College Recruiting. Is Softball doing it wrong?

[_MIA_]

Your posts make as much sense to me as someone trying to explain the calendar.

All of them? Sh*!, I need to work on my communication skills

 

[justanotherguy]

Is it on their campus? or a field complex with a mix of TB teams and college teams doing round robins?

I am currently looking at a non institutional camp being held tomorrow night (Friday) that one of my players will be attending and "allegedly" there are going to be a couple of D1 coaches working the camp. I was under the impression that was not allowable.

Any DFP'ers know what's up?

It's at a 4-field clover leaf complex. Lots of colleges and the best 18u teams in the state. For the colleges I believe it's just scrimmages. For the TB teams a 3 pool, single bracket elim tourney. The college and my DD will be playing right beside each other at staggered times in the evening.

 

[BT3100]

I think that can help a lot of people. My DD has only been emailing coaches, a very select few, for about a year now. She's only been going to more than one camp for one school, her obvious #1 choice. I know she made an impression at the last camp. My biggest question is how in the hell do you know if they're really interested in you or not? My DD has emailed them and said she'd love to talk on the phone and can we set up a time? At this point 2 schools have responded directly to her update emails with a camp invite, but no one has actually said, "Hey, let's talk". If the head coach of a power house D1 replies directly to her email and sends her their camp schedule, is that a hint at anything? I know her video updates are being watched because I track them on youtube and the links are only sent to a very select few. That being said, I wish we could just get a simple, "Yes we're interested in you" vs "We appreciate your interest, but we're not interested in you".

Yep even interested is relative.
You need to see them at games...
And more than once. Now I understand that they may not be at every tournament but if your keying on P5 or top 100 programs they are almost always at IDT Colorado, Legacy Atlanta D9 in Orlando.
If the school is at that tournament and doesn't come to see your kid there not interested.

 

[IRONMAN]

"Yes we're interested in you" vs "We appreciate your interest, but we're not interested in you".

Have your daughter call them. Let them know how interested she is in the school and the program. She can ask if they have seen her and if there is interest. Not understanding why your TB coach doesn't go ahead and talk to them? My kid called the Weekly's and Karen talked to her. She had been emailing them for a year, and they knew her and told her she was on their watch list and to keep in contact/send schedules.

 

[radness]

I always knew that men’s sports commit later than women’s.

I saw today that Iowa State basketball just committed its first 2020. He is a 6’5” point guard from Georgia that had offers from Georgia Tech and Mississippi State. It says in the article that the Iowa State Coach has recruited numerous point guards that went on to play in the NBA so this guy is apparently a top prospect.

I’m going to go out on a limb and say Iowa State softball hasn’t been looking at 20’s for quite some time.

Are we doing it wrong?

Do the men endure what has become a 3-4 year test of endurance and financial stress?

Even with the new recruiting rules we are all falling all over ourselves to get our dd’s committed on September 1, junior year. If you are a ‘20 and haven’t yet been committed, good luck. We willingly participate in a rat race that requires us not only to take younger kids to Colorado, Huntington Beach and Atlanta at minimum every summer, but now if you don’t play 4 MAJOR exposure tournaments IN THE FALL you feel like you can’t compete. The fall is starting to look like a summer season. And we all know that the d1’s cant come on Friday and you probably won’t see them on Sunday. One game on Saturday? Thank you Mr. Tournament Director. Can I pay for an extra game and maybe play it on Saturday?

So the only way this can be done is to pay $3,000 dues or play for a org that hosts its own “exposure tournaments” to feed this beast. The orgs then agree to attend each other’s tournaments in order to make it happen. So we add another weekend of travel here and there. It snowballs. You gotta still play triple crown so you get in the power pools at the good fields in Colorado. So there are more weekends of travel and $900 tournament fees. You gotta qualify for Huntington Beach.

Are we the parents enabling this craziness? What is driving it? The college coaches sure don’t seem to care. They expect you to be there. They expect you to be at their $200 camps mid week between the weekends you are in Chattanooga one week and Kansa City the next (making those up but you get the idea). They expect you to be hitting every day, strength training, getting 4.0 grades and oh “we love multi sport athletes”. Sure thing coach! Easy Peasy!

Even after the commitment process, official or unofficial, you can’t let up. The college coaches expect you to be playing top competition.

The tournament directors don’t care. “Sorry the NCAA created a calendar that means they can’t recruit in fall anywhere but warm climates. Maybe you could get a credit card, build up points and fly. Good luck with that. That will be $900, please. Make sure you are staying in our hotels.”

The travel orgs don’t care. “Oh you can’t afford this? Don’t want to make your entire life about softball? NBD, it’s your future you are throwing away. “

I’m sure that the men’s side is far from easy but it seems like we as parents have bought into some stuff that puts everyone but the players in the drivers seat. Are we the suckers in this deal?

Good read revival!

To this could add the craziness of 2020 with a year of basically no in person recruiting and extended eligibilty for all classes each getting a year to option playing a 5th season...ncaa

Now add the extensive use of the college transfer portal
(Which seems to get used like an uber...)

Recruitment did not get easier for sure.

When the early recruitment ended, was looking forward to see that impact. If/how it would have effected verballing.
Now, that early recruitment, actually seems completly irrelevant because there are so many in college players already,
Who are available to circulate with-in college now...
That in-itself takes a % of available spots.

*The coaches NOW have more older and experienced internal recruitment opportunities !

Simply this
Befor they were recruiting younger.
Now that option is recruiting
older!

 

[Orange Socks]

Simply this
Befor they were recruiting younger.
Now that option is recruiting
older!

Right! I hear more about current college players announcing their move to another school than I do about the kiddos committed to their "dream" school. College Coach Mantra "ABR" Always Be Recruiting! Forget developing the kids they bring in who will disengage, transfer or quit based on the experiences. Bright Eyed, Bushy Tail Freshie shows up to the campus eager to play some softball. Wait! What? Who are these 5th year Senior/Graduates? Where did they come from? Crap! (Freshie starts counting on her fingers) Geez! I won't get an opportunity to start for 3 or more years! In November they start packing their bags and hops on the portal. Rolls the dice! Big Money, Big Money! No Whammies!

 

[Westwind]

The whole playing time equation is on its ear now. 5 year players. The portal. Coaches are working that hard for experienced players, even the ones who didn’t traditionally take transfers. There are still recruits coming in every year. It’s no small thing to earn a starting spot in college right now.

 

[Westwind]

I heard a recent tale of a hot shot player from a hot shot team that is supposed to show up on campus next year.

She has not improved. She has not signed NLI. She may not.

Coaches have options like never before.

 

[Shiloh]

Coaches have tons of options right now. Tons.
Any slot is a good slot.

Go where you're loved.