If You Had To Do It Over Again....

[fasterpitch92701]

1st, grades
2nd, grades
3rd, grades.... then

4th, write your top 20 colleges often and include the assistant coaches.

5th, get on a team with a coach that REALLY understands the recruiting process. Most don't and will fill you with a line of b.s., even providing a list of past players at name schools. What they don't tell you is that many of those kids did it on their own with no help from the coach.

6th, play on a team where you get play time at exposure tournaments AND you're playing on fields at a time when coaches will be there, not 11PM on Sunday when the coaches have long gone.

Great grades NEVER hurt you and can only help. Average grades eliminate a lot of schools.

Story: playing at an exposure tournament with the bios in the box on the fence. The coach from Harvard walks up, takes a sheet, scans the info for all of 5 seconds with our coach and says "who's that, where is she?". Our coach said "that her", pointing to DD. What caught the coaches eye was a 4.43GPA and she commented "we can't take anyone who will lower our team average GPA" and DD was the only player that wouldn't have. Talks resulted. We visited Harvard. Great school but DD chose a better fit for her. The net/net point is that grades are a phenominal help. The college coach doesn't need to worry that their recruit will become ineligable after the first year because they can't cut the academics.

Take the SAT's mulltiple times and study for them. Grades, grades, grades....

[hit4power]

5th, get on a team with a coach that REALLY understands the recruiting process. Most don't and will fill you with a line of b.s., even providing a list of past players at name schools. What they don't tell you is that many of those kids did it on their own with no help from the coach.

Some really great points - include the assistant coaches. Many times it's the assistant that does the front end recruiting. In the case of my DD, two schools sent the assistant to watch and only after the assistant had good things to say did the head coach bother to come and see. Getting a good relationship with the ass't early in the process is very valuable.

The other great point is to be on a team where the head coach really understands the recruiting process and will get involved. The hidden message is that you should be prepared to do much of the work yourself (meaning you and your DD) - don't assume the TB coach is doing the heavy lifting. In our case, if we hadn't seized the bull by the horns, it wouldn't have happened. More bluntly, ask yourself if the TB coach you are about to play for has the skills and drive to represent your DD to college coaches. As one parent put it to me, if you can't visualize your TB coach selling you a house or a stock investment, what makes you think he can sell your DD?

[3'sDad]

92701: Are you going to make it back east for any of the games or attempt to get to FLA for the Spring break games?

[Coach11]

Glad we did-

-As many individual showcase as we could
- college clinics/camps
-as many college visits
-constant e-mails to coaches
-loved the games


Wish we would have

-Done more college clinics
-Started the process earlier(started sophomore year)
-Been on teams earlier that promoted their players

Unless your daughter is a pitcher or catcher, I'm not so sure the individual showcases are worthwhile. Most of the college coaches we spoke to said they prefered to watch the girls in game situations. My daughter participated in several. Finished at or near top of all speed/agility competitions. One of the coaches that was recruiting her told us she had never seen anyone go 1st to home so fast, despite the fact that she had watched her finish 1st in the home to home dash during the individuals.

College clinics are great, especially the smaller ones. Nothing beats one on one time with a potential coach.

Keep in constant contact with coaches (and assistant coaches) from the schools DD is shooting for. Even, and maybe especially, the ones DD has high interest in, but are unsure about the schools interest in her. One of my daughters early favorites, showed interest right from the start. Through constant conversation, we came to realize that the coach had sites on another player so my daughter realized early on not to put all of her eggs in one basket.

When considering schools, take a good look at their roster. If your daughter is a catcher, and they already have 2 who are in their Frosh or Soph years, how realistic is it that your DD will see much playing time?

Not always easy.....but try and speak with alumni or current students about the schools recruiting habits. Daughter played with one girl who was recruited by a school that had/has a reputation for "over-recruiting". Come Fall tryouts, this girl didn't make the team even though she was recruited to play there.

