Walk-On non-TB player at a D-I school

[jonriv]

Local kid and amazing HS athlete has been rported in several local papers as an "Invited walk-on" at nearby DI school in the fall. I certainly undersatnd that invited walk-ons are common, but there is something that makes this story different.

The player in question has not played any TB(except for a couple of games here and there as a guest player) preferring to spend her summers at a family vacation home. This player was an exceptional HS player and very talented from what I have seen. I am just not sure how realistic it will be for her to make the jump from HS to DI(Big East) without having played any kind of competetive travel ball. Has anyone seen anyone pull this off?

I wish her luck, but do worry if she is successful it will send a wrong message(younger players not understanding she was an exception)

[Fredegar]

I understand that it's unusual for a non-TB player to successfully make it as a walk-on, but it sounds like she has plenty of talent. Whether or not she's successful in the Big East depends a lot on her expectation and her role. If she's expecting to start right away, she may be disappointed. But if she hopes to be used as a pinch-runner, or as a late-inning defensive replacement, she could find herself contributing early. We've seen several kids have fine college careers, having played little to no TB or having played for non-competitive TB teams. And yes, some have worked hard and eventually earned starting spots.

You say you wish her luck, but it almost sounds like you don't ... because of the wrong message. I disagree. If she's successful as a walk-on, like many others have been, it will show that if you work hard and have the talent, you'll be rewarded. Regardless of having spent your summers enjoying family vacations as opposed to living on the diamond. Good for her!

[jonriv]

I do wish her well, but I do know that many will take her success the wrong way and think they can just be discovered in hs ball. I also think the newspapers are setting her up for failure-given the difficulty of being a walk-on, not having faced tougher competition, the reputation of this coach and that her expectations are too high
I just hope someone is giving her sound advice what to expect


Has anyone seen a similar situation?

[PDad]

I do wish her well, but I do know that many will take her success the wrong way and think they can just be discovered in hs ball. I also think the newspapers are setting her up for failure-given the difficulty of being a walk-on, not having faced tougher competition, the reputation of this coach and that her expectations are too high
I just hope someone is giving her sound advice what to expect

Has anyone seen a similar situation?

What are you waiting for? Contact her family and share your expert advice.

Stamford's Robustelli excited by chance to play softball at UConn

The article talks about how she made the decision and how hard she worked during the season.

Did you see the interview with Patty Gasso during the TCS broadcast last night? They asked her what she looked for while recruiting. She replied that she looks for athleticism, a strong work ethic and some other intangibles because that's what she needs in order to develop them.

My nephew walked on the Notre Dame baseball team and he was one of 2 to be invited to join the team at the end of the fall workouts. He declined their offer because he was a bio-chem major and realized he couldn't do both. It is an extended tryout where both sides can determine if it's a good fit.

[CheckWriter]

I wish her luck, but do worry if she is successful it will send a wrong message(younger players not understanding she was an exception)

I think it would be a great message. Spend more time with family and friends and less money to TB coaches, oil companies, airlines, hotels, restaurants. I hope she does well. Duration, intensity and single mindedness in youth apprts in general needs to peak some time. Maybe she can burst the TB bubble - kind of like the real estate bubble and bring things back down to earth.

[3'sDad]

The DD's hitting coach was a walk-on at a very well know school. She had minimal club ball experience & did a lot of pinch running her first two years. As a upperclassman, she saw her share of playing time & many of you would have seen her play on TV at the end of May/ early June. DD loves working with her. She's great coach who learned from someone who is very well respected by one and all here on the 'Bucket. The former player also coaches a local club team so she can give back & pass along her knowledge of the game .

[jonriv]

Unfortunately it appears from the the UCONN roster that she is not on the team. It also appears(as usual) that UCONN has the worst Connecticut representation of any Connecticut based college. It would be one thing if it were a successful program(it is not)

[Dongers Army]

Jonriv - I am not sure what message we should be concerned about here? Superior athletes have unique opportunities all of the time. I am struggling to come up with any specific softball players that play D1 without the benefit of Travel softball, but I am sure there are numerous walk-on examples all over the place. As Patty Gasso highlighted, athleticism is what they are looking for.

Other sports that I can easily draw a comparison to your situation include LoLo Jones, who walked right off of the Olympic track and field team to the Olympic bobsled team (I believe Herschell Walker did something similar), Jimmy Graham played 4 years of college basketball before he decided he wanted to play a little football. Jameis Winston focuses on football, but still takes a roster spot away from somebody else on the FSU baseball team.

I am far more concerned with the message my daughter observes when she sees college recruiters at 12u and 14u softball games. When she sees her friends and teammates bean umpires. When she sees rec players that were not good enough to make "all stars" suddenly playing for one of the 70 Firecrackers teams.

Truth be told, I am really not that concerned.

[jonriv]

When I first posted this my concern was that younger players/parents would look at this situation and come to the conclusion that they could avoid TB and just play High School ball and then play in college- ignoring the fact that this particualr player is an exceptional athlete and that her route was not the norm.

As others wrote in and I thought some more, my concern turned more to the fate that befalls most walk-ons-failure. In this particular case, newspaper articles and parent's talk in the area was that this was a fait accompli and she would not only make the UCONN team, but also start.

Several things were possible here:
-The coach mislead the player/parents on her chances
or
-The parents/player heard what they wanted
or
--Player got hurt

I really do not know the details


I think this becomes a really learning moment for those looking to play beyond HS

1) You need to do the work and get the exposure. TB, as flawed and expensive as it can be, represents the best way to accomplish this.

2) Although being a walk-in(especially an invited walk-on) has been successful for some, the vast majority do not make it. Your chances are far superior if you are a recruited player.

3) It is very difficult to jump into the recruiting process late.