What worked / didnt work for your daughter

[mleber]

Looking to tap into the brains of those who have been through the whole college process. My daughter is 13. She loves the game. I am interested in what you did that worked and what didnt work. Resume, business cards, camps, own website, teams, tournaments, and so on. Would love to hear your experiences.

 

[RubberBiscuit]

Plainly & simply =>

go to a great "Let's play for you" individual exposure camp where DD was playing for college coaches who were "coaching" the scrimmages. Then doing all the things right - just like nailing a job interview - DD didn't miss a stitch - she nailed the interview which started the interest which set the relationship in motion.

Secondly - I firmly believe attaching a youtube link to DD's best CO all-star appearance to her resume took things over the finish line.

Bottom line these were the two unique things that had DD one day feeling way outside the process to within a few weeks feeling like she had a college home. (things can happen that fast)

 

[#10's Dad]

Play for a big Organization that gets invited to the right showcases and has the right connections with the coaches. That opened a lot of doors for my daughter and she ended up with her dream school offer with out ever attending a camp at the school or sending a video. It's very important to have great energy, effort, and attitude that will set you apart from other equally talented girls. Make sure your daughter calls the coaches herself you would be surprised how much networking among college coaches the more she has a dialogue with the better. Perform well on the field.
This might not fit everybody but it worked for us.
Good Luck to you and your daughter.

 

[mleber]

Thanks guys. We are just beginning this fun adventure!!!!!! I appreciate the feedback.

 

[SoCalASABlue]

So true - at least from what I've seen here in SoCal:

"Play for a big Organization that gets invited to the right showcases and has the right connections with the coaches." If your DD wants to play at a D1 school, this is an absolute. I've read more than one column in the NFCA monthly newsletter from current D1 coaches that say they won't even open an email, much less visit a showcase, to see a player unless that player is from Firecrackers or one of the other "National" brands.

There are also training centers all over the country that have college coach connections. If you can't afford the "brand" name team (and often it's a lot of money every month to rent that name on the front of the uniform), those training centers can be another lifeline into the process.

Best of luck.

 

[slingnit]

This is long and maybe too detailed but it is my dd's(and mine) experience.

The road getting my kid to school went really quick looking back. At your dd's age my kid was still playing for the HS coach's summer team, it was competitive but not a top level team. It was first year 16u, winter of soph. yr, when she began her journey. She pitched and was pretty good, threw hard and good movement so hooked up with a local team that was full of talent(not a big name team at all). First expectations were local DII or NAIA school. I took her to a prospect camp in Tulsa, many state schools along with a couple SEC and lower level DI coaches. To my surprise she was impressive(I was even impressed by her and I am very critical). With the feedback she received her options opened up. Now the "work" began. It started with an introduction letter, a resume and the skills video, it was 4:30 long and pitching only. At this point her options were open so we took the top 200 DI teams and started emailing. This took a ton of time for both of us, literally hundreds of emails. I think the title is pretty important! CLASS OF 2014 PITCHER JANE DOE!!!!!! Every email was addressed directly to the HC and the assistants were carbon copied, had every email on a spread sheet. After the initial shotgun blast we waited for the responses and she started to make choices of the schools she was interested in. The short list(along with a few hopefuls) started getting emails every time she got report cards, tournament schedules, anything that would warrant an email and her video(s) were attached every time. If nothing else they would see her name over and over and it would be stuck in their heads.

Now that we knew who was interested we knew which colleges' camps to attend, even had a few come watch our practices. And playing with her new team they were in the "right" tournaments for maximum exposure. Ronald McDonald, ASA Gold qualifiers, Fireworks, etc... a lot of TX tournaments. She threw well thru the season and kept the teams interested. Started getting invites for unofficial visits, she took 3 and was very happy that she would be at one of those schools. Then Fireworks roll around and our recruiting coordinator(he was huge in helping all of our girls) gets a call from "Big Time" coach. Only contact from him early on was "I like what I see and want to see her play when I get a chance" that was it. So he send asst. to watch her. He shows up and asks to see her throw. Game is in 4th inning and we're up 4-2 so she comes in as a closer basically. Two innings, no hits, 4 k's and threw really well. Next morning he shows up again and she starts, didn't make it 3 innings. Ball wasn't moving as well gave up a bomb, he leaves, not good at all!

Win the tournament, get back home and HC wants her to call. He wants her to play with a particular team in the 18u PGF, things are looking up. Pitched against 2 of the top 4 finishing teams. Had a rough outing and a so so outing. But he was impressed that she did was not rattled against teams of their caliber. After she gets back he invites her to their winter camp and an offer would be made. Boom bang, she found out what the offer was and verballed over the phone. Said she did not need to see the campus she knew he was the coach she wanted to play for. The whole process took 6-7 months from first email to verbal but in the last month it took a twist that was totally unexpected.

Some to sum it up you do not have to play for the Firecrackers to be recruited by a WCWS team but if your dd is very talented they will not magically just start recruiting her either. It takes a ton of work but it can be done for any kid with the talent, attitude, work ethic... that they are looking for. And it is never too soon to start getting your dd's name out there so the coach's will at very least have her name in there heads. GOOD LUCK!!!

 

[29dad]

Great responses so far. Not much to add except that I will say for us, having relatively high ACTand SAT scores really got some coaches interested. I mean i don't think I can overstate the importance of grades/test scores. At least for us.

 

[redhotcoach]

Thanks. Anyone have experiences without "playing for the right team"? Dd is hitting very VERY well. Still playing for me because there is not a whole lot better choice right now. Closest "right" teams are close to 200 miles away, it's an option, but with 2 other kids, one playing travel soccer and the other travel baseball, we are stretching the time and money budget already. We are studying camps very closely right now, but DD has been asking for over a year to be exploring other teams.

 

[slingnit]

Thanks. Anyone have experiences without "playing for the right team"? Dd is hitting very VERY well. Still playing for me because there is not a whole lot better choice right now. Closest "right" teams are close to 200 miles away, it's an option, but with 2 other kids, one playing travel soccer and the other travel baseball, we are stretching the time and money budget already. We are studying camps very closely right now, but DD has been asking for over a year to be exploring other teams.

If at all possible she could look into picking up with some of the teams that may play a better schedule. That could open doors for playing fulltime or pick up for bigger tournaments. Often the there would be no obligation to make practices. Could be a good option for you.

 

[GOINGDEEP]

Thanks. Anyone have experiences without "playing for the right team"? Dd is hitting very VERY well. Still playing for me because there is not a whole lot better choice right now. Closest "right" teams are close to 200 miles away, it's an option, but with 2 other kids, one playing travel soccer and the other travel baseball, we are stretching the time and money budget already. We are studying camps very closely right now, but DD has been asking for over a year to be exploring other teams.

After going through it recently, and now watching it from girls a year or so behind my group, there are MANY colleges struggling to fill a roster. I've seen players with less talent than I would take on a travel team, get decent college deals. You won't see them on ESPN, but they are getting a 50% or more "ride" to gain a good college degree. Which is better than 10's of $1000's in student loans.

My advice is keep the emails going out far and wide. You might not land that D1 dream, but there are an abundance of D2, NAIA, jucos, who are actively searching.............right up to the summer before your freshman college year.