- May 10, 2010
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Is it better to play for a known team that is not very good or an unknown team that is better? That is the problem we are facing. Both have contacts with colleges and the travel distance is about the same.
Which team to play for?
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You have to remember when your DD is doing exposure weekends, college coaches are looking for individual players and not an entire "team". Most exposures have nothing to do with winning or losing.
The only advantage to "known teams" is they might have more of a reputation of recruiting top players in the past. The team name might catch a college's eyes in the email, if he/she has had a positive relationship with them before.
Let me put it this way since we just went thru all the festivities. I know many a girl who got decent to good offers at the next level............while playing for a .500 "travel ball" type team.
I always recommend players/parents join a team who fits their personal expectations. If DD is only looking to go to XYZ college in-state, their is no need in joining a exposure team who travels from coast to coast. If DD lives in TN and wants the chance to play ball in TX, then find a team who enters exposures in that area or events that pull TX colleges. If DD is in the top 1% of athletic ability and desires to play for the top national schools.............you're gonna travel far and wide and it's gonna cost ya.
The only advantage to "known teams" is they might have more of a reputation of recruiting top players in the past. The team name might catch a college's eyes in the email, if he/she has had a positive relationship with them before.
Let me put it this way since we just went thru all the festivities. I know many a girl who got decent to good offers at the next level............while playing for a .500 "travel ball" type team.
I always recommend players/parents join a team who fits their personal expectations. If DD is only looking to go to XYZ college in-state, their is no need in joining a exposure team who travels from coast to coast. If DD lives in TN and wants the chance to play ball in TX, then find a team who enters exposures in that area or events that pull TX colleges. If DD is in the top 1% of athletic ability and desires to play for the top national schools.............you're gonna travel far and wide and it's gonna cost ya.
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- Dec 20, 2012
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Do your homework. Check their history. Which team does a better job at exposing the girls? Which is getting more kids in school? Which is better at contacting the coaches and selling your kid? Find out which team will play in the tournaments that will get her max exposure in the area she wants to play? Do the kids on the team have similar goals? You don't want to travel the country if she wants to play local or vice versa.
And I agree they are looking for individuals not teams. But the more star power your team has, the better chance coaches may come to watch multiple girls on the team. Or they come see the ss and end up liking what they see in the catcher. And being on a more successful team(win/loss) is not what will get the attention. If they are playing a showcase, it is usually round robin, wins and losses don't matter. National tournaments, coaches are not at championship games. They come for pool play and first day or two of bracket. You get off the west coast and Colorado you don't see too many coaches other than regional, for the most part there are exceptions.
If you she is that good and depending on position you may talk to other teams. Sometimes they will foot the bill and fly her out for a tourney. That is a good chance to be seen by coaches that may not get out to your area.
Good luck!!
And I agree they are looking for individuals not teams. But the more star power your team has, the better chance coaches may come to watch multiple girls on the team. Or they come see the ss and end up liking what they see in the catcher. And being on a more successful team(win/loss) is not what will get the attention. If they are playing a showcase, it is usually round robin, wins and losses don't matter. National tournaments, coaches are not at championship games. They come for pool play and first day or two of bracket. You get off the west coast and Colorado you don't see too many coaches other than regional, for the most part there are exceptions.
If you she is that good and depending on position you may talk to other teams. Sometimes they will foot the bill and fly her out for a tourney. That is a good chance to be seen by coaches that may not get out to your area.
Good luck!!
What age group? What position does your DD play? How good is she - D1, D2, D3? What are your DD's college aspirations? Big organizations may get your DD some extra "looks" from different colleges, but even if she is recruited by 100 schools, she can only sign with one, so getting seen by the school she really likes is important (quality vs. quantity). If your DD knows which college she would like to attend the single BEST thing she can do is attend that schools camps/clinics!
Regardless of which team your DD joins, I would like to encourage YOU, and your DD, to take an active role in the recruiting process. College coaches are not allowed to contact you or your DD until Sept 1st of her junior year, but that does not mean you cannot contact them. Send them periodic updates with how she is doing and where she will be playing in the future. Attend camps and clinics of schools she is interested in attending......cannot emphasize this enough! Do not think that just because you join a marquee team or organization that the scholarship offers are going to start showing up in your mailbox!
Good advice above.
Look at the roster history of your DD's desired school. Does the coach seem to have a feeder team or teams? My DD will be playing with several TB teammates in college. I've even seen college rosters with a significant number of girls from the coach's hometown, even though coach is now working several states away. Coaches are often limited by time, resources, even desire to go too far afield looking for prospects, so sometimes certain go-to TB teams are a handy shortcut.
Another thing to look at is whether a TB team's program works somewhat like a college's. One thing DD's college coach said was that DD already knew their drills and general system before she was offered a spot.
The most important thing though is that your DD develop a relationship with any prospective coaches. Her TB team selection is just another way to stand out from the crowd to the desired coach.
Look at the roster history of your DD's desired school. Does the coach seem to have a feeder team or teams? My DD will be playing with several TB teammates in college. I've even seen college rosters with a significant number of girls from the coach's hometown, even though coach is now working several states away. Coaches are often limited by time, resources, even desire to go too far afield looking for prospects, so sometimes certain go-to TB teams are a handy shortcut.
Another thing to look at is whether a TB team's program works somewhat like a college's. One thing DD's college coach said was that DD already knew their drills and general system before she was offered a spot.
The most important thing though is that your DD develop a relationship with any prospective coaches. Her TB team selection is just another way to stand out from the crowd to the desired coach.
