Sparkler review $$$

[steve1244]

My daughter's team went last year as second year 12s and is going again as a first year 14u team this year. Others have mentioned it, but one of the most valuable things you get out of these big national tournaments is playing teams outside your local bubble and seeing how both the team and your daughter measure up against national competition. For us at the 14u level, these are really important data points that only are available from playing in these events that feed into the team's and the individual players' decision making about near, medium and long term futures.

Yes, they are expensive, but my personal view is that once you commit to playing travel softball and have made the level of commitment necessary to be part of a team that has legitimate standing to play at these events, it's something I couldn't not agree to do and was actually a no-brainer. She spends a ton of time on softball and, because of that, it defines a large part of her identity at this stage of her life. Right or wrong, being in these huge national events is a signifier of a legit, high level team and player, and playing in them and doing well has meant a lot to my daughter and her team. Plus, they're a lot of fun for the girls and the parents, though I and my liver were glad to come home after a week.

 

[Orange Socks]

This is probably a dumb question - As the dad of a 15U player who has never played in a showcase event like the Sparkler before, how do you identify college scouts and/or coaches who may be watching your games? I just want to sit back and enjoy the games, but also would like to be able to pick out those watching from the college ranks. More for a "making mental notes" kind of thing, because I'll be busy doing GC as well.

We aren't in the Power Pool, so my expectations are low as to how many could be watching our games. Hopefully my daughter and her team perform well, but we shall see. I have no intenion of putting any pressure on her, I just want her to go and do what she knows how to do - Hit the ball and hit the ball hard.

Aren't you guys playing local college showcases? 16u/18u it seemed almost every event DD played had coaches in attendance even if it was smaller tourney/round robin. Usually the same events every year. Rinse and repeat.

 

[SoftballDadDave]

Aren't you guys playing local college showcases? 16u/18u it seemed almost every event DD played had coaches in attendance even if it was smaller tourney/round robin. Usually the same events every year. Rinse and repeat.

Last summer, our previous team's coach decided to play in a B-level 14U tournament instead of playing in a local showcase. Since we're in MN, we don't have many showcases, and most of the schools that show up for the one big one each summer are from the Midwest.

She sounds like she wants to do one of the college camps at the Sparker. I did tell her that she needs to reach out to the college whose camp she wants to attend plus the other colleges she may be interested in and let them know A) she's interested in playing for them, and B) she will be playing at the Sparkler and the Int'l Challenge the weekend before. Our only other out of town tourney this summer is Des Moines in mid-July, so we need to make the most of the limited opportunities.

 

[Orange Socks]

Last summer, our previous team's coach decided to play in a B-level 14U tournament instead of playing in a local showcase. Since we're in MN, we don't have many showcases, and most of the schools that show up for the one big one each summer are from the Midwest.

She sounds like she wants to do one of the college camps at the Sparker. I did tell her that she needs to reach out to the college whose camp she wants to attend plus the other colleges she may be interested in and let them know A) she's interested in playing for them, and B) she will be playing at the Sparkler and the Int'l Challenge the weekend before. Our only other out of town tourney this summer is Des Moines in mid-July, so we need to make the most of the limited opportunities.

Depending on your DD's skillset, make sure she is on the right team for her goals. You said something about "wanting to playing D1" in an earlier post. I would focus on skill development, fine tune the academics fit and have an open mind about all Divisions of college. If your DD is playing on a team that will only get in front of colleges a few times a season, that's gonna be tough unless she is attending on campus camps. If she is D1 Caliber she will for the most part need to be on a legit team/program with coach contacts that play in the right tourneys against the best teams. No more hittin' kitten B level events.

 

[SoftballDadDave]

Depending on your DD's skillset, make sure she is on the right team for her goals. You said something about "wanting to playing D1" in an earlier post. I would focus on skill development, fine tune the academics fit and have an open mind about all Divisions of college. If your DD is playing on a team that will only get in front of colleges a few times a season, that's gonna be tough unless she is attending on campus camps. If she is D1 Caliber she will for the most part need to be on a legit team/program with coach contacts that play in the right tourneys against the best teams. No more hittin' kitten B level events.

Thank you for this! We're struggling with what's "the right team". Last season, most parents were annoyed by the decision to play in that lower tournament instead of in the local showcase tournament. If the team is so good, why aren't we proving it by playing against (at the time) the best 14U teams? Because it was about the coach's ego and winning a lower tournament was more important. We are no longer with that team or club. I like the club we joined this season (23-24), but we need to evaluate options soon. Short of moving to Texas or Florida, I don't know what the "right team" could be. I'm willing to entertain an out-of-state option if there's a fit and mutual interest.

In my mind, just being able to play college softball at any level is an accomplishment, so regardless if it's D1 or D2 or D3, it's an awesome thing to achieve. But academics have to come first, no matter what. Thankfully, she's doing fairly well so far in high school and hopefully she keeps that up. She's planning to attend at least one college camp while we're in Denver, and we need to figure out which one she wants to do, since there are several colleges holding camps that she has an interest in. Then I need to get her to contact those schools, let them know her schedule, etc.

 

[stox]

That's like saying the main draw of playing the lottery is not to get rich because only 1-2 people win each time.

The main draw of the lottery is to daydream about what you'd do with the money if you've won. Delusional to expect to win it.

Maybe that's the draw of this tournament. For most girls and their parents, it's to daydream about catching lightning on a bottle at the right time with the right coach watching to get that opportunity to play D1.

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