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

 

I would add that camps an emails are much more effective at the NAIA and D3 level.

Just to throw this out there also, one of the things a couple coaches told us is that they didn't want us to attend their school to play softball if it is a financial burden on our family. I REALLY liked that, of course with my smart mouth the first thing that came out was something like if you offer a 100% there will be very little burden!!

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.

 

Yes there will be or can be a combination of athletic/academic to reach 100%.

 

There are only 12 athletic scholarships to divide up for the whole team. I think that is the right number?

For those who are not familiar with softball scholarships but may know some baseball kids. Luke Maile(CCH)did not attend UK on 100% scholarship it was close with his combination of athletic/academics but was not 100%.

Yes there will be or can be a combination of athletic/academic to reach 100%.

 

There are only 12 athletic scholarships to divide up for the whole team. I think that is the right number?

 

Yes that is correct.

For those who are not familiar with softball scholarships but may know some baseball kids. Luke Maile(CCH)did not attend UK on 100% scholarship it was close with his combination of athletic/academics but was not 100%.

 

It is my understanding that UK is at a huge disadvantage from other SEC schools as far as the scholarships goes due to different state programs other SEC schools have in their states.

 

I would add that baseball is much harder to get scholarship money than softball also bc they usually roster between 25 to 30 kids with around 10 or more being pitchers. Softball is around 18 to 20 and most carry around 3 to 4 pitchers.

 

I can only speak for some of the girls I know....but some choose to take more money at a mid major type school than taking less to play at a BCS schools. A mid major coach may offer a full ride to player they think is a BCS type player to get them to come to their schools.

 

Girls can choose schools for different reasons than the boys bc they really have no chance to get drafted. A player like Maile might choose to take less money at a school like UK bc he has a better chance to get drafted than say taking a full ride at a school like Morehead. Not saying he did just throwing that out there.

Yes there will be or can be a combination of athletic/academic to reach 100%.

 

There are only 12 athletic scholarships to divide up for the whole team. I think that is the right number?

 

I guess I should add that not all D1 schools are fully funded so they could offer less than 12 scholarships but for the most part I believe most do have 12.

Recently talked to a coach who told me she will not even open an email unless a video is attached to it. And when it comes to videos you must be very carefull what you send, or put on youtube for everyone to see. Let someone who will be honest with you, and knows what they are looking at review it before putting it out there for eveyone to see. I have seen some videos that mom and dad think are amazing, but most coaches will delete after 10 seconds. Had a player send a video out two years ago that was maybe two minutes long, and I started receiving calls from everyone from PAC-12, SEC, Big Ten schools.

Recently talked to a coach who told me she will not even open an email unless a video is attached to it. And when it comes to videos you must be very carefull what you send, or put on youtube for everyone to see. Let someone who will be honest with you, and knows what they are looking at review it before putting it out there for eveyone to see. I have seen some videos that mom and dad think are amazing, but most coaches will delete after 10 seconds. Had a player send a video out two years ago that was maybe two minutes long, and I started receiving calls from everyone from PAC-12, SEC, Big Ten schools.

 

Sounds like sound advice.

I attended a recruiting clinic at the Kent State showcase where they recommend you make a 5 minute skills video. NOT A HIGHLIGHT VIDEO! A skills video where they hit maybe 10 consecutive pitches! They field 10 Consecutive balls! They throw 10 consecutive pitches! Put it up on You Tube and send the link to coaches so they can simply click on that link too see what you can do! Do Not send them VHS tapes they pile up on the desk until its time to clean it off! If you have a desire to go to a certain school be sure to attend their camps it gives the coach an easy opportunity to see and visit with you!

 

Akrons coach made a point of saying you can get 100% athletic scholarship but they are few and far between! She prefers to give 51% scholarships and she was quick to tell you that if that same student is from out of state it costs them 71% of a scholarship due to out of state tuition so for every 3 out of state athletes she looses an athlete (51%) so they look mostlu in state but WILL bring in out of state athletes if they are good enough! She said to make sure the coach allows you to have certain majors some do not allow nursing students due to time commitment of Nursing school and Division 1 travel.

