High school softball

[_MIA_]

Why bother with something that doesn't matter?

Again it is a matter of what audience they are catering to, right? If they were sending out the bios to a group of college coaches so
they could rank their recruiting classes, then perhaps it would be more TB heavy (if they could find accolades/stats which were relevant) rather than HS heavy? However they are not being
used for that purpose.

 

[radness]

Hmmm thinking it through...
Colleges post player bios because it's informational marketing. Awards are shiny objects that draw attention.

Putting High schools on player resumes for recruiting purposes to contact colleges
Awards/batting avr. can be impressive but the reality is some high schools are better known for their academics and some high schools are known for their Athletics. So the high school part is relevant only to an extent.
Important or irrelevant.

Even h.s. have division levels.
Which often are not noted in college player profiles on the teams.

 

[Hillhouse]

It's illogical because, if HS ball doesn't matter, then the awards don't matter. Arguing that the player bio has to include SOMETHING because PGF doesn't do individual awards is a head-scratcher. Player bios often don't include HS academic accomplishments, and one could argue that those are plenty important. Why bother with something that doesn't matter?

I didn't ask about a kid not playing travel ball at all, I asked "what if a kid didn't play for a TB team that you thought was up to your standard, didn't go to the right "nationals", but did really well in a competitive HS program...would you just shut them out?"

Little Sally WILL get an opportunity...she still had to get the ball over the plate for those 19 perfect games while walking / hitting none. I guess it all depends on what your definition of "severely limited" is. I know a kid currently playing on a Div II team who will likely start as a freshman, but didn't play for a high-dollar TB team. The strength of her recruiting resume was undoubtedly her strong performance at a large area HS. Heck, I know of a current Div I coach who started college as a JUCO player and eventually became a record holder for a mid-major.

I'm starting to think we're never going to see eye to eye on this. Maybe we should discuss something less controversial like, Religion, Politics, abortion, etc.? ha ha ha.

First, small correction, this is not MY STANDARD. You said a TB team that wasn't up to my standard, I have no such thing. But not all TB organizations are the same. An organization like Athletics-Mercado in So Cal will gain more respect on name only than the "Fury" from North Dakota. One team travels the country and families have to mortgage their house to pay for this, another plays in local tournaments around N-S Dakota, sometimes going wild and crazy into Minnesota.

As a coach recruiting someone, what I am telling you is, someone sending me their HS stats from Bismark North Dakota (Sorry ND people, I"m only using you for an example, I actually love your state so don't be offended) that she is undefeated in HS, with 19 perfect games, but doesn't play TB or go to a National tournament is going to be overlooked. Maybe I'd miss a diamond in the rough, it's entirely possible. I'm just telling you how it works, I'm not saying I invented the system.

As for the HS awards, I guess ultimately you're right... the awards don't matter. They are put on Bios because TB awards aren't given out. If a college had the choice between listing TB awards and HS awards, they'd list the TB ones because THAT'S WHERE PEOPLE ARE RECRUITED FROM!!!!!!!! Am I saying there's no other avenues to recruting? No. I'm telling you where the masses get recruited. Are there exceptions? OF course. Nothing is absolute here. And you can cherry pick 1 or 2 examples all day long, and if you want to roll the dice that you are that .0001% who gets selected like this, go ahead!! I sincerely hope it works for your kid. I'm just telling you how the other 99.999% work. Yes, I'm sure my % is a little inflated but I'm just trying to make a point.

The kid you mentioned who didn't play TB but will be starting as a freshman in her DII college probably went to the that school's camp(s). But, I can GUARANTEE you this: if that college was impressed with her at the camp, their first question to her would've been "What TB organization are you with?" If she said none, I'm sure they'd have been surprised. But, going to a camp can do a tremendous amount for a player.

 

[Eric F]

Hmmm thinking it through...
Colleges post player bios because it's informational marketing. Awards are shiny objects that draw attention.

Putting High schools on player resumes for recruiting purposes to contact colleges
Awards/batting avr. can be impressive but the reality is some high schools are better known for their academics and some high schools are known for their Athletics. So the high school part is relevant only to an extent.
Important or irrelevant.

Even h.s. have division levels.
Which often are not noted in college player profiles on the teams.

Yep. In So Cal, the difference between Division 1 and Division 7 is gigantic.

 

[Golfclubgreg]

I'm starting to think we're never going to see eye to eye on this. Maybe we should discuss something less controversial like, Religion, Politics, abortion, etc.? ha ha ha.

First, small correction, this is not MY STANDARD. You said a TB team that wasn't up to my standard, I have no such thing. But not all TB organizations are the same. An organization like Athletics-Mercado in So Cal will gain more respect on name only than the "Fury" from North Dakota. One team travels the country and families have to mortgage their house to pay for this, another plays in local tournaments around N-S Dakota, sometimes going wild and crazy into Minnesota.

