recruting services

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Has anybody ever used any recruting services? If so were they worth the money? What service did you use. It is hard to get a coach to see a girl if they don't play on one of the premier teams and go to a D-3 or D-4 high school.

 

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Use the service your exposure coach recommends since they will most likely have coach connections established....

Be Recruited is the best bang for your buck IMO. Softball Showcase and Captain U are also well recognized cost efficient services but, I always caution my players about monthly or High cost recruiting services

I would suggest doing your own e-marketing and using these services as secondary. Most college coaches would rather hear from the player than a recruiter....

 

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Has anybody used Captain U paying the $20 a month for upgraded thing?? Did or do you feel it is worth it??

 

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Honestly, we signed up for Captain U but never did use it once they started asking for money.

Both my girls are going to play D1, and they got exposure playing for a "small" market team (The Hammers), but we tried to play a tougher schedule. It is easier playing for a bigger organization, like they are now (the Doom) as coaches know these organizations tend to play tough schedules, and it also helps to have the head coach of these organizations on a first name basis with so many college coaches out there.

What got them looked at was them sending out emails and letting coaches know where they were playing. Basically being a squeaky wheel and staying in contact with the schools they liked worked. They sent out an email to coaches every week during the season, talking about grades, life, and softball.

As soon as someone starts asking for money for their assistance, I shy away. IMO, I think you can do it on your own.

 

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I can honestly say I am not aware of any players that were recruited, discovered or found on a recruiting service. A while ago this topic came up and it had mixed opinions. The interesting thing was it sounded like the D3's and NAIA's might use it - but not the D2 and D1's.

Is the cost is $100 a year? When you think about it that is lunch money when considering what you spend on the tournament circuit and at college camps a year..

 

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It's $19.95 a MONTH or $39.95 a month if you want advice & personal coaching. So at least around $240 a year. MY DD is a junior so I'd be looking at almost $500 and I can't see needing it but some others on team are starting to use it. So far the only benefit I've heard is the ease of emailing college coaches but I don't see it worth it. Was wondering if I'm missing something.

 

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$240 a year - no thanks!!!

 

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Personal Recruiting Coach (?)
1-on-1 Counseling (?)
Recruiting Highlight Video Creation (?)
Access to 15,000 college coaches (?)
Email & phone templates (?)
NCAA eligibility info (?)
Recruiting Profile (?)

$39.95.....for all
$19.95.....for bottom 4 only

 

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Find a summer coach who has "connections" and is good at promoting his/her players. Then, (the player, not her parents) show the college coaches your work ethic and organizational skills by doing the heavy lifting YOURSELF. Send out those emails, letters, schedules, promotional flyers, profile sheets etc. and keep detailed records on responses. These are skills a kid will have to use anyway when looking for a worthwhile job after college. Why not get a little real-life practice in now? It will certainly pay off.

What message are you sending college coaches by hiring someone to do recruiting for you? Go ahead, ask some DI college coaches what they think of a potential recruit using a full-service recruiting agency. Now, a free video service is a great convenience tool, but that's where it stops. Do the rest yourself.

 

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Was at the Kent State Clinic a few weeks ago. Coach Linder told the group, girls and parents, that to not use those services. Not worth it in her opinion. Just as easy for the girls to e-mail and write to the coaches, make their own video with help and just keep their names in front of coaches faces.

 

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Be recruited has a ton of info, a place to put your skilll vid, mixed with profile and more detailed history for the coach to browse. For the perspective athlete it has every college coaches e mail ( yes I know coaches change alot ) they have sample introduction letters to learn from. It used be a one time 60 dollar lifetime fee. Being out 2 years I couldent tell you what it is now, But it was well worth the 60 bucks just for the e mail address alone.

I dont know the % of top 20 schools that browse on there but I can remember some pretty big conference schools that were book marking profiles.

 

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Quick story...

I was at a weekend friendly in Michigan recently to watch two girls. One team had a girl whose name sounded very familiar, so I watched her as well. I searched my e-mail later and the girl had e-mailed me from her e-mail address through the recruiting service called NSR with the typical boilerplate claim that she was very interested in our school and all of that. She looked like a solid potential 2014 prospect, so I e-mailed just to say I saw her play and to keep us updated on her schedule.

She e-mails back a few days later to say thanks for watching her play, but she had just done some initial research on our school after reading my e-mail and we're not in her top 10 schools academically, but thanks anyway. Now, of course I had completely suspected that her's or any other similar e-mails were throwing darts at a wall and hoping something will stick, but guess what? Don't waste my time! If you haven't done ANY research on my school and our GPA/ACT profile just happens to fit yours, don't send me an e-mail asking me to come and watch you play with the thought that you'll then do some research later. Better yet, don't write a general e-mail and then let a recruiting service send that e-mail to dozens of schools, most of which you know nothing about. There are too many schools and too many players for all of us to waste time and resources on each other when there is no chance of a fit.

And what do you think I will now be doing with all the other e-mails I get from girls through NSR? Now that I know their e-mails do not remotely indicate any specificity of interest in our school, they will be deleted before they are even opened.

 

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Joe - great point

 

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Good post Joe. My DD sent out emails last night for a tourney next week in Chicago. She took a free BeRecruited template, said she fined tuned it to make it her own and sent it out to some schools that have posted they will be there. Doubt she did much research on most of them. She was under team pressure to do some emailing. Guess I need to sit down and work with her on actually compiling a list of schools she is truly interested in, after research, and start working those schools on her own.