Softball players making college choices before their first high school games

tjsmize3

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Details, please....
Tell me what percentage of 1 of the 12 scholarships that are available the coach has promised any 14 year old kid. Is room and board include?
The most recent tall tale I heard was that an SEC school had offered a 13 or 14 year old kid a full scholarship, room and board and the whole works, PLUS they are going to pay for grad school....
And they don't repeat it like it's a remote possibilty, they tell you that it's etched in stone and most of them act offended when you tell them how ignorant they are....
Oh, and it's 12 total for the whole team....
How many kids are rostered on a college team? How many of their spots are being offered to a 12 or 14 year old kid?

Details: My oldest DD is a sophomore in college. She verballed, later signed an NLI and the second year of her scholarship was just renewed this year. 2 years ago she played travel with the IL Chill. At that time about 70% of the girls had verballed, but no one signed an NLI who was on the team when she joined... unless you count Bridget Boyle from UIC who came back in the summer and played 2 ASA tournaments with us. Of the girls on the Chill who verballed and are now in college 100% of their verbals were honored. While a couple of the girls from that team will graduate this year, to date 100% have been honored and there is no reason to expect the last few will not as well.

12 scholarships total: Well technically that's wrong unless you are strictly talking D-1. NCAA Div 1 = 12, NCAA Div 2 = 7.2, NAIA = 10, NJCAA = 24.

What percentage of the total go to a girl before she plays the summer of her freshman year: Well, again that is going to depend on how many of the total scholarships for a particular graduating year a coach wants to lock up. If you are talking schools like Mizzou, Alabama, AZ, ASU... they probably have verballed 2-3 kids from the graduating year of 2018. OSU probably 2 (1 is from Indiana Magic Gold), University of Toledo... probably 0. Also don't forget most coaches divide their total scholarships up to give out more. Most Div-1 schools will have 4-6 scholarships (some full, some partial) to give to each graduating class.

Tall tale: Yes, the story you describe sounds like a tall tale. Most girls/schools are making a verbal commitment to receive/give a 4-year scholarship for that player's graduating year.

Oh... 12 for the team total: Yep, if we are talking Div 1

How many kids are rostered on a team: Why don't you go look at some college rosters and find out for yourself??? I'll guess anywhere between 17-25 players depending on the school. I know way back when when we talked to Findlay, their head coach liked to carry a big roster and use more girls for select situations. Some coaches.... not as much.

How many spots being offered to 12 or 14 year old: 12 year old is 0. 14 year old I think has been addressed above.

Acting ignorant about all of these things is silly when the answers have appeared on this website over and over again. Just because all of this stuff is new to you doesn't mean it is to everyone else. No one is saying a verbal cannot be taken away from a kid, but it just doesn't happen as much as you seem to imply. It happens at about the same rate that a kid who signed an NLI finds their scholarship reduced or taken away in one of their sophomore - senior years. It's not pretty when it happens so thankfully 90+% of the time a verbal is honored, as is all 4 yrs of a scholarship after the NLI is signed. This system has been in place for years now! The only thing that is new and surprising about it is how far out some universities are willing to promise scholarships. Most all of us agree THAT is the part that is getting a little sketchy... i.e. see the original post.
 
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coachjwb

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Mike ... you obviously like to rattle cages as much as you can. I am sure you're a smart guy, but the more you push this the more you're sounding like an idiot. I can't remember even one person on here that's tried to debate this issue with you saying that the girls have signed before their senior year, have actually received a scholarship, or that the verbal commitments that have been made couldn't be reneged on by either party. Yet you continue to seem to want to arrogantly ridicule others and make a point that no one has actually received a scholarship yet THAT NO ONE IS ARGUING WITH YOU. Yes, there are ignorant people out there who do think and/or say that girls are being signed before their senior year (Warren's was a typo ... he knows this too). Why don't you go argue with them instead of continuing to insult the intelligence of and/or argue with people here who aren't arguing with you? I've seen lots of posts you've made that have actually contributed something to this Forum, and perhaps the points you made about 100 posts ago on this subject might have educated a couple of people on this Forum that didn't know any better before, but you've made your point time after time after time, and it's just getting really tiresome.

