Advice RE Recruiting, etc

[MNDad]

Get to an Iowa State camp. If what you say is accurate she’d be a shoo in and they have one of the best animal science programs in the country.

 

[CrazyNani]

I wasn't sure where to post this, it's a long post. I've read just about every thread on here regarding club, travel, college, recruiting, etc and I have so many questions!

My DD is 14 (8th grade) and will be playing for her VERY small-town high school team this summer (we are in Iowa). She will probably make Varsity for her hitting and play first (5'10" & left-handed).

Her pitching is great (I think) but there is a very deserving upperclassman that will probably pitch the majority of the Varisty games (she has three seasons left). DD's average pitching speed is 59-60 but has hit 62, and puts lots of spin/movement on her pitches. She has a fastball that naturally drops, a two-seam drop ball, a change-up, and a curve. She is working on a riseball but I (and her pitching coach) think her drop ball will be her best pitch. I don't think she will pitch JV because the team is developing other pitchers that don't get any off-season experience. So probably just a few Varsity innings here and there and maybe a game or two during HS tournaments.

She is playing with her Iowa club team in March & April (five tournaments) and picked up two tournaments in May and a showcase in June with a Nebraska A-level team. Her Iowa club team isn't playing after April because HS practice starts on May 3.

The HS team has gone to state in the past but probably not in the cards for 2 or 3 years and they only have 17 games and 3 Saturday-only tournaments scheduled for the 2022 season. We are encouraging DD to focus on hitting for HS and to hone her pitching with club ball.

DD's regular club team doesn't plan on going to any showcases in the future but we had switched to them from a Nebraska club team that did because they were in Iowa and would not conflict with DD's HS team.

This is a critical time (right?) to be seen if she would like to play at the next level. Like all kids, she thinks D1 would be "amazing". She plans on getting a degree in Animal Sciences or biology and becoming a dog trainer. We are still in the research stages of what schools would be best (at any college-level).

How does she get seen by coaches if her HS probably won't be very good and her regular club team doesn't travel much? I think she has a chance to really shine at the HS level despite how they might do AND I think it is important for her to continue to foster the HS team relationships.

She did attend a local D1 pitching camp and got invited back for a smaller pitching camp but it isn't really a college she wants to attend as they don't have the major she wants. We do have plans to take her to any camps, etc that there might be once she narrows down her list of potential schools.

Side note: Her HS coach is already trying to switch her pitching from IR to HE and keeps contradicting everything her pitching and hitting coaches tell her. HS coach is telling DD that she wants her to hit down on the ball to generate lots of grounders! Anyway...that would be a totally different post on here!

After this season does she stick with HS ball in Iowa and see if a traveling team in Nebraska will take her on with her Iowa HS schedule? Can players really get recruited with emails and videos to DD's colleges of choice if she doesn't attend the big tournaments that college coaches go to? Have we started too late?

DD had to sign a form with her school that said she wouldn't participate in any club softball activities that conflicted with HS. That takes out most weekends in June and July which I gather is when all the good showcase tournaments take place. There are travel teams in Nebraska that go to the bigger showcase tournaments but she would probably have to give up HS softball, I suppose if she were to make one of these teams.

Advice, thoughts, guidance, personal experiences are welcome. Thanks!

If you are on Facebook, I recommend joining this group. It is the most informative source I have seen on the entire recruiting process, from all perspectives.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/109977656368235/?

 

[Wildfire]

Go visit Hillhouse. He's in Omaha. He'll give you realistic evaluation. I'm looking forward to seeing your video when you post it on here.

What NE Team she going to play with?

 

[jbbar44]

She still has time. She is only in 8th grade and don't worry about being seen at the high school games. College coaches don't recruit then, they are too busy in season with their teams. She needs to go to College Showcases, makes sure she plays for a good travel/club team where she can get seen. Just remember if she wants to play D1 it is going to be more about the sport than the academics and she will be super busy. She will have to work her classes around her softball schedule. Tell her to narrow down some college choices too and see it they are doing any camps of their own a lot of them will do camps off season and she can start emailing videos to the coaches. She still has time. If you go to NCSA you can look up colleges and their coaches information and see if its a match for her.

 

[hatter1998]

I wasn't sure where to post this, it's a long post. I've read just about every thread on here regarding club, travel, college, recruiting, etc and I have so many questions!

