Recruiting at Showcase Tournaments. What does your team do?

[corlay]

Let's not color the experience as somehow unfair or the players as victims. That is simply not the case.

not my point at all.

Was just trying to address why someone asked why 100% of the rosters from big-name travel clubs,
don't go on to play for BigNameU.

In some cases, maybe the skillset wasn't quite up to snuff;
but there are a myriad of other feasible reasons.

And yes, I will say that most kids that attend BigNameU to play softball are making some concessions to do so.
These concessions can range from financial, to social, to academic, to playing time, etc.
Any one of these concessions might be remedied by not playing for BigNameU.
But their desire to play for BigNameU outweighs the concessions made.

Heck, the "concessions" can start in 8th or 9th grade with "early verbals".
You are signing your future education plans away, 4 years in advance, with no binding guarantee?
I'd call that a "concession".

My point is, just because a kid *could* play for BigNameU, doesn't mean that is is the best fit for her.
And just because a travel club doesn't see most of their players go on to play for BigNameU, doesn't mean that those players aren't skilled, or that the program isn't well-managed or well-connected.

 

[IRONMAN]

Our coaches are a little new to this area and my fear is that they will run this showcase like a W/L tournament and waste everyone's time and money if no one gets recruited.

Probably the one thing IMO doesn't have to be mutually exclusive, ie. "you are there to recruited and don't play to win". You'd better go there to play your best and win, or you will get the brakes beat off of you by some teams. Just don't do it at the risk not paying attention to a college coaches request. Our coach swaps positions almost every inning, and will accommodate any coaches request for pitching or defense. But we bat the same lineup every game (all girls hit - we have 11). If you don't, that $850 to $1500 Showcase tournament could end very quickly.

 

[Coach JV]

If you have the goods and properly work the process, who you play for is of little consequence.

A quote of biblical proportions. Part of this process is having a coach/player advocate available to talk to coaches at the
showcase events. A staff of 3 coaches can get the job done. 2 on the field and one available as advocate. I prefer not
to have a parent involved as parents sometimes put on blinders when it comes to advocating for anyone but his/her own DD

The best academic fit for a player should be the primary concern

This is a 'primary concern' only for those athletes at the top of the academic food chain.
Theses students need not only ball skills but also grades and standardized test scores
required at these universities.
This is not the 'norm' of most travel teams. Those with average academics
are looking to play have a wider variety of choices be it D1-D2-D3 etc.

In my experience, it is much easier to place athletes with higher test scores. These kids are
appealing to coaches as they are easier to carry thru admissions. I found that many college coaches
prefer to take the easy route. Some players think that going 7 for 9 in a day with a couple HRs
will prompt a coach to show up at her door. This is not SEC football, this is college softball which in the end
is nothing more than a taxi ride to a career.

Hard work in the classroom as well as on the field will make for a great college experience.

 

[Dusty]

I'm going through this process now with my youngest dd so I'll chime in with my .02 based on personal experience to date. Dd is a HS junior, pitcher and a late bloomer. Her older sister was also a good pitcher but decided early in HS that she didn't want to pursue college softball so we didn't get the benefit of going through this process with her although we saw several of her teammates families go through it. Both of my dd's played/play in the same regional travel org that is fairly respected locally but unknown nationally.

If your daughter is an underclassman then the whole process of emailing coaches can be frustrating and seem futile because they aren't allowed to reply, even just acknowledging receipt of your email. What's worse is signing up for a showcase tournament and getting there and not seeing any college coaches there. There are certain showcase tournaments that are well established and well attended by college coaches and tons of them that are a complete waste of time and money. The ones we had the most success with are the ones that have a clinic/camp prior to the tournament itself because the coaches can work with you and talk to you there even if you are an underclassman. College coaches like them because they can see how coachable your dd is in a practice environment and then see how you play in a game setting during the showcase. We got nothing out of any of the showcases we did up until this one last summer and dd got plenty of interest from mid-major D1 schools at this one. As a current junior my dd is a probably too late to get into power conference softball recruiting but there is still plenty of opportunity from mid-major on down for her and all the other late bloomers out there and your more likely to find the right academic fit in this space also.

Dusty

 

[BB875]

Glad to see that [MENTION=3322]BB875[/MENTION] deleted their post as it was way off the mark and perpetuates one of the biggest myths in softball. Many kids at big D1 schools, including my DD and many of her friends were first seen on TB teams your have never heard of before. Only once they verbaled did some make a jump to the mythical big name teams. If you have the goods and properly work the process, who you play for is of little consequence.

I'm not trying to act like I know everything & I agree there are many many factors for recruitment. I'm probably a bit too negative on the subject, because I have many examples of local stud kids overlooked. These are kids I have seen at the HS level and on local type TB clubs. I've been to BIG Ten camps where if a kid isn't wearing a Bandits uniform, they should not have even wasted the time/money to attend. Of course those kids had relationships prior to the camp. But the club name carries a lot of weight and those kids have an advantage. I am certainly not saying they don't deserve it. I know their families made HUGE financial & time commitments and those kids are working hard.

But when you start out with a No-name club team, and go to a big time showcase, they take your money and you get the crap times and back fields. How do you break through that barrier?

A local stud kid I know that was overlooked went JUCO, tore it up there last year, DII JUCO player of the year and now is a hot commodity. Same kid, same big bat as in HS or her local TB club. I was told she would have went to Iowa for books, but they didn't want her. Maybe there was more to the story, but getting into a state school is not that difficult. Another outstanding local kid was Gatorade player of the year for our state her jr year. I don't know how she was selected, but she went JUCO too because other offers didn't come in. By any measure, that kid is a stud.

Another kid from my city was our HS conference player of the year 3 years in a row (Soph/Jr/Sr years). Lefty slapper, with ultra-superior speed. She received no offers. Her senior year, our HS hired a new athletic trainer from out of state. Once the trainer saw her ability she called her D1 Alma Mater SB coach (very good program) and the kid is playing ball there now. It was great timing for her. You're probably wondering why I'm mentioning HS info? Well, in Iowa HS ball is huge. Since we play HS ball in the summer, our club teams play in the fall only. Its tough getting looks in the fall only.

However, another local stud kid chose not to play HS ball, plays for the Bandits organization in the summer and received that sweet major D1 offer. I know her family made a huge commitment and it paid off for her. But, her exposure was way better due to her club team. So, yes I agree there is more to it than just your club, but it certainly helps and the exposure level puts you in a different category. And just an FYI, none of those kids are my DDs.

 

[redhotcoach]

....and to add BB, I saw an Iowa high school team THRO THRO THROTTLE one of the Bandits top teams last spring. As in double digits to zip.