- May 10, 2010
- 255
- 0
My dd has a team, that is not really an issue. She has had chances to play with big programs and has turned them down. This comes from conversations with other parents talking about national program verses smaller programs. They travel all over the country to get exposed to colleges that are not even on their dd's lists. Many national teams carry 16 to 20 players on their rosters. The team my dd plays for has 14. I just really cannot tell a difference in recruiting for my dd and in the girls that play on national teams except for maybe 1 or 2 more bigger D1 scholarships. I just would like to hear from some more who have been there or are going through the process now .
Daughter is being recruited by a D2 School at present. Visited with the coach a few weeks back and i asked her that same question. Her answer...."From our standpoint it does not matter what travel team you play on, we dont care if you play on a Gold team or local team. When we come to watch you play, we are not looking at the team that you play for we are looking at YOU". She also couldnt understand
why parents spent fortunes on travel and travel programs. Of course they recruit semi-local and dont travel more than a few hours to
watch kids play. They just dont have the budget for it.
But i agree with the above posters. Many Colleges have travel teams that are feeder programs for them and have developed specific
relationships with the coaches. If you DD wants to go to a specific college do some research and see if you see that college has multiple kids
from one travel program.
I will say it does help to be involved with a travel program that goes to tournaments where coaches are going to attend. If you are playing for a local team and you dont travel very far it might be difficult for the coaches to see you when they are attending well known showcase tournaments. They can only be so many places during recruiting season.
why parents spent fortunes on travel and travel programs. Of course they recruit semi-local and dont travel more than a few hours to
watch kids play. They just dont have the budget for it.
But i agree with the above posters. Many Colleges have travel teams that are feeder programs for them and have developed specific
relationships with the coaches. If you DD wants to go to a specific college do some research and see if you see that college has multiple kids
from one travel program.
I will say it does help to be involved with a travel program that goes to tournaments where coaches are going to attend. If you are playing for a local team and you dont travel very far it might be difficult for the coaches to see you when they are attending well known showcase tournaments. They can only be so many places during recruiting season.
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So much of the recruiting process is up to you and your daughter. Remember that. Don't depend on travel ball coaches to get you there. That being said, any team you go to, you have to really research and find out about the players, the players parents, the coaches, etc. Make sure it's a good fit. And don't get blinded by a "big Name team". Sometimes they are always what they seem– we learned that the hard way Early in my daughter's high school career!
As far as travel: you do need to attend tournaments where the kinds of College coaches that your daughter is interested in playing for will be in attendance. Big travel may not be necessary. However I know that if you want to play with any major schools around the country, those coaches do like to see that a girl can compete on a national level. I know some of the major D1 coaches around my area have told me that even though they may end up recruiting girls that are local, they want to see that those girls have what it takes to go compete against the best of the best out in Colorado, California, and those kinds of places. So that something that you have to consider when choosing attain. Your daughter is still young – don't sell Her on one type of college right now. If she wants to dream big and go for some of those bigger schools, don't limit her by putting her on just the local team. However if she definitely seems to be one who wants to stay closer than to home Or has a very specific school she's interested in and that will be good, then you can use that to make your decision as well.
Traveling on those National teams can be very very expensive – we did it for two years. My daughter just started college last week. It is so expensive and you never really recoup all that money in scholarships. When you go into it, you have to know that you're doing it for the experience. And it did ultimately get my daughter a spot on a roster at a major school that would never have seen her if she had stayed on some of the local teams or regional teams that she started out playing ball for.
As far as travel: you do need to attend tournaments where the kinds of College coaches that your daughter is interested in playing for will be in attendance. Big travel may not be necessary. However I know that if you want to play with any major schools around the country, those coaches do like to see that a girl can compete on a national level. I know some of the major D1 coaches around my area have told me that even though they may end up recruiting girls that are local, they want to see that those girls have what it takes to go compete against the best of the best out in Colorado, California, and those kinds of places. So that something that you have to consider when choosing attain. Your daughter is still young – don't sell Her on one type of college right now. If she wants to dream big and go for some of those bigger schools, don't limit her by putting her on just the local team. However if she definitely seems to be one who wants to stay closer than to home Or has a very specific school she's interested in and that will be good, then you can use that to make your decision as well.
Traveling on those National teams can be very very expensive – we did it for two years. My daughter just started college last week. It is so expensive and you never really recoup all that money in scholarships. When you go into it, you have to know that you're doing it for the experience. And it did ultimately get my daughter a spot on a roster at a major school that would never have seen her if she had stayed on some of the local teams or regional teams that she started out playing ball for.
It depends on the experience your daughter wants to have. Sometimes a smaller school where she has the opportunity to start as a freshman and play all four years can be a lot more of a fun experience then going somewhere large and not getting a chance to see the field until her sophomore year.
Another thing I always tell girls to look at is how they want to experience college in general. Do they want to go to a smaller school where they are able to get a good education at the same time and not be too overwhelmed by commitments? And where they are able to enjoy some of the social aspects of a new stage in their life as well? Or go somewhere where they are committed to softball everyday every hour and not get a rounded college experience. Some girls do prefer the second option, no doubt, but it is a factor to consider.
Lastly, it also depends on the feel you get from visiting the campuses? Have you had an opportunity to do this yet?
Another thing I always tell girls to look at is how they want to experience college in general. Do they want to go to a smaller school where they are able to get a good education at the same time and not be too overwhelmed by commitments? And where they are able to enjoy some of the social aspects of a new stage in their life as well? Or go somewhere where they are committed to softball everyday every hour and not get a rounded college experience. Some girls do prefer the second option, no doubt, but it is a factor to consider.
Lastly, it also depends on the feel you get from visiting the campuses? Have you had an opportunity to do this yet?
