Buyer Beware- "College Showcase" Teams Advertisements

[Lester]

showcase all you want, buzz word it to death... but, I can assure you if you do not compete well, you are no better than those that can dress the part and have an empty uniform. Showcases, camps, and getting to the correct events are huge... but... if you have zero fundamentals after you creep to the ball (just one example of many)... good to great competition will call you out bigger than anything you've ever witnessed. I've seen it time and time again. So, keep showcasing, it will catch up to you. Candrea talks about it constantly. And the cliche only the strong will survive kicks in.

 

[Lester]

and big names get it done. Period. All the other stuff... travel, cost, time away... well, all differentiators in many ways but at the end of the day, do you want to obtain an education where your kid has a great resume or a so-so one and maybe at what cost (travel ball vs savings potential)? Get to a place that can provide the goals your family has. That goal doesn't start with a organization name, it does start with a university name and a major (most of the time). Then, org name 'might' help you if your skill set, family commitment, and desire all align with the ability to get with the org first in many cases, coach second.

This can be such an ugly topic. I can't believe I'm jumping in but it's all relative in so many ways.

 

[BouldersDad]

There are many organizations that have 3-4 teams at every age group. Then they don't specify which one is better than the most. That team takes the top tier. The other 2-3 teams end up being mediocre. They should just designate those 2-3 teams "money generators." Hi, we really liked your daughter at tryouts! We would like to offer her a spot on one of our money generator teams." How does that sound?

The alternative to this is what ? The alternative is the exact total opposite and that is to go back to what travel ball was around 2000 where there were less than half the teams. 80 or better kids came to a tryout and only 3 or 4 were selected. The majority either did not play or played rec that summer. Then the complaint will be why isnt there enough teams for everyone. And that its a racist elitist game where only the wealthy can play.

The sport team wise has doubled over the last 15 years If not tippled. And the larger it gets the more this is going to happen. The masses will fill the void with the cream rising to the top. The masses have 2 choices , either improve your skill set and get on a better team or remain the same and play a lower level of travel ball.

 

[Blue Ice]

Or.... Chase academic money and play on a team you want and self recruit.

 

[Coachemup]

Or.... Chase academic money and play on a team you want and self recruit.

I agree. Unless your daughter is a top-tier Division 1 talent (less than 1% are), most colleges cannot offer full-ride softball scholarships. They are generally partial athletic and partial academic scholarships. One thing I think that is lost with all the talk about showcasing talent, is the fact that these kids need to be "all stars" in the classroom as well. It's not going to matter how great our kids are at softball, if they can't meet the minimum score required by colleges on the ACT or the SAT.

 

[brownsfan]

Well, I have to say for the past few years it has been pounded in my head to make sure your daughters are playing on a showcase team, or at least a team that is playing showcase tournaments when they are 16. "16, going into her junior year in HS is their most important year" ........... This year, 16u, We luckily found a "Premier" team that played in mainly showcase tournaments. It was the absolute highest level of competition my dd's have ever played in. It was nice seeing the game played as we all wish the game could always be played (minimal errors with EVERY player in every position contributing and seeing actual base hits, small ball, teams who makes the least amount of mistakes wins.)

THE DISAPPOINTING DISCOVERY WAS that we found this type of team a little later than we should have ...... I talked to a handful of large D1 coaches this summer and happened to sit next to an SEC head coach at tonight's Akron Racer's game. The majority of the Big 10, SEC, and larger D1 schools are done recruiting their 2015, 2016 players .... they are almost done with their 2017 recruits and are now looking at 2018 - 2019 recruiting class ...... do the math, these are girls who are going to be 8th and 9th graders this fall. IF YOU FEEL YOUR DD HAS THE ABILITY TO PLAY AT THE NEXT LEVEL, START LOOKING FOR COMPETITIVE TEAMS / ORGANIZATIONS WHO ARE GETTING INTO THE SHOWCASE TOURNAMENTS, PLAYING IN QUALITY TOURNAMENTS, AND HAVE THE RESPECT OF THE COLLEGE COACHES. DO THIS SOONER THAN LATER.

There is absolutely no problem with the girls who simply want to play, above average, competitive, softball but have minimal desire to take their game to the college level. For those who truly have the desire to play the next level, bite the bullet and find a team / organization (with coaches, players, and families that have similar goals). The window of time is smaller than you think.