Now if you want to argue that colleges aren't actually recruiting and pursuing verbal commitments from 14 and 15 year olds, then you might want to actually listen for a change to some of the coaches and parents of players who have shared with us all first-hand experience otherwise.
 
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tjsmize3

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Mike ... you obviously like to rattle cages as much as you can. I am sure you're a smart guy, but the more you push this the more you're sounding like an idiot. I can't remember even one person on here that's tried to debate this issue with you saying that the girls have signed before their senior year, have actually received a scholarship, or that the verbal commitments that have been made couldn't be reneged on by either party. Yet you continue to seem to want to arrogantly ridicule others and make a point that no one has actually received a scholarship yet THAT NO ONE IS ARGUING WITH YOU. Yes, there are ignorant people out there who do think and/or say that girls are being signed before their senior year (Warren's was a typo ... he knows this too). Why don't you go argue with them instead of continuing to insult the intelligence of and/or argue with people here who aren't arguing with you? I've seen lots of posts you've made that have actually contributed something to this Forum, and perhaps the points you made about 100 posts ago on this subject might have educated a couple of people on this Forum that didn't know any better before, but you've made your point time after time after time, and it's just getting really tiresome.

Now if you want to argue that colleges aren't actually recruiting and pursuing verbal commitments from 14 and 15 year olds, then you might want to actually listen for a change to some of the coaches and parents of players who have shared with us all first-hand experience otherwise.

Jeff,
While Mike has everyone looking at the right hand, don't forget what is in the left. He implies verbals are fictitious because no one actually RECEIVES a scholarship until (as he states in his post today) they are a "junior" in high school. This is also technically incorrect. Although an NLI (signed as a senior) is a part of the process, it IS NOT a 4-year guarantee nor is it a "scholarship." There is not one single US junior or senior in high school who has actually RECEIVED a scholarship as Mike seems to be defining it. A scholarship does not come in a box with a pretty bow on it. An actual scholarship looks like a university tuition statement with a credit on it. When you take all 4-yrs of your tuition statements and staple them together you now are holding your 4-year athletic scholarship. Until that point it can ALWAYS be taken away from you. So I personally know of no one who is not a Senior in college in their last semester who has actually RECEIVED a 4-year scholarship. We can play the semantics game all day... but, again, most credible people on this site understand the process we are talking about.
 

Coach Tony

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If there is one thing this thread proves, it is that there are many, many misconceptions about what the current state of Big School softball recruiting is.

It also proves that certain people have axes to grind and chips on their shoulders about the recruiting process.

PS - I coached the girl in the original article last year. Yes, she exists. Yes, she is verbaled to Missouri. Yes, she throws a top speed of 70 mph.
 

mike_dyer

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I am sure you're a smart guy, but the more you push this the more you're sounding like an idiot. I can't remember even one person on here that's tried to debate this issue with you saying that the girls have signed before their senior year, have actually received a scholarship, or that the verbal commitments that have been made couldn't be reneged on by either party. Yet you continue to seem to want to arrogantly ridicule others and make a point that no one has actually received a scholarship yet THAT NO ONE IS ARGUING WITH YOU.

I'm going to have to check the box beside "Struggles following along with what he reads" on your evaluation. One moron actually called some 14 year olds "signee's", as in something that belongs to a signee I guess.

At any rate, I knew what they meant, and I'm sure 6 or 8 other morons clicked the little "Thumbs Up!" button.

You, personally, may know what it means, a few others seem to know as well, I think you are kidding yourself if you think that half of the people who post here regularly have any idea at all though.
 

mike_dyer

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If there is one thing this thread proves, it is that there are many, many misconceptions about what the current state of Big School softball recruiting is.

There are zero misconceptions here because thankfully, and ironically, I heard all about it just the other day. I feel that I must pass this information along so other people don't miss the boat like I and many others who are confined to the limitations of reality have.

Ready? Here goes. A parent who's kid played on the same team my kid plays on last summer let us know that every penny that is available for the class of 2018 is spent and that all of the money that is available for 2019 will all be gone real soon if it's not gone already.

