Expectations of allready commited or verbaled players on showcase teams?

[okiedad1961]

Have heard some experiences on the site ,of teams that have these ladies on there teams.Coaches and Org leaders what are your expectations?

 

[BouldersDad]

Replacements need to be found for committed players the following season. Finish out the year then move on, Its neither fair to players wanting to get moved into the showcase recruiting slots or to the committed players family who has already spent a crap ton. It does the committed player no good to Travel that schedule or spend that kind of money. They would be better off playing fairly local and preparing to go on to their next stage in life.

Also the attitude or hunger of committed players change after they get what they fought so hard for. The Hunger is no longer there in a lot of cases. The committed ones way to often go on cruise control and effect the team while younger player are still looking . The following of college coaches will drift off also, knowing they are no longer in the race for certain players.

 

[longball00]

It does the committed player no good to Travel that schedule or spend that kind of money. They would be better off playing fairly local and preparing to go on to their next stage in life.

Devils advocate here. What if the committed player's team is playing the level of competition they need to see in order to be properly prepared for the next stage? IMO, they should accept their role during showcase games, and allow team mates to be seen, but come bracket play, go get it just like they are used to when called upon. I have been told by a few coaches, that they would like you to play the best competition you can so you are ready when you get to them. It makes sense to me, if you are playing the best competition you can, there is little transition once you step into college.

 

[BouldersDad]

There are very few D1 players that would have to play at the highest level to keep sharp for college. The majority of players are D3, naia with a mix of D2. Most travel ball teams can compete with or defeat those levels of college. I don't know of a parent of a committed player who will pay that kind of money for dues and travel and then be content with their kid playing that kind of role.

My recommendation is still to finish out the season and move on. Find a team of comitts that play at a higher level if need be.

 

[longball00]

There are very few D1 players that would have to play at the highest level to keep sharp for college. The majority of players are D3, naia with a mix of D2. Most travel ball teams can compete with or defeat those levels of college. I don't know of a parent of a committed player who will pay that kind of money for dues and travel and then be content with their kid playing that kind of role.

My recommendation is still to finish out the season and move on. Find a team of comitts that play at a higher level if need be.

That makes total sense as well. But, what about those high level D1's that have to play it? Is it worth it to play at PGF Nats, IDT etc? Don't take it the wrong way, not bashing, just conversation. Interesting topic.

 

[BouldersDad]

Its all good. Those kids are the 1 percenters. Find a team next season that has similar interest and needs. In my opinion once you have committed your needs are different than those who have not committed.

 

[okiedad1961]

Good information which I mostly agree with.Looking from a Coach's perspective what if you need these players to keep your team competitive ,could certainly change a coachs perspective on there team .If so should the player be required to partisapate in events all season.

 

[GeneralsDad]

By this logic, teams such as the Birmingham Bolts 99 should disband? There are many teams across the country who carry a nice mix of committed, verballed, and uncommitted players. The committed players are working hard and providing leadership. Coaches are still coming to games checking on the progress of their recruits. Uncommitted players reap the benefits of the coaches they contact, as well as regular attendance from others.

If anything, the players effort should double after they verbal. Now it is about working for playing time. If they mail it in, or hit cruise control, they are asking for a spot on the bench. If a coach allows a drop in intensity, or allows it to affect the rest of the team, that's on the coach...Just my .02

 

[mike_dyer]

At this point everyone who my kid wants to see her play has seen her play.

And here is a little newsflash:

She didn't learn how to hit balls 225', run bases like a boss, and make those plays on defense doing it 14 or 15 times a weekend. Also, doing it 14 or 15 times a weekend in central Ohio, California, Georgia, Florida, Texas, or anywhere in between isn't going to make her any better at doing it.

And one more thing, no one who plays for any team, from the Birmingham Bolts 99 to Bob's Waterbeds Premier, learned how to do whatever it is they do by doing it 14 or 15 times a weekend either.

 

[fanandfun]

From experience, DD (UT/P) verballed midmajor D1 in February of her Sophomore year in High School. At that time only 20% of her team had verballed and they played a showcase schedule that summer (before her junior year in high school) New Jersey, Tennessee, Chicago, etc. It was good competition but the focus was on getting the other girls seen by coaches (as it should be). This summer 80% of her (same) team were verballed. Had it not been the case, we would have looked to get her on a team of committed players. This summer her team didn't play a heavy showcase schedule and it was a much more of a relaxed atmosphere for the girls - they all played lots of different positions and out team at times carried 15 players (most are starting college this fall). For next summer, she is looking to play a very competitive schedule- not necessarily all showcase but just the best competition (she wants to face the best pitching) to get ready for college next fall 2017 (She's a senior this year) Will we travel to Colorado etc? Not sure yet but we are okay if she does (we've already had these discussions as a family).