THIS OPINION IS ASSUMING YOUR GOAL IS TO GO TO A BIGGER SCHOOL ... THERE ARE STILL MANY SMALLER DI - DII SCHOOLS LOOKING FOR 2015-2017)

Regardless of the team you find ...... always have fun, respect the game, respect each other, play hard and great things will happen!

Good Luck to everyone out there searching for their teams.

Nicely put.

 

[Hilliarddad3]

Ok great topic, but let's level set this a bit..... 90% of the girls playing today who want to play in college will mostly being going to a school of D-2 or less caliber within a 200 mile radius of home. Sure they say XYZ when they are 14/15 years old, but reality is most stay pretty local and won't be playing d-1 ball. For those not in d-1 the grades are more important for getting dollars. Most of the girls who are going to play in college, will not even finish playing because of work loads or they are just plain burned out from playing a game that started traveling all over to play when they were 12.......

Enjoy your daughter playing for the enjoyment of the game, don't put the pressures of what caliber team they are playing for and they are not going to be playing pro for it either. For the minimal amount that play women's fastpitch, what do they get paid 20K a year if that?? You'd better love the game for that amount oh boy!!!

 

[ApogeeDemon]

The alternative to this is what ? The alternative is the exact total opposite and that is to go back to what travel ball was around 2000 where there were less than half the teams. 80 or better kids came to a tryout and only 3 or 4 were selected. The majority either did not play or played rec that summer. Then the complaint will be why isnt there enough teams for everyone. And that its a racist elitist game where only the wealthy can play.

The sport team wise has doubled over the last 15 years If not tippled. And the larger it gets the more this is going to happen. The masses will fill the void with the cream rising to the top. The masses have 2 choices , either improve your skill set and get on a better team or remain the same and play a lower level of travel ball.

I think the issue we were talking about is communication. Letting people know up front your daughter may be placed on team A,B,C. A is our best and so forth. Also, if the organization is about taking everyone that shows up at tryouts, that's ok if that's the organizations mission. Some top level programs like Firecrackers, Batbusters etc. don't just take everyone because they want to maintain that reputation and not water down the name. As people have stated, there something for everyone out there.

 

[SoCal_Dad]

The alternative to this is what ? The alternative is the exact total opposite and that is to go back to what travel ball was around 2000 where there were less than half the teams. 80 or better kids came to a tryout and only 3 or 4 were selected. The majority either did not play or played rec that summer. ...

The alternative is more orgs and independent teams. There's no reason for a significant drop in the number of teams overall.

I think the issue we were talking about is communication. Letting people know up front your daughter may be placed on team A,B,C. A is our best and so forth. Also, if the organization is about taking everyone that shows up at tryouts, that's ok if that's the organizations mission. Some top level programs like Firecrackers, Batbusters etc. don't just take everyone because they want to maintain that reputation and not water down the name. As people have stated, there something for everyone out there.

It's extremely rare that an org says "A is our best and so forth." Parents need to do their homework so they know - usually based on the coach - how the teams stack up.

It's funny you mention Firecrackers and Batbusters because those 2 orgs in particular now have numerous teams at each age-level. There is a huge demand to be associated with elite orgs, so they're licensing their name to teams. In the process, their org names no longer carry the same weight. Whenever someone mentions them, the automatic response is "Which team?" Consequently, teams move around. Check this out -

Big news confirmed: Dave Lastrapes, who has long been connected to OC Batbuster legend Gary Haning, will be moving his 16U, 14U, 12U and 10U Batbuster teams to the Beverly Bandits organization. According to Bill Conroy, who oversees the Bandits teams which cover Illinois (home base) and Ohio, Lastrapes’ teams will now be called “Beverly Bandits-So Cal.”

 

[CARDS]

Great points geo. One thing that I will say is that many people believe you have to be on a top level team to "play at the next level." I would agree to that for DI and most DII schools. However, I can show you many really bad college teams! Teams that constantly lose year after year in college. Their players are not very good at all. Playing on a regular team that may not do many showcases will still get you on a college team. Now, you wont get athletic money but you'll still play in college. If youre chasing the money, then ya, better find a top level team and get noticed.

BINGO...I would think like most have stated; Parents should know by the time the ladies are 15 that the percentage of ladies going D1 is a very small number compared to the amount of ladies that will be continuing on to play college ball at the other divisions of play and where their daughter fits in. (Sometimes the eyes get open when they do not make varsity as a freshman or sophomore for their HS team). The ladies with the talent and desire to play D1 generally get identified long before they play 16U by attending the college camps clinics for schools they have an interest in.
A lot of these ladies generally are verbally committed early 14/15 and these ladies generally play on teams where the vast majority is already committed to a D1/D2 program. As a poster stated earlier, A lot of D1/D2 college coaches are done recruiting 2015s and are well through their 2016s.

