Playing at the next level......

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As a coach and a father, I am anxious to hear from all of the knowledgable OFC'ers regarding the steps a player must take in order to play ball at the next level (D1 & D2) in particular. Not focusing on talent level, let's assume the player has the skill set required. I'd like to know what players/coaches have found helpful in getting recruited.

My goal is to create a page for players and coaches to find helpful information. Some questions I'd like answered would be:

1. How soon should a player be considering colleges.
2. Most productive ways to get noticed.
3. Showcases that have had the most/best college coaches watching.
4. Has anyone ever used a recruiting agency? And thoughts of the angency if they did.
5. Skills videos and how helpful are they?
6. Camps. Are they helpful in the recruiting process? Even if they sometimes seem very "dumbed down"?
7. The importance of highschool ball. Freshman thru senior year, what players should be focusing on.

I've read several posts on the subject and have talked to many coaches on this subject but always find this board to be very helpful.

Thanks in advance. .

 

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As a coach and a father, I am anxious to hear from all of the knowledgable OFC'ers regarding the steps a player must take in order to play ball at the next level (D1 & D2) in particular. Not focusing on talent level, let's assume the player has the skill set required. I'd like to know what players/coaches have found helpful in getting recruited.

My goal is to create a page for players and coaches to find helpful information. Some questions I'd like answered would be:

1. How soon should a player be considering colleges.
As soon as the light bulb goes off and the player says "Wow, I'd really have fun playing college ball!!" That could be anywhere from maybe 12u up through 16u or above. A kid has a huge advantage if this realization is sooner rather than later, because the focus on high level skill preparation is what makes the difference.

2. Most productive ways to get noticed.
*Attend summer showcase tournaments where THE COLLEGE COACHES YOU HAVE CONTACTED are attending.
*Be certain your skills are up to par (read: COLLEGE LEVEL SKILLS).
*Be certain your ATTITUDE is in check - if you don't know what a "college attitude is, you need to mentally prepare yourself better.
*Attend camps/clinics at colleges you want to play for.

3. Showcases that have had the most/best college coaches watching.
*Every summer coach that claims to be coaching a "college showcase team" will know what tournaments the team SHOULD be playing in summer. If your coach doesn't know, you are probably not on a team that's going to get you college exposure.

4. Has anyone ever used a recruiting agency? And thoughts of the agency if they did.
If you don't have the time and energy to do this project yourself, it's quite possible you don't have the time and energy to be the self-starter that's needed to become a college student-athlete.

5. Skills videos and how helpful are they?
Very important to whet the college coaches appetite and make them want to see you live and in person. The HUGE caveat = videos can be done on a shoestring budget, but MUST BE DONE PROPERLY!! Doing this wrong can actually work against you.

6. Camps. Are they helpful in the recruiting process? Even if they sometimes seem very "dumbed down"?
Who cares if they are "dumbed down"?? Realistically you are NOT there to learn to become a highly skilled player in ONE DAY. CONVERSELY, you ARE there because you want to play for this coach someday, and you BETTER have a great attitude, and be able to show how hard you are willing to work to get there. Having great fundamental skills IN PLACE is a huge bonus.

7. The importance of highschool ball. Freshman thru senior year, what players should be focusing on.
Attitude, attitude and more attitude. Your college coach probably won't see you play high school ball unless you are in the State championship finals. You should be probably the most highly skilled player on your high school team - especially if a pitcher. High school stats are worthless recruiting tools, but getting awards, MVP, etc. make for great media guide copy. Look at some current college rosters online, and you'll get an idea what makes for good promotional items.

 

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Excellent post Sammy.

I would also add, that the lessons and skills that your daughter needs to/will learn about promoting herself, differentiating herself, interpersonal communication, dilligence, writing skills, follow-up, etiquette, handling adversity, etc... are the same skills she will need/use when she finishes colleage and enters the workforce.

Mike

 

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Sammy has covered it pretty well. He has been, there, done that.

I will mention the one thing that is very important. It is something that you, as a parent, really have no control over and it will absolutely drive you nuts........

Just where does your DD want to go to college? Is she a home-body or is she looking to get as far away from home as possible? This decision will shape your entire recruiting effort. What camps to attend, what teams to try to get on, what showcases to go to.

