QODN and KSU showcase. Comments of what you think?

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Queen of the diamonds North took place this weekend at KSU. With all of the players (and parents) that took and watched both the KSU camp and QODN showcases, what do you think was best?

DD was selected in QODN. We also were going to attend the KSU camp in the morning of January 7. After hearing from several people I knew and post on OFC we decided to not do the QODN. The $275 dollar price seemed high also. We did participate in the session 2 of pitchers for the KSU showcase. I was impress and would recommend that showcase to anyone. There were lots of college coaches walking around and DD got a lot of looks.

We will do the KSU camp again next year. But was wondering if the QODN was worth doing too? Were there coaches there like the KSU event? Nice to hear from those that attend both.....

 

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Shark!
You will hear both sides of the coin here, but having dd's rthat did it in the past, the 275 gets you this if you have not done it. The tools for your dd on how to work through the daunting process of getting on a coach radar screen. There really is nobody out there truly caring about any girls softball success than Kirt and his crew and they also are truly great people. Do they make money on it? Sure, but what your dd will learn will really pay off in the end if SHE woks at the business side of the equation. Not mom or dad, but her and that is what part of the 275 pays for. She will only get about 8 at bats during the games, but connect the Queen of Diamonds with thee college camp piece and double her exposure for that weekend. We personally liked the QDSS better as it's outside on fields but in the end there are many coaches there that contacts came out of. Kirt's process will even get an introvert to talk to coaches and we had one of those. Good luck with the process either way, but it has to be your dd's work.

 

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Great Post Hilliarddad3...

We have found events like QDSS and QDSN are worth the coin...

More coaches in a central location to do nothing but watch players... Unlike a tournament where they have to find schedules, fields then hope the players are playing...

Naturally; the PLAYERS must do their job prior to ANY event for it to be worthwhile.

We have had a lot of good experiences from Kirts Events including contact from schools that we did not make the initial move.
There are events like Kirts around the country and from our experience his events seems to me to be as good of quality as the other high profile recruiting events.

 

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DD wasn't in the camp but caught a pitcher at the camp and attended the showcase. Camp looks like the place to be, showcase not so much unless you are pitcher. DD had 2 at bates in the cage, 2 in her second game and one in her third game. Caught half the games but just not enough action to show what you can do. Consensus of most I talked to said the same thing. Camp was sold out or we would have been in both.

Did get to meet JoeA there. It was very nice meeting him. Saw A LOT of old friends. Fun weekend.

 

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One of mine was in the cages all weekend long as a catcher....the other couldn't go because of basketball....she liked it. She said she had fun, got to catch and meet a lot of girls from all over. There were still a lot of coaches there, especially Saturday night. We were there again Sunday at 8:00 am and there were not as many coaches there, but still saw at least 15 to 20 of them sitting down by the warm up area for the players by the end of the day. Props to the coaches that were there at 8:00am.

My biggest drawback was I could not see my daughter play all weekend long since the cages were clear across the football field and parents are not allowed back there in the cage area.

As a parent, I like to watch her play. If I am going to be there, it would be nice to at least get to see her a couple times during the event.

That being said, I would want her to be in the cages again. She got 22 at bats against live pitching....and while that is low campared to others...one girl that was in her group just for hitting got close to 50 at bats, it was still much better than players that played in the games. I know some of those got less than ten at bats.

I think next year I would do both. I am already up there and have a hotel...might as well make the most of it.

 

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My DD has been doing the Queen of Diamonds for three years here in Kent and in South Carolina. With the information you recieve I think it is worth it and Kirt is a Great person. I feel he does a great job marketing his program. Yes it is a business for him too and he will make money. What I feel about cages.......If you noticed he makes the sounds like the Best of the animal catchers and pitchers go in there and if you can cross that line go for it. I see it as if he couldnt get anyone to do the cages he couldn't fit 26 teams on two fields. Shirts.....supply and demand....he doesnt make a lot of them; sells them for a slightly higher price ( I think it $25) and parents wait in a line for over an hour to get them. Marketing, he sure know what he is doing. We enjoyed every year of it and my DD got what she wanted out of it I just sent him a thank you email this morning.

Kent State Camp...DD has not attended it but I hear its even better. You will see a lot of colleges at both QDDN and Kent State. In fact its also YOU the players that attract them; why do you think he wants you to write to the colleges so much during his campaign? so they will come to this venue. I think the Kent State Camp and QDSN work hand in hand together and compliment each other well.

Nice Job for giving the players information they need to have and on marketing.

 

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Just keep in mind , most only had 6 at bats during the entire camp. So $46 every time at bat, you need to weigh that against the exposure. The dd had fun and got more exposure than most, since she was put in as a runner during the games.