As far as playing D3 or NAIA I know ladies that did not play one year of travel ball just recreational and High School that are continuing to play a sport they love at the college level so if they want too and they are proactive with contacting coaches they can continue to play. I remember helping with a hitting clinic at a NAIA school three years ago where they had four ladies that had never even played before (not sure if they came back) but the sports team had to share players to field teams.

Dont be fooled about awards to play sports or help pay for school... money / awards can be found at all divisions of play in a wide range of areas so do your homework.

 

[ApogeeDemon]

The alternative is more orgs and independent teams. There's no reason for a significant drop in the number of teams overall.


It's extremely rare that an org says "A is our best and so forth." Parents need to do their homework so they know - usually based on the coach - how the teams stack up.

It's funny you mention Firecrackers and Batbusters because those 2 orgs in particular now have numerous teams at each age-level. There is a huge demand to be associated with elite orgs, so they're licensing their name to teams. In the process, their org names no longer carry the same weight. Whenever someone mentions them, the automatic response is "Which team?" Consequently, teams move around. Check this out -

Big news confirmed: Dave Lastrapes, who has long been connected to OC Batbuster legend Gary Haning, will be moving his 16U, 14U, 12U and 10U Batbuster teams to the Beverly Bandits organization. According to Bill Conroy, who oversees the Bandits teams which cover Illinois (home base) and Ohio, Lastrapes’ teams will now be called “Beverly Bandits-So Cal.”

But once again, they are only making new teams because they have the best showing up. For example, lets say you have 2 16U pitchers show up at their tryouts, both throwing 65 mph with movement. You don't send them away. Build a team around them. But if 2 16U pitchers show up at the tryouts for firecrackers, batbusters etc. and they throw 48 mph top speed with no movement, they aren't taking them! Here in Ohio, many organizations will take them! That's ok if that's their mission. (take everyone) But elite organizations do expand, sure, but they do filter. So some organizations here in Ohio do filter but in a different way. They send the better tryouts to the better team at the age group and the others get put on team B,C, etc.

 

[flarays]

Big news confirmed: Dave Lastrapes, who has long been connected to OC Batbuster legend Gary Haning, will be moving his 16U, 14U, 12U and 10U Batbuster teams to the Beverly Bandits organization. According to Bill Conroy, who oversees the Bandits teams which cover Illinois (home base) and Ohio, Lastrapes? teams will now be called ?Beverly Bandits-So Cal.?

DUDE - that is HUGE. Probably didn't want to share the limelight with Stith

 

[SoCal_Dad]

But once again, they are only making new teams because they have the best showing up. For example, lets say you have 2 16U pitchers show up at their tryouts, both throwing 65 mph with movement. You don't send them away. Build a team around them. But if 2 16U pitchers show up at the tryouts for firecrackers, batbusters etc. and they throw 48 mph top speed with no movement, they aren't taking them! Here in Ohio, many organizations will take them! That's ok if that's their mission. (take everyone) But elite organizations do expand, sure, but they do filter. So some organizations here in Ohio do filter but in a different way. They send the better tryouts to the better team at the age group and the others get put on team B,C, etc.

My point was the 2 orgs you mentioned have in fact done the opposite of what you said - "maintain that reputation and not water down the name." Their teams now range from top contenders to average.

Orgs like them don't make new teams based on players showing up at tryouts. They usually start with an established coach and his core group of players. Their top teams don't hold open tryouts - they offer spots to players they want and hold private tryouts for the players on the bubble.

BTW, pitchers that throw 65 mph with movement don't need to try out. They can pretty much pick their team. lol

 

[BouldersDad]

The alternative is more orgs and independent teams. There's no reason for a significant drop in the number of teams overall.

I agree with this. My point to the poster was in response to teams being money generators. It cannot go both ways. Either the sport grows and accepts the different tiers or levels of competition or it reverts and shrinks. Which by the way seems highly doubtful

 

[Blue Ice]

BTW, pitchers that throw 65 mph with movement don't need to try out. They can pretty much pick their team. lol

Lol, I was at a tryout with DD's several year ago and this pitcher showed up and threw three pitches. Fastball, movement pitch and a changeup and she was done with her tryout. This statement is so true..it was an impressive exhibition at that time.