Softball mom and grandma

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Jul 8, 2021
17
3
Hi
I'm from Philadelphia and coached fast-pitch softball for close to 20 years. Both my daughter's played both tournament and high school ball. I now have an almost 15 year old granddaughter who's talent amazes me, with straight A's to go with it. Hoping to learn more about the recruiting process.
 
Jul 31, 2015
761
93
Woot woot. Let’s hear it for inter-generational coaches and players. After 30 years no doubt you are an expert, so pls share, generously.

What kind of recruiting advice are you seeking? Lots of parents in here who’ve been through the process, and recently. Me included.
 
Jul 8, 2021
17
3
Hi Shiloh
Thanks for responding. At 59, I played in South Jersey on one of the first traveling teams. I was 14. They called it the junior women's team 16-21.

So, my Jordan will be moving to a new team this fall, which is a 16u Select showcase team that recruited her. She will be a freshmen, and already knows she will be playing varsity at her charter school. She is making an Instagram account and website. Jordan was top of her 8th grade graduating class with a 103.4 average (she made sure to correct me lol). We understand the importance of skills videos and personalized letters to college coaches. Is there any other important info we should know about in reference to recruiting?

Lisa
 
Dec 2, 2013
3,410
113
Texas
Hi Shiloh
Thanks for responding. At 59, I played in South Jersey on one of the first traveling teams. I was 14. They called it the junior women's team 16-21.

So, my Jordan will be moving to a new team this fall, which is a 16u Select showcase team that recruited her. She will be a freshmen, and already knows she will be playing varsity at her charter school. She is making an Instagram account and website. Jordan was top of her 8th grade graduating class with a 103.4 average (she made sure to correct me lol). We understand the importance of skills videos and personalized letters to college coaches. Is there any other important info we should know about in reference to recruiting?

Lisa
Have her set up a Youtube page so she can upload her videos and then she can email the links. Set up an email account that helps identify her easily. SallySmith2025@yahoo.com. There are lots of threads on here regarding recruiting. Instagram is great but it's not easy to send and forward emails and videos. Spend a little bit of time EVERY day doing some sort of activity that is related to recruiting. The first thing that is of most importance is her List of Target schools. Everything should revolve around this list. The list will need to be realistic. This is where lots of wasted time is eaten up. If you are sending info to a college that is unrealistic, skill wise, distance, tuition price, academics, it is wasted time and brain power.

Being at the top of the class in 8th doesn't mean anything until she starts taking PSAT's, ACT's and SAT. If you feel your GDD is projecting High Academic, she will need to start taking those tests ASAP to determine if she is truly high academic. My DD was top of her class until her Jr year and was tracking high academic, but ultimately was not elite. Top 5% in her class won't cut it. 27 ACT is good, but not great. At most mid major D1's she would get academic money, but getting a degree from a better academic school was more important.

This is a game of eliminiation. You want to be able to find a reason to mark a school of the list, so you can narrow down the choices. Your list will evolve month to month. My DD's college was not on her list until her fall of Jr year. Two months later, she committed to that school. I think about all the time my DD wasted sending emails, leaving voice mails to college coaches, etc. 2 years! But that is the process of elimination that she had to go through to find the school she's at.

Research, Research, Research: Do all you can to learn about the softball programs and the school. Find out who is going there, will be going there, who the coaches are, what they look like. Talk to parents that have kids going there. Find out why players are no longer there. Why are there only 2 Seniors on the team and 16 Freshman?
Online Questionnaires: Go online and fill out the form, so she can get on their mailing list.
On Campus Camps: Early and often! Attend these camps so the coaches can watch her in person.
Email: send emails to Head Coach and Asst coaches-Send videos, send updates. This will be a one way conversation for several years depending on the division.
TB Team: She needs to be in a program that has a history of helping kids get recruited to schools that are on her list. Work side by side the person that will be talking to the college coaches at the tourneys.
Visits: Go visit the schools that she is interested in. You will find these will not like something for some reason and decide they don't like the school. Too urban, Too rural, too big, too small, dorms suck, etc. You will see in the players Bio: Why she chose the school. They ALWAYS say the same thing. When I first stepped foot on campus it felt like home. The coaches were really nice and campus is beautiful. 1 year later, they are in the portal. Why? It was not a good fit for some reason. They missed something during their due diligence. Don't pick the school based on the coach. The liklelihood that the coach will still be there in 6 years, is pretty unlikely.

For the most part, these next two years will be used for preparation to get recruited. A lot can happen between now and when she can get a verbal.

This should be a good start. Others will chime in with their experiences too. Good luck and get going now.
.
 
