My DD is a 2013. Solid ball player. She was on a travel team her freshman year and that year began emailing college coaches about her interest in playing ball.
This summer 2011 she was rostered on a higher level team, one that has good college connections. It is a showcase team, all the girls want to play college ball.
However, there are issues. A few players on the team use illegal bats, coach knows (everybody knows) but turns the other way. The coach is verbally abusive or at best, unsupportive if errors are made. This summer DD didn't get hardly any playing time. She asked the coach what she needed to do, did it, and still nothing. In July she had the 3rd best BA on team, albeit only 25% of the number of at bats as his starters, but she still sits. Most showcase teams in this area will play their rising seniors a lot to get them seen- this coach did not do that and even, in my opinion, screwed over one of his rising seniors this summer but sitting her when interested schools were around. Looking ahead towards next summer, I worry about what this coach will do with my kid.
We did attend many many camps and clinics with college coaches this summer on our own, so DD does a hood job staying active and marketing herself. Several D1 schools have let her know they are looking at her.
So... She is unhappy with playing time, attitude of coach. She wants to leave. Not quit, but move on to someplace where she can contribute and improve We, as her parents, feel like once in college then the situation is different. But now, we are paying money and lots of time to get her better and to be seen by college coaches.
Questions:
1. How bad is it to switch teams during high school? We hear that college coaches don't like it but then it seems yo be done all the time. How will this affect her recruiting potential?
2. Is it better to be on a really high profile team and sit, or a not so competitive team where she will get plenty of playing time ( this new team has a history of placing players in college programs, but it isn't as strong as her current team. Good but not tops. It does, however, play at what I would say are very good regional and national tourneys-the ones we want).
3. If we change teams, do we explain to college coaches, or just let it be?
This summer 2011 she was rostered on a higher level team, one that has good college connections. It is a showcase team, all the girls want to play college ball.
However, there are issues. A few players on the team use illegal bats, coach knows (everybody knows) but turns the other way. The coach is verbally abusive or at best, unsupportive if errors are made. This summer DD didn't get hardly any playing time. She asked the coach what she needed to do, did it, and still nothing. In July she had the 3rd best BA on team, albeit only 25% of the number of at bats as his starters, but she still sits. Most showcase teams in this area will play their rising seniors a lot to get them seen- this coach did not do that and even, in my opinion, screwed over one of his rising seniors this summer but sitting her when interested schools were around. Looking ahead towards next summer, I worry about what this coach will do with my kid.
We did attend many many camps and clinics with college coaches this summer on our own, so DD does a hood job staying active and marketing herself. Several D1 schools have let her know they are looking at her.
So... She is unhappy with playing time, attitude of coach. She wants to leave. Not quit, but move on to someplace where she can contribute and improve We, as her parents, feel like once in college then the situation is different. But now, we are paying money and lots of time to get her better and to be seen by college coaches.
Questions:
1. How bad is it to switch teams during high school? We hear that college coaches don't like it but then it seems yo be done all the time. How will this affect her recruiting potential?
2. Is it better to be on a really high profile team and sit, or a not so competitive team where she will get plenty of playing time ( this new team has a history of placing players in college programs, but it isn't as strong as her current team. Good but not tops. It does, however, play at what I would say are very good regional and national tourneys-the ones we want).
3. If we change teams, do we explain to college coaches, or just let it be?