What doors your organization or coach do to get you recruited?

[Doug666]

What does your organization or coach do to get you recruited?

Sitting here wandering what your organization or travel ball coach should be doing to get your daughter looked at by college coaches. Does it matter that your organization is a so/called A organization. Or the player sending out countless emails and parents paying for their daughters to go to the college camps that their interested in. I have the feeling that we could have spent a lot less money on travel A softball and just use the money to send them to private lessons and college camps. What do you think parents and coaches?

 

[tankerlab]

My daughter was blessed with great coaches the last few years. Both Travel and High School.
She won their support from hard work and detication and her success in the game gathered support from opposing high school and travel ball coaches that also helped her get to the next level!
I saw first hand these coaches masterfully work their butts off for her and all the other girls to get college looks and offers and scholarships!
When you are at a travel game and a college coach shows up does your coach drop what they are doing right in the middle of the game and go out to greet the college coach and give them profiles and talk to them? Do your coaches demand the girls to send e mails to coaches AND be CC'd on all e mails to and from college coaches? Do they remind the girls to e mail every week before tournaments? Do they attend the camps your daughters go to to support them and talk with the coaches? Do they call you the parent a couple times a week to discuss schools, grades, softball in general? Do they send out e mails with links to upcoming college camps? Do they demand excellence and get respect?
DO THEY EXPRESS the IMPORTANCE of GRADES and ACT scores??? Do they provide ACT tutors for the girls? Do you ever see them try to assist or help other players that are not on their team or in their organization just because that's what they do?
Do you see them have relationships with college coaches and keep in touch and in the loop? Do they schedule games against college teams? Sign up for college team camps?
As far as private lessons if your playing for an "A" travel team then the Coach has already told you to have her in private lessons!

 

[daboss]

While many organizations or individual coaches may make claims of high success rates the ultimate responsibility comes down to your daughter. She needs to be the talent everyone claims her to be and possess the desire and commitment that college programs need to flourish. Put yourself in the shoes of a college coaching staff and ask yourself the many questions they would have when meeting your daughter for the first time. Look at her current coaches. Are they being honest and sincere in evaluating and promoting her to schools?

Lastly, think about what is at stake here. My opinion, don't leave something this important in the hands of others. Most are only going to share info on the "how's and why's" but few have the personal connections. I suggest more energy be put into developing a solid candidate. Master the basics of the game and her worth will get noticed. Once they start talking about her the word seems to spread. The rest you'll need to do anyway. Playing for an expensive organization does not guarantee a trip to a college career.

 

[lewam3]

Re: What does your organization or coach do to get you recruited?

Sitting here wandering what your organization or travel ball coach should be doing to get your daughter looked at by college coaches. Does it matter that your organization is a so/called A organization. Or the player sending out countless emails and parents paying for their daughters to go to the college camps that their interested in. I have the feeling that we could have spent a lot less money on travel A softball and just use the money to send them to private lessons and college camps. What do you think parents and coaches?

Doug666, where is your DD playing college ball now and what was her journey? Your question is an excellent one, but a loaded one. I'd like to hear your experience too.
But since you asked, this is the recipe for recruiting
1. DD with talent, hard work, and productive instruction
2. Minimum of 2 Showcase-type tourneys (It really only takes 2 visits) and a visit to the college camp that bites on her talent.
3. An ACT score and GPA that is better than average.

 

[CARDS]

As others have shared, I think a lot of the times when parent feels disappointed in the outcome, amount of time/money spent or, ends up having ladies that decide they are done with softball in HS or after a year or two of college it goes back to the front-end process or lack of goals going into sport more so than what an organization did to get looks by college coaches. With that said, any coach recruiting players for a college showcase schedule should help guide in the process, provide some leads. We also helped build profiles, skills videos, provided ACT help etc. as part of being on the team, not for extra money.

Parents need to understand that like players, the abilities/goals of coaches, teams, organizations also vary. The key is to find the right team/coach that matches the players/parents goals.
The problem is a lot of parents have unrealistic goals, they do not know when/how to start setting goals or, what questions to ask travel coaches prior to joining a team.

