Question about DII Recruiting

[mountyfan]

My DD is a 2017 pitcher. She is only 5-6" and 130 lbs. Not the biggest stature but very athletic and works out three times a week. She is a Junior in high school with over 300+ strikeouts her first two years and only 30 some walks. She has been All Conference and All State in high school. She also plays on a travel team that plays in very high profile A tournaments. She is a 3.8 GPA in school. She throws a true rise,great drop curve ,screwball and change. Her only problem is she only throws 59(NFCA) verified. Game speed is usually around 57. She has tons of DIII interest and some DII. Every camp that we attend there is girls throwing 60+ and she basically is passed over. She is very good about emailing schools but it seems like after we go to the camp we are forgotten. What is the process of DII schools for recruiting Juniors or making offers? We seem to have more questions when we get home than when we arrive at the camp.

 

[quincy]

Does she need scholarship money her first year?

School is more important than SB anyways, I would pick a DII school she likes and walk on. A little risky.

 

[Cannonball]

Look around at the D-IIs in your area and then in your region. There are places for her to play at a D-II if you are patient enough to find that school.

 

[JAD]

D II and D III schools recruit later than the top D I's, so 2017s are just now reaching "prime time" for recruiting. Pick 5 schools that your DD would like to attend and make sure you contact the coaches on a regular basis with updates on your DD and how she is doing - athletically and academically. Keep working hard to see if she can get to 60 MPH on a radar gun. That seems to be the magic number a lot of coaches are looking for. If she has good numbers on a RevFire I would also get that information to the college coaches too. To throw an effective riseball, the spin can be more important than the speed. Attend the camps of all 5 of her choices if time and money will allow. Invite the college coaches to come watch her pitch in games - striking out batters in a live game situation is a lot more impressive than hitting 60 MPH on a radar gun. Good luck!

 

[sluggers]

Please understand that this is about helping your DD. I'm not trying to be a jerk, but I am naturally a jerk.

SO:

*You* need a reality check. You sound like you are living in Never Never Land.

1) Osterman throws a fastball, rise, curve, drop and change. Abbott throws a change and fastball. So, you are expecting college coaches to believe that your DD is more advanced than two of the best pitchers in the world. College coaches aren't going to believe you--with good reason. Your DD does not "have" all those pitches. "Having a rise ball" means that she can throw the ball. on command, at different vertical locations. Your DD might have a great rise and changeup, but the other pitches are mediocre at best.
2) When she is being watched by a coach, she should throw exclusively the rise and the change.

As to recruiting help, you are going about this backwards. You talk to your DD and you find out her scholastic interests, what kind of campus she wants to attend [urban? rural? Big school? small school?] and how far from home she is willing to be. Then:

(a) make a list of schools which fit your criteria...D1, D2, D3.
(b) Contact the schools with, "I'm really interested in your XYZ program because I want to ABC. I also pitch. Here is my recruiting video. I'm coming on November 13 to your campus. Do you have time to sit down and chat?"

I had 2 kids play sports in school. DD#1 used your approach (i.e., beg for a scholarship). She did get a full ride, but she ended up as little more than an indentured servant. DD#3 used the recruiting approach I outlined above. She got a tremendous education and had a great experience.

 

[mountyfan]

Sluggers, no problem about the reply. Maybe I didn't explain myself clearly. We are doing those things. Your number @ has been completed. She has found the five schools where she wants to go and contacts them frequently. I think you may be a little off on the pitching. This is a girl who has faced some of the toughest competition at ASA Nationals and PGF that you can basically face. Going against big time DI pitchers and doing well. She does throw a true rise with vertical placement (low rise,medium and high). A 45 MPH changeup that she can locate and a dropcurve with correct spin and movement. Coaches at 3 different DII schools have told her how good her rise and dropcurve were. Granted the screwball is not great. I think the 300+ strikeouts and 30 some walks speak of what type of control I am talking about. Trust me I didn't come on here to brag about my daughters pitching accomplishments. I had to describe what type of pitcher she was so I could get answers about the recruiting process. We are not begging anyone for a scholarship. She will be a great catch for someone. And just for the people that may think the parents may be the problem,we aren't. We keep to ourselves and never say a word.

 

[Sparky Guy]

My DD is a 2017 pitcher. She is only 5-6" and 130 lbs. Not the biggest stature but very athletic and works out three times a week. She is a Junior in high school with over 300+ strikeouts her first two years and only 30 some walks. She has been All Conference and All State in high school. She also plays on a travel team that plays in very high profile A tournaments. She is a 3.8 GPA in school. She throws a true rise,great drop curve ,screwball and change. Her only problem is she only throws 59(NFCA) verified. Game speed is usually around 57. She has tons of DIII interest and some DII. Every camp that we attend there is girls throwing 60+ and she basically is passed over. She is very good about emailing schools but it seems like after we go to the camp we are forgotten. What is the process of DII schools for recruiting Juniors or making offers? We seem to have more questions when we get home than when we arrive at the camp.

My DD played DII so I can give you some of my observations. College coaches pay very little attention to HS stats. The reason. The competition levels can vary greatly across the country or even across a city. I know some of the all-time K leaders in my state played in weak conferences and the level of play around them was average at best. These girls were averaging 12+ K's a game. When they got deeper into postseason they could not keep those numbers up against the better teams and lost.

My DD was 5'10" and north of 150 lbs. The last time I had a gun on her in HS she was hitting a consistent 61 - 63 mph and could make the ball move in all four directions with command of all her pitches except the drop. That was iffy. She averaged 9 - 10 K's a game going up against the toughest teams in the toughest conference in the state. She played in a top A level program. She picked up a couple more mph in college with the strength and conditioning work. They had another pitcher on the HS team who was about the size and speed of your DD. She did OK in HS. She would average 3 - 4 K's a game and depended VERY heavily on her defense. She also played in a top A level organization.

Fastforward to college. They ended up on different teams in the same conference. My DD averaged 7 - 8 K's per game in college with one year at 9.6. She started all four years. The coach had her pitch the conference championship game against the #1 DII team in the nation as a freshman. The other girl pitched regularly her freshman year. Sporadically her soph year and would only get occasional starts against the weaker teams in the conference after another pitcher showed up who was bigger, faster and stronger. She could pitch, but she could not dominate teams on a regular basis at the collegiate level.

When you get to the college level, even at DII, speed with movement is king. That's why coaches look at the girls who are topping 60. Those couple of mph are a difference maker at the collegiate level. Most girls at 5'6" can't generate the velocity. There are exceptions, but there are only a few.

You mention she's playing for one of the top organizations in your area. That is where she should generate the most interest in what is viewed as a more determinate environment, playing against some of the top travel teams. Are her stats there similar? Is she generating any DI interest from the tournaments the travel team plays in?

A coach I know had two daughters who played in college. One played on a DI team in the Big10. The other played for a DIII team. He told me THE biggest difference between the two levels was the size of the girls playing. The DI players were bigger and stronger for the most part.

Let me offer one more bit of advice. Pick the college for the academics as if she were not playing ball. Don't let the DI or DII label be your only guide. After all.... It's the education she's looking for. There is nothing substantial moneywise in softball for 99.99% of the girls playing at the collegiate level when they're done.

One small FYI. One of the top NAIA players in my area played a couple of seasons for the Chicago Bandits. So anything is possible.