This decision has to be your DD's. If you make the decision, then if it goes bad, you are the culprit. If she makes the decision and it goes bad, then she looks at it as a learning experience.

As much as mom and dad visualize our DD's playing on ESPN on a top tier team, it just might be that Suzy just wants to go to the local D3 school.

One more thing....DD will change her mind on this matter every month.

One more thing (well I just remembered this)....the coaches are recruiting your DD, not you. They want her to answer questions. When they get emails, they want to get them from her. The coaches are smart enough to be able to tell the difference in writing styles.

 

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Yes, I agree, definitely an excellent post Sammy. I appreciate the valuable information you provide, and it's always good to hear from someone who has been through the experience, and is willing to help others through sharing.

 

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As the parent of a HS junior who just went through this, I agree wholeheartedly with Sammy.

I can't stress enough to start early. If dd expresses a strong interest to play college ball, then get moving immediately with emails, and more importantly, college campus unofficial visits. Figure out the type of schools dd likes best (i.e. size, campus style, atmosphere, location, etc...) then make sure you set up meetings to meet the coaches of her top 5-10 schools. If you don't know her type (we didn't) then visit as many different types of schools as you can to help dd figure it out.

Biggest issue I hear from parents...dd doesn't know what school or what she wants to study yet. That's ok...she's young, she doesn't have to know..but she does have to begin the process. You can always say no to an offer, but you can't get an offer if the school has already filled their slots!!!

We started summer before freshman year, got first D1 offer in Feb. of Sophomore year, and verbally committed January of junior year. Top programs start unbelievably early locating and trying to secure talent.

 

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Excellent post Sammy.

I would also add, that the lessons and skills that your daughter needs to/will learn about promoting herself, differentiating herself, interpersonal communication, dilligence, writing skills, follow-up, etiquette, handling adversity, etc... are the same skills she will need/use when she finishes colleage and enters the workforce.

Mike

Good point Mike...along this ride there will be many lessons learned that are not related to softball and they should be shared with your daughter, so she will be prepared to handle the interpersonal situations that arise as a young adult.

 

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Okay, I have to ask this question: Are we talking about playing at the next level or getting a scholarship to play at the next level?

There are a ton of kids playing at D1 & D2 programs that were walk-ons, they didn't spend every waking moment trying to get noticed. There is a huge difference in the way you approach this depending on what your goal is.

 

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Is it mainly pitchers that get snatched up early? My daughter is a freshman this spring and does not pitch, is the heightened expediency still needed? (hey the spell - check is working!)

We have contacted her top 3 coaches btw...

 

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Just some random thoughts maybe not exactly answering any questions.

A. Use your summer travels to drive through as many college campuses as possible. When my daughter was much younger we always did this and now as a junior she has a pretty good idea of what size/ type of campus she is interested in.

B. This has been said many times, but I believe it is imperative that you play in the highest level showcase tournaments. This is where the coaches are. Orland Sparks, ASA/USA Nationals, Colorado Sparkler, Stingrays just to name a few. It is costly but can pay off.

C. Get your daughter on the highest level team that she can play on where you are not the coach. Best move I ever made for my daughter. She had to earn every inning and her workouts and work ethic greatly improved when she realized that.

D. Be HONEST with yourself and your daughter. As a father the most difficult discussion I ever had with my daughter was at the end of her summer season before her sophomore year of high school when I had to tell her that she will not be playing softball in the big ten. If you are kidding yourself about your daughter's ability this becomes a long and difficult process. Because of our discussion my daughter has been very open to visiting small D1 and D2 schools and hopes to make her decision this spring.

E. Lastly remember that this process is simultaneously the most exciting and the most frustrating experience that you and your daughter may have ever experienced together up until this point in her life. GIVE HER A BREAK AND DON'T PRESSURE HER EVERY DAY ABOUT IT.

 

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Excellent post Sammy.

I would also add, that the lessons and skills that your daughter needs to/will learn about promoting herself, differentiating herself, interpersonal communication, dilligence, writing skills, follow-up, etiquette, handling adversity, etc... are the same skills she will need/use when she finishes colleage and enters the workforce.

