recruitment vs. scholarship

[Coach-n-Dad]

The absolute best way for a player to be seen is for her to attend some camps at the schools of interest. Another good way is by being on a big named team that goes to well attended showcase events. Either way it is VERY IMPORTANT to send emails and make phone calls to schools of interest!!!

Scholarship money is mostly gone at the top 25-50 schools for '15's. Not completely though... Things change for young recruits; bad grades, injuries, other interests that open a spot on a roster right up to the spring before. DD played with a kid that had verballed to the Longhorns quite young but she had trouble getting accepted to the school due to SAT/ACT and grades. She finally got the minimum grade needed and got accepted, but if she didn't get the necessary grades there would have been an open spot on the roster and some scholarship money.

 

[chinamigarden]

Last May a baseball player (2012) from our HS got a D1 offer. Here he was about to go DIII when he had a great season and a school he liked lost a commitment. Talk about last minute, but none the less the money and opportunity opened up.

 

[GOINGDEEP]

As a parent/ coach of a solid B team. What should I do for my dd and my team to get them some more exposure to some schools / coaches. Honestly, Im not working with any D1 prospects... but most of them could play D2 and might could be a superstar on a D3 roster if their grades are up to par. Besides the normal tb schedule, is there a protocol to getting them some decent exposure? Or am I limited to cheesy you tube videos or expensive camps that are probably just looking to turn a profit...

James, if you're a solid B team and as a coach and father of your group, you should avoid the big national expos and look into more state "localized" expos. The reason is the more localized expos have schools who are looking to field a team and offer a chance for a discounted college education as reward.

There is nothing wrong with the national expos if that floats your boat and have the financial resourses to play on a top level org. The national expos are geared ( to a point ) for larger D1 schools to recruit a championship team and justify their jobs.

I'm telling y'all again. If you want to play college ball, or need $$$ in the form of athletic asst to go to college, there are schools who need you. Biggest thing is you gotta let these schools know you want to play. Send them emails.

Everybody and their momma wants to go D1. But the sad part is very few play majority time until their Junior year. I know people who bragged and bragged ( BB ) about I'm going here/there and then rode the pine for 2 years and hated it. If that's ok with you that's fine, just be prepared. Even some D2 schools this fact is present.

So don't throw out NAIA who's athletic program is less competitive but some of their educational values are above D1/D2. Dont forget NAIA offer 10 softball scholarships to D2's 7. Don't throw out Juco where usually its a full ride for 2 years and play as a freshman. Don't forget a fair number of Juco athletes then get recruited to play into D1/D2.

 

[sluggers]

As a parent/ coach of a solid B team. What should I do for my dd and my team to get them some more exposure to some schools / coaches. Honestly, Im not working with any D1 prospects... but most of them could play D2 and might could be a superstar on a D3 roster if their grades are up to par. Besides the normal tb schedule, is there a protocol to getting them some decent exposure? Or am I limited to cheesy you tube videos or expensive camps that are probably just looking to turn a profit...

It really isn't difficult to get a kid noticed.

If you really want to help the kids:

(1) Sit down with each individually and ask them what they want to do after high school.
(2) Come up with a list of schools that they might be interested in.
(3) Determine which schools on the list they can play for.
(4) Contact the coaches at those schools and send them a video and a schedule.

If you contact coaches with kids who want to go to their school and the kids can actually play for that team, the coaches will love you.

 

[Greenmonsters]

It really isn't difficult to get a kid noticed.

If you really want to help the kids:

(1) Sit down with each individually and ask them what they want to do after high school.
(2) Come up with a list of schools that they might be interested in.
(3) Determine which schools on the list they can play for.
(4) Contact the coaches at those schools and send them a video and a schedule.

If you contact coaches with kids who want to go to their school and the kids can actually play for that team, the coaches will love you.

^^^^Truth^^^^

It's really not much different than the average HS kid who wants to go to college. They need to learn about and then contact the schools they migh be interested in and schedule a visit or interview. Not surprisingly, that tends to be much more productive than waiting by their mailbox and seeing what random college brochures roll in because they might be on a mailing list derived from some box they checked when signing up for their SATs/ACTs.

 

[Perfect Circle]

^^^^Truth^^^^

It's really not much different than the average HS kid who wants to go to college. They need to learn about and then contact the schools they migh be interested in and schedule a visit or interview. Not surprisingly, that tends to be much more productive than waiting by their mailbox and seeing what random college brochures roll in because they might be on a mailing list derived from some box they checked when signing up for their SATs/ACTs.