As a coach recruiting someone, what I am telling you is, someone sending me their HS stats from Bismark North Dakota (Sorry ND people, I"m only using you for an example, I actually love your state so don't be offended) that she is undefeated in HS, with 19 perfect games, but doesn't play TB or go to a National tournament is going to be overlooked. Maybe I'd miss a diamond in the rough, it's entirely possible. I'm just telling you how it works, I'm not saying I invented the system.

As for the HS awards, I guess ultimately you're right... the awards don't matter. They are put on Bios because TB awards aren't given out. If a college had the choice between listing TB awards and HS awards, they'd list the TB ones because THAT'S WHERE PEOPLE ARE RECRUITED FROM!!!!!!!! Am I saying there's no other avenues to recruting? No. I'm telling you where the masses get recruited. Are there exceptions? OF course. Nothing is absolute here. And you can cherry pick 1 or 2 examples all day long, and if you want to roll the dice that you are that .0001% who gets selected like this, go ahead!! I sincerely hope it works for your kid. I'm just telling you how the other 99.999% work. Yes, I'm sure my % is a little inflated but I'm just trying to make a point.

The kid you mentioned who didn't play TB but will be starting as a freshman in her DII college probably went to the that school's camp(s). But, I can GUARANTEE you this: if that college was impressed with her at the camp, their first question to her would've been "What TB organization are you with?" If she said none, I'm sure they'd have been surprised. But, going to a camp can do a tremendous amount for a player.

Hey leave us ND peeps out of this !!! lmao -there is some pretty good softball played up here. And from my point of view, HS softball put my DD on the map. Started Varsity at 12, 1st team all state at 13 (top class) and her first Gatorade player of the year at 14- Travel teams were calling her to play with them, including your IP. Yes she picked a semi-local D1 to play for but had offers and calls from some big schools. Just chose to stay close to home. So yes it can happen, everyones journey gonna be a little different. Just make sure its what your DD wants in her journey!!

 

[Shiloh]

“what if a kid didn't play for a TB team that you thought was up to your standard, didn't go to the right "nationals", but did really well in a competitive HS program...would you just shut them out?"

I know a kid currently playing on a Div II team who will likely start as a freshman, but didn't play for a high-dollar TB team. The strength of her recruiting resume was undoubtedly her strong performance at a large area HS.

These are two anecdotes about why HS stats might be useful in a college bio.

Just sayin’.

 

[Hillhouse]

These are two anecdotes about why HS stats might be useful in a college bio.

Just sayin’.

Maybe. But there's a lot of questions I have about the girl in the story. If she truly got recruited off her HS games, I'd absolutely stand corrected and say this is the exception that proves the rule. If she went to camps and had other ways of getting these coach's attention, I'd say this story doesn't tell the whole thing.

Gang, I'm not bashing HS softball. I believe it has it's place and it's purpose. But I am saying the OVERWHELMING majority of schools don't ask, care, or are concerned about HS stats.

 

[Hillhouse]

Hey leave us ND peeps out of this !!! lmao -there is some pretty good softball played up here. And from my point of view, HS softball put my DD on the map. Started Varsity at 12, 1st team all state at 13 (top class) and her first Gatorade player of the year at 14- Travel teams were calling her to play with them, including your IP. Yes she picked a semi-local D1 to play for but had offers and calls from some big schools. Just chose to stay close to home. So yes it can happen, everyones journey gonna be a little different. Just make sure its what your DD wants in her journey!!

I knew it!!! I picked ND instead of Montana or some other remote state. There had to be someone here from ND to argue!! lol. I'm glad you didn't take real offense.

 

[MNDad]

Great stats in HS don’t mean much, but colleges will take notice if a prospect has sub par performances. The U of M followed DD in 14U and recruited her hard. They came out to one of her HS games the following spring and she really stunk it up. That pretty much ended their interest. Iowa State was recruiting her at that time too and they questioned the HS coach about why her walks were so high. It turned out to be a shoulder issue that shut down most of her sophomore season, but the damage was done. Minnesota had moved on and ISU’s interest had diminished. They still wanted her, but I’m sure that season affected their original offer. It was so low that despite being her number one school she turned them down initially.

The two pitchers the Gophers picked up instead were complete busts and Em went on to have a decent career at Iowa State so it all worked out.

 

[MNDad]

I knew it!!! I picked ND instead of Montana or some other remote state. There had to be someone here from ND to argue!! lol. I'm glad you didn't take real offense.

I’m glad you used Minnesota as big time for the Dakota’s. It’s funny cuz it’s true!