Recruiting

[catcherdad]

What is your thoughts on recruiting? I had a parent call me today and said that he signed up his daughter for (ncsa athletic recruiting). I did not know what to say to him about signing up and paying all that money. What is there to say except that is great. He has asked me for my opinion and I don't know. So I am asking the discussfastpitch family as you guys and gals know a lot more about this stuff than I do. Is this a smart or dumb idea? pros and cons.

 

[Sparky Guy]

What is your thoughts on recruiting? I had a parent call me today and said that he signed up his daughter for (ncsa athletic recruiting). I did not know what to say to him about signing up and paying all that money. What is there to say except that is great. He has asked me for my opinion and I don't know. So I am asking the discussfastpitch family as you guys and gals know a lot more about this stuff than I do. Is this a smart or dumb idea? pros and cons.

A motivated parent AND player can do just as good a job. There dozens of web sites with information and as well as Cathy Aradi's book. There's local workshops that help with understanding the recruiting process. There are many do's and don't's when it comes to it. Understanding the process helps make it less stressful. Do some research on the web and you'll find plenty of information.

The trick is to start early. If your daughter is serious about playing college then you start contacting college coaches when she enters her freshman year in HS. Get on the radar of multiple coaches. You'll get a lot of no's, but it only takes one yes.

 

[sluggers]

I'm with Sparky...

First, get you head screwed on straight about collegiate sports. It isn't what you think it is--it is simply softball for college kids. Your DD isn't going to make any money playing softball after college. And, when her career is over, it is OVER. She hangs up her glove and cleats, and likely will never play a fastpitch game again.

So, get Cathy Aradi's book, put a skills video of your DD on Youtube, and then start writing letters and emails. Find a school that fits your DD without regard to softball, and then look into softball at that school. Make a list of 5 or 10 schools that fit your DD, and then *YOU* go recruit the softball coach.

 

[SBFAMILY]

Here is a hint. Watch what you and your dd post on facebook and other social media accounts. Colleges now have students researching posts on these sites on future players and parents. Clemson ( I think was mentioned) as a college that won't even let players use facebook.

 

[Screwball]

It is so hard to figure out what these services actually offer and how much it costs. I am also suspicious when the 'acronym' is meant to confuse with a coaches or other association.
Not much upfront info on the ncsa site. Some seems free, but just a hook?

 

[Daddylawman]

We are using a site for my DD and I'm very happy with it. The cost was low, and, for her the major benefit is the links to softball coaches' emails. It makes it very easy for her to get information to a lot of coaches quickly. It also makes it easy for them to find information on her without spending a lot of time. I think coaches like that.

Finally, it tracks all coaches who "log in" to look at her profile to help us have an idea of schools that might be interested.

 

[absdad]

A member here, Druer, had a recruiting seminar a couple months ago that was very good. He went over the whole process, what to do, not to do, etc. We have friends and family who have dd's currently in the recruiting process, and some currently playing at the collegiate level. They all say basically the same thing. Do the work, don't expect someone or some service to do it all for you.

 

[InTheCrowd]

We put my DD up on a recruiting website and we have stayed at the "free" level so far. I'm thinking about paying a fee to see more information. We've uploaded pictures and videos, her stats, her private instructors, etc. She's just a sophomore this year but we started receiving packages from schools last summer. Some of the schools are impressive. They are all D3 or NAIA schools and one from the USCAA. The cool thing is the site is neat resource for getting school information, costs, academics, etc.

My DD doesn't have much interest in a D1 school - she much more interested in a smaller school. We are looking for the "right fit" where hopefully we can get some academic aid (she's a good student) and some athletic aid. The academics is first.

The website has really been beneficial as a research tool.

 

[sluggers]

It is OK to post the sites...I would like to take a look at them.

 

[druer]

A member here, Druer, had a recruiting seminar a couple months ago that was very good. He went over the whole process, what to do, not to do, etc.

Thanks absdad.

The link for catcherdad is: College Recruiting Help | Cross Training Softball
You will see several things you can view or download. If you right click on the button that says "View Webinar" instead of clicking it, you will have the option to do a "Save as" so that you can save it to your computer and watch whenever you want or share it with friends/teammates. Good luck and feel free to follow up with any questions you may have. It's an exciting and scary time all rolled into 1 big package.