Jul 31, 2015
761
93
Have her set up a Youtube page so she can upload her videos and then she can email the links. Set up an email account that helps identify her easily. SallySmith2025@yahoo.com. There are lots of threads on here regarding recruiting. Instagram is great but it's not easy to send and forward emails and videos. Spend a little bit of time EVERY day doing some sort of activity that is related to recruiting. The first thing that is of most importance is her List of Target schools. Everything should revolve around this list. The list will need to be realistic. This is where lots of wasted time is eaten up. If you are sending info to a college that is unrealistic, skill wise, distance, tuition price, academics, it is wasted time and brain power.

Being at the top of the class in 8th doesn't mean anything until she starts taking PSAT's, ACT's and SAT. If you feel your GDD is projecting High Academic, she will need to start taking those tests ASAP to determine if she is truly high academic. My DD was top of her class until her Jr year and was tracking high academic, but ultimately was not elite. Top 5% in her class won't cut it. 27 ACT is good, but not great. At most mid major D1's she would get academic money, but getting a degree from a better academic school was more important.

This is a game of eliminiation. You want to be able to find a reason to mark a school of the list, so you can narrow down the choices. Your list will evolve month to month. My DD's college was not on her list until her fall of Jr year. Two months later, she committed to that school. I think about all the time my DD wasted sending emails, leaving voice mails to college coaches, etc. 2 years! But that is the process of elimination that she had to go through to find the school she's at.

Research, Research, Research: Do all you can to learn about the softball programs and the school. Find out who is going there, will be going there, who the coaches are, what they look like. Talk to parents that have kids going there. Find out why players are no longer there. Why are there only 2 Seniors on the team and 16 Freshman?
Online Questionnaires: Go online and fill out the form, so she can get on their mailing list.
On Campus Camps: Early and often! Attend these camps so the coaches can watch her in person.
Email: send emails to Head Coach and Asst coaches-Send videos, send updates. This will be a one way conversation for several years depending on the division.
TB Team: She needs to be in a program that has a history of helping kids get recruited to schools that are on her list. Work side by side the person that will be talking to the college coaches at the tourneys.
Visits: Go visit the schools that she is interested in. You will find these will not like something for some reason and decide they don't like the school. Too urban, Too rural, too big, too small, dorms suck, etc. You will see in the players Bio: Why she chose the school. They ALWAYS say the same thing. When I first stepped foot on campus it felt like home. The coaches were really nice and campus is beautiful. 1 year later, they are in the portal. Why? It was not a good fit for some reason. They missed something during their due diligence. Don't pick the school based on the coach. The liklelihood that the coach will still be there in 6 years, is pretty unlikely.

For the most part, these next two years will be used for preparation to get recruited. A lot can happen between now and when she can get a verbal.

This should be a good start. Others will chime in with their experiences too. Good luck and get going now.
.


^^ Everything you need to know.
 
Jul 8, 2021
17
3
^^ Everything you need to know.
Hi

Thanks so very much for the wealth of information you provided. My GD will be attending college as a sophomore. She took the practice PSAT given by the school. They believe when she takes the real deal she will be a National Merit Award winner (if I have the term correct). I totally understand what you are saying about grades and testing, however.

My GD will hopefully be attending Penn's camp first week of September. We will surely be looking for upcoming camps.

I'm here to learn. I'd also like to find a private hitting and fielding coach in the area; however, it seems to be a difficult task. Where did your daughter and up going to college?
 
Dec 2, 2013
3,410
113
Texas
Hi

Thanks so very much for the wealth of information you provided. My GD will be attending college as a sophomore. She took the practice PSAT given by the school. They believe when she takes the real deal she will be a National Merit Award winner (if I have the term correct). I totally understand what you are saying about grades and testing, however.

My GD will hopefully be attending Penn's camp first week of September. We will surely be looking for upcoming camps.

I'm here to learn. I'd also like to find a private hitting and fielding coach in the area; however, it seems to be a difficult task. Where did your daughter and up going to college?
I would recommend the HeadFirst Honor Roll Camp for High Academic Prospects. The best run camp my DD ever attended.

Not sure what you mean by saying that she "wll be attending college as a sophomore." Maybe Starting college as a sophomore because of AP credits or dual credit? Beware not all schools accept dual credit and some rank AP credits differently.

National Merit Finalist will open up lots of doors and I understand that will pay for most of college.

My DD goes to UT Dallas. Finance Major in the Naveen Jindal School of Management. UTD has the highest number of National Merit Finalists in the state of Texas.
 
Jul 8, 2021
17
3
My granddaughter will have her associates when she graduates high school. It's a program for gifted students at her school. We consulted with someone we know who is a D1 assistant BB coach. Her NCAA eligibility will be fine. Im definitely going to look into this camp. You have been so very helpful. I appreciate it. Im sure you are very proud of your daughter and rightfully so.
 
Jul 8, 2021
17
3
I just went to the site. What I found strange was that they listed the colleges all of their alumni played at. All were D1 or D3. No D2 at all. I wonder why?
 

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