How important is high school softball to colleges?

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Re: How important is high school softball to colle

Cassie Cunningham the head coach at OWU made a very good presentation on this subject this spring. cddteacher set up this camp and I'm sure he could cut and paste her presentation if he gets permission. That would be direct from a college coach. My 2 cents is play both.
She looks at Grades in high school and scouts travel ball. One critical thing she pointed out that they look at . Can you be a TEAM player. That I think comes into play more in high school. She went into detail what you should have on the cover letter and resume.

 

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Re: How important is high school softball to colle

if finances are an issue (and I'm sure not the one to dispute that with the rising costs of everything)...high school ball is a minute fraction of what travel ball costs...there are no overnight hotel stays, and school ball doesn't cost 400+ to play....the only thing they have in common is concessions and the gas for an away game

 

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Re: How important is high school softball to colle

Everyone has great points. Yes play HS ball if you can, it won't hurt. BUT travel ball is where the college coaches are looking the most. Lady Knight- you point is well taken on the HS stats of these players. If your an all american or all state then yes your HS stats will pop out and of course the college coaches will have you on their radar and know who you are. If your not an all world player in HS , which most are not then you might not be on anyones radar and you might have to promote yourself and the best way to do this is to be on the best travel ball team and go to the best showcases to be seen. Another good move is to chose 5 schools that you have an interest in going to for playing and the academic's and go to their showcase/ camps.

Most players are not of the All world status and need to promote themselves. There are also alot of players that have the tallent to play at the D3 or D2 or even D1 level that if they don't get out there and be proactive then they will never play. Chances are a college coach will not be knocking your door down- you have to go knock theirs .

From experience- My son never played HS ball and is playing in a NCAA college world series. I'v also helped several kids that never played HS ball or that did but wern't on anyones radar get into college and play .

HS ball is also a place some kids loose their scholorship, along with travel ball. A scout at a showcase or game is looking at you from the time you get out of your car. How your dressed, how you carry yourself, what you say- everything. and in the first 30 seconds will sum you up , keep you on their list or write you off. Sometimes they will not even stay to watch the game , they may just be looking at your pre game. This is very imortant and kids and parents forget this. Also keep your obligations. I had an awesome centerfielder a couple of years ago. An Atlanta Braves scout saw us at a tournament in Omaha, he spoke to me about this player and was planning to draft him . a few weeks latter I get a phone call from this scout- how Ronnie doing. I told the scout that there was a problem, Ronnie had quit the team with two weeks left in the season . The scout said "well I'm not interested in him anymore if he can't complete his obligations" He wrote him off and the kid missed a huge opportunity. And yes this kid was all world - all HS all everythiing. He had a bit of an attitude and was a hand full and because of his attitude he is playing college ball but at a lower level than what he could and should be playing at. A lot of other coaches I spoke with about him didn't want anything to do with him and all his tallend because of his attitude and the way he portrayed himself.

 

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Re: How important is high school softball to colle

Truth is, college coaches that are recruiting players for athletic scholarships look at each recruit in a completely different manner than anyone else would. The obvious is that they are trying to lure the absolute best athlete for the given positions they are trying to fill. The HUGE caveat here is the balancing act they must do to build their roster.

Athletic Talent: This is a no brainer. College coaches want top athletes who have been tested - they want kids who have played against TOUGH competition and have proven that they are successful. They want pitchers who have pitched against the BEST hitters. They want shortstops who have scooped smoking grounders up and thrown out the fastest home-to-first runners. Let's be honest. High school ball IS NOT the venue to test these athletes. It's why you frequently see sub 1.00 ERAs and many .800+ BAs. That's why accurate summer stats are the litmus test for college bound players. But, I'll get back to high school.

Academics: Another no brainer - no pun intended. Good grades. Kids with good grades are also generally more organized, do their homework, and are used to handling a busy schedule. This gives the coach a little breathing room even if the 4.0 honors kid didn't come from a particularly tough school system.

Volunteer Work: Kids who understand charity, and the meaning of it. It's NOT just a feather in your cap, it's understanding the whole concept. It shows coaches that you are a well rounded, mature individual.