I was at a coachs clinic back in 2012 and was surprised on how many ladies do not complete college, drop sports in college or changed schools. It was close to 40% of college female athletes.
The overall Freshman college dropout/fail out percentage was over 60%... So, its, important the parents help their daughter explore the various pathways and have realistic goals that work with the players goals/interest. These goals may not be a 4 year college after answering the questions like:
Does my daughter struggle with school or has she enjoyed success in school?
Has the school provided enough of a challenge EX: Student got good to great grades but in lower academic classes.
Where does the lady fall physically/athletically compared to her peers?
What was her results on her 8th grade career assessments?
With summer teams is she sought after by teams or struggling to make teams?

The work on the front end by parents, players is the deciding factor for many not a 14/16/18u coach that may have the player for two maybe three seasons as is the case for a lot of teams.

 

[klinder]

Lots of great points. If a travel ball coach is promising that they will help get you recruited then I hope they are doing something to help you understand the process. However no travel or HS coach can absolutely guarantee that you will get a scholarship or play in college. What they can do is talk to coaches about you and get them to come watch your team play. I agree, the primary responsibility of getting recruited should fall with the athlete as this needs to be what they want, not what mom or dad wants.

College coaches want kids who do their own work to get recruited. The athlete should be the one doing the leg work, researching colleges, writing emails, calling coaches, attending camps and clinics. The athlete is the one who has to live the life of a college athlete, not mom or dad so the coach wants to know she is invested in living this dream. There are tons of parents and kids who think they want to play in college without really understanding what the college commitment is. If you want to be successful and play in college, your life will become centered around your training. Discipline and sacrifice will become your creed. In order to get to college, the athlete needs to be showing the discipline, sacrifice, and commitment to improve their skills on a daily basis, outside of team practices.

What it takes:
1. You have to be one of the most talented athletes in the game as coaches are recruiting kids from all over the country.
2. You have to be passionate about softball 24/7 and be willing to sacrifice many other areas in your life.
3. You have to be mentally tough to deal with adversity. Can you handle sitting on the bench for the first time in your life?
4. You have to keep your priorities in order and be disciplined with your time management. Your life becomes attending class, studying, practice, weights and conditioning, mental training, eat, sleep, travel, and games. There is not much time for family or the social side of college.
5. Can you handle your coaches telling you what, when, how, and why when it comes to your life?
6. You have to be a team player and be willing to sacrifice the me for the we, if you aren't you won't last.

One of the things I do with Aspire Higher Sports is recruiting seminars for teams and families to help them understand the process. If anyone is interested in hosting one, please message me or email me at klinder@aspirehighersports.com. I love educating coaches, athletes, and parents about the realities of recruiting and playing in college. My goal is to help people understand so they can make good choices in finding a great fit for the athlete Bigger isn't necessarily better. It should be about finding a school that will give you a quality academic and athletic experience in meeting your needs. Your travel coach can help you search that out but ultimately it is your responsibility to find the right school. If playing in college is an important goal, then take the time to do the research, find out what it will take to play, and take the steps to find a good fit.

https://www.aspirehighersports.com/recruiting_seminars

 

[tjsmize3]

If a travel ball coach is promising that they will help get you recruited then I hope they are doing something to help you understand the process. However no travel or HS coach can absolutely guarantee that you will get a scholarship or play in college. What they can do is talk to coaches about you and get them to come watch your team play. I agree, the primary responsibility of getting recruited should fall with the athlete as this needs to be what they want, not what mom or dad wants.

What it takes:
1. You have to be one of the most talented athletes in the game as coaches are recruiting kids from all over the country.
2. You have to be passionate about softball 24/7 and be willing to sacrifice many other areas in your life.
3. You have to be mentally tough to deal with adversity. Can you handle sitting on the bench for the first time in your life?
4. You have to keep your priorities in order and be disciplined with your time management. Your life becomes attending class, studying, practice, weights and conditioning, mental training, eat, sleep, travel, and games. There is not much time for family or the social side of college.
5. Can you handle your coaches telling you what, when, how, and why when it comes to your life?
6. You have to be a team player and be willing to sacrifice the me for the we, if you aren't you won't last.

