Posted from Collegiate Softball Connection on Facebook.
It's always harder to play travel ball in the fall, particularly if you are a senior who needs to visit colleges, take your SAT, bring up your grades, or be involved in school activities. It used to be that travel teams would play 2 or 3 local tourneys, and then they would go to 1 or 2 big So Calif. tournaments (West Coast teams) which usually drew a good number of college coaches. College coaches who lived outside the region would get to the big October or pre-Thanksgiving tournaments, but they would rarely come out for both unless they were still in need of senior recruits or had generous travel budgets and could afford the time away from their teams. But times have changed, and everyone wants to get in on the showcase revenues. There are events in California--for example--from September until the weekend before Thanksgiving, and some travel teams play more games in the fall than in the summer forcing student-athletes to miss school nearly every week...and do a lot of studying in the car!
Most importantly, no matter what any tournament director tells you, there's one big catch here! This is FALL ball. That means colleges are in session. Most teams have their own fall (or non-traditional) season during which they practice and play. That means from late August or early Sept. to early November, college coaches are busy coaching!
Consideration #1: Even if a college coach wanted to scout every weekend in the fall, most of them could not.
Consideration #2: Many college coaches have recruits come for visits on weekends from Sept. through Nov. And they need to be on campus when they have recruits in. That means they can't be out scouting. At best, they can send an assistant.
Consideration #3: If you survey college coaches east of Nevada, I'm betting the majority of them would say, "IF (and that's a big IF) we travel in the fall to scout--e.g., if we have the money, the time, the resources--we would probably go to 1, maybe 2, of the West Coast tournaments." I'd also bet that many of the coaches at schools east of the Mississippi go to events in Texas or Florida or New Jersey in addition to or instead of those in California.
Consideration #4: Most college coaches do scout in the fall. But they all won't be out there every weekend, and their long-distance travel will be limited. For that matter, many D-II and NAIA coaches will have prospects come in and work out with their teams rather than trying to see them at a tournament while coaches at other schools may choose to run weekend camps rather than travel. D-III and D-I coaches may also run camps in the fall.
Parents and players often struggle (or fail) to understand/accept that by Oct., most D-I schools have either gotten commitments or are having their last few prospects visit while waiting for them to commit. They'll go scout in the fall...for walk-ons or to fill a sudden, unexpected need, but mostly for kids from the new sophomore or junior classes. The point here is that if you're a D-I coach looking at younger players, you don't have to be out every weekend. Your recruiting is important, but not urgent.
So how does this affect you? DO YOUR HOMEWORK--uncommitted seniors in particular. Remember, coaches may GO to these tournaments, but if they don't look for YOU, chances are good you won't be seen. And they won't look for you if you're not on their radar. This is just my 2 cents worth, based on over 25 years of recruiting experience. But no matter what you do...try to remember this is supposed to be fun for everyone. It's a GAME! (Well, except for college coaches...for them it's a JOB! It may be one they love, but it's still a JOB!)
It's always harder to play travel ball in the fall, particularly if you are a senior who needs to visit colleges, take your SAT, bring up your grades, or be involved in school activities. It used to be that travel teams would play 2 or 3 local tourneys, and then they would go to 1 or 2 big So Calif. tournaments (West Coast teams) which usually drew a good number of college coaches. College coaches who lived outside the region would get to the big October or pre-Thanksgiving tournaments, but they would rarely come out for both unless they were still in need of senior recruits or had generous travel budgets and could afford the time away from their teams. But times have changed, and everyone wants to get in on the showcase revenues. There are events in California--for example--from September until the weekend before Thanksgiving, and some travel teams play more games in the fall than in the summer forcing student-athletes to miss school nearly every week...and do a lot of studying in the car!
Most importantly, no matter what any tournament director tells you, there's one big catch here! This is FALL ball. That means colleges are in session. Most teams have their own fall (or non-traditional) season during which they practice and play. That means from late August or early Sept. to early November, college coaches are busy coaching!
Consideration #1: Even if a college coach wanted to scout every weekend in the fall, most of them could not.
Consideration #2: Many college coaches have recruits come for visits on weekends from Sept. through Nov. And they need to be on campus when they have recruits in. That means they can't be out scouting. At best, they can send an assistant.
Consideration #3: If you survey college coaches east of Nevada, I'm betting the majority of them would say, "IF (and that's a big IF) we travel in the fall to scout--e.g., if we have the money, the time, the resources--we would probably go to 1, maybe 2, of the West Coast tournaments." I'd also bet that many of the coaches at schools east of the Mississippi go to events in Texas or Florida or New Jersey in addition to or instead of those in California.
Consideration #4: Most college coaches do scout in the fall. But they all won't be out there every weekend, and their long-distance travel will be limited. For that matter, many D-II and NAIA coaches will have prospects come in and work out with their teams rather than trying to see them at a tournament while coaches at other schools may choose to run weekend camps rather than travel. D-III and D-I coaches may also run camps in the fall.
Parents and players often struggle (or fail) to understand/accept that by Oct., most D-I schools have either gotten commitments or are having their last few prospects visit while waiting for them to commit. They'll go scout in the fall...for walk-ons or to fill a sudden, unexpected need, but mostly for kids from the new sophomore or junior classes. The point here is that if you're a D-I coach looking at younger players, you don't have to be out every weekend. Your recruiting is important, but not urgent.
So how does this affect you? DO YOUR HOMEWORK--uncommitted seniors in particular. Remember, coaches may GO to these tournaments, but if they don't look for YOU, chances are good you won't be seen. And they won't look for you if you're not on their radar. This is just my 2 cents worth, based on over 25 years of recruiting experience. But no matter what you do...try to remember this is supposed to be fun for everyone. It's a GAME! (Well, except for college coaches...for them it's a JOB! It may be one they love, but it's still a JOB!)