 

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The KSU Camp/Clinic and QDSN are each designed to do different things. Both of them involve the promoters making a profit (as they should). I think the two activites compliment each other nicely. The Camp/Clinic provides you with the most opportunities to show your stuff in what amounts to a practice situation. Pitchers throw almost continuously for almost an hour. Lots of chances for a college coach to see you throwing different pitches. The same idea applies to position players and the number of reps they get during the Camp/Clinic. It is a great opportunity for the colege coaches to get an idea of your basic skills. The QDSN provides you with the opportunity to show those skills in a competitive environment (either the field games or the cage games). The more important part of the QDSN is the information that is received by the player about the promotional side of the recruiting process.

The Camp/Clinic fee buys you 1 hour on the field with x number of other players (there were approximately 54 pitchers in each session). The QDSN fee buys you 3-4 weeks of information on how to promote yourself to college coaches. Both of these things are very important in the recuiting process. Both of these events are very valuable in that recruiting process.

 

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good way to put it Rdsherman, you hit it right on the head.

 

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DD loved the TEAM concept of the event and walks away with a few new friends and did face top pitching 6 times. However, if you are on a budget and can only do one, and already understand the recruiting piece, I would advise to go to the Camp.

If you do not understand the recruiting process, QDSN is an absolute must do and there are lots of Camps that have high end exposure. And if you have loads of cash and register early.. go both.

 

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The KSU Camp/Clinic and QDSN are each designed to do different things. Both of them involve the promoters making a profit (as they should). I think the two activites compliment each other nicely. The Camp/Clinic provides you with the most opportunities to show your stuff in what amounts to a practice situation. Pitchers throw almost continuously for almost an hour. Lots of chances for a college coach to see you throwing different pitches. The same idea applies to position players and the number of reps they get during the Camp/Clinic. It is a great opportunity for the colege coaches to get an idea of your basic skills. The QDSN provides you with the opportunity to show those skills in a competitive environment (either the field games or the cage games). The more important part of the QDSN is the information that is received by the player about the promotional side of the recruiting process.

The Camp/Clinic fee buys you 1 hour on the field with x number of other players (there were approximately 54 pitchers in each session). The QDSN fee buys you 3-4 weeks of information on how to promote yourself to college coaches. Both of these things are very important in the recuiting process. Both of these events are very valuable in that recruiting process.

If you read OFC you can get the recruiting info for free.

If you have the cash to spare both events are a lot of fun for the girls. Parents just bring a comfy chair and a good book or a pillow.

 

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I thought the whole experience was a great one for my dd. She got college exposure and enjoyed the day. Met a whole lot of new athletes and made more softball family friends.

I did bring my Kindle to read, but honestly, there were a lot of softball friends that I have not seen in a long time. So I spent both days catching up with some old softball family friends, and meeting a few new ones!! :yahoo:

She will definately do the camp again next year. The QDSN, we will decide later.

 

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Who were some of the MVP's?

 

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Who were some of the MVP's?

I was told our very own Jill Hetki was the overall MVP to go with her 3 game a nd 1 cage MVP's. Jill is a wonderful young lady from a great family and was very deserving of this.
She faced 42 batters and had 32 strikeouts no walks and no hits. GREAT job Jill

Also getting a MVP's were Outlaws Nicole Doyle and Grace Aldredge.

I was also told all the Outlaw girls looked really good. Way to go Outlaws

 

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Who were some of the MVP's?

I know Kiley Sosby (Buckeye Heat 97) got one as a pitcher in her first game. Faced 12, struck out 7, no hits.

 

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You can go to http://theqsport.com/collegecoaches.asp and find all the MVP's. Just scroll down to Queen of Diamonds Event Awards and click on which list you want to see.

 

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Riley Curtis of the Miami Valley Xpress 16u Curtis team was awarded an MVP. She batted 1,000 in 3 games.

 

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I was told our very own Jill Hetki was the overall MVP. Jill is a wonderful young lady from a great family and was very deserving of this.
She faced 42 batters and had 32 strikeouts. GREAT job Jill

This is true. She really did deserve it! Congrats to her!! My dd got an MVP as well.

 

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I was told our very own Jill Hetki was the overall MVP. Jill is a wonderful young lady from a great family and was very deserving of this.
She faced 42 batters and had 32 strikeouts. GREAT job Jill

Way to go, Jill! Way to go Grace and Nicole!

I have the pleasure of coaching Jill and working along side her at pitching instructions. She is focused and dedicated to her development and to the development of our team as all of our players are.

We are certainly proud of Jill and of all of our Outlaws players that participated or who were attending other softball events this past weekend. I also got to see a lot of friends participate and get caught up with their parents. Can't wait to see everyone this summer.

Sam

 

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Lena Richards from 18U Ohio Stealth received 2 game MVP's and a first team award as a catcher.
The Stealth is very proud of Lena and our other Stealth players that participated in the KSU camp and QDS this past weekend.