 

They could care less if you hit .400 and had 50 RBIs because the stats can and typically homer stats and can not tell level of competition your playing against! They love great ACT scores and Great GPA a kid that may not normally catch there eye but has a 28 on her ACT is now more interesting for several reasons!

 

They both said they have a spot on their evaluation sheet does kid run on and off field! Is parent overzealous yelling at Umpires etc...? Does daddy carry the gear up the hill? They do not provide that service! Little thing you wouldnt think they would look at!

 

They said never never send a form letter! Always research the school by visiting the website try to make a personal comment on you had a great year last year coach and i would love to visit!

 

There was so much info! They said they would not spend the money on these recruiting services! It was $20 for the clinic and I found it very interesting!

I attended a recruiting clinic at the Kent State showcase where they recommend you make a 5 minute skills video. NOT A HIGHLIGHT VIDEO! A skills video where they hit maybe 10 consecutive pitches! They field 10 Consecutive balls! They throw 10 consecutive pitches! Put it up on You Tube and send the link to coaches so they can simply click on that link too see what you can do! Do Not send them VHS tapes they pile up on the desk until its time to clean it off! If you have a desire to go to a certain school be sure to attend their camps it gives the coach an easy opportunity to see and visit with you!

 

Akrons coach made a point of saying you can get 100% athletic scholarship but they are few and far between! She prefers to give 51% scholarships and she was quick to tell you that if that same student is from out of state it costs them 71% of a scholarship due to out of state tuition so for every 3 out of state athletes she looses an athlete (51%) so they look mostlu in state but WILL bring in out of state athletes if they are good enough! She said to make sure the coach allows you to have certain majors some do not allow nursing students due to time commitment of Nursing school and Division 1 travel.

 

They could care less if you hit .400 and had 50 RBIs because the stats can and typically homer stats and can not tell level of competition your playing against! They love great ACT scores and Great GPA a kid that may not normally catch there eye but has a 28 on her ACT is now more interesting for several reasons!

 

They both said they have a spot on their evaluation sheet does kid run on and off field! Is parent overzealous yelling at Umpires etc...? Does daddy carry the gear up the hill? They do not provide that service! Little thing you wouldnt think they would look at!

 

They said never never send a form letter! Always research the school by visiting the website try to make a personal comment on you had a great year last year coach and i would love to visit!

 

There was so much info! They said they would not spend the money on these recruiting services! It was $20 for the clinic and I found it very interesting!

 

Remember there are almost 300 divison one schools out there and countless other divisons. All coaches like things a little different. This video below is a highlight video but is very good. Has almost 14,000 hits on you tube which is a ton for a skills video, most are in the hundreds. So the point is make a good video and they will watch. I would also throw out if your kid is a good hitter but the fielding is weak just do a video of them hitting. There are plenty of kids in college and the majors for that matter that are only really strong in one area.

 

 

I see coaches almost every game we play and about 95% of the time they do not have an evaluation sheet out. They may make a mental note of things but most are busy talking to other coaches or looking in their phone.

 

Sounds like you got some great advice and was well worth your time and money. Good luck!

A couple of points, network if you know someone that can help you make contact use it, and my daughter sent out alot of emails with no responce, but for some reason when her coach contacted the schools for her the coach received almost immediate responce, I think it was the edu. email address.

so let me ask this. i always hear that some kids travel all over the place and pay a huge amount of money to play. is there really value in that? Can't a kid play more local and get the exposure they need for a lot less money? do we let our peceptions get the better of us?

 

If it's the goal of the KID to play at a very high level D1 school, it may make sense to travel all over the country. But is that really the goal of all these kids or is it just to have an opportunity to get their education paid for? would they really just like to get their schooling paid for and play a sport they love while doing it. lets face it, not one of the girls will make a career out playing softball. just not going to happen. it's really about education and making their dreams come true.

 

I would also say that when it comes to education, i would say that several small schools provide just as good or a better education than some of the D1 schools.

