Does team name help for recruiting

grabber711

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We have been to a number of college camps over the past few years. After observing the focus of coaches on players it seemed that most of the focus on players were from the bigger named organizations in travel. So my question, does the name of the travel team your daughter is on influence the opportunities she gets from colleges? So does a coach put more attention on or towards a girl because they see a girl in an outlaws, hawks, or lasers uniform than one in a lower level organization( but the team is good)? Someone once said to me its not about the team name its about the player, which I think should be true, but does the name help?
 
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1000% YES.
Stingrays and Lasers are the two oldest organizations in Ohio. So most college coaches, not only know the name, but most know the organization heads and coaches. That’s a big leg up on others. Outlaws are up and coming.

Think about it like this.. if you are at a tryout and someone shows up with a Stingray or Laser helmet vs someone with a helmet from a not as recognized organization.. who are you immediately going to look at? The other player may draw your attention on their abilities, but the automatic attention is drawn to the player from the bigger organization
 

Run26

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It would be an interesting test to have no affiliation allowed on your sign up sheet nor your clothing while attending a camp.

1. Would the college coaches be forced into reviewing all players versus targeting?
2. Would the non-legacy players appear to be just as talented without the garb?
3. Would the players show better not knowing who they were going up against?

I'm guessing at the end of the day the true standouts will still be from one of these legacy orgs but a few others would get more notice.
 

AnotherSoftballDad

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The keyword does it "help". I think there no question it helps. It isn't a must by any means, but it does open a lot more doors. It will always come down to the athlete more than a team name....but the team name always "helps".
 

us3odums

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my daughter plays for Racers Youth Fastpitch she wore Akron Racers NPF t shirt no name or number on back and she had D1 and D2 coaches approach at the end of the camp wanting her season schedule so they can come see her play just an fyi for your question-- no matter what shirt you have on if they see talent they can see it!!
 

Mdfio

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I think it does matter but more importantly is (no matter the name) how much is the coach marketing and advocating for the players. If you have a coach that does not do much in this area and your DD wants to play at the next level, find the coach that will help. Now of course players have to do their part as well, camps, clinics, lessons, emails, etc!

I have seen many smaller organizations with a passionate coach for his players do wonderful things for them. Now these are few and far between at which times the larger orgs may be more beneficial to you!

JMO
 

Mdfio

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my daughter plays for Racers Youth Fastpitch she wore Akron Racers NPF t shirt no name or number on back and she had D1 and D2 coaches approach at the end of the camp wanting her season schedule so they can come see her play just an fyi for your question-- no matter what shirt you have on if they see talent they can see it!!


This is a perfect example of why coaches input at this level is so needed no matter the organization. Why did it take a Camp for these coaches to know who she is. I think it’s great and camps are needed but if her coach was advocating and marketing these coaches would already know her schedule and who she is, who she plays for, her grad year, her gpa, etc
 

jt7663

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At what Age (Grade) should it Start now that the Jr Year Recruiting rule is in effect? Camps 9th Grade, Showcase Schedule Sophomore Year ??
 
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Sure it is important. They know right off the bat that you have already shown you are good enough to play for (pick the team). It's like they are pre-qualified.
And Fio said it right.....the college coach should already know the kid is coming, if the travel coach is doing their job reaching out to the college coach to advocate for them. Good head coaches won't allow a player to attend a prospect camp if she realistically won't be a fit for their program. Why send a kid to Alabama camp if she is not capable of playing at that level? Honesty with players about their ability it tough, but man it sure saves time and provides for a much better camp experience (if they are going to the camp for the exposure). The kids can go to any camp they want to try to learn new skills. That fact can not be overlooked.
 

shummel

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At what Age (Grade) should it Start now that the Jr Year Recruiting rule is in effect? Camps 9th Grade, Showcase Schedule Sophomore Year ??

How much money you willing to spend?
 

Lasersteal06

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At what Age (Grade) should it Start now that the Jr Year Recruiting rule is in effect? Camps 9th Grade, Showcase Schedule Sophomore Year ??

Great question and one that we had as well after the rule change. The best advice I was given was- NOW. . Are the college coaches really going to be looking at them this early? Probably not. But look at it like this... let’s say their first clinic/ camp is as a sohpmore, with college coaches watching them. The players, if they haven’t experienced this before, are likely to be a little nervous, a little shy about talking to the coaches, and because of this may not perform the best. If, however, you get them used to these clinics, let them get rid of their jitters, let them get rid of the stars in their eyes when a college coach starts chatting with them, and do it early,, then when they get to HS and it REALLY matters, they are much more likely to shine . Best of luck!
 

DanMaz

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My Opinion is that YES it helps.
BUT you still have to do your work Outlaws or not.
- if you play for a rec team and never play travel and do your work... camps clinics grades you can still get an athletic scholarship.
Playing for one of the Top Org's like the Outlaws, definitely gives you a platform to work from that is hard to beat and does give an advantage without a doubt. JMHO
 
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us3odums

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This is a perfect example of why coaches input at this level is so needed no matter the organization. Why did it take a Camp for these coaches to know who she is. I think it’s great and camps are needed but if her coach was advocating and marketing these coaches would already know her schedule and who she is, who she plays for, her grad year, her gpa, etc
She does her own emailing & sending her of her schedules to schools she’s interested in that carry her major. The coaches that approached her were coaches of schools she really didnt know of so actually the camps are very good to get them out there in front of all kinds of different schools regardless of what name you have on the front of your jersey is the point I was making. There are so many colleges out there to choose from so please get your girls to camps as much as you can!
 
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I am currently a college coach and the name of the organization you belong to does matter. This is one of just many factors that go into recruiting. We are not going to x someone off our list just because they don't play for the lasers. If you do get on an established travel team, that will open doors for you to be seen more often by college coaches you don't know about. As in all things in life, appearance and attitude play a big role in weather you will get recruited or get that big job.
 

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