Softball Recruiting in Ohio

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Which University as a staff, does an outstanding job of beating the recruiting path by attending multiple high profile tournaments and being seen? Also, which University's are seldom seen at tournaments here in Ohio, and what may be the reasons for this lack of interest in the local talent?

 

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does buckeyes recruit ohio kids

 

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I see the Kent & Akron coaches at a lot of places in Ohio, ... at least the higher profile events. I notice that they both have a LOT of Ohioans on their rosters. That makes me feel all warm and fuzzy about them, and their commitment to Ohio. It's not lost on me that it is easier to accommodate "in state" tuition with limited schollies, however nonetheless, it feels good to see rosters stocked with Ohio talent.

 

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IMO Wright St was set to become "the" univ to go to IF OSU was not interested. Coach Larabee had things rolling pretty good. I think he was set to start getting the best ohio players, but now he is is off to arkansas. But honestly my opinion is not worth too much --my kid is still a pup.

I don't understand OSU not taking harder looks at in state talent. Maybe the success of teams like Lasers Black, Slammers , Elyria Sundogs at national tournies will wake up the univ's and make sure these young ladies stay get offers to stay in state. MD

 

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does buckeyes recruit ohio kids

Not many at all. Many of their players are 2nd tier girls from CA.

Len

 

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It'll be interesting to see if Toledo's new coach recruits strongly in Ohio. I've seen Miami at a lot of out of state tourneys but the rest of the Mac seems to do well attending here along with most of the D2 & 3 and NAIA Ohio schools.

 

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BG and Cleveland State seem to have a lot of Ohio talent and I'd seen their coaches at a few tournaments this summer. Also, I've seen the Ashland coach a few times, too. Agree that OSU doesn't seem to look as much in-state.

 

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Let's see:

It's an extreme rarity for any girls from Ohio to be recruited by major Division 1 programs even in the state of Ohio (OSU). Many, many, many, many of the "best" softball players are taking instruction from a very few individuals. If these individuals are so good at what they do, why aren't Ohio girls populating the rosters of major colleges across the country? Just askin'----

 

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Let's see:

It's an extreme rarity for any girls from Ohio to be recruited by major Division 1 programs even in the state of Ohio (OSU). Many, many, many, many of the "best" softball players are taking instruction from a very few individuals. If these individuals are so good at what they do, why aren't Ohio girls populating the rosters of major colleges across the country? Just askin'----

There are a number of reasons but one of the main ones I think would be exposure. First of all Ohio does not have a truly major ASA "A" level tournament to draw coaches from regions outside our own. And outside of a National what travel teams go and play in Florida, California, ect? You can get a lot of the Big Ten at Compuware or the Orland Park tournament but college coaches from the ACC, SEC, Pac Ten simply aren't where they can follow an Ohio girl like they can with one from their region and generally most big program college coaches with rare exception like at Nationals prefer to see a prospect for more that just a game or two in a single season.

 

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hockeybuckeye so true. Read some of Joe A's posts. Look at the Sting Rays tourney . 37 college coaches, but around 30 all Ohio schools. So if you want to get noticed you have to play with the big boys, like BigTrain did. Or you go to other states to play. Example Queen of Diamonds in Rock Hill SC. Just as info Ohio teams took 3 out of the 4 top spots! So Ohio is catching up because we now have some good coaches teaching like you see out West on Elite Teams.

 

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Let's see:

It's an extreme rarity for any girls from Ohio to be recruited by major Division 1 programs even in the state of Ohio (OSU). Many, many, many, many of the "best" softball players are taking instruction from a very few individuals. If these individuals are so good at what they do, why aren't Ohio girls populating the rosters of major colleges across the country? Just askin'----

IMO this will start to change --some of the instructors you mentioned just started instructing the masses a few short years ago. As it takes hold I predict more "big time" D-1 signings. Will most of them be Ohio schools ? Don't know and don't especially care -- D-1 in ohio is good enough for me and my kid .

Honestly I don't have alot of faith in the system -- had a head college coach tell my 13u girl (she will be 14 next month ) she was the most advanced hitter he had ever seen at that age . I was thinking " Dude you don't get out enough" Not to slight my kid , she's a pretty solid hitter --but not in any "best ever" talks --heck she isn't the best hitter on her own team .

