The future of recruiting

[Sam]

The University of Washington under Coach Heather Tarr has found a loop hole in the rules that allows them to coach a 14U team of 98's regardless of whether or not they are in high school. They are hand choosing players even if they are already committed to teams and putting together a "super team" that will compete out of state only. This team will be coached directly by Tarr and have full access to Husky training facility and sponsored gear.

Is this going to be the future of college recruiting?

So....she's going to coach a bunch of 12 yr-olds.....likely put 20 kids on the roster (because that is the way they know how to coach) and she actually has to deal with parents. Sounds like fun.

The "Super Team" will likely get their a$$es kicked when they come down to SoCal where travel coaches have no 50 mile recruiting radius limitation and kids that have played together for years.

Dumb.

[fastpitchdad05]

The University of Washington under Coach Heather Tarr has found a loop hole in the rules that allows them to coach a 14U team of 98's regardless of whether or not they are in high school. They are hand choosing players even if they are already committed to teams and putting together a "super team" that will compete out of state only. This team will be coached directly by Tarr and have full access to Husky training facility and sponsored gear.

Is this going to be the future of college recruiting?

So....she's going to coach a bunch of 12 yr-olds.....likely put 20 kids on the roster (because that is the way they know how to coach) and she actually has to deal with parents. Sounds like fun.

The "Super Team" will likely get their a$$es kicked when they come down to SoCal where travel coaches have no 50 mile recruiting radius limitation and kids that have played together for years.

Dumb.

Hey look at that...Sam's telling us how he really feels.

Shocker!

[jonriv]

The University of Washington under Coach Heather Tarr has found a loop hole in the rules that allows them to coach a 14U team of 98's regardless of whether or not they are in high school. They are hand choosing players even if they are already committed to teams and putting together a "super team" that will compete out of state only. This team will be coached directly by Tarr and have full access to Husky training facility and sponsored gear.

Is this going to be the future of college recruiting?

So....she's going to coach a bunch of 12 yr-olds.....likely put 20 kids on the roster (because that is the way they know how to coach) and she actually has to deal with parents. Sounds like fun.

The "Super Team" will likely get their a$$es kicked when they come down to SoCal where travel coaches have no 50 mile recruiting radius limitation and kids that have played together for years.

Dumb.

A 50 mile radius is quite large- if you did that same thing around here you would cover a population base of over 20 million people. I am sure it is quite possible to put a very good team together(not saying she will) I would also suggest that 99% of the TB teams out there recruit from 50 mile radius or less(some of the more elite teams being the exception)

The rule is probably in place under the fantasy of being a public service or community outreach, I am sure that College Coaches are using it as another recruiting loophole- Sam- she does not need to beat any team from SoCal, she just needs to find 5-10 possible recruits each year

[ontheblack]

she does not need to beat any team from SoCal, she just needs to find 5-10 possible recruits each year

lucky if she finds one

[balou]

Heather just wants more recruiting days in So Cal so when her team will play in tournaments down there she can scout the So Cal kids without using recruiting days. The real questionable thing is why would she alienate all the local Travel Ball coaches in Washington by taking their kids for one year and dumping them the next year? She won't keep them the next year it would be a violation of the rules she is skirting. Why would a parent want their kid on her team when they know she is 99% likely not to offer them a scholarship? How does that look to other schools like Oregon and Stanford? If she coached them and doesn't think they are good enough for her why would they be good enough for them? She has a record of not offering the best kids in the state much money and most locals leave because of that. She is only interested in Cali kids, no problem I understand why, but, the smart University of Washington coaches put a "fence" around Washington and never let a talented kid leave if they could help it....Think Don James and Lorenzo Romar.....Heather thinks she can get Washington kids cheap. This will not go over well. It is too bad for the kids who are taking the bait, it only serves Heather. JMO.

[shockcoach]

Heather just wants more recruiting days in So Cal so when her team will play in tournaments down there she can scout the So Cal kids without using recruiting days. The real questionable thing is why would she alienate all the local Travel Ball coaches in Washington by taking their kids for one year and dumping them the next year? She won't keep them the next year it would be a violation of the rules she is skirting. Why would a parent want their kid on her team when they know she is 99% likely not to offer them a scholarship? How does that look to other schools like Oregon and Stanford? If she coached them and doesn't think they are good enough for her why would they be good enough for them? She has a record of not offering the best kids in the state much money and most locals leave because of that. She is only interested in Cali kids, no problem I understand why, but, the smart University of Washington coaches put a "fence" around Washington and never let a talented kid leave if they could help it....Think Don James and Lorenzo Romar.....Heather thinks she can get Washington kids cheap. This will not go over well. It is too bad for the kids who are taking the bait, it only serves Heather. JMO.