High School: Colleges are businesses. Advertising and public perception is a crucial part of their existence. The better a new recruit looks on paper, the better reflection on the softball program. All those (inflated) stats, volunteer time, social activities, good grades, etc. all add up to great advertising for the program. It's a business deal, anyway you slice it. As far as recruiting at high school games? Ask any coach looking for athletes for athletic scholarships. The college season runs exactly the same time as high school. Sure, if the college team is bumped early, the coaches might catch the high school finals. But summer is their prime time.

There's no big mystery to it. Put yourself in a college coaches shoes. IMO, most of the DI and DII coaches in Ohio are underpaid in regards to the amount of time they put in.

 

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Re: How important is high school softball to colle

Not very important. They look at what you do in the summer.

 

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DD's pitching coach is a DIII coach and she played DI ball herself. She has stated to us that travel ball is almost a must to get recognized. I think red flags would be raised if HS ball was not played.

 

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Re: How important is high school softball to colle

OP brought up a great point about attitude. I was watching a baseball game last evening between two very popular Central Ohio schools. One of the better athletes, who might be considered a college baseball candidate, just happen to strike out at a crucial point in the game. There was no question he was upset. He turned around and flug his bat towards the dugout. Then he walked over and picked it up, and as he entered the dugout he threw his bat AND his batting helmet.

Some may disagree, and chalk it up to emotions. I don't buy it. As a parent, if either one of my kids would do that in ANY game, they KNOW I would PERSONALLY come down to the dugout and drag them out by their ear and escort them out to the car. NO EXCUSES!! Regardless of the excuses and what some people think, athletics events are NOT life changing events or life and death situations. They are GAMES - nothing more, nothing less.

 

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Re: How important is high school softball to colle

Some may disagree, and chalk it up to emotions. I don't buy it. As a parent, if either one of my kids would do that in ANY game, they KNOW I would PERSONALLY come down to the dugout and drag them out by their ear and escort them out to the car. NO EXCUSES!! Regardless of the excuses and what some people think, athletics events are NOT life changing events or life and death situations. They are GAMES - nothing more, nothing less.

Very Well Said. Wish all parents thought like that!!

 

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Re: How important is high school softball to colle

good point sammy. i nor any of my kids coaches would put up with that type of behavior. however this type of thing is not restricted to hs sports. you see it way too much at various sports events.

hs school softball will not make or break a player that wants to play in college. i think it is a good experience for players in that you get more games, you have to be work within the framework of the team and the coach. hs ball also provides a chance for players to demonstrate the leadership needed to help a team succeed.

hs stats are not as important since the competition level can vary vastly, ie: one team in a local league gave up 408 runs this season, now having them on your schedule can really inflate your batting average, not to mention the pitching stats. the bottom two teams in dd's league didn't give up that many combined. this is why a hitter with a .550 ave in one league may not be as good a hitter as a player hitting .290 in another league. hs stats can be decieving.

no matter the competition level a college coach can get an idea of a players character by her demonstrated leadership and grades in hs and in a non-revenue generating sport character matters.

 

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Re: How important is high school softball to colle

Over the years we have had several home school kids that played college ball and never played one game of high school ball however they did play select.

Parents and players that I know personally know the college coaches put little faith in high school ball stats...but they want to know how are the grades and family support of their potential student athlete.

They also look at the places where they do volunteer and community work and that seems to help also with private scholarships.

Not a poke at the high school coaches...some think in their opinion the kid does not even deserve to play at the next level and do not even return phone calls from college coaches who do call them and then say they are not Div. 1 etc material so I will not recommend them.

 

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Re: How important is high school softball to colle

timac, but wouldn't a strong girl on an average team have great stats in travel too, especially if they played less than stellar competition? (the cream rises to the top theory)

but, most of seem to be saying, the EXPERIENCE of playing HS ball wouldn't hurt, so taken into account, might as wll play...politics aside, this is probably a junior or varsity player anyway that is starting on a varsity squad (politics be dammed!)...and yes, there are plenty of stories from all sports about the one kid who never played whatever wh ended up in the Pro Bowl or the NBA Hall of fame (hey, hakeen olajuwon--houston reference alert!--never even saw a basketball until he stepped foot into Houston's airport!)

hitter,
do you mean said HS coach was bad-mouthing, basically, his own player and tagged them as not D1 material? ouch

 

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Re: How important is high school softball to colle

It's pretty much a given that a DI caliber travel player will have no problem with athletic performance on ANY high school team in Ohio. No slam on high school ball, but a typical varsity team is about on par with a very good 14u travel team. So a DI caliber pitcher, for instance, BETTER have awesome stats, or something is drastically wrong.

