Is the regular tournament season now more important than where you play nationals?

[flygirlsdad]

Showcase season is underway, but June has always been the season teams try to qualify for the highest level nationals. Last week Cincinnati held an ASA/USA Qualifier with 9 teams at 16u. Outlaws and Lasers happened to be holding showcases with many many more teams involved. This weekend the ASA Gold qualifier in Indianapolis had 12 16U teams while Compuware was packed, with many teams from Ohio and Indiana. It seems that many teams have forgone qualifying for these season ending tournaments to seek college exposure for their players. I see the benefit in some respects. There will be a ton of college coaches at nationals, but if you chase a berth and fail, you may miss out on some earlier exposure at showcases.

 

[JoeA1010]

The very top teams are shooting solely for PGF Nationals, which has been in the making for five years. And this year at 16-U with the ASA Nats in College Station, TX, many teams aren't bothering with that, as it's expensive, hot, and just not a good spot for college exposure unless one wants to play maybe at a small to mid D1, D2, D3 or NAIA in Texas or nearby.

 

[Practice?]

The Sheer Madness ASA qualifier in Cleveland area had a lot of teams this weekend.

 

[TheSoftballZone]

The very top teams are shooting solely for PGF Nationals, which has been in the making for five years. And this year at 16-U with the ASA Nats in College Station, TX, many teams aren't bothering with that, as it's expensive, hot, and just not a good spot for college exposure unless one wants to play maybe at a small to mid D1, D2, D3 or NAIA in Texas or nearby.

Joe, do you think that with PGF using the same location for the Championship is a plus over other sanctioning groups?

If I was a College Coach I would see this as a Plus for planning.

I'll even give ASA some.advice, for free. I would move all ASA 18u, 16 under Nationals to Oklahoma City and all Championship games would be played inside the hall fame Stadium.

 

[Run26]

Joe, do you think that with PGF using the same location for the Championship is a plus over other sanctioning groups?

If I was a College Coach I would see this as a Plus for planning.

I'll even give ASA some.advice, for free. I would move all ASA 18u, 16 under Nationals to Oklahoma City and all Championship games would be played inside the hall fame Stadium.

ASA 18U Gold Nationals are in OKC.

 

[TheSoftballZone]

ASA 18U Gold Nationals are in OKC.

Every year or just in 2016?

 

[Run26]

Every year or just in 2016?

I believe it runs in an every other year cycle. I know last year that both 16 & 18U Gold were both in Oregon and 18U gold was in OKC in 2014.

 

[JoeA1010]

I think with PGF it's an advantage in that the D1 college coaches are used to going to SoCal, but they would go wherever the PGF Nationals were held. I don't think ASA much cares whether college coaches attend their nationals, so as long as they can get 150 teams to their "A" Nationals, they just keep giving them to the same cities each year. We know these cities... Normal, Moline, College Station, Chattanooga, Montgomery, Salem, Sioux Falls, a few others.

PGF Nationals is now the only one that is a must-attend for the top teams to get D1 exposure for nationals. Otherwise, it's all showcases. For the teams not in the top 1%, but maybe in the next 20%, they can still play a showcase schedule in the Midwest and shoot for ASA A Nationals or maybe a PGF regional, with a Colorado or Atlanta Legacy thrown in the mix. This latter type of schedule will get the team tons of D2, NAIA and D3 exposure, along with a good amount of D1 exposure.

 

[Louuuuu]

Back to the original thought:

Since a vast majority of teams aren't getting anywhere near any kind of "Nationals", then, yes, the regular season tournament schedule is very important.

 

[daboss]

Showcase tourneys are the option if national tourneys are not in the budget or plans for many clubs. Showcase tourneys were the brainchild of suggestions made by a group of college coaches if my information is correct. They were to target areas for smaller schools with less money for staff to use for recruiting, It still allows them to see some of these kids side by side. I know I got word from some coaches they really wanted this to be successful but I question if they actually have taken advantage of them.

 

[cobb_of_fury]

I have always been curious as to why teams from the northeast and Midwest go out west to Cali and Colorado for tournaments. The chances of a girl from PA, Ohio, KY getting a scholarship In California is skinny at best.
seems to me a better plan would be to save that money and do more regional Showcases.

My daughter has no desire to go 'away' to school so I would not want her to be on a team doing those long range trips. She is only 14 so am I missing something?

Now all that being said, I assume the experience of playing in one of those national events is fantastic but is it worth the cost?

 

[DougA10]

I have always been curious as to why teams from the northeast and Midwest go out west to Cali and Colorado for tournaments. The chances of a girl from PA, Ohio, KY getting a scholarship In California is skinny at best.
seems to me a better plan would be to save that money and do more regional Showcases.

My daughter has no desire to go 'away' to school so I would not want her to be on a team doing those long range trips. She is only 14 so am I missing something?

Now all that being said, I assume the experience of playing in one of those national events is fantastic but is it worth the cost?

Tons of coaches from the eastern half of the country are at those tournaments.

 

[Pacerdad57]

sometimes it just comes down to a sheer financial ability. not really willing to sink that kind of money into ball just on the off chance you score a big scholarship with a major D1 power.
it just isn't feasible for a lot of families to over extend financially, so the local showcase type tourney is all a lot of us have.
there are a lot of families out there, i am guessing who have DD's capable of playing a higher level of ball, they just simply cannot afford it, so they go with the best they can.
does this hurt the DD's out there that are possibly playing under their abilities, or are there still smaller schools attending these showcases to see these kids?
i have seen a few coaches/scouts at a couple of the smaller tournies, but certainly not a lot.

