hey i have a player who wants to play catcher in college what types of skills should we be working on to get her ready for the transition to college softball?
catching in college
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- Sep 3, 2009
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pop time, pop time, pop time, and speed behind the plate.
she is a junior in high school and has caught for two years
I'm assuming by HS the catcher has quick pop and can throw quickly and for the most part accurately. But two years catching. How long has she played softball? What other positions did she play prior to catcher?
I'd tape some of the world series and show your catcher how well these college level catchers work behind the plate.
I'd tape some of the world series and show your catcher how well these college level catchers work behind the plate.
she has been playing for a long time but just recently made the switch to catcher before she played infield mostly ss and 2b
- Jul 26, 2010
- 3,554
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How's her hitting?
-W
-W
By the time you are a junior, most D1 players have already been recruited and committed. Is she going into her junior year or her senior year? Has she contacted any small colleges that she might be interested in?
I would get her to the best catching coach within a 2 hour drive and take her to lessons, once a week. I would send her to a college catching camp and see how she compares. But - most of the girls there, are going to be a few years younger than her. I would contact the coaches at the community colleges and see if they need a catcher.
I don't want to say that she can't do this, but whether she can be picky about the college, would remain to be seen. I hope that she has top grades and that test scores aren't a problem.
What level of travel ball is she playing and is the team going to exposure tournaments?
I would get her to the best catching coach within a 2 hour drive and take her to lessons, once a week. I would send her to a college catching camp and see how she compares. But - most of the girls there, are going to be a few years younger than her. I would contact the coaches at the community colleges and see if they need a catcher.
I don't want to say that she can't do this, but whether she can be picky about the college, would remain to be seen. I hope that she has top grades and that test scores aren't a problem.
What level of travel ball is she playing and is the team going to exposure tournaments?
hitting is something we are working on
she is going into senior year and all of the colleges she is looking at are quite small, she doesn't play travel because she is too involved at school, but she has skill level comparable with the girls on the high school team
she is going into senior year and all of the colleges she is looking at are quite small, she doesn't play travel because she is too involved at school, but she has skill level comparable with the girls on the high school team
Coachpill,
There are many similarities between the recruiting process in baseball and that of the softball world. However, there is one common misconception. People still think that HS softball has a large impact on the amount of exposure that those girls will get, and that is simply not true. If a softball player wants any shot at playing in college, she must play travel ball during the years leading up to the fall of her SR year of HS, or she must be making the trips to the showcase portion of those travel-ball tournaments. College softball coaches just don't have the staff or the money to devote to recruiting during the HS seasons. And because of the fact that most high schools pull from just one town, and thus have a somewhat limited amount of talent to pull from, there aren't many college coaches who put much stock in performances on the HS softball field. It is unfortunately not nearly as competitive as the travel-ball circuit.
Right now, most of the schools have already picked their 2012 recruiting class. However, there can never be too many catchers. I would start putting in calls, or sending off e-mails to any of the schools that she is looking into, asking about the catching situation at those particular schools. If there is a need, they will respond and you should probably ask about the showcases that their coaches will be at for the remainder of this summer so she can get in front of them. Or ask if they would be interested in attending a workout. You should also look into putting her skills on video to send off to those coaches. Check out this link for an idea on what will need to be on that video http://www.catchingcamp.com/blog/important-content-for-recruiting-video-for-catchers/.
Hope this helped.
There are many similarities between the recruiting process in baseball and that of the softball world. However, there is one common misconception. People still think that HS softball has a large impact on the amount of exposure that those girls will get, and that is simply not true. If a softball player wants any shot at playing in college, she must play travel ball during the years leading up to the fall of her SR year of HS, or she must be making the trips to the showcase portion of those travel-ball tournaments. College softball coaches just don't have the staff or the money to devote to recruiting during the HS seasons. And because of the fact that most high schools pull from just one town, and thus have a somewhat limited amount of talent to pull from, there aren't many college coaches who put much stock in performances on the HS softball field. It is unfortunately not nearly as competitive as the travel-ball circuit.
Right now, most of the schools have already picked their 2012 recruiting class. However, there can never be too many catchers. I would start putting in calls, or sending off e-mails to any of the schools that she is looking into, asking about the catching situation at those particular schools. If there is a need, they will respond and you should probably ask about the showcases that their coaches will be at for the remainder of this summer so she can get in front of them. Or ask if they would be interested in attending a workout. You should also look into putting her skills on video to send off to those coaches. Check out this link for an idea on what will need to be on that video http://www.catchingcamp.com/blog/important-content-for-recruiting-video-for-catchers/.
Hope this helped.
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