The Recruting process

[JMU31]

I have noticed we have more and more kids playing on Summer teams and most those kids are younger in age. I would like start a thread with some of the do and don't in people minds. From our list of college players we have plenty of players from this area that are playing at different levels. I am almost certain they all took different routes to end up where they did. Could have been acadmics, coaches, facilities, program and so own.

 

Let's start with the Divison 1 level. What are some of the things our daughters should be doing if their desire is to play D1 ball. There are several parents on this board now that have either signed or are in the process of their recruitment. I am no expert in this area but I do know what a lot of kids have done in order to recieve their offer. I know Texasdad hit it out of the ball park with his kid. I will wait to see how this goes before I jump in.

[Meatpuppy]

The hardest part I have with the whole process is knowing which schools are interested in you in return. My daughter has sent probably 25+ letters/emails. With colleges not being able to contact you until your JR year it makes it frustrating knowing where to spend your limited amount of time.money on their camps.I know she sends out a new letter to each college she is interested in every time something happens. Once she learns weather or not she made varsity she will send another letter telling each school.

[TheOwenFive]

I have noticed we have more and more kids playing on Summer teams and most those kids are younger in age. I would like start a thread with some of the do and don't in people minds. From our list of college players we have plenty of players from this area that are playing at different levels. I am almost certain they all took different routes to end up where they did. Could have been acadmics, coaches, facilities, program and so own.

 

Let's start with the Divison 1 level. What are some of the things our daughters should be doing if their desire is to play D1 ball. There are several parents on this board now that have either signed or are in the process of their recruitment. I am no expert in this area but I do know what a lot of kids have done in order to recieve their offer. I know Texasdad hit it out of the ball park with his kid. I will wait to see how this goes before I jump in.

 

 

Great idea for a thread...love it!:ylsuper:

[nkysoftball]

Not an expert by any means but here are a few things to think about. First, be realistic about your expectations. Very few kids from Kentucky get div. 1 scholarships and I think JMU has been right on the money about the best ways to get div. 1 attention. Think about the academic monies and grants your child can receive. Staying in the state of Kentucky will increase these monies for the most part. There are 4 d-2, 4 d-3 schools and 13 NAIA schools in Kentucky. D-2 schools and NAIA schools give athletic scholarships while d-3 schools do not, but they do seem to do a good job with providing grants and academic scholarships. There are lots of options inside the state of KY with several of these NAIA schools actually fielding JV teams as well to give more kids opportunities. Send out lots of letters, they will respond and there is a very high turnover rate in College Softball, it is very demanding to juggle softball and academics and some kids just don't want to do it.

[JMU31]

The hardest part I have with the whole process is knowing which schools are interested in you in return. My daughter has sent probably 25+ letters/emails. With colleges not being able to contact you until your JR year it makes it frustrating knowing where to spend your limited amount of time.money on their camps.I know she sends out a new letter to each college she is interested in every time something happens. Once she learns weather or not she made varsity she will send another letter telling each school.

 

I would say if they have interest you would know. Have they shown up at your games, if so how many times? At the D1 level most coaches will want to see a kid nourmous times before making an offer. Have they contacted your travel coach? Have they responded to your emails. They can email you back if they put something about an upcoming camp in the email, they would also provide a cell # in most cases for you to call. I can tell you alot coaches would email you back if they had serious interest in you. I know a lot of kids that got emails that maybe they shouldn't of.

 

Emails are great and I would keep sending them but remember a school like Kentucky probably gets around 300 a day. Hard to stand out in an email. If you are emailing coaches try to email coaches that are listed as coming to your up coming tourney. Most coaches visit the same tourney's every summer. Unless you are a stud player they probably are not going to make a special trip to come see you.

 

In you emails to coaches I would suggest spending much more time telling them about your summer team than your HS team. If your grades are good spend some time telling them that. If not lie and say they are good!!

[JMU31]

Not an expert by any means but here are a few things to think about. First, be realistic about your expectations. Very few kids from Kentucky get div. 1 scholarships and I think JMU has been right on the money about the best ways to get div. 1 attention. Think about the academic monies and grants your child can receive. Staying in the state of Kentucky will increase these monies for the most part. There are 4 d-2, 4 d-3 schools and 13 NAIA schools in Kentucky. D-2 schools and NAIA schools give athletic scholarships while d-3 schools do not, but they do seem to do a good job with providing grants and academic scholarships. There are lots of options inside the state of KY with several of these NAIA schools actually fielding JV teams as well to give more kids opportunities. Send out lots of letters, they will respond and there is a very high turnover rate in College Softball, it is very demanding to juggle softball and academics and some kids just don't want to do it.

