Recruiting questions

[TNSBparent]

I have a 2026 pitcher starting her sophomore year of school. She is emailing coaches regularly, attending some camps, and keeping up a Twitter (X) account. She will be going into 16U in the fall and plays on an A level team playing in the southeast. She gets a lot of flyers and email invitations to camps, some invites in direct response to her emails. Her travel ball coach wants to help her but is new to the process and will help with anything she asks. Her high school coach has shown interest in helping her with her recruiting. She also has a hitting instructor who does help with recruiting and of course a pitching instructor. She wants to be on the right track for recruiting this year. My question is in relation to how much involvement her coaches or instructors should have in the recruiting process and how/when she should ask them to help. For instance, in relation to attending camps, should she be asking her coaches to reach out to the college coaches prior to attending a camp or possibly after a camp? Any insight is appreciated.

 

[LEsoftballdad]

A good coach will be actively involved in the recruiting process for her. In fact, if they're not, you should find a new coach. Many top organizations have recruiting coordinators that will email colleges to gauge interest for your daughter so you don't waste your time going to camps that are just money grabs.

As for the instructors, that depends on how well recognized they are, or what kind of connections they have. My daughter's PC has a ton of connections, so she will reach out on her behalf.

 

[BRsoftballDad]

So, my DD is a 2025 and is currently getting ready for Sept 1st. The week before each camp my DD will drop a text to our recruiting coordinator letting her know that she will be attending said camp. After the camp, my DD also reaches out to see if the coaches had any feedback for her and also to gauge interest. So it sounds like your DD's coaches are willing to help. They just need to know what to help with and how they can help.

 

[_MIA_]

Make a list of schools you are interested in. Don't go to camps just for the heck of it unless you are rolling in dough..in that case knock yourself out (and send me some while you are at it).

DD got a camp invite this past week from a coach in attendance..she is going into the 8th grade..she doesn't have a clue where she wants to go yet so what is the point in going other than to post a picture on Twitter where you are shoulder to shoulder with some P5 coach..no thanks.

 

[WPACoach]

She should reach out to the coaches herself. I don't recommend having others do that for her. I would also recommend targeting schools. For example, Does she want to go into physical therapy? If so, make sure the school has a program with that major.

Concerning camps, the most traction happened when my DD and my team attended camps put on by the school or camps associated with a tournament. The random camps and traveling camps did not seem to garner as much interest or have coaches who were actually paying attention.

For background, my DD is off to college next week. Playing at a D3 school in Virginia (ODAC). The team I coach has 5 others going to D2 and D3 schools this year; one is in 2024. The others are not playing in college. We started camps in their 8th-grade year and did numerous ones. The vast majority of their recruiting with serious discussions did not come until the Winter of their Junior year of HS and the summer between their Junior and Senior years of HS. They all committed in the fall of 2022.

Hope that helps. It sounds like your daughter is on the right track. I would use others for advice but make her understand it's her journey.

Good luck!

 

[Vertigo]

Have her cast a wide net across all the divisions and start emailing those schools. Just needs to be a brief intro about herself, academic interests, and current travel team and fall TB schedule. A brief sentence or two about what she likes specifically about that school or program. Subject line can include name, HS grad year, position(s), GPA. She should also complete the recruiting questionnaire on each college’s web site who she reaches out to, that way she gets in their database and will receive camp dates and info. If she has a skills video she can include that, as well. She has plenty of time before she needs to narrow that initial list down.

If she sees any of the coaches she emailed show up to her games, she should send an email afterward thanking them for watching. TB coach should have recruiting flyers to hand out to coaches who attend games.

If she chooses to attend a school’s camp, she should absolutely email the coaches about a week before the camp, letting them know she’ll be there. A couple days before the camp, her TB coach can make a call and also let them know about her. They should only do this IF she’s sent them an email first. TB coach can also do a follow-up call after the camp. She should also send an email post-camp thanking the coaches and maybe a brief sentence or two about what she learned or drills she can use.

Remember, she should not get discouraged because at this age she won’t receive any personal contact back (typically only camp emails) due to recruiting rules. When she sends follow-up emails to coaches, always keep it in a chain with her original email. That way, the coach can see how many times she’s reached out (demonstrates her interest) and all of the emails will be in one spot so coach doesn’t have to search.

I hope this helps to give you an idea on how to help her get the ball rolling. I’m sure others have great info to share as well - this was how my dd started her journey. Good luck!

ETA: Help her keep a spreadsheet of the schools she’s contacted, dates of emails sent, camp dates, etc. Also just realized that she’s already been sending emails. Sorry if some info is redundant.

 

[Dave619]

I have a 2026 pitcher starting her sophomore year of school. She is emailing coaches regularly, attending some camps, and keeping up a Twitter (X) account. She will be going into 16U in the fall and plays on an A level team playing in the southeast. She gets a lot of flyers and email invitations to camps, some invites in direct response to her emails. Her travel ball coach wants to help her but is new to the process and will help with anything she asks. Her high school coach has shown interest in helping her with her recruiting. She also has a hitting instructor who does help with recruiting and of course a pitching instructor. She wants to be on the right track for recruiting this year. My question is in relation to how much involvement her coaches or instructors should have in the recruiting process and how/when she should ask them to help. For instance, in relation to attending camps, should she be asking her coaches to reach out to the college coaches prior to attending a camp or possibly after a camp? Any insight is appreciated.

This just my take and my experience. Most of the recruitment process rests with your daughter and developing a relationship with those coaches. The key is communication with coaches and attending their camps. If they are interested in her they will come to tournaments and watch her. Over time the list will narrow of schools she is interested in and are interested in her, what programs they offer, the school location, etc. The travel ball coaches can help as well. Travel ball coaches will get to know college coaches when they come to tournaments and can talk to them about players and build a relationship. A coach sending an email to a college coach about a player doesn't hurt either. They can ask a coach what do they need for the upcoming year and they have a player interested in their program. If they say they have filled all of their pitching slots then move on. Almost all college coaches will be checking with coaches to get insight into player abilities, character, and their family.

As a few side notes, you can save yourself a lot of time and money and have perspective on your daughter's ability level. I knew when my daughter was in 8th grade it was highly unlikely she would be a D1 pitcher. We focused our recruitment on NAIA, D3, and a few D2. She ended up at a NAIA school and she had a good career! You need to also be looking at roster trends like how many pitchers do they have on roster each year. Not having enough pitchers is a problem and having way too many can be a problem as well. Also look at do they have a pitching coach on staff. Some smaller schools may not have someone that specializes in pitching. My daughter was very fortunate. Her last two years she had a pitching coach at her school that was awesome (pitched in SEC, College World Series, Pro-Fastpitch League). Best wishes to you and your daughter on your journey!

 

[Rolling Hard]

"When she sends follow-up emails to coaches, always keep it in a chain with her original email. That way, the coach can see how many times she’s reached out (demonstrates her interest) and all of the emails will be in one spot so coach doesn’t have to search."

Does everybody agree this is a good idea?

 

[_MIA_]

"When she sends follow-up emails to coaches, always keep it in a chain with her original email. That way, the coach can see how many times she’s reached out (demonstrates her interest) and all of the emails will be in one spot so coach doesn’t have to search."

Does everybody agree this is a good idea?

Instead of sniping give me a reason it isn’t? Annoying?

 

[Gambler Bob]

"When she sends follow-up emails to coaches, always keep it in a chain with her original email. That way, the coach can see how many times she’s reached out (demonstrates her interest) and all of the emails will be in one spot so coach doesn’t have to search."

Does everybody agree this is a good idea?

It makes sense to me. No idea if the college coaches prefer everything to be in the same email.