My DD is 14 (8th grade) and will be playing for her VERY small-town high school team this summer (we are in Iowa). She will probably make Varsity for her hitting and play first (5'10" & left-handed).

Her pitching is great (I think) but there is a very deserving upperclassman that will probably pitch the majority of the Varisty games (she has three seasons left). DD's average pitching speed is 59-60 but has hit 62, and puts lots of spin/movement on her pitches. She has a fastball that naturally drops, a two-seam drop ball, a change-up, and a curve. She is working on a riseball but I (and her pitching coach) think her drop ball will be her best pitch. I don't think she will pitch JV because the team is developing other pitchers that don't get any off-season experience. So probably just a few Varsity innings here and there and maybe a game or two during HS tournaments.

She is playing with her Iowa club team in March & April (five tournaments) and picked up two tournaments in May and a showcase in June with a Nebraska A-level team. Her Iowa club team isn't playing after April because HS practice starts on May 3.

The HS team has gone to state in the past but probably not in the cards for 2 or 3 years and they only have 17 games and 3 Saturday-only tournaments scheduled for the 2022 season. We are encouraging DD to focus on hitting for HS and to hone her pitching with club ball.

DD's regular club team doesn't plan on going to any showcases in the future but we had switched to them from a Nebraska club team that did because they were in Iowa and would not conflict with DD's HS team.

This is a critical time (right?) to be seen if she would like to play at the next level. Like all kids, she thinks D1 would be "amazing". She plans on getting a degree in Animal Sciences or biology and becoming a dog trainer. We are still in the research stages of what schools would be best (at any college-level).

How does she get seen by coaches if her HS probably won't be very good and her regular club team doesn't travel much? I think she has a chance to really shine at the HS level despite how they might do AND I think it is important for her to continue to foster the HS team relationships.

She did attend a local D1 pitching camp and got invited back for a smaller pitching camp but it isn't really a college she wants to attend as they don't have the major she wants. We do have plans to take her to any camps, etc that there might be once she narrows down her list of potential schools.

Side note: Her HS coach is already trying to switch her pitching from IR to HE and keeps contradicting everything her pitching and hitting coaches tell her. HS coach is telling DD that she wants her to hit down on the ball to generate lots of grounders! Anyway...that would be a totally different post on here!

After this season does she stick with HS ball in Iowa and see if a traveling team in Nebraska will take her on with her Iowa HS schedule? Can players really get recruited with emails and videos to DD's colleges of choice if she doesn't attend the big tournaments that college coaches go to? Have we started too late?

DD had to sign a form with her school that said she wouldn't participate in any club softball activities that conflicted with HS. That takes out most weekends in June and July which I gather is when all the good showcase tournaments take place. There are travel teams in Nebraska that go to the bigger showcase tournaments but she would probably have to give up HS softball, I suppose if she were to make one of these teams.

Advice, thoughts, guidance, personal experiences are welcome. Thanks!

"...it isn't really a college she wants to attend as they don't have the major she wants." You have an 8th grader who knows what college major she wants already? Come on. IMO the next two years, don't limit ANY colleges - go to as many camps as you can afford. That's where you can see how she stacks up against her peers. High school ball is for playing with friends, don't put any pressure on that side of it. Likely you will need to find a team somewhere else that travels. Pay attention to extrainningsoftball.com and you'll find the organizations in your region that seek that type of schedule. And most of all... relax. You're gonna blink and she's 18. Don't get all worked up with recruiting, get with a good org that has a recruiting history, keep going to camps, and if she's deserving, she'll find her college home.

 

[fastpitch91]

I wasn't sure where to post this, it's a long post. I've read just about every thread on here regarding club, travel, college, recruiting, etc and I have so many questions!

My DD is 14 (8th grade) and will be playing for her VERY small-town high school team this summer (we are in Iowa). She will probably make Varsity for her hitting and play first (5'10" & left-handed).

Her pitching is great (I think) but there is a very deserving upperclassman that will probably pitch the majority of the Varisty games (she has three seasons left). DD's average pitching speed is 59-60 but has hit 62, and puts lots of spin/movement on her pitches. She has a fastball that naturally drops, a two-seam drop ball, a change-up, and a curve. She is working on a riseball but I (and her pitching coach) think her drop ball will be her best pitch. I don't think she will pitch JV because the team is developing other pitchers that don't get any off-season experience. So probably just a few Varsity innings here and there and maybe a game or two during HS tournaments.

