College Exposure !!!

[justwannaplay]

Hello All:

So I have been coaching a great bunch of girls since 10u travel ball. They have turned into pretty good players.All my gilrs are great students as well. I would say a few have a great shot at playing Div III and maybe two at Div I & II. My problem is that my team is not well known and therefore I cant get into "High Exposure Showcase" tournaments. We have competed in national tournmaments like ASA, Pony etc. and finished respectably in all. I have mostly 2015's and 2014's girls all of which are very happy with my team and my coaching abilities. All my girls are making skills videos and we have all that the high exposure teams have except the name and connections!!

What I have noticed is that these showcase events are a tight nitch community and dont allow some teams in just because you are not part of their desired clicks regardless if you can really compete and possibly get some wins. What is frustrating to me is how the hell do I get a chance to prove ourselves if you dont give us a spot (its just like going for a job and they tell you oh i cant hire you because you dont have enough experience !!!)

Any advice you can share would be greatly appreciated.....

JWP

 

[Atlantabell]

JWP, it can be very frustrating. I suggest that if you have friends who coach other, more well known organizations, that maybe they could put a good word in for you. The other thought is that you have to start small with smaller showcases. Make connections with some of these teams and their coaches. The more connections you make and the more people who get to know you and your team the better. As your reputation grows, your chances of getting in these showcases will get better.

Don't give up!

 

[InsidePitch]

I haven't been involved yet but see some tourneys are a first come first serve. In our area the TNT showcases appear to be that way but fill up 6 months in advance. I thought the main issue with relatively unknown teams was not getting to play on the main fields. Perhaps concentrate on getting into tournaments where all the fields are in one location. The Quakertown, PA and Edison, NJ tourneys are that way.

 

[soupy62]

Talk to one of the bigger organizations around you and ask them to take your team into the organization. Thats a great way to instantly get noticed!

 

[Perfect Circle]

I might be wrong, but I know Gators did...thats how they got one of the greatest players, who is on the national team now. Don't all college's have a tryout? Isn't that the "Real Dream" walkon ?

 

[Pdiddy]

Talk to one of the bigger organizations around you and ask them to take your team into the organization. Thats a great way to instantly get noticed!

I agree...ultimatley, some of the big clubs really help players get to the next level....which should be every competitive teams goals for their girls, not the only goal, but the main one for sure....

but were you denied a spot in the event even though they weren't full up yet or is it possible you just tried too late?

 

[JAD]

Register early! A lot of the big organizations will be able to get in late, but if you are relatively 'unknown' you need to register early, which is a pain and expensive - especially since you have to mail a check with your registration!

 

[maksoftball]

I will be watching this thread and others in the future. DD is on a standalone team (great coaching) but they are a 1st year 14U team; however, our time will be creeping up on us pretty quickly. These coaches are phenomenal with the girls, and I truly hope that they have what it takes to take the girls to the showcasing level. We shall see.

 

[PEPPERS]

You can’t wait for last minute to apply for these tournaments; you have to apply early as they will allow. We played in the Atlanta Legacy Showcase 2 years ago and waited too late to apply this year and missed out on this great exposure tournament.

DD received inquiries from teams as far away as New York, Washington, Maine and Oklahoma and that is the only way I know they could have know about her. She received inquiries from some schools until about a month ago, who advised they still had scholarship money available.

One college coach told our travel team coach, he would take the whole team if he could. Just threw that in there thought that was a great complement to the team.

Some other things is to go to clinics held by college teams, many have coaches from other colleges who help that may see your kids and be interested in them. Alabama has clinics for teams, they play each other and a number of college coaches attend and help with the clinic. Write a college coach and tell them your interest and ask them to come and watch a game.

There are a lot college softball teams out there and they need players.

 

[RichK]

justwanna play: where are you located?

We are in the same situation (in the Midwest) where we built a B+ team at 14U and this fall made the leap to 16U college exposure. We were able to get in three decent exposures this fall (not the very top level but still good for a first year 16U) and our plan over the next few years is the same as what got us here (we started together at 10U as well with this group: keeping building our team and our reputation and good things will happen. Plus: build relationships and ask for favors. For instance, many old-school programs will try to keep you out, but there are just as many new-school programs/teams that want to change the status quo. Work both ends...