 

And, if you spend all your money traveling, paying absorborant fees and training fees, couldn't you have saved that money over the years and just help pay for college? (unless it's really YOUR DAUTHGER'S DREAM to play D1).

 

So if we agree that it's very hard to get a D1 scholarship, if it's about education and you can do that at ANY school, a kid won't ever get paid to play softball and it's very expensive to travel and play at an elite level...is it all worth it? I know some will say the exposure the kid gets from playing at the elite level. some truth to that, but there are plenty of local (within 2 hours) of places to get exposure if you want it. If you are going to some of these huge event, how many looks do you really get? they are big events, but that also means a ton of kids! it's more about marketing yourself in the end and their are 1000's of resources on the internet that can educate you on how to market yourself.

 

So do you really need to spend all that money and travel all that time to get looks? I don't think so.

A couple of points, network if you know someone that can help you make contact use it, and my daughter sent out alot of emails with no responce, but for some reason when her coach contacted the schools for her the coach received almost immediate responce, I think it was the edu. email address.

 

Having good contacts is by far the best way to get recruited. If you want to play D1 ball my #1 suggestion would be to play on the best team that your daughter's ablilty allows and that your family can manage as far as money, time and travel. This is only for D1 but if you are mainly playing at Expressway, Eggleston, Rivershore and the rest of the ball parks around the 275 loop your chances are very slim to make it happen. (not impossible)

so let me ask this. i always hear that some kids travel all over the place and pay a huge amount of money to play. is there really value in that? Can't a kid play more local and get the exposure they need for a lot less money? do we let our peceptions get the better of us?

If it's the goal of the KID to play at a very high level D1 school, it may make sense to travel all over the country. But is that really the goal of all these kids or is it just to have an opportunity to get their education paid for? would they really just like to get their schooling paid for and play a sport they love while doing it. lets face it, not one of the girls will make a career out playing softball. just not going to happen. it's really about education and making their dreams come true.

 

I would also say that when it comes to education, i would say that several small schools provide just as good or a better education than some of the D1 schools.

 

And, if you spend all your money traveling, paying absorborant fees and training fees, couldn't you have saved that money over the years and just help pay for college? (unless it's really YOUR DAUTHGER'S DREAM to play D1).

 

So if we agree that it's very hard to get a D1 scholarship, if it's about education and you can do that at ANY school, a kid won't ever get paid to play softball and it's very expensive to travel and play at an elite level...is it all worth it? I know some will say the exposure the kid gets from playing at the elite level. some truth to that, but there are plenty of local (within 2 hours) of places to get exposure if you want it. If you are going to some of these huge event, how many looks do you really get? they are big events, but that also means a ton of kids! it's more about marketing yourself in the end and their are 1000's of resources on the internet that can educate you on how to market yourself.

 

So do you really need to spend all that money and travel all that time to get looks? I don't think so.

 

 

 

First point what level are you talking about wanting to play?

 

To your second point I would think most kids that play travel past the age of say 12U have some desire to play somewhere at the next level.

 

To your education point I would say most small schools provide a better education than D1 schools. D3 standards as a whole are a lot harder than D1. And to add to that point there are a lot of people smarter than me saying now a days that college just isn't worth the price. We have a lot of females going to school to be teachers and have 100K in student loans. I am all for getting an education but at what cost.

 

To the 4th point I spend a lot of money on travel and would spend a lot more if thats what it takes. I enjoy the heck out of it and have stated before I would do it over again with no chance of a scholarship. As for my kid she would travel every weekend if I let her, she wants to take a bus to Chicago on weeks I can't take her.

 

Where with in two hours can a kid get D1 looks at besides the Sluggers and the DOOM? And they almost never play around here.

 

And I think it is up to each family if they want to spend the money to get looks. My Kid has a $150,000 scholarship so for me yes it was very much worth it. I understand this is the exception and not the rule but I stated this thread for PEOPLE that are interested in understanding what works for some kids to get to the next level. I know a lot of kids that did have dreams to play D1 and were good enough but just did not understand the process until its to late. Unless you are just a monster player you can't sit around and hope to get a scholly.

Edited February 21, 201313 yr by JMU31