She is playing with her Iowa club team in March & April (five tournaments) and picked up two tournaments in May and a showcase in June with a Nebraska A-level team. Her Iowa club team isn't playing after April because HS practice starts on May 3.

The HS team has gone to state in the past but probably not in the cards for 2 or 3 years and they only have 17 games and 3 Saturday-only tournaments scheduled for the 2022 season. We are encouraging DD to focus on hitting for HS and to hone her pitching with club ball.

DD's regular club team doesn't plan on going to any showcases in the future but we had switched to them from a Nebraska club team that did because they were in Iowa and would not conflict with DD's HS team.

This is a critical time (right?) to be seen if she would like to play at the next level. Like all kids, she thinks D1 would be "amazing". She plans on getting a degree in Animal Sciences or biology and becoming a dog trainer. We are still in the research stages of what schools would be best (at any college-level).

How does she get seen by coaches if her HS probably won't be very good and her regular club team doesn't travel much? I think she has a chance to really shine at the HS level despite how they might do AND I think it is important for her to continue to foster the HS team relationships.

She did attend a local D1 pitching camp and got invited back for a smaller pitching camp but it isn't really a college she wants to attend as they don't have the major she wants. We do have plans to take her to any camps, etc that there might be once she narrows down her list of potential schools.

Side note: Her HS coach is already trying to switch her pitching from IR to HE and keeps contradicting everything her pitching and hitting coaches tell her. HS coach is telling DD that she wants her to hit down on the ball to generate lots of grounders! Anyway...that would be a totally different post on here!

After this season does she stick with HS ball in Iowa and see if a traveling team in Nebraska will take her on with her Iowa HS schedule? Can players really get recruited with emails and videos to DD's colleges of choice if she doesn't attend the big tournaments that college coaches go to? Have we started too late?

DD had to sign a form with her school that said she wouldn't participate in any club softball activities that conflicted with HS. That takes out most weekends in June and July which I gather is when all the good showcase tournaments take place. There are travel teams in Nebraska that go to the bigger showcase tournaments but she would probably have to give up HS softball, I suppose if she were to make one of these teams.

Advice, thoughts, guidance, personal experiences are welcome. Thanks!

Find the schools ( all levels) that offer her major, That have a softball team, that fit her grades, you can afford, that are in the type of place she wants ( city/rural, near far). Basically pick the list of 7-10 schools she would apply to for her long term future. Then start contacting coaches going D1,.....D3 Naia etc. D1 starts earliest filling rosters so you need to also. Everyone else kind of follows. DIII might be junior year in HS. There is a ton of highly competitive softball in the Iowa/Ill/Wisc/MO regions and very good schools. Remember its the quality education that will last her a lifetime. She can have softball memories at any decent program. And if she is 60 @ 14 and has not started weight training she will be 65 by HS and there will be no shortage of opportunities. Most college coaches say - tell me you want to come to my school because of the education and I will look at you as an potential athlete and if you have great grades - I love you. They need a way to filter 1000 random you tube videos that all look fabulous.

 

[MNDad]

She still has time. She is only in 8th grade and don't worry about being seen at the high school games. College coaches don't recruit then, they are too busy in season with their teams. She needs to go to College Showcases, makes sure she plays for a good travel/club team where she can get seen. Just remember if she wants to play D1 it is going to be more about the sport than the academics and she will be super busy. She will have to work her classes around her softball schedule. Tell her to narrow down some college choices too and see it they are doing any camps of their own a lot of them will do camps off season and she can start emailing videos to the coaches. She still has time. If you go to NCSA you can look up colleges and their coaches information and see if its a match for her.

A couple of misconceptions here. Colleges recruit during the HS season and any other times it’s allowed. From D1 to JUCO it’s not uncommon to see coaches at HS games. Don’t fall for the myth that they’re only at top showcases.

At all levels the primary reason kids are in college is for their education. Softball is always secondary. The quality of softball and academics is more dependent on the schools and majors than the level. You can’t assume D1 will have better softball and lessor academics anymore then we can assume D2 or D3 is inferior softball.