Where is my 'like' button? You hit the nail on the head!

To add. What has Heather done with this team without Danielle Lawrie in the circle? 7-16 in the Pac-12 last year, with 3 of those wins coming against Utah (2-22 Pac-12).

[bart16761]

Heather just wants more recruiting days in So Cal so when her team will play in tournaments down there she can scout the So Cal kids without using recruiting days. The real questionable thing is why would she alienate all the local Travel Ball coaches in Washington by taking their kids for one year and dumping them the next year? She won't keep them the next year it would be a violation of the rules she is skirting. Why would a parent want their kid on her team when they know she is 99% likely not to offer them a scholarship? How does that look to other schools like Oregon and Stanford? If she coached them and doesn't think they are good enough for her why would they be good enough for them? She has a record of not offering the best kids in the state much money and most locals leave because of that. She is only interested in Cali kids, no problem I understand why, but, the smart University of Washington coaches put a "fence" around Washington and never let a talented kid leave if they could help it....Think Don James and Lorenzo Romar.....Heather thinks she can get Washington kids cheap. This will not go over well. It is too bad for the kids who are taking the bait, it only serves Heather. JMO.

What you have said seems like a good reason for the coach doing this. As for a reason why a parent would do this for a year.... maybe to get a year with an accomplished college coach? The player could benefit by becoming a better player and go get her scholarship using that knowledge and skill learned?? JMHO If you know going in it is for a year I don't see the harm to the kids playing on that team, as for the harm to the local softball kids I am not sure.

[lovsofbal]

Heather just wants more recruiting days in So Cal so when her team will play in tournaments down there she can scout the So Cal kids without using recruiting days. The real questionable thing is why would she alienate all the local Travel Ball coaches in Washington by taking their kids for one year and dumping them the next year? She won't keep them the next year it would be a violation of the rules she is skirting. Why would a parent want their kid on her team when they know she is 99% likely not to offer them a scholarship? How does that look to other schools like Oregon and Stanford? If she coached them and doesn't think they are good enough for her why would they be good enough for them? She has a record of not offering the best kids in the state much money and most locals leave because of that. She is only interested in Cali kids, no problem I understand why, but, the smart University of Washington coaches put a "fence" around Washington and never let a talented kid leave if they could help it....Think Don James and Lorenzo Romar.....Heather thinks she can get Washington kids cheap. This will not go over well. It is too bad for the kids who are taking the bait, it only serves Heather. JMO.

What you have said seems like a good reason for the coach doing this. As for a reason why a parent would do this for a year.... maybe to get a year with an accomplished college coach? The player could benefit by becoming a better player and go get her scholarship using that knowledge and skill learned?? JMHO If you know going in it is for a year I don't see the harm to the kids playing on that team, as for the harm to the local softball kids I am not sure.

How often do kids stick with the same organization through out their careers. I'd say a lot of kids will do it.

[PDad]

What you have said seems like a good reason for the coach doing this. As for a reason why a parent would do this for a year.... maybe to get a year with an accomplished college coach? The player could benefit by becoming a better player and go get her scholarship using that knowledge and skill learned?? JMHO If you know going in it is for a year I don't see the harm to the kids playing on that team, as for the harm to the local softball kids I am not sure.

People do it here in Socal - e.g. Cal Raiders 14u and OCBB McNee 14u.

[balou]

Yes kids change teams all the time, but there is much more to this than moving teams. Heather took multiple kids from certain teams and has crippled them. In fact one team it seems may be disbanding over it. That's a good way to treat the locals.

The population here in the Northwest is vastly different from SoCal hence not the numbers to backfill with.

How much instruction do you really think she will provide these kids? She has a full time job at the UW as it is.

My gut tells me she thought this was a good idea, but did not think about the consequences to all involved. Only now that it has been put in play are these scenarios starting to play out. There will be lots of different opinions on this and everyone has a point. However, she has made a miscalculation on this one. JMO