Karen, you have always been a great resource to parents and players who want to understand college recruiting. So much of what I learned about recruiting on the first time around with my oldest was from time you spent educating us about the process when you were a busy coach and had much more important things to do with your time. The things you have done with our team in the past also has been an invaluable part of their development in the game, so I hope people will continue to utilize you as a a valuable resource... after all, you lived this for quite a long stretch.
I captioned what I thought was the most relevant information you shared, but what you said about the kids wanting it and NOT JUST the parents is so important. I do think the process STARTS with a parent/coach that helps their kids believe the dream to play at a high-level is possible. And with the recruiting process starting so early I do think a lot of kids are being looked at by major colleges at an age where the parents still have their hands firmly on the wheel as far as what the young player is doing with her her game. But, I would agree that the vast majority of college programs fully expect that a player has matured to the point of setting her own goals for the game and can verbalize how she plans to attain them before they are ready to commit her.
In terms of what an org can do for their kids, I would say one of the most important things is to help them understand the realities of items 1-6. If we have a team full of item #1-2 type kids that we don't properly prepare for items #3-6, then we have failed them. If your kid is at the point of going to college camps, make sure you tell her to ask the college players if/how their travel programs helped them get to the next level. That would be a great start for the things you and your daughter should be looking for.

 

[klinder]

Karen, you have always been a great resource to parents and players who want to understand college recruiting. So much of what I learned about recruiting on the first time around with my oldest was from time you spent educating us about the process when you were a busy coach and had much more important things to do with your time. The things you have done with our team in the past also has been an invaluable part of their development in the game, so I hope people will continue to utilize you as a a valuable resource... after all, you lived this for quite a long stretch.
I captioned what I thought was the most relevant information you shared, but what you said about the kids wanting it and NOT JUST the parents is so important. I do think the process STARTS with a parent/coach that helps their kids believe the dream to play at a high-level is possible. And with the recruiting process starting so early I do think a lot of kids are being looked at by major colleges at an age where the parents still have their hands firmly on the wheel as far as what the young player is doing with her her game. But, I would agree that the vast majority of college programs fully expect that a player has matured to the point of setting her own goals for the game and can verbalize how she plans to attain them before they are ready to commit her.
In terms of what an org can do for their kids, I would say one of the most important things is to help them understand the realities of items 1-6. If we have a team full of item #1-2 type kids that we don't properly prepare for items #3-6, then we have failed them. If your kid is at the point of going to college camps, make sure you tell her to ask the college players if/how their travel programs helped them get to the next level. That would be a great start for the things you and your daughter should be looking for.

Tom, you are right and I agree about the parents and coaches being able to give their young athletes the belief and the guidance they need to take the steps to follow their dream. As a parent I know you have to point and sometimes push them in the right direction to get your kids moving but hopefully it is the athlete doing the work because they want it more than their parents do. Kids and parents should be having those honest heart to heart discussions about what they want their future to be.

 

[tankerlab]

While many organizations or individual coaches may make claims of high success rates the ultimate responsibility comes down to your daughter. She needs to be the talent everyone claims her to be and possess the desire and commitment that college programs need to flourish. Put yourself in the shoes of a college coaching staff and ask yourself the many questions they would have when meeting your daughter for the first time. Look at her current coaches. Are they being honest and sincere in evaluating and promoting her to schools?

Lastly, think about what is at stake here. My opinion, don't leave something this important in the hands of others. Most are only going to share info on the "how's and why's" but few have the personal connections. I suggest more energy be put into developing a solid candidate. Master the basics of the game and her worth will get noticed. Once they start talking about her the word seems to spread. The rest you'll need to do anyway. Playing for an expensive organization does not guarantee a trip to a college career.

You brought up some good points. The organizations that have the reputation of having success at the recruiting game, have those reputations for a reason... there is a difference of "making claims" and actually doing it repeatedly year after year... Next, no doubt about it, your daughter is the biggest factor to her being recruited! And yeas she has to be the talent claimed and when she gets the opportunity to perform in front of the college coaches she needs to stand out as advertised! The coaches and organizations we are talking about on this thread have the reputation they have because they can't afford to not be honest and sincere in their evaluations or they would soon lose that respect. There are certain organizations and particularly coaches that are known amongst college coaches and know the product is as advertised. Some are not and do not last long...

 

[tankerlab]

As others have shared, I think a lot of the times when parent feels disappointed in the outcome, amount of time/money spent or, ends up having ladies that decide they are done with softball in HS or after a year or two of college it goes back to the front-end process or lack of goals going into sport more so than what an organization did to get looks by college coaches. With that said, any coach recruiting players for a college showcase schedule should help guide in the process, provide some leads. We also helped build profiles, skills videos, provided ACT help etc. as part of being on the team, not for extra money.

