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Member
Got this off of a post on Facebook:
The key is to understand what she wants from her college choice. College is a 40 year commitment, not 4 year. Understanding college will be a key to your career and life endeavors. When they are younger, focus on the academics as well as the skill set. Make sure of what level of commitment your daughter wants to softball, not what you want or how you want to compete with your friends over the most prestigious softball program. As the student athlete gets into high school, have discussions about how far she would like to go from home, size of school, experience, and although majors change often, start to talk about possible career choices.
As your daughter starts to understand her Hierarchy of Needs better for all aspects of college, it will help you as a family narrow the focus on schools - so that you can start thinking about their camps. What I always did was talk to my players, understand where they really wanted to go, and focus on those schools. Now bear in mind, keep all options open, as young high school and young adults minds change as do their interests. But, I am in favor of increasing your odds with your top choices first. When a school comes along you had not considered and shows true interest, then you can review your goals and aspirations, and understand if you want to consider that school as well as your previous top choices.
Lastly, get into programs in travel that match your goals, there are teams that excel in the local market recruiting wise, and there are high profile programs that travel the country and get their players into the top softball programs. Make sure you understand what you, the student athlete, really wants.
And yes I am not naive, I fully understand what college costs, been there done that, so cost is a consideration. But don't look at the scholarship $, look at the out of pocket investment in your daughters future. That should make the decision all the easier to manage.
Final comment ... academics don't get injured. Academics don't get into slumps. And academics pave the road to success and careers for 99.9% of the graduating class of students.
Lastly, enjoy each year of fast pitch for what it is, work on your game and skills, but don't worry about what team to jump to next year, enjoy the ride, it is an awesome game and experience in so many ways.
The key is to understand what she wants from her college choice. College is a 40 year commitment, not 4 year. Understanding college will be a key to your career and life endeavors. When they are younger, focus on the academics as well as the skill set. Make sure of what level of commitment your daughter wants to softball, not what you want or how you want to compete with your friends over the most prestigious softball program. As the student athlete gets into high school, have discussions about how far she would like to go from home, size of school, experience, and although majors change often, start to talk about possible career choices.
As your daughter starts to understand her Hierarchy of Needs better for all aspects of college, it will help you as a family narrow the focus on schools - so that you can start thinking about their camps. What I always did was talk to my players, understand where they really wanted to go, and focus on those schools. Now bear in mind, keep all options open, as young high school and young adults minds change as do their interests. But, I am in favor of increasing your odds with your top choices first. When a school comes along you had not considered and shows true interest, then you can review your goals and aspirations, and understand if you want to consider that school as well as your previous top choices.
Lastly, get into programs in travel that match your goals, there are teams that excel in the local market recruiting wise, and there are high profile programs that travel the country and get their players into the top softball programs. Make sure you understand what you, the student athlete, really wants.
And yes I am not naive, I fully understand what college costs, been there done that, so cost is a consideration. But don't look at the scholarship $, look at the out of pocket investment in your daughters future. That should make the decision all the easier to manage.
Final comment ... academics don't get injured. Academics don't get into slumps. And academics pave the road to success and careers for 99.9% of the graduating class of students.
Lastly, enjoy each year of fast pitch for what it is, work on your game and skills, but don't worry about what team to jump to next year, enjoy the ride, it is an awesome game and experience in so many ways.