 

[longball00]

Ok, here is why I asked the devils advocate question. My DD is 14U and has verbally committed to a D1 SEC school. As a family, we agree with her that she needs to face the best hitting and pitching to be ready to play in what many consider the toughest conference, and she will play the schedule to do so. Boulders answer reassures me we are not alone in our thinking.

 

[Run26]

Ok, here is why I asked the devils advocate question. My DD is 14U and has verbally committed to a D1 SEC school. As a family, we agree with her that she needs to face the best hitting and pitching to be ready to play in what many consider the toughest conference, and she will play the schedule to do so. Boulders answer reassures me we are not alone in our thinking.

First, congrats to your daughter and your family. That is quite an achievement.

We went through this with my oldest daughter when she committed to a D2 school for softball. Her TB team had about 1/2 the squad move on to play college and half just wanted to finish out their last year of 17-18U ball. There were commitment issues from some of the girls and we weren't sure if we would even have enough girls some weekends. This was unfortunately because they had all been teammates since 11U and had built quite a team.

When faced with this decision we reached out to her college coach for advice. She told us that we need to continue to see the best competition we could without adding more travel time and expense than we were already used to. She said the tournaments we were playing would be indicative of the competition we would see in our league.
In the end we switched teams and played out last season with Stingrays. They made it easy for us and most of the girls were in the same boat. We ran into our previous team at 18U states and our premonitions were correct as they only had 10 girls and only about half of them really wanted to be there.

I think I would make sure you find the right fit. Being committed can cause lax and down right laziness in some athletes. This (IMO) is detrimental to teammates who are trying to remain sharp and performing at a high level. Have the honest conversation with your travel team, college and daughter to find out what the best options are for where you need to be in a year or so.

 

[DoubleTheFun]

First, congrats to your daughter and your family. That is quite an achievement.

We went through this with my oldest daughter when she committed to a D2 school for softball. Her TB team had about 1/2 the squad move on to play college and half just wanted to finish out their last year of 17-18U ball. There were commitment issues from some of the girls and we weren't sure if we would even have enough girls some weekends. This was unfortunately because they had all been teammates since 11U and had built quite a team.

When faced with this decision we reached out to her college coach for advice. She told us that we need to continue to see the best competition we could without adding more travel time and expense than we were already used to. She said the tournaments we were playing would be indicative of the competition we would see in our league.
In the end we switched teams and played out last season with Stingrays. They made it easy for us and most of the girls were in the same boat. We ran into our previous team at 18U states and our premonitions were correct as they only had 10 girls and only about half of them really wanted to be there.

I think I would make sure you find the right fit. Being committed can cause lax and down right laziness in some athletes. This (IMO) is detrimental to teammates who are trying to remain sharp and performing at a high level. Have the honest conversation with your travel team, college and daughter to find out what the best options are for where you need to be in a year or so.

I tend to agree with Run26.

I have seen a few teams full of commits that appear to be lax and do not live up to their competitive potential and have seen others that are just fantastic.
In my opinion it comes down to the travel club and coach philosophy, team leadership, expectations that have been set by the college coaches, and personal goals.

Each level of collegiate competition (and the different conferences and coaches within those levels of D1,2,3, NAIA, and JUCO) will set different expectations. It is important to make sure you completely understand those expectations and a good idea to have a conversation with the college coach before moving to a different team than the one she was on when the offer came.

As long as you understand your own athlete is not a finished product and needs to continue to do what it takes to get better to compete at that next level, whatever that may be. In our case, the work really ramped up after the verbal (which we took simply as an acknowledgement that DD was good enough to compete at a certain level) and when it became real and finite, it was all about putting in the work needed to earn playing time. This also helped with the last few seasons of travel since she was doing the work that the coach told her was needed for freshman year in college, she was able to handle the level of play that the travel team was doing.

As far as which travel club to be on, I would say one that the college coach recommends that will put your DD just outside her comfort level, prepare her for the level of play she will expect to see, and allow for personal growth and continued development, while not breaking the bank. That is always the tricky part...how not to break the bank

 

[BouldersDad]

I don't believe I said anything about any team needing to be disbanded . I said finish the season and play for a org that has the same needs you do the next season. If I could have I would have placed my dd at 23u once she committed. If you want to face your future peers that would be the place, You face what u are going to face in college and it dosent bust the bank.