Think about Tess Sito --I personally did'nt see her play but nearly everyone agrees she could have signed at nearly any major D-1 she wanted -- the talent level was there --she just choose to stay home. I think the midwest will start taking more notice of what Ohio is producing. Soon . MD

 

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We live in Ohio and my DD plays for a MI team. MI St., U of M, Central, and Eastern all recruit from her team and other MI. teams. We had an assist coach from U of M at last Sunday's practice and last year we were invited to scrimage in a round robin against other MI teams in front of the MI St coaching staff. I have seen all of these coaches at many tournaments over the past two years and my DD's team has had several girls recruited. We don't get to Ohio much but I can say MI is trying to recruit MI girls.

 

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MI St and MI in the same sentence is not really appropriate. I would think MI St doesn't have other options. Many girls would prefer to play many other places even though your talking big ten. They are the doormat right now, and nobody likes losing.

Michigan University, now the fact that they recruit heavily in Michigan and Ohio, that is an awesome testimony to taking local talent and getting them to the next level.

 

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Great observations from all of the above!

Hockey, what would be the main reasons why Ohio teams don't travel to national level exposure tournaments? What would be considered the top exposure tournaments east of the Mississippi?

 

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Easily found info. All college rosters are on the college's athletics web site somewhere, and a roster head count shows where they recruit from.

First of all, don't count on PAC Ten schools coming east to recruit. Why should they? The number of girls playing softball there FAR outnumbers Ohio and surrounding states, and thus the number of quality recruits.

Secondly, it's not that Ohio girls are getting inferior instruction vs. Cali girls (although I've witnessed some pretty poor teaching here in Ohio) - it's a matter of sheer numbers. Cali girls come East because of the opportunity that's not available closer to home for them.

IMO, breaking into the Big 10 (11) is an outstanding accomplishment for an Ohio girl - especially a pitcher. I just don't think the PAC Ten is a realistic goal for Ohio kids - unless the family moved there and the girl really busted her tail to beat out the natives.

 

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^^ at least the SEC schools are getting close enough to open up some eyes (and minds) about talent east of the missisip ! Hopefully they SMASH the pac ten next year MD

 

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Great observations from all of the above!

Hockey, what would be the main reasons why Ohio teams don't travel to national level exposure tournaments? What would be considered the top exposure tournaments east of the Mississippi?

Mantle, a number of them do but the strain on time and financial resources can be pretty hefty. My DD's team as a 16U played in Colorado, Chicago, Nashville, Kentucky, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. The exposure was good but I'm the sole breadwinner in my family and I don't have a six figure income to offset the cost so most parents simply can't afford to travel like that. It was borderline that we could do it. The tournaments east of the Mississippi that I'm familiar with that get very good exposure would be Compuware, Orland Park Sparks, Homer Hawks, and Nashville Music City Hits. There may well be others but I haven't attended them. The thing with the kind of travel that say Bigtrain does not only does he travel a lot for maximum exposure but he personally knows many many D1 coaches and given the age of the girls he was coaching it was O.K. to bring them to a university where there would be a coach he knows on the way back from whatever tournament they would be at so to help girls get their foot in the door by being seen by them.

 

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There are a number of reasons but one of the main ones I think would be exposure. First of all Ohio does not have a truly major ASA "A" level tournament to draw coaches from regions outside our own. And outside of a National what travel teams go and play in Florida, California, ect? You can get a lot of the Big Ten at Compuware or the Orland Park tournament but college coaches from the ACC, SEC, Pac Ten simply aren't where they can follow an Ohio girl like they can with one from their region and generally most big program college coaches with rare exception like at Nationals prefer to see a prospect for more that just a game or two in a single season.

Question: do we stop creating new teams and focus on some core teams that will get us exposure?

 

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I think OHSAA hamstrings a lot of our girls as well. With the limited time outdoors in Ohio, they should be able to play as much as possible to attempt to catch up to the west and south...

 

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After returning home from the 18-u USA/ASA A Nationals held in Las Vegas, I received some e-mails and cards in the mail from Big Ten coaches and ACC coaches offering the SunDogs congratulations on finishing runner-up. I have also had one conversation with a SEC coach in reference to some players. I would expect in the next few years Ohio would see more Ohio players in these conferences.

I am not sure what it means that we did not receive any correspondence from any Ohio colleges, all the correspondence is from out of state coaches.

Duane S.
Head Coach
Elyria SunDogs