Find a travel organization whose purpose is to get it's players recruited. Before settling on the team my daughter has played her past 3 seasons with, she had to choose between two very competetive organizations. The team she didn't choose, was probably a better team, in actuality. But in the Fall when she tried out for them, they didn't know what their summer schedule was going to be. The team she went with, had been playing the same schedule at all of the top tournaments and showcases for years. This is where Dad weighed in. Which brings me to my final point....

Make sure you have a say in final decisions. While your teenage daughter already knows everything, her future cannot be left solely in her hands. Be there to help guide her. And when you're not sure of which road to take, don't be too proud to ask others who've been through the process.

[jonriv]

When considering schools, take a good look at their roster. If your daughter is a catcher, and they already have 2 who are in their Frosh or Soph years, how realistic is it that your DD will see much playing time?

......or even be recruited.

I have known several players/parents that get fixated on one program and never realize (until it is too late) that the program does not need or want them

keep options open and eyes wide open- sometimes the school you wind up at is not the original one(se) you were looking at

[chippingaway]

Great Discussion!!!

[DonnieS]

When considering schools, take a good look at their roster. If your daughter is a catcher, and they already have 2 who are in their Frosh or Soph years, how realistic is it that your DD will see much playing time?

......or even be recruited.

I have known several players/parents that get fixated on one program and never realize (until it is too late) that the program does not need or want them

keep options open and eyes wide open- sometimes the school you wind up at is not the original one(se) you were looking at

This happened to us - we had assumed for some time that DD2 was going a certain direction and found out a little late that they didnt want her. Looks to me that it could be a blessing in disguise.

I now dont think it would have made a difference because DD2 had a mind set about what she would accept and what she wouldnt accept - and where she signed fits that to a T. The original didnt, what I dont know is would I have been honest with myself had that first school offered, I know she would have been honest, she doesnt know any other way.

[Coach11]

This happened to us - we had assumed for some time that DD2 was going a certain direction and found out a little late that they didnt want her. Looks to me that it could be a blessing in disguise.

I now dont think it would have made a difference because DD2 had a mind set about what she would accept and what she wouldnt accept - and where she signed fits that to a T. The original didnt, what I dont know is would I have been honest with myself had that first school offered, I know she would have been honest, she doesnt know any other way.

Almost happened to us as well. One of my daughters top three choices from early on, suddenly became very quiet. When we FINALLY got the opportunity to tour the school and meet with coach (3 previous attempts had been postponed on their end) it became obvious to me that they were now headed in another direction.

The coach never "officially" said she was no longer interested....covering her own ass I suppose....but my daughter now understood that nothing, no matter how initially promising, is ever written in stone.

[Coach11]

Ooooh......how can I forget?! (Didn't notice anyone else mention)

OVERNIGHTS!

#2 behind grades....make sure your daughter does overnights at the schools, and with the teams, she is seriously considering.

It answers alot of the questions on intangibles.

Big help in ruling out schools as well as raising others higher upon the list.

[DonnieS]

This happened to us - we had assumed for some time that DD2 was going a certain direction and found out a little late that they didnt want her. Looks to me that it could be a blessing in disguise.

I now dont think it would have made a difference because DD2 had a mind set about what she would accept and what she wouldnt accept - and where she signed fits that to a T. The original didnt, what I dont know is would I have been honest with myself had that first school offered, I know she would have been honest, she doesnt know any other way.

Almost happened to us as well. One of my daughters top three choices from early on, suddenly became very quiet. When we FINALLY got the opportunity to tour the school and meet with coach (3 previous attempts had been postponed on their end) it became obvious to me that they were now headed in another direction.

The coach never "officially" said she was no longer interested....covering her own ass I suppose....but my daughter now understood that nothing, now matter how initially promising, is ever written in stone.

Exactly the same, 3 postponements on their side - ? - then received official notice that dd wasnt wanted. Life went on. Great experience for 'real life' starting up after college. And the honesty was extremely helpful for moving on.