When mine committed there were very few 23u teams there are many more now.

I agree their hustle and attitude should increase but reality says other wise. I cant make this tourney because I have a college thing happening, I cant make that tournament because I have to work that weekend, Needs change after commitment. your mileage may vary.

 

[gatorcoach]

Ok, here is why I asked the devils advocate question. My DD is 14U and has verbally committed to a D1 SEC school. As a family, we agree with her that she needs to face the best hitting and pitching to be ready to play in what many consider the toughest conference, and she will play the schedule to do so. Boulders answer reassures me we are not alone in our thinking.

Ask the coaching staff of the school she is committed to. I am guessing at 14u they want her playing the National schedule.

 

[longball00]

Ask the coaching staff of the school she is committed to. I am guessing at 14u they want her playing the National schedule.

That's a pretty good guess! That was all discussed on the visit.

 

[DougL]

This is our answer... this is GeneralsDad's DD - she improved greatly over the past season. I have had 4 players - 2017's committed to D1 - reach out to me about playing with our 18u Gold team of commit's next season for the very same reason.

From: Opdenbrouw, Thomas
Sent: Tuesday, July 12, 2016 2:21 PM
To: coachDoug@OhioHawks.com;

Subject: Patton Akers

Coach Lenos,

Good afternoon! I want to take a moment to thank you for continuing to push and coach Patton through these last 18 months following her commitment to us. When I first met Patton at our camp 2 years ago her potential really stood out. I was looking at my notes from that day a couple of weeks ago. Those notes said has tremendous potential but needs to gain overall strength, bat speed, pitch selection, throwing mechanics, confidence, leadership in the OF and softball IQ. When I look at how she has rose to the challenges that you have set in front of her I am really impressed. She has showed drastic improvement in all of those areas. Other Coaches in our league have been coming to me and telling me how special of a player that we have coming in in Patton. Like I didn’t already know this!

This is a tribute to you as a coach and teacher of the game as well to Patton for doing the work. There are a lot of players and coaches who relax following their commitment to a school. This lack of preparation and development is really hard on the player as they make the jump to a new level of competition. I feel that Patton will come in and contribute right away at a higher level and a lot of that credit goes to you. Thank you!

A lot of people have been teasing me for the amount of Ohio Hawks that we are recruiting. I tell them all it is because I know that they are willing to work for success in the classroom, on the field, and in society! Please keep up this great work with these outstanding, young student-athletes. Please feel free to contact me anytime that I can assist you in any way!

Best wishes and God Bless!
With Tiger Pride,
Tom Opdenbrouw

Head Softball Coach
Tennessee State University

 

[CARDS]

Have heard some experiences on the site ,of teams that have these ladies on there teams.Coaches and Org leaders what are your expectations?

When I coached our position on the 16/18U teams for committed players was that the expectations would be to help those uncommitted players and families to achieve their goals...
They can do that by playing every inning as though its their last, sharing experiences and providing advice to their peers and other parents.

Looking back when we played our last year of 18U most of our ladies on the team were committed. We did back down from the travel we did at 14/15/16u playing most tournaments in Ohio and only traveling four to five hours for events and by the end of the summer all ladies had found a college.

On a side note for parents with younger ladies looking to play at the 18U level what we seen was a lot of teams playing showcase ball and still playing on sundays had a good chunk of committed players (thus why at some events a lot of coaches do not stick around unless its to watch one they have committed too or its a mix/16/18 event).
So if you have an uncommitted 14-16U lady I would suggest staying in their age bracket. Once committed playing up can and will help them.

Our last three years we played 23U. The first year of 23U all the ladies were committed and half the team was 18U eligible but graduated HS. Our second year we had several ladies that joined the team for the summer that were still juniors or seniors in HS that had signed to D1 or D2 schools.
Two played for a Columbus based team the previous year the other came from a Toledo area team that signed with the same school as one of my current players.
This option works for the parents that were not looking to break the bank or play every weekend or in three/four day events. Honestly, playing at the adult level vs. mostly college or former college players helped these players recently committed players.

In the end it will come down to what the the player and parents want out of the team. Most college coaches will want to see committed players play vs. the best available talent and if the family can swing a true national schedule with showcase expenses good for those signed with a major D1 program.
Most players however, are not getting full rides to play in college or playing in college at a D1 powerhouse conference so whatever the family can save the year leading up to college is money that can be put to the other college expenses that they will find out is considerable.