Do More College Scouts Watch 16u or 18u?

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Member

• Jul 20, 2009

• #1

I play on a highly competitive travel team that will move up to 18u or 18u Gold next year. We have several 93 kids that will be able to play 16u next year. There is talk about them staying down 16u another year because they hear that more college scouts watch 16u than 18u.

so here is my question:

Do more college scouts watch competitive 16u teams or competitive 18u Gold/18u teams?

 

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• Jul 20, 2009

• #2

not an easy question to answer - but lets put it this way - the coaches spread out best they can to see everyone they WANT to see - the best way to get looked at is to communicate with the coaches - send emails about your schedule to let them know where you are - if you are playing ASA tournaments and showcase tournament - at 16 or 18 they will be there if they are interested.

Experience here we did 16U ASA/USA Nationals last year - A TON OF EVERY LEVEL COACH - we are doing all ASA tourney this year at 18's and going to ASA/USA Nationals and while it is less then last year - they are still there but thier direction is more pointed to the girls they are actually looking at - so MARKETING!! is your best way to insure it either way!

 

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• Jul 20, 2009

• #3

16U gets the most scouts. Half the 18U players are already in college or are of college age.

 

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• Jul 20, 2009

• #4

Also depends on the division of the schools--more smaller schools will look at 18U because they know the D1's are no longer looking at those kids, so it's a chance to find good kids who won't get signed by a D1.

 

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• Jul 20, 2009

• #5

Its not the age group theyre there to watch, they just dont wander into a tournament with a shopping list. They are almost always there to see a specific player or players.

 

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• Jul 20, 2009

• #6

Hitter's right. They don't stumble on you by chance, they are there to see certain players.

 

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• Jul 20, 2009

• #7

We had the CSU coach talk to my dd team about recruiting and she indicated that she (and most D1 schools) are already looking at their 2011 prospects and that the D3 and NAIA, JC and some D2 are looking at 09 & 10 prospects.

This leads me to believe that depending on what division your dd wants to (or can realistically) play is what should determine at what level they should play the summer at.

I know my dd has little chance of playing D1, nor would I let her if she had an offer. We are looking at this on the basis of education first and softball second, or of equal importance at most. Her desire to go into the medical sciences will drastically limit her choices.

 

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• Jul 20, 2009

• #8

hitter is correct in that coaches are there for certian players that have kept in contact with them. To add an example, there was one coach that was at the Best of the Best in Massillon. My daughter was playing in Canfield the same day. He drove up to Canfield to watch her two games. They will come if you keep in touch with them and let them know where you are at.

But I have observed

At 16u we did not see that many scouts. We went to all the right tourneys too. Compuware, Stingrays, ASA qualifiers, and "showcases". When I would go up to the \
18u venue, scouts were everywhere.

This year at 18u, I have seen more scouts too. At Compuware, there were 5-10 scouts at every game. At Stingrays, we had around 20 at our first game at the main fields and a few at the lower fields for the second game.

 

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• Jul 20, 2009

• #9

Last year ASA Nationals for 16 were in Owensboro KY and 18s were in Illinois about a 4 hour drive away. As I talked with the D1 and D2 coaches there - they said one day in Ill the rest of the week here at 16u Nationals.

From what I am learning. Coaches go to 18u Gold to see all ages. D1 coaches watch 18s to maintain their commitments with players that have verballed. D2-D3-Naia watch mostly 18 and some 16 because all of the best athletes are scoooped up as sophomores and juniors by D1 schools.

I've talked with dozens of D1 coaches this year and only two had 2010 money left and that is because someone unverballed or injurred out of softball.

The reality is... the coaches watch you because you or your DD coach ask them to watch.

 

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• Jul 20, 2009

• #10

I agree with a lot being said - do your homework and invite the coaches to come watch you play. They will come if they are interested in seeing you play.

If you are going to play 18u gold, those nationals are the week after the "A" nationals.

 

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• Jul 20, 2009

• #11

So it sounds like you need to start contacting coaches when youre 16 and not wait till senior year !

 

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• Jul 20, 2009

• #12

We started looking at schools her Freshman year.
Go to camps--this is a must if you want a coach to take interest in you.
Then her sophmore year we started emailing schedules, thank you letters if they came out to watch her play or for working with her at the camp, results of each weekend and high school game, updated them on her grades(they want to know about your grades!!)---Went to CAMPS
Junior year we narrowed it down to 5 colleges and went to showcases Still went to camps--sent even more emails with more detail
Going into her senior year, we email every week and make phone calls to the colleges that we have narrowed it down to. We have visited colleges and sat and talked softball and school with the coaches.
We have worked at getting the right fit. We did not sit back and wait for her to be noticed (even though a couple schools did contact her because they saw the way she played at a showcase) You have to work for it!

 

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• Jul 20, 2009

• #13

Dave Beckham has it nailed above.

 

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• Jul 20, 2009

• #14

Megasportsmom and MAXX hit it.

The majority of College Coaches are not going to waste time scouting athletes that they do not know anything about so, you and your parents need to make sure they are marketing your profile so the College Coaches know you exist.
Not saying this is your case but; there are a lot of people that use the ?needle in the haystack theory? and think just by having a good athletic outing at a showcase and a decent portfolio they will get noticed.

There is much more to getting recruited than your play. If you have not done so yet, get a list of schools that fit your interest, send the coach your profile and try to get a response from them. Most schedules are not done on a whim so, planning is very important on your part if you are looking to have a College to show some intrest.

Good luck in your search!

 

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• Jul 20, 2009

• #15

A Div. I coach is interested in the competition you will be facing. The 18's are a measuring stick for this type of competition. If you talk to the signed Div.I players they will tell you that they played up when they were younger. I would highly recommend to play up!

 

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• Jul 20, 2009

• #16

My theory is, no matter whether you are 16U or 18U, they will find you if you are good enough and you put enough effort into telling them where you will be. Send them some video clips beforehand, so they have a feel for what you can do already, so they aren't going to just see some player they "heard about."

 

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• Jul 21, 2009

• #17

Think about it....a college coach would rather watch a 15 year old compete with 18 year olds. Beware of a travel coach pressuring your daughter to stay down. It is selfish and they are not wanting to develop her as a player. This game is not about the travel coach it is about the kids.

 

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Member

• Jul 21, 2009

• #18

I video my players and not only post them on WWW.BERECRUITED.COM but I email the video clips to both my players and to any college coaches that my players ask me to. We have gotten some great responses from some college coaches as to the video quality and the fact that it gives them an opportunity to get a look at some players. My players like it because they can email the videos themselves to whomever they choose. I also email our schedule to as many coaches I can to give them an opportunity to see our players. So far so good.