Importance of name of organization

[Mangler II]

A kid gets noticed by being 'pushed' by someone, being from a well known org and by playing big time tourneys and being competitive against kids in the same 'league'
aka, the kids they'll play against in college.
Folks who think, our team beat this team or that team is pertinent, its not.
Colleges don't recruit teams they fill their rosters methodically via grad date and position.

If you dont think being part of a 'big time ' org is important go here
goldfastpitch

I'll add this, when you see a college coach at a tournament...theyre not there by a coincidence...they there looking at a particular kid for a particular reason
If someone think being 'noticed' happens...your hoping on a very long shot...

 

[Rambler34]

During a talk with parents at a very successful DI school the HC addressed this issue. He does recruit organizations because 99% of the time he knows the players they have are some of the top out there. He also knows there are other girls on other teams and he does try to find them but it is a lot more efficient to see certain teams.

From their perspective I understand. If you are in the top bracket or pool at the Legacy or Scenic City and he can go to one park and see a ton of quality kids why would they want to drive to two other parks to see a girl here and a girl there. Not saying they ignore you if you are not on a top team but it is easier for them to find you.

 

[riseball]

A kid gets noticed by being 'pushed' by someone, being from a well known org and by playing big time tourneys and being competitive against kids in the same 'league'
aka, the kids they'll play against in college.
Folks who think, our team beat this team or that team is pertinent, its not.
Colleges don't recruit teams they fill their rosters methodically via grad date and position.

If you dont think being part of a 'big time ' org is important go here
goldfastpitch

I'll add this, when you see a college coach at a tournament...theyre not there by a coincidence...they there looking at a particular kid for a particular reason
If someone think being 'noticed' happens...your hoping on a very long shot...

A stretch to say the least.

 

[CoogansBluff]

Softball players are the most difficult athletes to evaluate for college sports, IMO.

That’s why the big org’s have so much power. Coaches w/ limited evaluation time have little choice but to assume those teams have the best players.

In most other sports, an athlete’s statistics/times/scores/ranking will tell the story. That’s the case in gymnastics, tennis, track & field, swimming, wrestling. If I’m one of the 200 best high school tennis players in the country, that’s easy to prove. There are legit rankings out there for that stuff.

Then you’ve got football, basketball and baseball, which are big enough to have their own recruiting rankings. I’ve seen a couple for softball, but they are not anywhere close to the same. I’ve found them laughable, frankly.)

So what does that leave? Volleyball? Soccer? Volleyball is much easier to evaluate in person. There are a limited number of skills, and most any skill you need in volleyball can be replicated in a camp. I've watched hundreds of hitters in college softball camps. I usually go away thinking, 'She hit good. I wonder how good she really hits.''

Games are worse than camps because you're waiting for an hour and a half to see a player do something that really means something. You need weeks of games, not just 1, to judge a softball player.

To the point, what's a college coach to do with limited time to evaluate? You have to gamble and guess, and guess where they're going to gamble? The big name org's.

 

[Mangler II]

A stretch to say the least.

Really?
What section?
While SC has a pretty diverse base on recruiting...
I don't see a huge number of unknown teams...most are big time orgs. (insert expensive) are they not?
.
Don't worry ours isn't any different.

 

[IRONMAN]

Softball players are the most difficult athletes to evaluate for college sports, IMO.

To the point, what's a college coach to do with limited time to evaluate? You have to gamble and guess, and guess where they're going to gamble? The big name org's.

I think you have really hit the nail on the head. Before this summer, I was so in the camp of "you don't need a Big Name org". Now I'm firmly in that camp. BUT mainly if you are looking to get recruited at P5.

DD's team is 32-3-5 (16U team in Tennessee) on the summer and have rolled plenty of good and not-so-good teams. Top 10 in a couple of bigger Showcase bracket tourney's, winning one. We went to Bolt's 5-star and got put in some cow pasture and not one team came close to getting by us. Applied for Legacy in Atlanta, and was not accepted, while 5 teams that we have beaten were there. As a matter of fact, a newly formed "Big Name Org" 16U team in Tennessee went to the Bolt 5-star and Legacy and played on the main fields all tournament. Their coach had a 1 hour conversation with 2 SEC coaches that were there watching, that he had not had a prior relationship with.

We have had plenty of college coaches come watch, and several my DD has been in touch with, but none from the P5 schools, which she is interested in a few. DD's team is not only talented, but has very good coaches and great parents. just stuck on the "little team" syndrome.

 

[ScottyDont]

My experience...when DD1 was uncommitted, she was looking at several schools. Three of them had commits from our organization already (either current or recent). One did not. That coach told us that one of the reasons he was looking at her was because he wanted to establish a relationship between our team and his team, so he could have a better shot at players down the road (we are one of the big orgs in my area). He ended up making a very nice offer, and she fell in love with the school, so it all worked out well for both sides. If she was on a "wildcat" team, he may not have ever looked at her, because the added bonus wasn't there.

 

[JAD]

My answer would be "it depends"...does the name brand organization get invited to premier showcases? Do they get good games times, on primary fields against good competition? Do they have a history of placing girls at schools similar to the ones your DD would like to attend? Do the coaches have connections to the head coaches of the colleges your DD would like to attend?

 

[riseball]

Really?
What section?
While SC has a pretty diverse base on recruiting...
I don't see a huge number of unknown teams...most are big time orgs. (insert expensive) are they not?
.
Don't worry ours isn't any different.

Do you happen to know who is posting the information and the vetting process? My point exactly!

 

[MNDad]

Really?
What section?
While SC has a pretty diverse base on recruiting...
I don't see a huge number of unknown teams...most are big time orgs. (insert expensive) are they not?
.
Don't worry ours isn't any different.

It's a stretch because so many of the kids in the list were recruited and committed while the were with other teams. The big name organizations peruse the FloSoftball or GoldFastpicth lists and cherry pick players from teams that aren't PGF or ASA powerhouses.

Edited to add: Just wanted to include I think the rest of your initial post was spot on.