college recruitment

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My kid (who is now playing in college) was with organizations comprised of players primarily from central Ohio. ?They were competitive locally but not one of the top organizations state-wide. ?The winter & summer of her sophomore year, many of the coaches that she wrote to (all divisions) came to watch her play. ?Often, those coaches would be the only ones watching her team.

In the fall of her Junior year, she made it onto a team within the top organization (historically) in Ohio. ?Big difference. ?Coaches she wrote to still came to see her play, but numerous coaches would come by just to see the players on the team because of the team name. ?Many coaches watching all the time. ?This more than doubled her opportunity pool.

So, if you have something to sell and market yourself well you will get coaches to watch you no matter which team you play for. ?But you will multiply your chances dramatically by being with a top organization.

 

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good point, NCS

my DD attended a camp held by Ohio Wesleyan and Coach Cassie really drilled how to market yourself to college coaches. Letting them know where you are and the games you'll play is an easy one, if they are willing to type a letter and send it out....do today's kids even know how to do this? or do they text them...j/k

 

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What information should go in the letter?

I can see how, like a resume, too much information would be unadvisable. Still, you'd want to be sure to include enough of the information coaches want. So what would you consider useful and what would you consider flowery or superfluous?

 

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I'll get back to you on that one, LC, I'm at summer school!

 

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IMO, stretching the truth in a resume, whether to a college coach or employer, is never a smart idea. If you say she's 2.7 home to first and has a 62 mph fastball - she better be able to back it up. I can guarantee that every DI college coach knows a 60 mph fastball without using a radar gun. They KNOW what caliber of athlete you are within a couple innings. At the very least, they know what type of athlete you AREN'T. Don't lie about your stats - it will come back to bite you.

There have been a few "killer" teams that were never connected to a larger organization (Team Coke). But they are pretty rare. Something to consider - if you AREN'T playing with like caliber athletes on a high caliber team against tough competition, college coaches figure you aren't serious about preparing yourself for college competition. You need to show your skills against the best - at least in Ohio.

 

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Send letters, they will come. Be part of a big organization - that sure helps. This weekend we sacrificed going to Stingray in hopes of scoring an ASA berth. I've sent out many letters for my players and at last count I had 5 college coaches (or assistants) say they would be there on Saturday (BG, Kentucky, Ashland, Cleveland State, Urbanna) I had some maybes (which is a nice way of saying no) but most said they would be at Stingray and hoped to see us at NSA's in Columbus or ASAs in Owensboro. These coaches are coming to see specific players because we invited them and we know what they are looking for. By we I mean, coaches and players invited them.

Jamie - When NSA's are in Columbus there are lots of coaches. When they are in NC there was one that we saw and it was one we invited.

Compuware has had the most. ASA States and Classics ASAQl were second but rain at Classics really hurt recruiting. We had several come to watch us at GAPPS - there were probably more at Best of the Best.

 

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Send letters, they will come. ?Be part of a big organization - that sure helps. ?This weekend we sacrificed going to Stingray in hopes of scoring an ASA berth. ?I've sent out many letters for my players and at last count I had 5 college coaches (or assistants) say they would be there on Saturday ?(BG, Kentucky, Ashland, Cleveland State, Urbanna) ?I had some maybes (which is a nice way of saying no) but most said they would be at Stingray and hoped to see us at NSA's in Columbus or ASAs in Owensboro. ?These coaches are coming to see specific players because we invited them and we know what they are looking for. ? By we I mean, coaches and players invited them.

Jamie - When NSA's are in Columbus there are lots of coaches. ?When they are in NC there was one that we saw and it was one we invited. ?

Compuware has had the most. ?ASA States and Classics ASAQl were second but rain at Classics really hurt recruiting. We had several come to watch us at GAPPS - there were probably more at Best of the Best. ?

David,
So what information do you include in the letters and what information do you think is unnecessary?

Sammy,
I would never suggest lying about skills. My question is about dividing information between "need to know" and "nice to know, but not needed."

 

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when I said that we were smaller compared to some of the more known orgs that was in size only. Our girls are largely made up of players that used to play for those bigger orgs and/or of players those bigger orgs would love to have. Seriously. And our girls have a very favorable record against those teams from the big orgs over the last couple of seasons. Not beating our chest here, but rather trying to make a point that our girls are not a B team just because they're not part of the "big org". Those orgs have 3 and 4 12u teams. 5 or 6 14u teams, etc. We have one each. If anything, our girls have played a schedule more competitive than what the teams from the larger orgs have this year. Our girls will always compete at what are considered some of the more competitive tourneys. And we will continue to do that. No B tourneys on our schedule. But in the long run, we'll need to apply to get into some of these invitationals where the college coaches show up at, and thats where I wonder if being with the "big org" would have an advantage as far as getting accepted into those tourneys. Outside of that I don't see a difference between playing for a larger org or smaller org. If our girls show up at the same tourneys as Big Softball, and they go deeper in these tourneys than Big Softball, they should be alright when it comes time to get "noticed", right?

 

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should be krm, but "new" teams (and by that i mean no disrespect--i've only been in travel 3 years, so for me to judge an org for being new is calling the kettle black--this is more from what i've learned/been told by others when i ask) have a tougher time getting into those invitationals than some of the "old guard"....

