What worked / didnt work for your daughter

[Comp]

At 13 she wont have started high school yet. Best thing I can recommend is GRADES. It is far easier for a coach to find a girl academic money than it is athletic money. Especially if they have already doled out thier scholarships but still need positions filled. What difference does it make what pool the money came from, it all spends the same. My kid got actually very little athletic money, (although she did get some) but I still get to say she got a full ride. The coach wanted her, and her grades made it possible for him to get her all kinds of academic money when he was short on athletic funds.

 

[riseball]

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.

Some may say that but when you look at who has verballed to who from where it is a much different story.

 

[3'sDad]

Grades, test scores, grades & test scores.

DD is playing this year on a team with 5 girls who can & will play at the next level, if they want to. The top recruit is a 6'0" pitcher with a 4.0 GPA, 33 ACT score and a 65 mph FB with great movement pitches who wants to study neuroscience - and who is just a ngreat nice kid. She has her college options narrowed down to three very academic DIII's and a brand name Ivy League school. Any of these four coaches would just love to have her

 

[iMlearning]

One of our reasons for changing organizations was that coaches would say "who?..I've never heard of them." Now we've had a couple say, "that's great...they're a strong organization." I sure hope it helps because this is starting to get frustrating. DD's second choice which was a mid level D1 told us they really wanted her and now the coach is gone and we've heard nothing since

Edit: Just saw that DD's second choice posted they will start their recruiting season mid-Oct after the fall season.

 

[Indiana]

I second grades and and test scores, especially if you're going for a top academic. I've been pretty shocked at how competitive it has gotten (academically) over the past 10 years or so. The academic minimum for an athlete used to be pretty low but now it is more like a 4.0 (weighted) and a 33 ACT. If you're just starting HS and you know that you want to aim for a top academic school and play your sport, I would say this : take the classes that you know you will do well in. Don't take honors physics because you sort of like math and want a challenge. Take AP Biology instead. With the SAT losing favor, the College Board is now saying that AP tests are the best indicator of future success in college. I worry that this will drive students to take more AP classes during freshman and sophomore year. Whether or not this is the case, coaches for the top academic schools are under pressure from admissions and have very little wiggle room when it comes to the academic credentials of their recruits (football and basketball excepted). They may have a few slots for the academic underachievers (relatively speaking!) but just a few. Those few slots are precious. Better to have the grades to get admitted anyway and make it easy for the coach to take you.

 

[CoogansBluff]

After the initial shotgun blast we waited for the responses and she started to make choices of the schools she was interested in.

What kind of responses did you get? You can't be contacted directly until the summer leading into your senior year, right? How did you know which ones were reading the emails?

 

[JAD]

Here are some quick thoughts.....
1) Post a short, concise, skills video online.
2) Email coaches and make "Jane Doe, 201X Pitcher - skills video" the title. Send it to the head coach and cc: all assistants and TB coach and recruiting coordinator. Use the same title and change "skills video" to whatever update you are sending.
3) Have some postcards made with a picture of your DD and her upcoming schedule. Use them as thank you cards and for handwritten updates.
4) Play for the best know organization/team that you can be in the starting 9.
5) Marquee organizations get into the best showcases and get better game times, opponents and college coaches attention.
6) Never underestimate the value of a TB head coach who is "connected" with college coaches.
7) Grades are important. Make your DD work as hard on academics as she does on athletics.
8) Attend the camps of your Top 5, but have your TB coach make a phone call to the college coaches before you get there.
9) Realize that college coaches are always watching and attitude and hustle go a long way.
10) Parents can waste a lot of time and money on recruiting if they are wearing rose colored glasses when evaluating their DD's skill level.

 

[slingnit]

What kind of responses did you get? You can't be contacted directly until the summer leading into your senior year, right? How did you know which ones were reading the emails?

One of dad's took the role of recruiting coordinator. He was our go between. And when we were emailing schools he would do the same, sending her video, transcript and basically a brag letter. He was salesman in every sense. He had a product and he was getting coaches interested I buying it. Whether it is the HC or a parent the girls will need someone from the team to be their contact person or representative. That person will get the text "this is coach so so from Handkerchief State, we are interested in little Suzy will you have her call me". Or an email showing interest and asking for team schedule, players to attend camp, more info about kid, ....... That is how the first contacts started in dd's case.

 

[ScottyDont]

Changing organizations really helped my daughter as well. She is playing for a great coach with a ton of contacts now, and her team gets the big games at the main complexes. It's more expensive but hopefully will be well worth it in the long run.

 

[iMlearning]

Here are some quick thoughts.....
1) Post a short, concise, skills video online.
2) Email coaches and make "Jane Doe, 201X Pitcher - skills video" the title. Send it to the head coach and cc: all assistants and TB coach and recruiting coordinator. Use the same title and change "skills video" to whatever update you are sending.
3) Have some postcards made with a picture of your DD and her upcoming schedule. Use them as thank you cards and for handwritten updates.
4) Play for the best know organization/team that you can be in the starting 9.
5) Marquee organizations get into the best showcases and get better game times, opponents and college coaches attention.
6) Never underestimate the value of a TB head coach who is "connected" with college coaches.
7) Grades are important. Make your DD work as hard on academics as she does on athletics.
8) Attend the camps of your Top 5, but have your TB coach make a phone call to the college coaches before you get there.
9) Realize that college coaches are always watching and attitude and hustle go a long way.
10) Parents can waste a lot of time and money on recruiting if they are wearing rose colored glasses when evaluating their DD's skill level.

We just sent out our first postcard. Thanks for the idea JAD!