Seeing college softball differently

[GOINGDEEP]

GD, this is great advice. My DD has verbally accepted a great offer from a DII school and she will sign in November. Your formula makes sense to me. Up until about a year ago, I also felt an athletic scholarship came few and far between. I have talked to many folks at showcase events and Gold level tourneys (Triple Crown). My conclusion is that there really is a place for everyone. If a kid is active in her search, she will get a lot of looks.

One thing I am finding out is that many of the "showcase" tourneys are all hype. However, in the mid-west, go to St. Louis at the end of October, that one is the real deal. But, make sure DD has contacted coaches beforehand.

A catcher from our town and a good friend of my DD is playing JUCO this fall and never played one inning of HS softball. She played local TB, and attended the college's camps. Her folks told me 1/2 of her schooling is paid. Not bad for what I consider a different path...

That farming school in the middle of Iowa is usually called Iowa State University...lol

Mine goes this week to our local Juco for an official, and to a D2 the next week out of state. My DD has flipped her "major" "field of study" "career" ( whatever you want to call it ) several times in the last year. Which has become frustrating for me. ( I try not to let it show ) She is very smart, but she just doesn't have the "office" worker personality. She likes to be in charge of situations and the more
Enthralling or captivating the better.

My best friend is a paramedic and teaches at the Juco on the side. One of her good friend's mom is a Flight paramedic who flies on the "wings of life" and now studing to be a flight nurse. She has done a ride along with my friend, and went to tour the wing facility in Memphis. So for the past 2 months THAT seems to be what she wants to do.

I keep trying to remind myself this is her life and her choice of career. I guess on a good note my friend says he will help her as much as he can in the coarse, he can get her hired at his station when she gets the EMT license, she can finish her last year working and school for the paramedic license and then choose to continue toward flight PM or nurse.

I just want her to focus on one career choice so she can focus on what college offer is the best, no matter if it's from D1 to Juco. It gives me a headache sometimes.

 

[Amy in AZ.]

Taryne Mowatt (formally of UofA) had her team at 5:30AM conditioning, this morning. I wonder how long it lasted. Probably 2 hours, so that the girls could get to their 8AM classes. Her sister is playing for her, this year.

 

[fastpitch91]

scholarships lets be factual

(Breaking Down Softball Scholarships | Page 2 | Active.com)

there are 335 DI programs who have a max of 12 scholarships per team

there are 269 DII programs who have 7.2 per team

there are 408 DIII programs who have NO athletic scholarships per team.

naia are 209 at 10 each.

there are 155 junior college offering 24 per team

135 DII junior colleges offering 24 per team

68 dIII junior colleges offering NO per team.

A typical roster is 18 players, some carry 24.

so adding it all up and remembering thats for the whole team over 4/2 years says that there are 5300 scholaships per year out there. Now if each player get a half athletic (which is more typical) half academic scholarship thats 10000.

I think i saw that there are 240,000 HS softball players or roughly 60000 graduating per year. So all in one in 6 can get some kind of scholarship



Cindy Bristow on her site
2,250,000 youth softball players in the US (approx 150,000 teams)
235,360 High School softball players in the US (14,710 teams)
915 Total NCAA colleges with softball Programs (all 3 divisions)
262 division 1 and 253 division 2 colleges that offer softball scholarships
4,965 total NCAA softball scholarships available
1 in 500 softball players will be awarded a NCAA College Softball Scholarhip

(NB it would be 1 in 50 HS players total or adjusting for 4 HS years one in 12. Which is pretty much the same as above once the junior college and NAIA is added in.)

Facts are there are a lot of scholarship options but the majority 65% are junior college.

My experience from talking to about 25 - 30 college coaches - most do not have much $ to run around recruiting. They look first for a kid to express interest in their school and the go from there gather data as best they can. Maybe see them locally, or maybe TRY to find them at a big time tourney and MAYBE see them make one play or at bat, or see a video but it boils down (with exceptions for the gifted and extraordinary) you get recruited if you work at it and you meet the academic standards of the institution. Coaches love good grades for three reasons - one it shows a work ethic and they can get you some academic money which is much more plentiful than athletic money and it means you have a reasonable chance of not dropping out with the huge time load of a softball program!

 

[JAD]

Play HS ball. It's generally free (or minimal fundrasing). Play hard, do your best, get some press, get some awards.

Not sure where your DD plays, but high school ball is NOT free where I come from! We paid $500 this season for the 'privilege' to play for our high school softball feeder team, and the season only lasts 2.5 months. Kind of makes paying $1000 for 7 months of travel ball look like a bargain!

 

[glf0845]

Not sure where your DD plays, but high school ball is NOT free where I come from! We paid $500 this season for the 'privilege' to play for our high school softball feeder team, and the season only lasts 2.5 months. Kind of makes paying $1000 for 7 months of travel ball look like a bargain!

