Finding a New Team at 18

[frustratedmom99]

parents,

my dilemma is this....my daughter has been playing faithfully on the same ASA travel team for five years. she is the one veteran on the team. all of the other players from previous years have moved on to play for elite teams. although she has wanted to move on and try out for some of these other teams out there, we have been held back for two reasons...finances (i'm a single parent!) and loyalty (this is the first travel team coach to see potential in her and accept her).

now that we are five years into it and she will be turning 18 later this year, she is no longer happy with this team. yes, she has a gret time with her current team mates. they are great friends. in fact, she met her best friend while playing on this team. however, this team has won only 2 games in the past 2 years. my daughter earns at least 1 MVP honor in at least 1 game of every tournament where we play. she's no all star, but she is a good player who wants to play at the next level in college. however, because our team is on a losing streak we end up in the losers bracket of every tourney and there are no college coaches around to get a look at her.

so i am looking for advice...will another team take a player with only 1 more year of eligibility at 18U? should she start to look at and try out for 23U teams? how do we get her seen by the college coaches right now?(especially since we obviously can't count on her team to take her to the right tournaments to be seen)

we need help!!

thanks.

frustrated mom in NJ

 

[SoftSocDad]

Wow, sounds like there's a lot of pressure on both of you. I'm not qualified to talk about softball at her level, but I do have a tiny bit of info about athletic scholarships and the opportunity to play a sport in college and sometimes, it's good just to look at things from a 'life' perspective.

I place a high value on loyalty and that's a character trait you're instilling in your daughter. There are times when being loyal to something or someone can be costly, but more often than not, it pays immeasurable dividends. It's an excellent quality to possess, even if that means not competing for a D1 scholarship.

That said, she's put in her time. After 5 years, I don't see how anyone could begrudge your decision to go in search of greener pastures. Assuming she's going into her senior year of high school (?), she's got to make a strong move soon if playing D1 ball is what she'd like to do. I'm not sure where you're located, but here in NorCal, there is a team for pretty much any girl who'd like to play TB. And when there isn't, the parents form their own. If your daughter is fundamentally sound and has a strong bat, I'm sure some 18u coach is looking for her.

If she's more interested in playing at the D2 level, there are only about 50 fewer schools which offer softball, but a D2 program only has 7 scholarships as opposed to 12 per school in D1 in the NCAA. There are also limited NAIA scholarships out there. When we say that a school has 12 scholarships, that's not per year, it's the total per program, so as you can imagine, things are pretty competitive.

But one of the important things to keep in mind is that most of those scholarships are awarded as partials. It's rare that a student-athlete has an athletic scholarship that'll cover all her school expenses. When someone says their kid is getting a 'full scholarship for softball', they're generally combined with an academic award and maybe even some need-based aid. So, do not sleep for a moment on the importance of making sure she keeps her GPA up AND remains active with other extra-curricular activities. Just being seen in the showcase tournaments alone is not enough to effectively position her to compete for scholarship money.

I attended a major D1 university with a pretty bigtime hoops program and a good (at the time!) football team, but didn't go to school on an athletic scholarship. After fooling around with the competitive, but not-so-high-level intramurals, I discovered club sports and loved it. The level of play was what you would've seen at a typical D3 school - really good, but no future NFL players. The time commitment wasn't as great as for varsity, so I was able to balance academics and athletics with a healthy social life, while also being active in other areas of the university community.

While it may have been nice to enjoy some of the perks that come with being a heralded D1 athlete, I enjoyed our home games in front of a couple hundred loyal fans and even the road games, when there might only be a few dozen people in the stands. I loved being out on the field with a bunch of guys who were there just for the love of the game.

There are no D3 athletic scholarships, but with over 400 D3 colleges out there currently offering softball, there's plenty of opportunity to play. Moreso than almost any other sport besides track and field, if a young woman wants to play softball in college, there's a place for her.

All that said, I just want to reiterate the point about academics. If family finances are tight and she's expected to pretty much secure her own funding for college, she needs to focus on academics, as there's a lot more money available for that than for sports.

I hope that you guys land on a good team prior to the start of the fall season and I wish your daughter all the best as she prepares for play at the next level. Be sure to keep us posted, as I'm sure there are others out there who are in similar situations.

 

[sluggers]

will another team take a player with only 1 more year of eligibility at 18U?

Finding another 18U team will not be a problem. I doubt she'll be able to find a great, nationally known team--but, she can find another team. If I were you, I would simply ask coaches at the next tournament you go whether they might need her. If they want to know "why" you are changing teams, just say your DD wants to try something different. Don't run down her current coach, her team or the players.

should she start to look at and try out for 23U teams?

IMHO, no. 23U isn't 18U. The game isn't the same, the coaches aren't the same, the kids aren't the same, and the parents aren't the same.

how do we get her seen by the college coaches right now?

First, she and you have to do a reality check. The sports myth ("anyone can do anything as long as they believe") is rubbish. Kids who play in college are talented athletes who have worked their rears off for several years. Don't kid yourself or her--the kids who play D1 sports are very, very good.