Bummer, right?

So, according to a person who is obviously in the know and definitely has no misconceptions about the current state of Big School softball recruiting, if you have a kid who graduates 2015 - 2018 and she ain't already done verbalt you're out of luck, sorry, it's all gone. If your kid graduates in 2019 you had really better hurry. You've got a few months tops, if you even have that.
 

coachjwb

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Mike ... you should probably take that up with the parent on your team, because I wager to say that if we took a vote on here, that 99% of the posters know better than that.
 

mike_dyer

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Dude, it sounds that your either envious or jealous that this is happening and not to your kid.

You wish. Unfortunately you're not the only one.

I mention my kid very seldomly on this site. When I do it's in the context of "My kid's bag has blah and blah and blah in it."

I'd probably do it even less if you and I were to run into each other at a tournament and decide that we wanted to have a conversation about this or about that. I'm not tryng to show you that I can pee further than you or anyone else. Because let's face it, pal, that's really all any of this is.

Keep my kid out of your posts. Thanks.
 
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mike_dyer

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Mike ... you should probably take that up with the parent on your team, because I wager to say that if we took a vote on here, that 99% of the posters know better than that.

Read my post again.

Played on our team, plays on another team now. That was where the irony came in.
 

mike_dyer

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Details: My oldest DD is a sophomore in college. She verballed, later signed an NLI and the second year of her scholarship was just renewed this year.

That's cool. Not really what I was asking for at all though.

I mean thanks, but that's about the most vague list of details I have ever read.
 

coachjwb

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Mike ... OK, I get it now ... I am really slow so forgive me ... she's on another team now ... and her parent is posting on here that all of the 2018 scholarships are gone now, and you are trying to tell them here the facts ... I completely missed their post I guess ... there's a few I miss and that must have been one of them ... thank you for using this forum to educate them, and I have no doubt that there's probably at least one other person who hasn't posted yet who thought all of the 2018 money was gone too, and who missed your previous 50 sarcastic posts on the subject. Thanks again and sorry for the misunderstanding.
 

coachjwb

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Actually, I do on this one ... I don't always get it, but I know your team, I know pretty much who stayed and who left, and I know what teams/organizations you're trying to ridicule ... your coach/organization has to be thrilled you're using this medium to do that ...
 

mike_dyer

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Actually, I do on this one ... I don't always get it, but I know your team, I know pretty much who stayed and who left, and I know what teams/organizations you're trying to ridicule ... your coach/organization has to be thrilled you're using this medium to do that ...

I'm not trying to ridicule any team or organization, I have mentioned no names. If I posted something that offended anyone who read it the Big School softball recruiting shoe that I'm oblivious to must fit.
 

brownsfan

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You wish. Unfortunately you're not the only one.

I mention my kid very seldomly on this site. When I do it's in the context of "My kid's bag has blah and blah and blah in it."

I'd probably do it even less if you and I were to run into each other at a tournament and decide that we wanted to have a conversation about this or about that. I'm not tryng to show you that I can pee further than you or anyone else. Because let's face it, pal, that's really all any of this is.

Keep my kid out of your posts. Thanks.

Whoa slow down dude. I didn't bring your kid into this. What you think the scholarships go to the adults? But according to your standards, I brought my own kid into this as well. So stop taking things out of context and read things through. I would apologize but seeing you told coachjwb that he doesn't get it after he said he did, it doesn't matter.
 

coachjwb

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Most people ... "if I inadvertently offended anyone, I apologize"

Mike ... "if I inadvertently offended anyone, the shoe must fit"

Just FYI, I have zero allegiance to any travel organization ... I just love the game and appreciate all of the people who do it for the girls and who share some of their knowledge and experience on here with class.
 

tjsmize3

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Just FYI, I have zero allegiance to any travel organization ... I just love the game and appreciate all of the people who do it for the girls and who share some of their knowledge and experience on here with class.

Checking the box next to "in it for the right reasons" on your evaluation!
 

G3automotive

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I love the people that do it for a profit $$ and then say its about the kids ! isn't nothing better than making money off kids !
 

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