getting noticed by colleges

[3'sDad]

McD:My niece attended the academic softball showcase at Diamond Nation 2 years running. All of the Tier 1 academic institutions attend to scout talent as thier school's admissions requirements are strict.

My niece had peaks from Tufts, Muhlenburg & an Ivy but didn't quite have the test scores and was waitlisted. She will be playing at another Centennial Conference (DIII) school in the fall. They came to the table with a very nice merit scholarship package. We are very proud she is going to be a student-athlete and continue to play the game she loves.

 

[Cannonball]

Great and informative thread.
Question for those who had a daughter who had more than one offer, what was her deciding factor on the schools she picked? academics or program?

Great question. My dd had several D-I and D-II offers. Most of her friends were going to D-I schools and so, she felt some pressure to go D-I as well. An assistant coach at one of the D-I schools recruiting her called and got a job at a D-II school very near us. DD really liked this coach. So, after some research, this school is the #1 school in its state for the degree my dd wanted. It was a combination of both that sold her although I would say that it is very important to have a school be highly regarded in your child's major.

 

[GOINGDEEP]

Please excuse me but it's been 20 years since I've had dealings with this, recruitment is in dead period now until mid June...........correct? Now they are in the " evaluation " stage?

 

[NoGolfTil2017]

MsDinosaur:

My eldest, a 16 yo HS junior, will attend the academic NFCA camp in a few weeks. We'll let you know how it went after she attends. The academic standards to attend the camp are not that high, but perhaps they represent the bare minimum acceptable to selective schools if you are a true stud player. My DD is not a top level player, but could probably play at most DIII programs. While her test scores are within range for an Ivy or similar school, she would have a better shot if they were a bit higher (don't know that she would play in a DI program such as an Ivy or a Patriot League school).

If anyone has past experience with the NFCA academic camp, please let us know what you thought - we'd like to learn more about it before she attends.

Ms Dinosaur, good luck to your kiddo and tell her to concentrate on school. Softball is fun but it won't be a career for most kids.

 

[dropball1]

Please excuse me but it's been 20 years since I've had dealings with this, recruitment is in dead period now until mid June...........correct? Now they are in the " evaluation " stage?

Current "Dead Period" is from May 29th through June 7th at noon

http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/AMA/recruiting_calendars/2011/I/Softball.pdf

 

[hillbily75]

So when do you start trying to catch a coaches EYE......... what age.

 

[CalStrikers]

It depends on what the family and DD want. For example we had one of our players get a great offer by an NAIA school here in CA but they didnt have her major. She didnt want to stay in school more time than she had to and in this case she would be spending an extra 2 years (shes out of JC) in school....

Great and informative thread.
Question for those who had a daughter who had more than one offer, what was her deciding factor on the schools she picked? academics or program?

 

[coach 11]

Great advise thanks

 

[InsidePitch]

MsDinosaur:

My eldest, a 16 yo HS junior, will attend the academic NFCA camp in a few weeks. We'll let you know how it went after she attends. .

Please let us know how it is. I'm not far from Diamond Nation and would be interested. LOL, DD is going to camp at Princeton this summer. Too bad their coach quit last month.

 

[CoachKNH]

We identified very early, DD freshman year HS, that she would use her softball skills to get into the best school with her major (engineering). She had the skills to go DI, but we were told by many, trying to do engineering at a DI school would be extremely difficult and at some, simply not possible. She had very good grads and got very good test scores so we were looking IVY or NESCAC. We went to a Tufts home game (an hour from the house) Spring of her sophomore year, it was the 2009 team that made it to the DIII championship series. She watched them play and we rode around the campus a bit, DD announced she would be going to Tufts! Since it is a difficult school to get into, I told her fine but she had to develop a list with other schools (WPI, Union, Trinity, RPI and a couple of Ivy's). DD did not like the Ivy's although some coaches expressed interest.
She went to every camp Tufts offered, Cheryl Milligan is a great coach and the camps were great even if she was not looking to go there. She did the Winter hitting clinics, summer camps and anything else available. Several coaches were interested in her (DI, DII and DIII) but she really only considered Union as another school to attend because she got to know and really like and respect Coach Jordan Stevens. Then Coach Stevens got a DI job and was on his way to Valparaiso (check it out, they made it to the regional in his second year, all you in the Midwest need to put Valo on your short list).

Long story short, DD applied early decision to Tufts, got in and went to the DIII championship in Salem VA this Spring, ended the year #4 in the country. She absolutely loves the school, is in the School of Engineering, playing field hockey for Coach Tina McDavit (#16 in DIII in 2011) and could not be more happy with her decision.

Tufts has a 3 day camp in August after the national tournaments. Coach has other college coaches come in to work the camp (and see players). She has DI, DII and DIII coaches from Ivy, NESCAC and a variety of other schools (Smith, Providence, UConn, U Mass Lowell [DII] etc. She has had a bunch of campers from Calli the last 2 years, it gives them a chance to check out some of the best schools in the world in the Boston, New England area.
go to: Tufts University Athletics for the brochure. Remember to add another NESCAC Championship and another regional title.

Good luck to all the parents of 10U through 16U, it is a very interesting and rewarding journey.
CoachK