I quoted another poster. My DD's high school season was $150. But we pay $12,000 a year for her to attend her high school. $1000 for seven months is a bargain.

 

[GOINGDEEP]

Taryne Mowatt (formally of UofA) had her team at 5:30AM conditioning, this morning. I wonder how long it lasted. Probably 2 hours, so that the girls could get to their 8AM classes. Her sister is playing for her, this year.

Yes exactly. No one really understands how demanding a good D1 softball program really is. I pitched D1, and it is freaking tough. My grades were affected. I'm not an idiot, but I really had to work harder than I had in my life to stay an A/B student.

My nephew just verbally committed to the USAF in Colorado to pitch. ( a $400,000 scholarship ) The college actually has 7 full time professors who travel with the team to tutor and continue to teach on the road. They have their own private jet they use for travel. Was not the same 20 years ago when I played. Times sure have changed.

 

[GOINGDEEP]

Not sure where your DD plays, but high school ball is NOT free where I come from! We paid $500 this season for the 'privilege' to play for our high school softball feeder team, and the season only lasts 2.5 months. Kind of makes paying $1000 for 7 months of travel ball look like a bargain!

$750 here for each player on DD's team. $3000 in baseball fees A season where I graduated from, back then dad said it was 100 bucks. And gas was .79 cents a gallon too. ( 1991 grad )

 

[Amy in AZ.]

I should have said that Mowatt is not at a D1 program. I think that she refers to her college as Cal Baptist. So, I am pointing out that even some of the smaller programs have crazy schedules. I would suggest that girls talk to other athletes that are already in the program before deciding.

 

[chinamigarden]

Mine goes this week to our local Juco for an official, and to a D2 the next week out of state. My DD has flipped her "major" "field of study" "career" ( whatever you want to call it ) several times in the last year. Which has become frustrating for me. ( I try not to let it show ) She is very smart, but she just doesn't have the "office" worker personality. She likes to be in charge of situations and the more
Enthralling or captivating the better.

My best friend is a paramedic and teaches at the Juco on the side. One of her good friend's mom is a Flight paramedic who flies on the "wings of life" and now studing to be a flight nurse. She has done a ride along with my friend, and went to tour the wing facility in Memphis. So for the past 2 months THAT seems to be what she wants to do.

I keep trying to remind myself this is her life and her choice of career. I guess on a good note my friend says he will help her as much as he can in the coarse, he can get her hired at his station when she gets the EMT license, she can finish her last year working and school for the paramedic license and then choose to continue toward flight PM or nurse.

I just want her to focus on one career choice so she can focus on what college offer is the best, no matter if it's from D1 to Juco. It gives me a headache sometimes.

the average college student changes their major more then once. Maybe its a good thing she is going through it now. I know we think its best to go in with the exact idea of what they want, so they can pick the right school. On the other hand we don't want them pigeon holed by their choice, with no options once they are in school. In the long run she has to be comfortable with her choice and bouncing around different ideas in her mind might be her way of testing what she wants and making sure its best. Sort of like if you were going to buy a car, you probably wouldn't buy the first one you looked at, at least not until you looked at a couple more. She is just kicking the tires right now and trying to find the one thats best.

 

[PEPPERS]

JAD

Not sure where your DD plays, but high school ball is NOT free where I come from! We paid $500 this season for the 'privilege' to play for our high school softball feeder team, and the season only lasts 2.5 months. Kind of makes paying $1000 for 7 months of travel ball look like a bargain! .

The high school where one of my daughter’s friends attends requires you to do a fund raiser and they expect $500 or more and they sell you a $200 pair of shoes, required. One girl did not get all the $500 maybe $175 short and she was told she had to purchase the shoes, the week after her and 5 others were cut from the team after they turned the fundraiser money in and purchased the required shoes. Needless to say her mom was fit to be tied, she went to the principal but her complaint fell on deaf ears. They raised almost $18,000 and the money was designated to purchase lights for the field, new equipment, new stands and a concession stand.

Five years later none of that has been done or started, the mother of the girl cut now has another daughter who is a sophomore and was a 2nd team all state player as a freshman. The mother after going through 2 more fund raiser and $200 shoes began to ask where is all the money going due to the fact her other daughter was told lights, equipment stands and concession stands would be added to the field with the money and it was never done. Guess what?

Second daughter was dismissed from the team for what coach called in subornation, or the coach told some people he did not like her parents.

They say it’s free, but not really.


Daughter has practice beginning at 5:30 AM sometimes it’s weights, sometime running and a few times scrimmage games. Then practice starts at 3:00 PM for 3 hours. Pitchers and catchers report an hour early for the PM practice.