 

[FastBat]

Ok, my question is on subject, just not sure where it fits in. What about softball camps? My DD went to a nice college camp last week. It was more for fun for her, she's only entering 6th grade and first year 12u. But, why do they have those? I assumed to possibly put an 8th-10th grader on their "list" of possible recruits. But, to me that seems to be the most cost effective way to get recruited?

 

[DougA10]

Ok, my question is on subject, just not sure where it fits in. What about softball camps? My DD went to a nice college camp last week. It was more for fun for her, she's only entering 6th grade and first year 12u. But, why do they have those? I assumed to possibly put an 8th-10th grader on their "list" of possible recruits. But, to me that seems to be the most cost effective way to get recruited?

For the most part camps are fundraisers for the program or the coach. Some coaches actually own their camps, so it goes straight into their pocket. It does give a coach or player the opportunity to spend a day or two with a potential recruit.

As far as getting noticed by coach for recruiting purposes that is extremely rare, and requires perfect timing.

 

[WestsideSteelie]

Ok, my question is on subject, just not sure where it fits in. What about softball camps? My DD went to a nice college camp last week. It was more for fun for her, she's only entering 6th grade and first year 12u. But, why do they have those? I assumed to possibly put an 8th-10th grader on their "list" of possible recruits. But, to me that seems to be the most cost effective way to get recruited?

As I'm sure you know, getting recruited is MUCH more than showing up at a college camp and hoping to get noticed )not to say it couldn't happen). There's tons of research which should happen first to determine if the school is even a good fit for your DD (close to home, far away from home, intended major, D1, D2, D3, NAIA, etc...) Then you need to do check and see if the position your DD plays will be available the year she graduates. Research the team, coach, record and see how your DD could help improve their team's success. Then comes the onslaught of emails. I had heard somewhere it takes roughly 5 - 7 emails to even get on their radar. Your DD has to "sell" herself in these emails and really highlight her talents and academic success. If she has a skills video, be careful how it's attached to the email of the college server might bounce the entire email. How's her class load, GPA, ACT / SAT scores? Also be sure to check the NCAA rules when these colleges are allowed to respond back. Your DD can initiate contact (emails, phone calls, etc) but until certain dates, college coaches cannot return phone messages or respond to emails. So it doesn't mean they aren't interested if you don't get a response back, it might be they can't contact her yet. Then comes the camps once the list has been narrowed. There's alot of $$$ which could be wasted by not attending the right camps. Can they be fun...yup. Can she learn new skills...yup. But if your objective is to get recruited, it's TONS of work. Also, keep in mind some D1 colleges start looking early, middle school early but they're all different.

 

[cobb_of_fury]

For the most part camps are fundraisers for the program or the coach. Some coaches actually own their camps, so it go straight into their pocket. It does give a coach or player the opportunity to spend a day or two with a potential recruit.

As far as getting noticed by coach for recruiting purposes that is extremely rare, and requires perfect timing.

I disagree with this - If you are going to the general all ages camps this is more likely true but I have seen many girls get noticed at the prospects camps (Usually they are just open for 9th ~ 12th graders) you will see the coach pull them aside at the end of the session, maybe offer them a campus tour. My DD who is 14 has been approached by coaches at these.

At that stage it's typically "Please send me your information, Send me a schedule, Please keep in touch, we're interested in you"
I can't say I've ever seen anyone out-right Offered at a camp but they have been noticed.

 

[DougA10]

I disagree with this - If you are going to the general all ages camps this is more likely true but I have seen many girls get noticed at the prospects camps (Usually they are just open for 9th ~ 12th graders) you will see the coach pull them aside at the end of the session, maybe offer them a campus tour. My DD who is 14 has been approached by coaches at these.

At that stage it's typically "Please send me your information, Send me a schedule, Please keep in touch, we're interested in you"
I can't say I've ever seen anyone out-right Offered at a camp but they have been noticed.

Just going by my personal experience with taking one age group thru the recruiting process, none of the girls ended up at a school because of attending a camp. Only one of the nine actually attended a camp at the school they ended up committing to. BTW we are talking D1.

 

[FastBat]

As I'm sure you know, getting recruited is MUCH more than showing up at a college camp and hoping to get noticed )not to say it couldn't happen). There's tons of research which should happen first to determine if the school is even a good fit for your DD...

This is why I think we need an actual "College Parents and Beyond" tab where parents of actual college players can just brag/talk/congratulate all they want about their DD's playing softball in college. Just reading that post is overwhelming! But, I think those parents (and players) are a unique bunch. It's a miracle any of them can survive that recruiting process, lol!

 

[cobb_of_fury]

Just going by my personal experience with taking one age group thru the recruiting process, none of the girls ended up at a school because of attending a camp. Only one of the nine actually attended a camp at the school they ended up committing to. BTW we are talking D1.

Only going on my personal experience as well - I would agree NO ONE is offered because they went to a camp BUT I have seen girls get noticed at camps and the Coaches reach out to them at the camps.
There is much more to the recruiting process then just showing up at a camp BUT if you show well at a camp the coaches will notice. BTW I'm also talking D1.

The most important thing for all perspective recruits is to be sure to choose the schools wisely - Don't choose schools based on their softball program choose them based on what you are looking for academically, what you want in a school environment, the size of classes, what fits you in order to build your future. If there are several schools that meet those needs then you can start looking at the softball programs record.