Win/Lose

[Midnight_sky]

Heard a lot of people said no college coach care what’s your daughter trophies at 12 years old. This age is more about learning and fundamental.

Then here’s come 13u . They start with a lot of college exposure tournaments . I also heard no coach care if you win or lose .

So does winning necessary? Or should never focus on winning the whole entire years to play? kind of confused..

 

[Rolling Hard]

Losing sucks and losing all the time really sucks. Losing teams lose players more often. Part of the coach's job is to win games. Never join a team that doesn't have at least 2 quality pitchers. Check GC and make sure they win at least 50% of their games.

 

[_MIA_]

I follow some of the best 13U teams in the country on Social Media and Gamechanger..I don't see any of them playing
showcase tournaments. Are teams really playing showcases at 13U??

 

[BrianTx01]

I follow some of the best 13U teams in the country on Social Media and Gamechanger..I don't see any of them playing
showcase tournaments. Are teams really playing showcases at 13U??

They call some tournaments "showcases" but no college coaches are in attendance at the 14U level or at least not paying any serious attention.

 

[BrianTx01]

Winning matters because the more you win the more you play. You also get to play better teams the more you win.

 

[Strike2]

Good players are able to get on good teams. Good teams win their share of games. While college coaches don't care about how many trophies a kid has, being a significant contributor on a team that plays at a high level will help demonstrate that someone can play high level college ball.

Doing well in a high level tournament, such as a PGF Nationals, is something worth mentioning in an email, but "college exposure" (showcase) tournaments for 14U are of dubious value. D1 coaches can't engage prospects until the fall of their HS junior year, and the rest fill out their rosters later from who remains.

It all depends on goals and ability. If your kid is potentially D1 material, get them on a team that regularly plays the best possible competition. If not, get them on a decent team that can win some games. That may not get them recruited, but it will be easier to watch. I do know several kids from not-so-great local teams who went on to play JUCO and NAIA ball.

 

[Orange Socks]

Coaches with college coach contacts and relationships is more important than winning. Playing against strong teams and being part of the local softball illuminati is just as important. If you ain't in the loop, you ain't in the loop.

 

[_MIA_]

They call some tournaments "showcases" but no college coaches are in attendance at the 14U level.

Fair enough. I do see a lot of the kids on these teams attending various P5 camps already. If you have the money to burn I guess there is no harm. While on an 08 team, DD is still only in 6th grade..not going to start worrying about any of this for a while lol.

 

[Nimrod]

Heard a lot of people said no college coach care what’s your daughter trophies at 12 years old. This age is more about learning and fundamental.

Then here’s come 13u . They start with a lot of college exposure tournaments . I also heard no coach care if you win or lose .

So does winning necessary? Or should never focus on winning the whole entire years to play? kind of confused..

I don't care what college coaches think. I care what DD thinks. It's her game, not mine or Patty Gasso's.

 

[BrianTx01]

I heard of one story of a multi age group showcase that had 14/16/18U age groups. One college coach was walking by when a 14U girl hit a home run. He asked her name, gave a positive compliment, and then went on to the 16U field. This was from a reliable source....but that is the only way to get college coach attention in 14U....hit a dinger when they walk by.

The biggest annoyance about these 14U showcases is when the 14U coaches use the showcase rules to try their advantage. Best hitter pops out....bring her back up again. Only want to bat 7 players....no problem.