 

By far the hardest thing to do as a parent IMO. I agree one of the best way to keep cost down is to stay in state, but if the fit is not right in state there are alot of the same type of programs out of state. The kids in TN and GA and so on have the HOPE programs (they are called different in every state) Alot like KEYYS money but alot better so their in state kids use very little softball money and that opens it up for out of state kids. I have been told that the Renfro pitchers from TN do not use a dime of athletic money bc of these type of programs.

[JMU31]

Here are some video's from Sue Enquist former UCLA coach. In these videos she says what she is looking for in a ball player, not sure if anyone will find them useful but I thought I would post.

 

Pitcher:

 

Short Stop:

Sue Enquist on how she recruited Shortstops - YouTube

 

Outfield:

 

2nd Base:

 

3rd Base:

 

Catcher:

 

First base:

[doubledeuce]

Also, remember that getting a full athletic D1 scholarship for softball is next to impossible. Each team only has 12 scholarships to divide up among the whole team.

[TheOwenFive]

Is the process basically the same for all schools across the board, i.e D1 vs. NAIA? How do they differ and what should soph's be doing or trying to accomplish?

[FarBeyondDriven]

Is the process basically the same for all schools across the board, i.e D1 vs. NAIA? How do they differ and what should soph's be doing or trying to accomplish?

It is NEVER too early to send emails to coaches with info about your travel team and schedule. It is also important to attend camps of the schools you are interested in for my experience, as it is good for coaches to be able to put a name with a face. My daughter is a sophomore and has gotten a strong offer from a D1 school and getting strong interest from others. The process with the school that offered started by attending a camp. Another D1 school that is showing real strong interest saw her play in a tournament this past October and invited her for an unofficial visit that went real well. Two totally different circumstances, but solid results.

[TheOwenFive]

It is NEVER too early to send emails to coaches with info about your travel team and schedule. It is also important to attend camps of the schools you are interested in for my experience, as it is good for coaches to be able to put a name with a face. My daughter is a sophomore and has gotten a strong offer from a D1 school and getting strong interest from others. The process with the school that offered started by attending a camp. Another D1 school that is showing real strong interest saw her play in a tournament this past October and invited her for an unofficial visit that went real well. Two totally different circumstances, but solid results.

 

 

I guess I should say this...what about the kid that doesn't play travel ball, but has a strong interest in playing NAIA or even D3, that has OUTSTANDING academics and just wants to play ball and more importantly get an education...is there a chance for this kid?

[doubledeuce]

I guess I should say this...what about the kid that doesn't play travel ball, but has a strong interest in playing NAIA or even D3, that has OUTSTANDING academics and just wants to play ball and more importantly get an education...is there a chance for this kid?

 

Yes.

[JMU31]

Also, remember that getting a full athletic D1 scholarship for softball is next to impossible. Each team only has 12 scholarships to divide up among the whole team.

 

I would say that is a bit of a myth also. I know plenty of girls that have full rides, that is a 100% athletic money not counting the ones that will get to a 100% between athletic and academic. I think coaches want you to believe that its impossible so when they low ball you that you feel better about it.

 

I would say no should go into this process thinking they would get a 100% deal but they are out there.

[FarBeyondDriven]

I guess I should say this...what about the kid that doesn't play travel ball, but has a strong interest in playing NAIA or even D3, that has OUTSTANDING academics and just wants to play ball and more importantly get an education...is there a chance for this kid?

Yes. The process can be similar, emailing schools/coaches, have the high school coach contact any desired schools.

[JMU31]

I guess I should say this...what about the kid that doesn't play travel ball, but has a strong interest in playing NAIA or even D3, that has OUTSTANDING academics and just wants to play ball and more importantly get an education...is there a chance for this kid?

 

Yes there is a place for almost all girls, I would agree with FBD its never to early to start but if she is a soph she has plenty of time to figure out whats best for her.....D3 usually don't start the recruting process to much before there senior year.