At her stage, she might need to go to a summer camp at a D1 school (Syracuse??) and ask the coach to seriously evaluate your DD. Can she play at D1 level? Can she play at the D3 level?

The way you get a coach to watch your child is to call them up and ask them to go watch your child. They aren't going to magically appear at softball games.

 

[SoftSocDad]

First, she and you have to do a reality check. The sports myth ("anyone can do anything as long as they believe") is rubbish. Kids who play in college are talented athletes who have worked their rears off for several years. Don't kid yourself or her--the kids who play D1 sports are very, very good.

At her stage, she might need to go to a summer camp at a D1 school (Syracuse??) and ask the coach to seriously evaluate your DD. Can she play at D1 level? Can she play at the D3 level?

The way you get a coach to watch your child is to call them up and ask them to go watch your child. They aren't going to magically appear at softball games.

Although there's no way to get hard data to prove it, I still think there's a place for almost any girl who wants to play college softball. But there's a tremendous difference between the average D3 player and a D1 player.

As for a phone call from a parent or athlete getting a coach out to see a kid play, I think those days are largely behind us. Unless we're talking about playing locally, the smaller D2 and D3 schools don't have the travel budgets to go see many players and the D1 schools are looking mainly at the girls who are on their radars. Your athlete is going to need to put together a short skills video and student-athlete resumé (highlights and key personal data only) and ship her package off to the schools she's interested in. Don't go long with a video and don't get wordy on the text either. Any college coach is dealing with dozens or even hundreds of requests 'to take a look' at a player...the more succinctly one can make her case, the better the chances are of receiving full consideration.

Sluggers' advice about getting to a university camp is tried and true over a period of many years. It was true in 1980 and it's true today (I've seen this in multiple sports - baseball, swimming, basketball, football,etc). Even if a camp is run by the assistant coach, the head coach will make an appearance and if there's a special talent in her camp, he/she's sure to take a look. Even if that particular school doesn't have a spot for you this year (say, you're a catcher and they already have 3 on the roster) or you're otherwise not perfect for their program, the coach can give you honest feedback on what level you might play at.

 

[mudbug]

She needs to identify several colleges that she WANTS to go to , and then contact the coaches with a skills video and profile. Be realistic about abilities, if she is D1, D2, D3, JC, etc level. It does no good for a JC quality player to target Arizona and UCLA. If you dont know, you need an experienced coach to assess and help. It can be another travel coach from a national known program, or a college coach. Get Aradis book.

 

[3'sDad]

I am from northen NJ.........Check New Jersey Local News, Breaking News, Sports & Weather - NJ.com - youth softball forum.....there are always 18U teams looking to add a player....in fact DD can probably guest play at some National or college exposure event in the next few days...there are quite afew teams looking for players due to injury, etc.

Best of luck!

 

[frustratedmom99]

Thanks to everyone for all of your advice and well wishes. It is absolutely appreciated and helpful! My DD in my opinion is more of a strong D3 player. However, she will do anything to prove me wrong when it comes to softball. So we will probably focus on D2 and D3 schools. Although she has narrowed the driving distance away from home, she has not narrowed her list of schools very much. She is looking to go no more than 3 hours from home. I've just mailed the deposit check for her skills video and as soon as it is completed, I will get it out to the coaches in her target areas. I was told to try and get her into the combined college clinics and/or camps. Any suggestions on how to find the combined clinics/camps?

 

[SnocatzDad]

Go to the specific college website, find the athletics link for softball, look around there for posting on upcoming clinics, if there aren't any search the coach or assistant coaches email address (if not on sports page, usually can find by looking up name on School Staff registry) email coach and ask for schedule of upcoming clinics. I would say 95% of the time you will get a response to an email looking for info on an upcoming clinic. Those clinics are a combined recruiting / fundraising key to the program's success and they want you to come to them, rather than having to go 100 places to see 100 kids.

 

[fastpitch5]

have u considered starting her college career at a JC? then moving to a D3 or D2 school after a year or two might be a possibility. thats a popular path around here.

 

[jacketsfan]

Don't forget NAIA schools as well. There are a whole bunch of them out there also that play softball.

The key thing is: does she know what degree she wants? If it's something general, like biology or business, she can go about anywhere. If it's something specialized, she needs to target schools with that. Use the College Board website - you can narrow down by major, sports offerings, geography, size, etc. Berecruited has a pretty good one as well.

After she picks a bunch of schools, start filling out online questionnaires, and sending emails. It is trudegery, but it's essential. If she is not known at al lto the schools, then D2, D3, and NAIA are your best bets. There is still time, and lots of showcase opp's over the Fall. Some D1's may have a very few slots to fill, but not many, by the time Fall showcases get here.

As for the team situation - I don't know how she has stayed with a team that has won 2 games in 2 years. My DD would've lost her mind well before now. Honestly, if that is the case, I would also question either the dedication of the players, the coach, or their talent evaluation. Through hard work alone, even with lesser talent, a team that has been together that long should have improved more than that.

Leaving a long-time team is a very, very hard decision. However, if the team's goals are not your goals (like winning, being seen by colleges, and playing in the right tourneys), it's time to make the change.

Good luck with it. Post with any specific recruiting q's.