Mike

Could not agree more, and all the stuff Mike mentioned should be mandatory learning for teens. A trend I have noticed among young people today is the absence of basic "people" skills. Granted, lots of this stuff we pick up as we get older, but basic manners, politeness, etc. go a LONG way.

A method I always liked was learning by example. Take the everyday "retail experience" most of us have had, like at the hardware or electronics store. As we left the store, I would ask the kids their opinion of how well they thought the associate at the store did their job. What could they have done differently? Better? How did you feel you were treated? These basic skills might someday be a tie-breaker in getting your choice job after college over other equally skilled candidates.

 

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A method I always liked was learning by example. Take the everyday "retail experience" most of us have had, like at the hardware or electronics store. As we left the store, I would ask the kids their opinion of how well they thought the associate at the store did their job. What could they have done differently? Better? How did you feel you were treated? These basic skills might someday be a tie-breaker in getting your choice job after college over other equally skilled candidates.

This is a great idea! I push manners and common courtesy all the time, but this would be a great re-enforcement tool.

I learn so much on this site it is crazy.

 

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Does anyone know someone that can make a good recruiting video in the SW Ohio Area?

 

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We found that the work to get signed must ultimately be done by the athlete......heard more than one college coach say they will not even read corresponsence directly from a recruiting service as they tend to group all of their "clients" as D1 material......but a service like BeRecruited where the tools are available for the athlete to do the work are helpful.....we found that once the visit was made the parents were basically invisible....coaches will spend the next 4 years with the athlete not the parent and their interest is in the athlete....Junior year was when my DD started writing to coaches at colleges she was interested in.....she included summer stats and video and ultimately was invited to several schools..we were blessed and she signed during the early signing period.......to the point......the athlete has to do the work....coaches seek out those with confidence and poise to do this themselves....

 

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Remember what Joe said... many college coaches have people with them that is watching for the girl's "dugout demeanor" with her teammates at college showcases and do it on the sly. He stated it "told" alot about the girl herself as to the way she acted at college showcases in her own dugout and how she might act around a whole new team coming into her college freshman year.

 

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Okay, I have to ask this question: Are we talking about playing at the next level or getting a scholarship to play at the next level?

There are a ton of kids playing at D1 & D2 programs that were walk-ons, they didn't spend every waking moment trying to get noticed. There is a huge difference in the way you approach this depending on what your goal is.

For the sake of argument, let's talk about getting scholarship money. I'd like to make this for people so that no stone is left unturned.

 

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It is really nice to here from everyone. Thanks for the PM Hitter.

Sammy, your post was very informative. Like Merlion said, it's nice to hear from the ones that have been through this.

 

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One thing that I don't think I've seen here yet is for parents or girls to ask a neutral, knowledgable person who has seen the girl play a lot to assess their level of play. If you have a few different people who are familiar with what a D1 or a D2 player looks like and they all say you are likely a D3 or NAIA player, then it's time to get busy looking for D3s and NAIAs if you want to play in college. And keep in mind we at those levels are all looking for D1 and D2 types of players who fall through the cracks for whatever reason.

The other thing I would mention, obvious as it is, is to be a great player. As Howard often says, how much did you practice during the week or two before you went to a school's camp? I had one girl at our clinic last weekend who was there to show us her game tell me when she picked up her bat, that, "Oh, I haven't swung a bat in like three months."

When I think about the girls I coached who signed D1 or D2 for any significant amount of money, they all had something specific to offer as a player. They were all either (1) an excellent pitcher; (2) someone who could hit the ball a country mile and hit for a decent average; or (3) they could get on base and fly. If you can't do one of those three things, or maybe be a great catcher or a consistent .375 hitter against D1 or D2 pitching, then what do you have to offer to make those programs better?

 

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If I may continue JoeA's topic;

You also need to ask yourself "are you looking at D1 and D2 because of the potential monetary rewards?" or is it because you would like to be able to say that your daughter is playing D1/D2?

The reason we go to college is for the education. Find a school, regardless of size, that meets your daughters educational needs first. A lot of students get lost in the crowd at D1/D2. Smaller schools provide a better education.

And, as a wise coach once told my daughter, "You don't go to school to play ball, you play ball to go to school."

 

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Smaller schools provide a better education.

How So?