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College Recruiting

Recruiting Question

Questions and Discussions Regarding the College Recruiting process

by OHFPfan7 » Wed Aug 05, 2015 10:15 am

Hello all,
I had a recruiting question that I haven't had much success getting feedback on. I have looked on this website and other softball forum and not had luck finding what I was looking for so I thought I would start my own post to ask.
My DD is 15 and graduating in class of 2018. She just finished playing a successful summer of showcase tournaments and has had college coaches contact her travel coach expressing interest and getting more info. We are expected this fall & winter to be big in the recruiting process as she plans on going to camps of schools she is interested in, and some that expressed interest in her. This is being our first time going through this we are not exactly sure what to expect. Although I do not know if she will receive any offers this early (and even if she does I don't think she would verbal this early) we want to know what to expect.

The info I am looking for is how much exposure did your dd's college coach have when watching her play before offering her. We just heard one example of a girl in our area sending a email and recruiting video to a coach, the coach showed interest and contacted her travel coach she went to a camp in fall where she was offered and then went to a camp in winter of same school and accepted. Just looking for more stories like that, so if anyone would be willing to share info on their dd's offer/s that would be extremely helpful. Thanks!
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by girlerl » Wed Aug 05, 2015 12:02 pm

I think you will get multiple answers to this question. I have two daughters with two totally different experiences.
DD 1 was seen at a showcase her junior year and was offered a Full ride right on the spot. We went on a visit and accepted. Fast forward 9 months and the school has a coaching change and my DDs offer was pulled. She got lots of offers as a walk on but was not willing to do. Right before the end of her senior year she gets an offer from a small D1 back east, coach never seen her pitch. He just had recommendation from some coaches he trusted here on the west coast. She went on a visit Loved the school and accepted the offer. She will be a senior in college this year and is scheduled to graduate on time.
DD2 had offers from schools her freshman year, we thought that was too early after what had happen to DD1. So we took our time. She went to a few camps at colleges she thought she wanted to attend, No offers.. Joined a new travel org her Junior year and offers were coming faster than we expected. She was on the phone at least 3 times a week talking to coaches. The coach that ended up recruiting her talked to her once a week for 4 months. They had a standing call every Wed at 6:00. They talked about everything under the sun, softball, recruiting, family, school,Disneyland etc.. Each call was about 30-60 mins long. Her school has 2 head coaches, both came out at seperate times to watch I say about 6 times total. Finally she received an email from them asking her to call at a different time than normal, they had an offer. That call only lasted a few minutes and it was the offer we had been waiting for. We scheduled a visit and the rest is history. I'm really happy with the choice she made. I only wish more coaches were like her future coaches. They really wanted to get to know her and for her to know them before making their offer. We know its not going to be easy, they are tough coaches, but I do feel they have my daughters best interest at heart.
I don't want to play golf. When I hit a ball, I want someone else to go chase it." -- Rogers Hornsby, two-time National League MVP and 1926 World Series Champion
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by Sid Barrett » Fri Aug 07, 2015 10:05 am

Hi OHFP,

Based on our experience with the process, it sounds like your DD is right where she needs to be in order to get recruited. My advice, for what ever it is worth, is to not wait to accept a verbal offer, just for the sake of waiting or because you think it is too early. If the right University presents a good offer, it is probably in your best interest to accept that offer, otherwise that offer will go to another player. I am not entirely comfortable that young ladies have to make those choices at such a young age but unfortunately it seems that those are the new norms for the process.

Our DD participated in 3 different camps at Mid-major schools during the latter part of her freshman year. 2 of the 3 followed her that summer and presented offers along with a couple other mid-majors. She also received interest from some of the larger Power 5 type schools, but no actual offers...just interest. Originally we planned on waiting and seeing what developed with the larger programs. However, she really liked one of the original Mid-majors and it was made pretty clear to us that if she didn't accept the offer, it was going to go to another player. 2 years later, she is about to go on her official and sign her NLI.

If your DD is interested in attending and playing for one of the smaller or more academically oriented schools, she might have the luxury of waiting. However, it seems that the competitive nature of the mid and larger programs eliminates their ability to wait on a player to make a choice. By the time a player is a junior (and sometimes even a sophomore) all of the recruiting money for that grade year is gone.

Just my $.02..
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by 59Invicta » Fri Aug 07, 2015 11:47 am

I think it would be helpful if the OP and others would identify the position their DD plays. In my experience, recruiting for pitchers is in a whole different orbit than for other positions.

Also, I remember a thread here on HB a while back, talking about a U-Dub verbal who signed her NIL, but received a call from Coach Tarr over Valentine's Day weekend saying that she couldn't get the girl into the university due to academics. Long story short, travel ball coach made some calls and got her into one of the Arizonas. So, I think there is always $$.

I also see here on HB that last year, there was a record number of transfers, and I think that speaks somewhat to the earlier verbals.

I think you just have to know your own DD. Is she a softball player first and a student second, or vice versa? This will answer a lot of the questions about the recruiting process and the timeline as to when she should look for serious offers.

Best parent question to ask yourself.......Is this decision for her future, or your bragging rights?

Just MY .02 cents........
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by Sid Barrett » Fri Aug 07, 2015 1:35 pm

59Invicta,

I agree with you, 100% that recruiting for pitchers is different than for other players. In our case, our DD was/is a pitcher and her experience preceeded those of her team mates by a few months. I also agree with your premise that there is always money. However, from what I have been told by those who are more in the know than I, is that there is always creative ways of finding money..... for that once in a career, 5 star special player... a'la the pitcher from Mission Viejo High or the center fielder from Moorpark High etc. Unfortunately, my DD and probably a large number of the DDs out there aren't those kinds of players.

I am not a proponent for jumping on the first school that makes an offer, particularly if it is for bragging rights, or as Blind Squirrel once said, "a victory lap." However, I do believe there can be pitfalls for waiting and think that those pitfalls should, at least be considered when choosing a school.

My $.02 cents, or does this make it $.4 cents???
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