Parents need to understand that like players, the abilities/goals of coaches, teams, organizations also vary. The key is to find the right team/coach that matches the players/parents goals.
The problem is a lot of parents have unrealistic goals, they do not know when/how to start setting goals or, what questions to ask travel coaches prior to joining a team.

I was at a coachs clinic back in 2012 and was surprised on how many ladies do not complete college, drop sports in college or changed schools. It was close to 40% of college female athletes.
The overall Freshman college dropout/fail out percentage was over 60%... So, its, important the parents help their daughter explore the various pathways and have realistic goals that work with the players goals/interest. These goals may not be a 4 year college after answering the questions like:
Does my daughter struggle with school or has she enjoyed success in school?
Has the school provided enough of a challenge EX: Student got good to great grades but in lower academic classes.
Where does the lady fall physically/athletically compared to her peers?
What was her results on her 8th grade career assessments?
With summer teams is she sought after by teams or struggling to make teams?

The work on the front end by parents, players is the deciding factor for many not a 14/16/18u coach that may have the player for two maybe three seasons as is the case for a lot of teams.

Great post! Very true words...

 

[manitoudan]

Not going for particulars but will simply say it certainly matters. I've got travel coaches I have a good relationship with whom I seem to be " lucky" getting his players to sign and I've got coaches I'm close to giving up on . So it matters . Some coaches do a great job of pushing/hyping their players , some dont . Some do a good job sending kids to certain places but dont seem to do so well getting them to other schools . Its complex , but it matters . If your kid is heart set on only 1-2 schools you better make sure that head coach has a good relationship with the staff of those 2 .

 

[wow]

Its complex , but it matters . If your kid is heart set on only 1-2 schools you better make sure that head coach has a good relationship with the staff of those 2 .

Amen. Complex is a understatement. Relationships matter, ability to be political matter, and you better be a part of a group who has someone at the helm navigating those waters. There are so many ingredients to how to get recruited, many already talked about here. I have seen kids get recruited on a phone call from a instructor. Others spend their entire travel career going to camps, writing emails, smooshing coaches, going to combines, and still are looking for someone to make some type of a offer. Others have NEVER done any of those things and found a way. There is no right "way" but there are best practices. If you position yourself and do all the things already discussed you increase your odds.

A wise man one told me "Being recruited is like a lottery ticket, the more events you attend, the more you play the right events, and the harder you work, the greater chances you have" Its been great advice.

 

[Xrayaries]

I have been through the recruiting process a few times now. My oldest son was my last and most difficult. My DD is now 14 and I have already started working coaches inboxes. The process is a little different when it comes to the ladies of the diamond. There are fewer advanced spots then there is for you men. That being said there are plenty of places to play in college. We don't wait for the school to see us we go to them. I have the first responsibility of educating my child. Finding an environment where they will be most comfortable. Looking for a school that has the Degree programs they are looking for.

With my son we looked at 200 schools. Narrowed it down to schools with biology and business. Narrowed it more to schools that had a faculty to student ratio below 18. That left us with about 20. DII, DIII, and NAIA schools. We went to their camps had practice tryouts with the teams etc... He received offers from 6 schools. 2 DII, 3DIII and and NAIA. He chose not to take money and head north to Finlandia University DIII so he could play as a Freshman. The others could not offer that. We did all of that with him never playing travel and missing his entire Junior year with an injury.

The process is tough and there is no right way. You can make things happen with drive and determination. My only goal was to get my son an education. The same will apply when my daughter gets to that point.

 

[Softball04]

While many organizations or individual coaches may make claims of high success rates the ultimate responsibility comes down to your daughter. She needs to be the talent everyone claims her to be and possess the desire and commitment that college programs need to flourish. Put yourself in the shoes of a college coaching staff and ask yourself the many questions they would have when meeting your daughter for the first time. Look at her current coaches. Are they being honest and sincere in evaluating and promoting her to schools?

Lastly, think about what is at stake here. My opinion, don't leave something this important in the hands of others. Most are only going to share info on the "how's and why's" but few have the personal connections. I suggest more energy be put into developing a solid candidate. Master the basics of the game and her worth will get noticed. Once they start talking about her the word seems to spread. The rest you'll need to do anyway. Playing for an expensive organization does not guarantee a trip to a college career.

I agree!!!!!!!!

Don't leave something that important in the hands of someone else! BINGO!