 

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Every team was a new team at some point in time.

 

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you must be proactive. the college coaches will not knock on your door unless your daughter is All American at everything and has 4.0. Let them know who you are then give them a reason to be interested in you.

 

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you must be proactive. ?the college coaches will not knock on your door unless your daughter is All American at everything and has 4.0. ?Let them know who you are then give them a reason to be interested in you.

OK, so when we go knocking on their door, what do you think we should have in our portfolio??? ?
What things do you think will most likely interest college coaches?

 

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We had player profiles made, then dd sent them attached to every email or letters to coaches.
also summer coach kept with them to pass out at tournaments.
included
picture
name
phone number
address
email address
gpa
act/sat scores (A DEFINATE OR WHEN YOU PLAN ON TAKING)
high school team and coachs name and numbers
travel team name and coachs name and numbers
positions they play
if they pitch speeds and what pitches they have (DO NOT LIE THEY CAN TELL)
if they pitch pitching coachs names and numbers

I'm sure i'm missing something.
emails emails emails..... from dd's not parents.
let them know where you will be in the beginning with a copy of your schedule
and as it gets closer to that tournament she would email game times and directions.
if she saw them there she would thank them with a follow up email afterward, if she didn't
see them and she was truely interested she would send them a follow up and tell them how her team did.
its a big process. but in the long run it is worth it.
yes it would not hurt to go to big tournaments that would help. But it only takes being
at one and doing good in front of them to have them start following you.
i also think the sophomore summer would be the best time to start. not your senior year.

I also think the Queen of Diamonds North or South is an extra feather in your cap. if you can
get into that and do well....... it is so worth it. Kirt does a great job helping the girls along the way even before the day. he will tell you when and what you should be telling them and if you listen it ?can pay off.

We were lucky we met a great lady from Cleveland on OFC who helped guide me and my dd and she introduced us to a great coach who also passed along valuable info to help dd and family thru the recruiting process... We can not thank them enough.. Thanks Cris and Bryan...... ?

Pm me if you need more answers i will try to help since we went thru it but alot of these replies on this thread are right on the money and just soak in the knowledge of the ones who have been thru it. ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

? ?

 

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We were told by at least 3 college coaches that they notice an old fashion letter before email. Email is quick and easy, therefore coaches get bombarded with thousands of emails. Great for quick information exchange, but will get lost with the thousands of other kids doing the same. I think they notice if you actually take the time to send a letter, as opposed to firing off a mass of emails. Include a picture of yourself so they know what you look like, and can remember you. If you have an interesting hobby, tell them. You're a skydiver! How could a coach forget that? And don't forget the Thank-You card after they DID show up to watch you, with a note enclosed to remind them of your next tourney.

Try to stand out from the crowd, but don't go overboard. DD sent out brightly colored postcards with her pool game schedule before each tournament to the coaches on her "list". Look at this from a coaches perspective. If YOU were recruiting a kid, what would you like to know? Make it EASY for them. Put a "Notes" page in your profile booklet so the coaches can take notes while they are watching you play. All this is in the Aradi book.

 

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Something else to remember if you are inviting coaches to watch you is, MAKE SURE YOU TELL THEM YOUR JERSEY NUMBERS! If you have two or three jerseys and they are numbered differently be sure to let them know each number and the color of your jersey.

NEVER NEVER NEVER send a letter or e-mail with the salutation of Dear Sir when it is a female coach. They get really "unhappy" about that. Know who the coaches are before sending letters out.

And last, don't try to con them about about their program if you don't have the facts. ie: I've been interested in your program for years and would love to play for a program as successful as yours. (school hasn't finished above 500 for years). lol...

And get a copy of Aradi's book and follow it carefully.

 

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Having had the good fortune of recruiting players from the Wolfpack, certain organizations like Jamie's have the respect of most coaches in as much as they trust their opinion of their players. Every team has the "can't miss" player but that's not good enough for most colleges. To give monies to any player, they must be as good a student. Juniors now is the time to contact all colleges you may be interested in. All colleges have an athletic web site with a recruiting questioneer- fill it out- just general questions- most coaches will e-mail you back- step one. Next practice taking the SAT or ACT tests- your high school office can help. Don't settle for the 18 minium if you know you can do better- every point over 20 is worth additional monies to you. For the $30.00 fee, if you score higher could mean $1000.00 or more academic monies- mom and dad like that. When you talk to the coaches, be friendly but most important be honest. Don't worry if you have not picked a major- that can change often. As coaches weigh you as a student/athlete- also weigh the school for what they can offer you- education still the bottom line. hope this helps

 

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There's something I've always wondered about. Let's say your DD is considering two schools that have recruited her. Her grades are solid, she scored well on her ACT, but not high enough to garner any academic scholarship money. Basically, a talented DI athlete with solid, but not outstanding, academics.

University "A" has tuition of $48M; University "B" has tuition of $12M. Both schools will provide your DD with a diploma at the end of her 4 years. If you want, you can put some "prestige points" on the expensive school, but it's still a piece of paper at the end.

If school "B" is offering a full scholarship, do you think school "A" would be willing to cough up 4 times as much to give her the equivalent full scholarship? Remember, we're just talking athletic money, not academic money - apples to apples.