preparing for college

[softballmomma]

I have a daughter who is a freshmen in high school and plays travel ball. She is my first that will be applying for college as an athlete. When and what exactly do we need to keep track of? When should I look into putting together a recruiting video?

[jofus]

Try this site for some general info...

http://nfca.org/recruitinfo/players/

[softballmomma]

thank you

[EDGE]

It would be a good idea this summer to start to pull together a very general list of about 30 or so different colleges that she might be interested in and have her write these coaches asking them to "come watch her play" . It would be a good idea for her to be playing on a very good 16UA team that attends the " top" tournaments like the TNJ, Boulder or Fireworks, Rising Star , ASA nationals ect.... Let these coaches know her schedule and you can give them a general information sheet that has her picture on it that tells what she did in high school ball , her talents , her grades ect.....
Then see what happens. Many colleges that are interested will send your daughter either a camp brouchure or a questionnaire to fill out and return to them. They can send your daughter NOTHING else until after September 1st of her junior year. Fill these out as you get them , tell her to relax and just play ball. As a rising sophomore there is NO pressure to perform, and no rush to decide. While you are out attending tournaments tour around nearby college campuses so she can see what they are like ( for future reference)
I would wait to develop a video until the summer after her sophomore year. Narrow or expand or change your list of colleges according to responses you get. You should be getting a feel for where she fits in as a player and student.
After or during her sophomore summer you may have college coaches call your daughters travel coaches asking you and your daughter to call them. They may ask you to football games , or just for an unofficial visit. I would go to these, they are fun and they will help your daughter get a feel for the different cultures that go along with different colleges.
I hope this was helpful.

[EDGE]

Ditto on the above remark. Do everything Cathi says to do, but do it a year to year and a half earlier than she says to do it!

[softballmomma]

:lol: Thank you all so much for your help. I will definitely go out and get that book and start reading. I was not sure when you are suppose to start contacting coaches. I know the competition is tough and did not want to miss out. At what age should she move up to 16u? Should she skip 2nd year 14u and jump ahead and play 3 years of 16u? She is playing 14u travelball right now, trying out for high school, I know we can not play travel while playing high school but what about after high school season? Again thank you for your help.

[EDGE]

If she can get playing timeon a good team, YES, play 16U and skip the second year at 14U!!!

[Intel]

Stay on top of her grades at school. To many players take themselves out of the College Recruiting process due to low grades.

Managers need to be aware of grades also. I have seen enough College Coaches refuse to deal with a team because the grades listed on profiles are not the grades they get when they call the school.

[ssarge]

Stay on top of her grades at school. To many players take themselves out of the College Recruiting process due to low grades.

Good advice. And it actually extends beyond just grades and college board scores. The change in the NCAA D1 requirement to 16 core curriculum course years (rather than 14 as in thhe past, and still the requirement for D2) is a complicator. Folks might be surprised to see just what does qualify as a core curriculum class (individual for each high school). The lists can be found at the NCAA Clearinghouse. A lot of courses you might think would qualify in fact do not.

Not a serious problem for most kids at most schools, but it is a problem for some. And it is real tough to make up course years once you become a senior. Worth a look as a sophomore (or so) just to insure you are tracking correctly and that you plan appropriately.

Regards,

Scott

[ssarge]

Managers need to be aware of grades also. I have seen enough College Coaches refuse to deal with a team because the grades listed on profiles are not the grades they get when they call the school.

Self correcting problem, because managers of Gold teams which are panned by college coaches will not be managers for long - they won't have a team.

I suppose what you describe could happen, but profiles are not taken real seriously by college coaches in this regard. Some list the most current GPA, some are cumulative. Some reflect weighting, some don't.

I also haven't heard of college coaches calling schools for grades. Certainly, they request transcripts, and most Gold managers have those (for all of their players) in their briefcase anyway.

It is absolutely good policy for any player in the recruiting process to have a copy of their most current transcript readily available.

Regards,

Scott