Yesterday was the last day of the Fall Showcase season for DD & her team, who play 18U but are a real mix of ages - two seniors, 2 juniors & 8 sophomores. 8 sophomores playing against teams of all upperclassman can sometimes result in a lopsided game, but so be it; everyones out there giving it their all and with Winter workouts and Spring school ball, the team will be much improved come Memorial Day weekend.
There was a good break between game 1 yesterday at 8AM and game 2 shortly after lunch. The event attended was a large end of fall showcase with lots of college coaches at the main fields and the coaches traveling out to the remote locations- the bigger D I were schools looking to pick off the rising underclassmen and the DII/DIII schools looking to fill their rosters for next season.
DD's coach was walking around chatting with the follow softball coaches he knows and saw me sitting watching a higher profile game of the host team playing a team DD had pitched against at a showaces during the summer. He came over and sat down since we really hadn't chatted much since DD accepted the roster spot back in August.
2-3 college coaches; friends of DD's coach, attended DD's 8 AM game. They were there to see one of DD's senior temamates who wasn't sure what she wanted to do next year, work, go to college etc. The girl isn't getting a lot of direction at home so the coach stepped in to see if he could help guide her and open an avenue to a local college where she could play and recieve some financial aid. The kid had a good game & we all hope it works out for her.
We got along to talking about DD. Question #1 asked was - does DD want to play softball, field hockey or both in college? Question #2 - where does DD want to go to school? #3 - "Did you see schools X,Y,Z (all very academic D III schools) walking around here today? Those would all be a really good fit for DD academically and a place she could play and play a fair amount. After all, it's the degree earned that really matters. Softball or field hockey is just icing on the cupcake. After Thanksgiving I'll have a chance to talk to DD and help her work out a plan for the summer season so the right coaches see her and have her on their radar screens for support when she makes applications to college next year."
DD's team is not a high profile team you read about. The coach has been doing this for a while and focuses on helping place players into many of the D III schools in our area - we have lots of schools within a 3 hour driving radius. He's doing this because he enjoys coaching & helping out the girls after going through the process with his daughters. And to boot he's a nice guy. Thanks coach for a great Fall.
There was a good break between game 1 yesterday at 8AM and game 2 shortly after lunch. The event attended was a large end of fall showcase with lots of college coaches at the main fields and the coaches traveling out to the remote locations- the bigger D I were schools looking to pick off the rising underclassmen and the DII/DIII schools looking to fill their rosters for next season.
DD's coach was walking around chatting with the follow softball coaches he knows and saw me sitting watching a higher profile game of the host team playing a team DD had pitched against at a showaces during the summer. He came over and sat down since we really hadn't chatted much since DD accepted the roster spot back in August.
2-3 college coaches; friends of DD's coach, attended DD's 8 AM game. They were there to see one of DD's senior temamates who wasn't sure what she wanted to do next year, work, go to college etc. The girl isn't getting a lot of direction at home so the coach stepped in to see if he could help guide her and open an avenue to a local college where she could play and recieve some financial aid. The kid had a good game & we all hope it works out for her.
We got along to talking about DD. Question #1 asked was - does DD want to play softball, field hockey or both in college? Question #2 - where does DD want to go to school? #3 - "Did you see schools X,Y,Z (all very academic D III schools) walking around here today? Those would all be a really good fit for DD academically and a place she could play and play a fair amount. After all, it's the degree earned that really matters. Softball or field hockey is just icing on the cupcake. After Thanksgiving I'll have a chance to talk to DD and help her work out a plan for the summer season so the right coaches see her and have her on their radar screens for support when she makes applications to college next year."
DD's team is not a high profile team you read about. The coach has been doing this for a while and focuses on helping place players into many of the D III schools in our area - we have lots of schools within a 3 hour driving radius. He's doing this because he enjoys coaching & helping out the girls after going through the process with his daughters. And to boot he's a nice guy. Thanks coach for a great Fall.
