Well, hopefully your DD sticks to her major. MY DD, also a senior, is set on her major (accounting) and the schools she wants to go to. She's a good player, but she knows she wouldn't make those teams, and if by some chance she did, she wouldn't be playing much. I'm a bit bummed she won't be playing in college, but I'm happy in her decision to concentrate on her major and not manage softball along with it. I do wish the best for your DD, but is softball doesn't work out, certainly not the end of the world.
Advice needed for 2022 recruit
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She's going to stick with her major. We've already had the dreaded talk about how the list of schools she can play at and the list of schools that work for her academically may not end up being the same list. She understands that, but just doesn't want to give up softball unless she absolutely has to. She has a camp this weekend and is subbing to play in the big showcase in the area the following weekend, so we'll see how it goes.
With the risk of her sounding arrogant, she continues to see girls posting about the colleges they have signed with. These are girls she has played with and against, that she knows (at least in her mind) she's better than. We were told all along by opposing coaches and others that finding her a college landing spot wouldn't be difficult with the way she hits. You would think colleges would be all over a lefty power bat that hits for average and has some speed. It just tells me they must question whether she can repeat her success at the next level. We'll keep plugging away!
HS stats don't matter (neither do travel stats
Definitely not too late. and you are fine with the team you were on, etc. Don't look at anything in the past as a mistake. But you have gone too broad and expected people to be coming your way; when you have to be WAY more proactive and aggressive.
- Here is what to do:
- Make a list of the top 10-12 schools she wants to go to that match her major, her desired geography, desired college type (size, environment, campus, etc, etc) and whatever else she feels is important (softball should come somewhere near the bottom of importance on this list)
- Now AGGRESSIVELY go after these schools. Send emails, attend the camps, go the general college tour (and let the coach know), turn up to their games, pick up the phone and leave a message for the coaches, etc, etc. Change your message from 'are you interested in me' to an aggressive "I am extremely interested in your school because of my desired major and can bring X skills to the softball team'
- GO TO CAMPS YOU KNOW THESE TARGET SCHOOLS WILL ATTEND ONLY. Everything else is a waste of money
- If you know a target school is going to be at X showcase; go 'guest' for a team there if your team is not playing.
- Go to HIGH ACADEMIC CAMPS: That means Headfirst Camps. Maybe Pennsbury. But I would go to two Headfirsts if I had the choice.
My DD basically told her (current) college coach; "I 100% want to come here; how do I make that happen?"
ADDED: Many high academics/D3 schools need to know YOU have interest because they lose a lot of good recruits to 'higher' divisions. So being aggressive about wanting to REALLY be at a school and WHY is important. Sometimes you have to PUSH hard to convince them that you REALLY want to come - and are not using them as a second choice if your real #1 comes through. No one likes to know they are second choice.
Nice looking website but OVERKILL. Move the BEST skills video to the top of the home page - I need to know what kind of player she is in less than 30 seconds which should make me want to look deeper at more content. You are not capturing that on the front page so it takes too long.
This may not help, but I know what you are going thru. The feeling of 'why them' I have learned, is very common and ultimately doesn't mean much. Sometimes its just dumb luck.
Just keep plugging. Don't do the shy, polite young lady routine. Be the loud, hard to miss, chick. It works. I promise.
Thank you for a very detailed reply. Some great advice there. I see what you are saying about the website. Some of the defensive videos get lost in the shuffle. I see a lot of girls that do skill videos, but if I were coaching I would want to see how they look in live game video. I've coached girls who look great in practice and it just doesn't translate live. Posted all of the HR videos thinking that if I only posted one or two, they would have no idea whether she got lucky a few times, vs. doing it consistently. But I see how that has left things cluttered.
I'd love to see her aggressiveness at the plate translate to aggressiveness in marketing herself, but she's a little shy with coaches. She needs to get over that.
sjw62000
just cleaning the dugout
Asst JUCO coach here. We use Field Level quite a bit. It's a great platform.
- Jan 31, 2011
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I'm going to give you my opinion. I have two DDs that played college ball and struggled with recruiting too. First of all, be very proud of your daughter! She can hit, she can play. You see her success on the field and wonder why is she being left out? I know the feeling.
First of all her grades and ACT help - BIG TIME! She can receive a lot academic $$$ that is not tied to athletics. You said she is interested in a specialized degree and softball will basically compliment her college career. Forget the comments about her swing. Yes, its not your typical swing. But, you never said anything about D1. She will hit just fine at DII or DIII or NAIA in my opinion. She could hit great! Don't take that as a negative either.
I would target her top 5 schools and make personal contact with the coaches. Ask about the winter camps and go to them. Meet the coach. Set up a campus visit through the admissions office with the school. Let it be known she is a ball player! Those folks can help open doors. Show genuine interest.
BTW - Don't do the shotgun approach of emailing 50 schools and hoping for a response. It never worked for us.
Best of luck - keep us updated!
First of all her grades and ACT help - BIG TIME! She can receive a lot academic $$$ that is not tied to athletics. You said she is interested in a specialized degree and softball will basically compliment her college career. Forget the comments about her swing. Yes, its not your typical swing. But, you never said anything about D1. She will hit just fine at DII or DIII or NAIA in my opinion. She could hit great! Don't take that as a negative either.
I would target her top 5 schools and make personal contact with the coaches. Ask about the winter camps and go to them. Meet the coach. Set up a campus visit through the admissions office with the school. Let it be known she is a ball player! Those folks can help open doors. Show genuine interest.
BTW - Don't do the shotgun approach of emailing 50 schools and hoping for a response. It never worked for us.
Best of luck - keep us updated!
Maybe there is a misunderstanding about my so-called 'shotgun' approach. I'm not talking about creating one generic email to "Dear College Softball Coach" and sending it to 50 schools. You have to personalize each one with bits about the school, or the softball program, conference, or at least your intended major just as you would to those 5 priority schools.
When you get deep into the game with no ideas left, I think any ideas that have worked for others shouldn't be dismissed. The OPs DD has stats, awards, and good test scores. In softball, as in life, 'following the rules' sometimes handicaps otherwise good people. And those that don't still get looks if they need something you have.
If you have done the typical recruiting playbook and it didn't work, try something else. All you lose is a few hours of your time.
- Aug 19, 2012
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I would agree with the earlier posters who mentioned the website was too much content. There are undoubtedly exceptions but all the coaches I've talked to or known all prefer a skills video with good lighting and multiple reps to the highlight videos.
Consider how many emails/videos a coach might receive in a given day and make sure you are putting your best foot forward in the 30 seconds to a minute you might have to catch their attention. Give your elevator pitch not a 30 minutes presentation with the best contend 15 minutes in,
I would also say if you are applying to be a college softball player you should look like one in your promotional videos/website. Dress for the position you want. I wouldn't do video content in shorts or have photos in jeans.
Consider how many emails/videos a coach might receive in a given day and make sure you are putting your best foot forward in the 30 seconds to a minute you might have to catch their attention. Give your elevator pitch not a 30 minutes presentation with the best contend 15 minutes in,
I would also say if you are applying to be a college softball player you should look like one in your promotional videos/website. Dress for the position you want. I wouldn't do video content in shorts or have photos in jeans.
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