Showcase Events - rules and etiquette for parents

[_MIA_]

Final bit of advice: Don't do anything you would be embarrassed to do in front of your Grandma...(one of mine is still alive, 100 YO and cannot hear a lick and forgets to put her hearing aids in all the time so I could probably get away with some verbal abuse..)

 

[warbird]

Can you please elaborate? We talking know their record, their team, their achievements and big wins?

Or like Facebook stalk them and show up with their favorite ice cream flavor.

College coaches have 2 faces. Recruiter face and practice face. If possible, have DD reach out to ex players on social media, both those that left early and stayed 4 years and see if any skinny can be obtained. It can definitely make a difference.

 

[Westwind]

Treat them like the divas they are. (And when I say Diva, I really am thinking about Mike White.) Avert your gaze, no eye contact, speak when spoken to, and never, ever forget that they were once players and you CANNOT EVEN IMAGINE how good they were and how much the sport of softball has gone down hill since they played four years completely error free.

There should be smoothie station in the hospitality tent, no brown M&M’s.

Good luck. You only have to hold your breath for the next six years or so until you can return to your normal life among the mere mortals.

 

[Orange Socks]

College coaches have 2 faces. Recruiter face and practice face. If possible, have DD reach out to ex players on social media, both those that left early and stayed 4 years and see if any skinny can be obtained. It can definitely make a difference.

https://robocoach.discussion.community/?forum=10114

You can find a lot juicy gossip on this page if you can filter through some of the garbage posts. Years ago when I saw a certain player commit to an SEC team, I thought about the coach who was rumored to be tough and borderline abusive at his previous school. This was mentioned on the above site. I thought she wouldn't make it a year there. She hit the portal after two years. Heard from another dad in the know that said "abusive coaching" was one of the reasons she left. I actually spoke to this coach at Boulder and he was cordial.

You find a lot of good information from other parents and players who went to their school. Lots of crazy coach stories out there and you really need to pay attention. Find a reason to mark a school of your list as fast as you can and follow what's going on with coaches. Some are great others are nuts.

How do they run practices? Do I have to be at the field 5 hours a day(1 hour for warm up(no coach present) 3 hours coach ran practice, 1 hour after practice work (no coach)? How about Strength and Conditioning schedule? What are coach expectations of their players? Do I have to text the coach every night when I get to my dorm room at the end of the day? As a pitcher, what do my midweek bullpens look like? If we lose on a long trip will we stop and get food or will we have to starve and get something when I get home? (heard of this from 2 different teams) If I have specific dietary needs, will the coach accomodate me?

Fill in the blank__________________________________________________________________?

 

[uncdrew]

I've had more than one college coach tell me they don't watch the games, they watch the team gather outside the facility before they go into warmup and then just watch the warmups. Watching those two things tells the coach everything they need to know about the players they are interested in. I was the parent "recruiting liaison" for two summers.

I've shared with my DD that if you simply watch a player walk from the car to the field you can usually tell how good a player they are.

 

[murphdog]

When DD was being recruited a coach asked our head coach to bench a particular player for an entire game because she wanted to see how she’d handle it.
The HC told the player after the game was over

 

[FP26]

I've shared with my DD that if you simply watch a player walk from the car to the field you can usually tell how good a player they are.

It depends what you are looking for. If the only thing the coach is concerned about is skill, the game is clearly important. If the coach has 5 recruits that all play the same position and are relatively equal on skill, attitude and other attributes make a big difference and could separate those recruits. In many cases it is easier to see those traits outside of actual games.

 

[_MIA_]

I've shared with my DD that if you simply watch a player walk from the car to the field you can usually tell how good a player they are.

Ok..that is a bit much

Now if they are running they are either late (bad) or decided Taco Bell was a good pregame meal choice (worse)

 

[Lance Steckler]

i've witnessed a player getting removed from a coaches watch list because of her despicable behavior with her mom in a hotel lobby. Coach was eating b-fast with his wife. witnessed the player, pulled out his clip board, looked up the player and crossed her off. "don't need to tolerate that crap".

 

[LEsoftballdad]

I know a local D1 pitcher who blew her opportunity to go to a higher-level school for two reasons:

1) She didn't take her grades seriously, so many schools passed on her and her 75 average.
2) Her mother is nuts. She would yell at the umpires from behind the backstop over balls and strikes. She was thrown out of at least three HS games during her daughter's senior year.