her to hit down on the ball to generate lots of grounders! Anyway...that would be a totally different post on here!
After this season does she stick with HS ball in Iowa and see if a traveling team in Nebraska will take her on with her Iowa HS schedule? Can players really get recruited with emails and videos to DD's colleges of choice if she doesn't attend the big tournaments that college coaches go to? Have we started too late?
DD had to sign a form with her school that said she wouldn't participate in any club softball activities that conflicted with HS. That takes out most weekends in June and July which I gather is when all the good showcase tournaments take place. There are travel teams in Nebraska that go to the bigger showcase tournaments but she would probably have to give up HS softball, I suppose if she were to make one of these teams.
Advice, thoughts, guidance, personal experiences are welcome. Thanks!
My DD is 14 (8th grade) and will be playing for her VERY small-town high school team this summer (we are in Iowa). She will probably make Varsity for her hitting and play first (5'10" & left-handed).
Her pitching is great (I think) but there is a very deserving upperclassman that will probably pitch the majority of the Varisty games (she has three seasons left). DD's average pitching speed is 59-60 but has hit 62, and puts lots of spin/movement on her pitches. She has a fastball that naturally drops, a two-seam drop ball, a change-up, and a curve. She is working on a riseball but I (and her pitching coach) think her drop ball will be her best pitch. I don't think she will pitch JV because the team is developing other pitchers that don't get any off-season experience. So probably just a few Varsity innings here and there and maybe a game or two during HS tournaments.
She is playing with her Iowa club team in March & April (five tournaments) and picked up two tournaments in May and a showcase in June with a Nebraska A-level team. Her Iowa club team isn't playing after April because HS practice starts on May 3.
The HS team has gone to state in the past but probably not in the cards for 2 or 3 years and they only have 17 games and 3 Saturday-only tournaments scheduled for the 2022 season. We are encouraging DD to focus on hitting for HS and to hone her pitching with club ball.
DD's regular club team doesn't plan on going to any showcases in the future but we had switched to them from a Nebraska club team that did because they were in Iowa and would not conflict with DD's HS team.
This is a critical time (right?) to be seen if she would like to play at the next level. Like all kids, she thinks D1 would be "amazing". She plans on getting a degree in Animal Sciences or biology and becoming a dog trainer. We are still in the research stages of what schools would be best (at any college-level).
How does she get seen by coaches if her HS probably won't be very good and her regular club team doesn't travel much? I think she has a chance to really shine at the HS level despite how they might do AND I think it is important for her to continue to foster the HS team relationships.
She did attend a local D1 pitching camp and got invited back for a smaller pitching camp but it isn't really a college she wants to attend as they don't have the major she wants. We do have plans to take her to any camps, etc that there might be once she narrows down her list of potential schools.
Side note: Her HS coach is already trying to switch her pitching from IR to HE and keeps contradicting everything her pitching and hitting coaches tell her. HS coach is telling DD that she wants her to hit down on the ball to generate lots of grounders! Anyway...that would be a totally different post on here!
After this season does she stick with HS ball in Iowa and see if a traveling team in Nebraska will take her on with her Iowa HS schedule? Can players really get recruited with emails and videos to DD's colleges of choice if she doesn't attend the big tournaments that college coaches go to? Have we started too late?
DD had to sign a form with her school that said she wouldn't participate in any club softball activities that conflicted with HS. That takes out most weekends in June and July which I gather is when all the good showcase tournaments take place. There are travel teams in Nebraska that go to the bigger showcase tournaments but she would probably have to give up HS softball, I suppose if she were to make one of these teams.
Advice, thoughts, guidance, personal experiences are welcome. Thanks!