High school softball is not demanding enough to test an 18u player's true ability. College coaches KNOW that. As a matter of fact, a kid who makes it through a politically corrupt high school softball program, with a horrible coach to boot - without quitting - will be better prepared for the rigors of college. In other words, all the crap your DD goes through won't kill her, BUT it will make her a stronger person ready to deal with crap when it's thrown at her in everyday life. And you can bet a college scholarship on that.

Howard, good point about home school. I also know of a home schooled kid - a very good ball player. College coaches know this is an obvious exception. It really has no bearing on the individual, all things being equal. Coaches are fully aware of that situation.

 

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Re: How important is high school softball to colle

yes statman if they are truely a strong player on an average hs team, ?my point is that college coaches don't use hs stats to determine whether a player is in fact a strong player because there can be a descrepancy between players who may have the similar stats. ? ?yes the cream rises to the top but the difference is where the top is. ?but by playing and competing a player can demonstrate other important qualities that cannot be deterrmined by stats.

 

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Re: How important is high school softball to colle

since they are on the same level it would be interesting to see a good 14U travel team play a hs team like; ?Greenville, ?Fairfield, ?Colerain, ?Mason, ?Ross, ?Harrison, ?Lebanon, ?Northmont, ?Lakota East

 

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OK, I saw the Lasers 14U, (actually the 13U) scrimmage a good high school team that went to the state finals. It was very close!

 

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Our local HS coach saw my DD pitch for the first time last week. ?He told me after the game "Your daughter's pitching is on par with more than half of the JV pitchers I saw this year."



I was flabbergasted, my DD works hard and pitches way too good for rec - but is on par with the "avg" 10U travel pitcher.

My point being - I agree with Sammy that the typical varsity team is on par (or below that, imho) of a good 14U travel team. ?

 

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Statman...that is exactly what she did and would not even return the colleges coaches phone calls...this came up during the colleges coaches contact as to why the high school coach would not return her calls.

When confronted by the parents her opinion was she was not college material so she would not recommend her so why talk with her the college coach.

 

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I don't put much stock in the stats that the SIDs put on the websites for colleges. Many players turn in their own stats and aren't always accurate.

While you may not see lots of coaches at high school games, I know that Wright State was at a couple games at one high school looking to recruit a player a couple of years ago. Last year I saw several coaches at high school games and districts, including my daughter's college coach who saw her play for the first time in a high school game. I know several college coaches who are now looking at high school games to see their signees play.

With so many players to look at, coaches can't always look at all the ones they want during the summer. While chances are slimmer, playing high school also gives an opportunity for a player to be seen. The more you play, the better chance you have to be seen. Contacting coaches and inviting them to see you play increases those odds many times over.

That being said, my daughter didn't want to play high school this year. A college coach convinced her that she should play hs ball.

 

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wow tnt's dad i'm convinced, my only question is what happens to players when they make the high school team. it appears that these players get worse as they get older. college coaches are all wrong, they should be recruiting at the 8U level to get the really good players. my only point is that it is hard to believe that 4 or 8 additional years of pitching experience, weight training programs, and travel ball experience improves a hs player only to the 14U level. someone needs to change the training techniques to stop this.

 

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Even though college coaches can not attend many games during the spring, every college coach we talked to this past year asked for both travel ball and high school schedules, and some asked for and even attended winter games. The ones who were truly interested continued to ask during the spring how the high school season was going, followed the boxscores in the paper, and did come to a game once their season was over. Yes, they know full well that high school stats can be deceiving, which is certainly part of the reason they want to come to games and see for themselves. They can tell a lot by just watching a girl throw a ball, swing a bat, run a base, or in the way she carries herself on the field, and it doesn't make any difference if its at a high school game or a travel ball game. They do attend more travel ball games because its more convenient for their schedules and they can see a lot more quality players at one time.