I thought putting videos of DD on here is what would get her College offers ??? When she interviews as an honor student, she can then just mention she might be interested in playing some softball her second year after she gets acclimated to the campus, and her schedule. Tell them you red shirted her. She can work out with team, and go to the home games. She will need this first year to focus on getting synced with her catcher.

 

[coach james]

I like D3 for my dd for a couple of reasons... Im not kidding anyone or her or even myself to think shes a D1 prospect. Shes good and works hard, but its not in her cards to be the next whoever... She is extremely intelligent and cerebral. We want her academics to come first, and ball is secondary. BTW she has decided on a medical major...orthopedic surgeon to be specific. Does this major affect her time on a ball field? Reason I ask is, a guy once told me a story about his dd getting offered a partial to Anderson University in Indiana (Christian school) two years ago. The school supposedly revoked the tuition when she refused to change her major to general from medical (nursing). Could this be true? Anderson is the D3 back to back national champs, so they take their softball pretty serious. Since this school is my dds top pick, do we have anything to worry about as far as them wanting a different major?

 

[Greenmonsters]

CJ - You're best to research and fact check for yourself! Pacific Lutheran and Linfield might take exception if Anderson tried to claim 2011 and 2012 D3 national softball titles. And remember D3 has only merit/need $, so there are no partial/full athletic scholarships. Not saying that it can't be done, because it can, but a difficult major, especially one with labs (which typically are in the afternoon), can conflict with practices/games and be a handfull to manage. And don't kid yourself, some of the kids playing for top D3s have big time D1 ability, but chose other paths. IIRC, your DD still has a few years to go before college? It sounds like she's got a great plan. Just remember that a frank assessment of her academic and athletic abilities and goals is invaluable in trying to find a school where she will be happy and successful in the classroom and on the playing field.

Good luck!

 

[Scl1991]

Get them noticed: camps, clinics, email, phone calls and letters. Be persistent. $$$ or not, if DD is interested, don't quit until she hears No. Things change and also athletic money isn't the only way softball players pay for school. Many are partially, or fully, on academic money too. But I know of several schools that "have no more money for ______" year. Some really don't. Some can find it, but anyone would love to get a solid player for "free" if they can.

 

[sluggers]

Coach:

I know you aren't going to like this, but: If your DD really wants to be a top student in a difficult major, playing for a top softball program could be a problem. You and she need to really think about it.

College coaches at top programs in D3 are paid to win games. If they don't win, they get fired. So, just like anyone would be in that situation, they are control freaks.

The school supposedly revoked the tuition when she refused to change her major to general from medical (nursing). Could this be true? Anderson is the D3 back to back national champs, so they take their softball pretty serious. Since this school is my dds top pick, do we have anything to worry about as far as them wanting a different major?

There is a lot to cover:

(1) Anderson is D3, so they can't give athletic scholarships. (Yes, I've been to Andersen. Beautiful campus, though a little too away from the city for my tastes.) My guess is that the coach has some unique scholarship money for ethnicity or leadership or hair color that he doles out to select athletes. Most likely, he got the kid a scholarship from one of those funds, and then, when she didn't change her major, he took it away.

(2) Could this happen? Absolutely. At the top of D3 athletics, the schools are extremely competitive. (there are some really bad D3 teams and there are some really good D3 teams). The top teams take sports very seriously, and they have serious coaches. The coaches have their practice schedules and they don't want to change them for anyone. At small schools (and even the large universities), some classes are only offered once a year (not once a semester, once a year). In science classes, there is a sequence. For example, to take calculus II you need calculus I. To further complicate the world, to take Advanced Physics, you have to have had Calculus I. So...you can see how taking Calc I becomes critical. When all is said and done, the student's schedule is dictated by the class schedule, not the softball schedule. Coaches don't like it. My DD#3 (the D3 hoops player) was in a similar situation her senior year. But, she was an all-conference player, averaged 10 ppg, and was the team's leading rebounder, so she was allowed to arrive one hour late to practice her senior year, but that was after some serious discussions with the coach.

(3) The good news is that your DD will be majoring in pre-med at Anderson. Pre-med is difficult, but not as difficult as engineering, chemistry, physics or nursing. (Pre-med isn't training to be a doctor.) So, the coach may not be insistent.

The solution: Talk to the coach. Call him up, explain the situation to him, and see what he says.